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Thread: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

  1. #1
    Registered Member
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    Arturs Millers

    Default Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Hello guys . I have heard that its possible to reuse waster water to do water changes .. what i mean is that when you do you water changes you drain your water in some container run trough filters and so and then fill the tank back with the same water except it comes out nice and clean again ..
    Can anyone give me some more info like why its so hard to do it and so on . I been thinking to make system like
    Water from my tanks drains to sump while draining to sump water would go trought some filters like carbon , sediment then when it reaches sump it would go trought sand bed and staff maybe add some matrix media and purigen then it would go back to tanks maybe add uv sterilization maybe alot of fast growing plants in sump .. then i would vacum clean bottom of my tanks every day and add the missing water back ..
    Last edited by artursm15; 05-30-2017 at 04:02 AM.

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    Registered Member Phillydubs's Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Arturs,

    While interesting/intriguing, this seems like an awful lot of work for not a desired result. If anything, why not just age fresh water and transfer, or set-up a drip of fresh water.

    Cleaning old water and trying to get it like new sounds like a tough task, unless you are from an area of the world where there is a water shortage or inability to get fresh clean water, this seems like a rigamoroe for no feasible benefit.

    I would look into other options my friend...

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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    The reason why im interested in system like that is because water is pretty costly out here right now i spend 250$+ only on my tank water
    There is German breeder piwowarski ho has system like that ..

  4. #4
    Registered Member Phillydubs's Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Ahhh ok! I had a feeling you had a big reason why you'd ask this!

    Now I see why! That's a big bill!

    Hey anything mr piwow does is hard to argue. Look at his results !

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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Phillydubs View Post
    Ahhh ok! I had a feeling you had a big reason why you'd ask this!

    Now I see why! That's a big bill!

    Hey anything mr piwow does is hard to argue. Look at his results !


    yes and it grows every month !!

    yes you are right his work is just amazing !!

    just was wondering maybe there is someone ho is trying to achieve some waste water reusing just in small scale !

  6. #6
    Registered Member Leland F.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    If you're located inside the United States, I'm assuming your water bill is so high due to sewage rates in your area? If that is the case, you need to install an irrigation meter, and have it connected to your outside hydrants. You can tee into that water line and use it for your water changes. It will cut your water bill in half. They usually run around $1200-$2000 to install depending on your set up, if you'd pay a plumber to install. If your handy you could install one yourself for $350 in parts, and break out the shovel. lol

    -Leland

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    Registered Member pastry's Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Leland F. View Post
    If you're located inside the United States, I'm assuming your water bill is so high due to sewage rates in your area? If that is the case, you need to install an irrigation meter, and have it connected to your outside hydrants. You can tee into that water line and use it for your water changes. It will cut your water bill in half. They usually run around $1200-$2000 to install depending on your set up, if you'd pay a plumber to install. If your handy you could install one yourself for $350 in parts, and break out the shovel. lol

    -Leland
    Look, unsure if good thing or not but I saw sewage bill go up(I get water bill from one company and water sewage from other). When I stopped draining my tank water into toilet, sewage went back to normal. I put hose out a window where I have flowers and shrubs... and they are doing GREAT.

    Just piggy backing off of Leland a little although it's a little different
    -Elliot

  8. #8
    Registered Member Leland F.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Sewage bllls around here are based on water usage, since that's the only way they can monitor water used. As far as I know, municipalities have no way of monitoring what actually goes down the drain.

    -Leland

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    Homesteader Filip's Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    There are no such records here on the forum Arturs . Piwo is the pioneer in this field I guess and im sure that its water purification system is so big, complex , expensive and spacy that a regular hobist won't be able to mimic , even if he got all the first hand information's about it .

  10. #10
    Registered Member Leland F.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Piwo recirculates his system through a high gpd reverse osmosis system after filtering out the sediment. Easy to do, just have to monitor the tds and pressure drops on the ro to know when to change the cartridges, and membranes.

    -Leland

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    Registered Member Ryan925's Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Leland F. View Post
    Sewage bllls around here are based on water usage, since that's the only way they can monitor water used. As far as I know, municipalities have no way of monitoring what actually goes down the drain.

    -Leland
    That's correct. Shouldn't matter where the water is drained to they are going off of water usage

    I assume there is some formula ad obviously not all water used is going into the sanitary sewer and there is no way to differentiate irrigation usage from domestic usage from a meter read.
    Last edited by Ryan925; 06-07-2017 at 09:06 PM.
    Im not illiterate...only my phone's auto correct is

  12. #12
    Registered Member Leland F.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    No formula. You have to install a 2nd irrigation meter that isn't charged sewage rates. Granted if they see it being used in the wintertime they may drop by to see where the water is going.

    -Leland

  13. #13
    Registered Member Ryan925's Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Leland F. View Post
    No formula. You have to install a 2nd irrigation meter that isn't charged sewage rates. Granted if they see it being used in the wintertime they may drop by to see where the water is going.

    -Leland
    You mean request that the water department install a second meter for irrigation? A separate irrigation main and meter are rare, at least in this area they are. Typical here is irrigation main teed off domestic main with a backflow prevention device
    Im not illiterate...only my phone's auto correct is

  14. #14
    Registered Member Leland F.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    You have it partially right, an irrigation meter is tee'd off the existing domestic water service before it goes into the residential water meter, then run into a new irrigation meter, which looks almost identical to the existing meter and meter pit, then through a backflow preventer if needed for a irrigation system. Some people run the line into the house and have their hydrants connected to the irrigation meter, and don't have a sprinkler system, and don't need a backflow preventer in that example. There's always a meter on the irrigation service, sometimes they're inside one meter pit together, and sometimes there's two separate meter pits. In some areas of the country, like Austin, Texas, the city reuses grey water and supplies that to the irrigation meters through a separate water main, and they limit its use during drought periods that way. Obviously wouldn't want to use greywater for your home or fish if you're in one of those areas.

    -Leland

  15. #15
    Registered Member Ryan925's Avatar
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    Default Re: Reusing tank waste water for water changes ?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Leland F. View Post
    You have it partially right, an irrigation meter is tee'd off the existing domestic water service before it goes into the residential water meter, then run into a new irrigation meter, which looks almost identical to the existing meter and meter pit, then through a backflow preventer if needed for a irrigation system. Some people run the line into the house and have their hydrants connected to the irrigation meter, and don't have a sprinkler system, and don't need a backflow preventer in that example. There's always a meter on the irrigation service, sometimes they're inside one meter pit together, and sometimes there's two separate meter pits. In some areas of the country, like Austin, Texas, the city reuses grey water and supplies that to the irrigation meters through a separate water main, and they limit its use during drought periods that way. Obviously wouldn't want to use greywater for your home or fish if you're in one of those areas.

    -Leland
    Interesting. Here in California our irrigation is bit metered separately. Well on residential anyway. One source. One meter. On rare occasion, on a large property, I have seen a separate meter for irrigation. I own a leak detection business so work with these systems day in and day out.
    Im not illiterate...only my phone's auto correct is

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