Need some help with setting up a barrell for storage...

[crazie.eddie]

I'm not that too much of a handyman, but I can figure things out, once I have the right stuff. The only problem is, I don't know what stuff I need.

Anyways, I have a 55 gallon food grade barrel, which I plan to store water. I want to drill it and put some kind of connector, so I can use my Python hose to fill my tanks up. I'm assuming I need to get some kind of valve. Plus, I want to make sure that valve has a male end, so I can connect my Python hose, which has a female garden hose connector. Of course, the valve has to be put on the barrel.

So can someone help me out point me to the exact part(s) that I will need? I know there are several websites to get these parts, but I don't know exactly what I'll be needing.

Thanks.

[Don Trinko]

I use a pump that I lower into the barrel and remove when I'm done thus: no fittings needed in barrel. These are available at most of the internet Fish supliers but you can also use a sump pump. I also have a heater in the barrel.
My pump is adapted to a garden hose. ( food grade, the type used for RV's available at Wallmart and most home improvement stores) Many do use fittings and permanently install pump, plumb directly to tanks etc. Look in some of the fish room posts to get some ideas. Don T.

[thomasfoo]

I use a pump that I lower into the barrel and remove when I'm done

That's what I am doing too

[midazolam]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...er-system.html

I did something like that. I use two 18 gallon Rubbermaid bins which gives me about 30 gallons of water since the pump wont get probably the bottom 3 gallons out of each tub.

[crazie.eddie]

The only issue I might have is the pump has to pump up and over the barrel, then another 80' or so to my farthest tank, then up again to reach the tank. But if I have a hole on the side of the barrel, I can probably use a smaller size pump, since the pump doesn't have to work against gravity to much.

How many GPH are the pumps you guys are using and what distance is thee farthest tank? I currently have a Mag 5 (500 GPH) and a Rio 2100 (692 GPH).

[mirmar]

a lower hole in your barrel doesn't help at all.
The only thing that matters is the height difference between the watrelevels in the barrel and the tank, and a bit the distance.
Those pumps sound powerfull enough to me!

[crazie.eddie]

Why won't a lower hole help? I know sh*t about physics, but if the hole were low, wouldn't the pump use less force, since it only has to push the water the distance from the barrel and up to the tank. Even if I turned off the pump, the weight of the water, gravity, etc. would just force the water through the hose, which would then stop once the hose starts going up to the tank?

If I were to just drop a pump in, then the pump would have to force the water would have to go up and over the barrel top, then the distance to the tanks and up to the tank?

[LizStreithorst]

I AM pretty handy, but when I'm in a quandry I go to the experts at Aquatic Ecosystems.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/ Call their customer support number 407-598-1401. They will ask all the right questions and send you exactly what you need to accomplish what you want.

[crazie.eddie]

Cool. Thanks

[tcyiu]

Why won't a lower hole help? ...

Even if I turned off the pump, the weight of the water, gravity, etc. would just force the water through the hose, which would then stop once the hose starts going up to the tank?

If I were to just drop a pump in, then the pump would have to force the water would have to go up and over the barrel top, then the distance to the tanks and up to the tank?

Here's a thought experiment to show why the two are roughly the same. Let's compare two barrels. One has a 1" hole near the bottom and the other is intact. If the hole is left open, water would just gush out of the first barrel. Check.

Now, let's put a 1" inner diameter hose in the undrilled barrow (submerging it to make sure it is filled with water). Let's take one end over the side of the barrel and drop it down to the same level of the hole of the other barrel. Assuming that a proper vacuum is maintained, the siphon effect would cause water to gush out too.

The flow rate for either barrel is roughly the same.

There will be some loss of flow in the case of the siphon because of friction in the hose wall. But not enough to make a difference to a pump especially when it is pushing against 80' anyway.

In my way of thinking, having a very slight parasitic loss of flow in the hose is completely worth not having to worry about leaks around the bulk of the drilled hole.

One more advantage as I see it is that the submersible pump would contribute heat to the water in the barrel since many of us live in climates where the ambient temperature is lower than the 80+ deg we keep our discus in. In the case of an inline external pump, the heat waste would just be lost to the air. A waste of energy in my mind.

Hope this helps.

Tim

[subcooler]

The main issue here is hieght(pump head)-assuming that it's a straight run of 80' horizontally.Horizontally moving water is not taxing on pump!
I was looking online @ fish supply houses for pumps also.
I need to pump from basement upto living room tanks(14').
I was able to find a sump pump @ home improvemnt store(ex. Lowes,Home Depot) for 68$.Pump is 120volt-1/6th HP & comes with adapter for garden hose connections.
Compared to fish supply house cheaper & stronger pump.
I also found a good alternative to storage tank online-My town offers large(96g.) wheeled trash cans for automated trash truck pickup for 50$(similiar can @ Home depot is around 80$).
It's always nice to save a few bucks(to spend on new discus or tanks).
Hope this idea helps!
Rob

[GottaBeKiN]

Why won't a lower hole help? I know sh*t about physics, but if the hole were low, wouldn't the pump use less force, since it only has to push the water the distance from the barrel and up to the tank. Even if I turned off the pump, the weight of the water, gravity, etc. would just force the water through the hose, which would then stop once the hose starts going up to the tank?

If I were to just drop a pump in, then the pump would have to force the water would have to go up and over the barrel top, then the distance to the tanks and up to the tank?

You better go back to your physics books. A hole in the bottom of the barrel won't help.