Need ro tank ideas

[DonW]

I'm trying to give the laundry room back to my family. I picked up a 55 gallon food barrel with two small openings on top. My thought was to put it behind the house and plumb it to a faucet in the laundry. Getting the water in is easy.
Getting it back out is where I'm having the problem. The holes are to small for a submersible pump. I dont want to cut the top because its outside to keep bugs and dust out. Wouldnt be a able to put the nut on the back of a bulk head (hole to small).
I have another one thats 15 gallon with the same holes. I was thinking this one could be for kalk top off. But same delema, getting it to the tank 20 ft away.
Is there a problem storing in the hot or cold????

Any help would be great!
Don

 

[Witfull]

possible mildew if sealed tight.

 

[reedman]

Wit, how do you prevent the degredation of water quality when storing in large containers?

 

[Witfull]

strong water movement

 

[Witfull]

i have a mag 7 pointing up,,,this causes a great flow from bottom to top. and i use about 2+g a day...more in the winter.

 

[Schottman]

any sealed water compartment is going to get algae in it. you would be amazed at what potable water tanks look like on ships even the subs i was on where we make our water from evaporaters. the tanks are still full of algae

 

[DonW]

This is what I came up with so far. Can anyone think of problems that may arise. Wit, Idecided to go down to the 15, since we use about 6 gallons per day.

 

[big t]

I have a good idea, instead of using a bulkhead at the bottom, use a uniseal! They are the shit, and would work perfect for your app where you cant get to the back. It is just a rubber bung that has a wedge built in so when you shove the pipe thru it creates a nice tight seal. You can get em at aquaticecosystems.com

 

[DonW]

Thanks Tom,

The sure-flo pump takes care of that problem. It will self prime to about 8ft above the tank. My concern is the float set up. I'm worried about a flood, since I've been using the nurse type top off there has never been a concern.
By the way arent you supposed to be working down there? :razz:
Don

 

[big t]

I am working! Can't you tell?

 

[Ed Hahn]

Don,
This is a set up that Mikey Dog did a while back... http://68.185.37.33/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=103

 

[Ugla]

I have a 30 gallon round plastic storage tank in my garage. It has a Kent top off valve drilled through the side. Kents have a dual system with a air operated valve and float valve back up. I use a dosing pump the suck water out of the tank and through my kalk reactor and upstairs to the sump, about 50 feet total. I evaporate about a gallon a day and maybe adjust the pump flow every two months or so. The pump is on a timer to run from 5-9 am and pump 1 gallon during that time.

I add 1/2 pound of Kent kalk every two 2 - 3 months and clean the reactor every 9 -12 months. This rig has been set up for 3 years now and is still working flawlessly. I have never had any algae in the water tank. My sump level and ph level stay constant and it requires no messing around with it. Other than water changes, and glass cleaning, my reef is almost work free. Jim

 

[DonW]

Thanks for the info. I think I'll go with the kalk reactor just so I dont have to have another tank. I figured a "t" and a timed solenoid would allow it to dose only at night and ro during the day.
Should make the family happy to get all my junk out of the laundry room.

Thanks
Don