This may be slightly off topic, but I think I have a good idea that could allow you to reuse a considerable amount of the waste water from your heating system. Depending upon how much space you have to spare, you could route the open loop into a large holding tank with a livestock water tank float which would divert the flow back down the drain whenever the tank filled up. When it comes time to do water changes of top offs you could condition this water with prime and use it again.
4300 Gallon Plywood Build (3600+ Take 2)
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That's a good idea.
You helped me see another possibility to solving this problem of waste water too. I could make the loop easily back to the house hot water heater. By going through the back wall of the laundry room then following the back of the house then back through to where the house hot water heater is, I could make it a closed loop.
You helped me see another possibility to solving this problem of waste water too. I could make the loop easily back to the house hot water heater. By going through the back wall of the laundry room then following the back of the house then back through to where the house hot water heater is, I could make it a closed loop.
Maybe add another 100' pex to cool the water then send it through carbon filter and ro/di to a top off system.
So many great ideas.
So many great ideas.
78-80 initially and most likely 82-84 when I switch over to having the juvenile arapaima in the tank. I'd like to be able to push it to 86 if need be.
nolapete;3684135; said:
I live in the desert and we watch our water carefully, too be honest mostly because it's expensive......
Even at a 10% water change weekly your going to use hundreds of gallons of water weekly! Ouch.
Recycling the water is a must, it should never just go down the drain.
Easiest recycling method is to run the waist water to your yard. Plants love the fish water!
An extreme recycling method I have seen done here in the desert is filling massive tanks with the old water/rain water run off, and using this to flush the toilet LOL. They bury these tanks in the ground, of course there's separate plumbing and pumps for the toilets, most likely not worth it if you have cheap water. Just some thoughts.
I'm planning aquaponics and denitrification (something like JohnPTC's and algae scrubber) to definitely recycle. Even though my water is extremely cheap, I do still want to promote conservation whenever I can. It'll be easier once I build the indoor pond in the garage and my outdoor pond. The plan with those is to have a green house using intense aquaponics for denitrification. I doubt that I'll ever tie those two to the 4300 gallon tank, but you never know.
In tank related news, a friend suggested that I do a test fill of the tank by putting a pond liner in it. He has one that I can borrow, so I think I'm going to do that before I coat the tank, just to be sure. I don't think it's big enough for a full fill, but it should be to see if there's any structural flaws.
In tank related news, a friend suggested that I do a test fill of the tank by putting a pond liner in it. He has one that I can borrow, so I think I'm going to do that before I coat the tank, just to be sure. I don't think it's big enough for a full fill, but it should be to see if there's any structural flaws.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193244&highlight=thefishguy&page=23
For heating check out thread #227 on this DIY, it seems to be just like what your talking about with the gas hot water heater. This guy has his tank in the basement and he lives in Ohio or somewhere cold? You might not have to go to this extreme but it's most likely the cheapest way to heat a large body of water.
For heating check out thread #227 on this DIY, it seems to be just like what your talking about with the gas hot water heater. This guy has his tank in the basement and he lives in Ohio or somewhere cold? You might not have to go to this extreme but it's most likely the cheapest way to heat a large body of water.
Agh. Too many posts to reply to in order. couple things though:
Electric in tank heaters will be the most energy efficient way to heat the tank. If you are going to use electricity, there is no way to do it more economically than this. So if efficiency is your goal, the electric THWH is a waste of time. I can go into detail on that point if you like.
The only reason I see for running a more complex system is to make use of the natural gas, which is a good enough reason. How much does natural gas cost compared to electricity there? If it's less than a factor of 2, you may be shooting yourself in the foot... I can go into detail on that too if you want, but first let's hear the numbers.
The first rule of engineering is not that simpler is better by the way, to whomever said that (Although I'm not contending that simpler is often better). The first rule of engineering is to always clearly understand the problem, and sometimes it trumps the KISS rule. If the simplest solution is also the most expensive or least effective it isn't really the 'best' solution.
Electric in tank heaters will be the most energy efficient way to heat the tank. If you are going to use electricity, there is no way to do it more economically than this. So if efficiency is your goal, the electric THWH is a waste of time. I can go into detail on that point if you like.
The only reason I see for running a more complex system is to make use of the natural gas, which is a good enough reason. How much does natural gas cost compared to electricity there? If it's less than a factor of 2, you may be shooting yourself in the foot... I can go into detail on that too if you want, but first let's hear the numbers.
The first rule of engineering is not that simpler is better by the way, to whomever said that (Although I'm not contending that simpler is often better). The first rule of engineering is to always clearly understand the problem, and sometimes it trumps the KISS rule. If the simplest solution is also the most expensive or least effective it isn't really the 'best' solution.
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