Water refill dispersion tool - Anyone have one?

[nabokovfan87]

I dig it. That's a super helpful method!

[TeeJay]

Ok so I'm waayyy late to the game. But better late than never. So I have gone over everyone's posts and I think there are a lot of great ideas. After looking over everything I think I would go this route. Get a very small pond pump. I found one in Amazon that only does 65gph for 13 bucks.Attach a hose then one of those nifty tank filler 9000 gizmos to the other end of the tube to diffuse the water gently. Bam! 

No obviously that size pump wouldn't work larger water changes in bigger tanks. I'm only dealing with 1 29 gal and 1 ten gal. So I think that would be the easiest cost effective back saving way for me. For around 30 bucks I'm sold.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 8/16/2022 at 9:39 PM, TeeJay said:

Ok so I'm waayyy late to the game. But better late than never. So I have gone over everyone's posts and I think there are a lot of great ideas. After looking over everything I think I would go this route. Get a very small pond pump. I found one in Amazon that only does 65gph for 13 bucks.Attach a hose then one of those nifty tank filler 9000 gizmos to the other end of the tube to diffuse the water gently. Bam! 

No obviously that size pump wouldn't work larger water changes in bigger tanks. I'm only dealing with 1 29 gal and 1 ten gal. So I think that would be the easiest cost effective back saving way for me. For around 30 bucks I'm sold.

There is a bit of a calc when choosing a pond pump. Distance of hose, flow rate of faucet, and height of tank. I will try to find the info for you; it’s in a video I had watched before my pump purchase. And I believe I sized up, just in case.

Pump size guidelines - @ approx 2:00 in vid.

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[TeeJay]

On 8/16/2022 at 9:42 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

There is a bit of a calc when choosing a pond pump. Distance of hose, flow rate of faucet, and height of tank. I will try to find the info for you; it’s in a video I had watched before my pump purchase. And I believe I sized up, just in case.

Pump size guidelines - @ approx 2:00 in vid.

 

Well with the way I do my changes I fill the bucked at my kitchen sink then bring it to the tank. I would only need maybe 4-5 feet of hose if that to just come from the pump in the bucket up and into the tank. I'm just trying to cut out the lifting and holding the bucket to pour it. And I like to treat my water in bucket vs treat tank then add water.

[TeeJay]

On 8/16/2022 at 9:49 PM, TeeJay said:

Well with the way I do my changes I fill the bucked at my kitchen sink then bring it to the tank. I would only need maybe 4-5 feet of hose if that to just come from the pump in the bucket up and into the tank. I'm just trying to cut out the lifting and holding the bucket to pour it. And I like to treat my water in bucket vs treat tank then add water.

Ok so maybe I will go with a bit bigger pump. This one has a lift of 10 ft so I know that's plenty for my purpose. And it has and adjustable flow to help in the process. Only a few bucks more. If I go this route I'll post updates.

[Andy's Fish Den]

I made a simple tool out of 3/4" PVC, attaches to the end of my hose with a garden hose quik connect that you can buy at any big box hardware store. It's made of two 90*fitting to make a "U" shape, then has a "T" on the other side for the water to be dispersed two ways. I have seen people that have made essentially a spray bar, using PVC and drilling holes along the length to help disperse the water even more. With the T on the end of mine, it disperses the incoming water enough that it doesn't disturb substrate unless I drain it down to just an inch or so of water left over the substrate. 

[Guppysnail]

On 8/17/2022 at 3:12 PM, TeeJay said:

Ok so maybe I will go with a bit bigger pump. This one has a lift of 10 ft so I know that's plenty for my purpose. And it has and adjustable flow to help in the process. Only a few bucks more. If I go this route I'll post updates.

I use this exact one. I like it

[TeeJay]

Ok so I got my water pump hose and the tank refiller 9000. Today will be the first day I do a water change with the complete setup.  @nabokovfan87 I'll let you know how well it works. Especially now that I have the killifish in the tank I will be using this primarily for.

[TeeJay]

Ok just used the refilling system for the first time and I'll have to say it makes it way more gentle doing it this way. Just put my water pump in the bucket of water. Attached a 1/2" hose to it and the tank refiller 9000 and boom. Gentle refilling. @nabokovfan87

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by TeeJay

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I love mine too @TeeJay. I use this to hold it. It works well. The key is the rubber band. It has a nice grip so the hose won’t slide.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

That's just way too awesome.  Nicely done 🙂

I have officially "given up" on the strainer and all of the other ideas because they literally just do not work.

If I mod the hang on box, it might, but that's a big if.  Getting 5 gallons of water in the air, slowly pouring it in, just isn't a fun way to handle the fill.  I would literally prefer to take a container, drill the bottom of that, fill it up and let the tank slowly fill.  Again..... all this work for 5 gallons of water and to try to keep a mess down. 

I really want to find a method that works, but literally using my hand is so much more convenient and even with a python that's what I ended up doing there as well.  The 3d printed refill thing. I am very likely going to get one and jam it to the end of a python hook. 

The strainer idea works, but the strainer isn't made to fit the rim of a tank, other things are too low or floppy.  We'll see how it goes, but I've basically thrown my hands up at this point and opted to not spill water all over the place.

[TeeJay]

On 9/11/2022 at 5:49 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

That's just way too awesome.  Nicely done 🙂

I have officially "given up" on the strainer and all of the other ideas because they literally just do not work.

If I mod the hang on box, it might, but that's a big if.  Getting 5 gallons of water in the air, slowly pouring it in, just isn't a fun way to handle the fill.  I would literally prefer to take a container, drill the bottom of that, fill it up and let the tank slowly fill.  Again..... all this work for 5 gallons of water and to try to keep a mess down. 

I really want to find a method that works, but literally using my hand is so much more convenient and even with a python that's what I ended up doing there as well.  The 3d printed refill thing. I am very likely going to get one and jam it to the end of a python hook. 

The strainer idea works, but the strainer isn't made to fit the rim of a tank, other things are too low or floppy.  We'll see how it goes, but I've basically thrown my hands up at this point and opted to not spill water all over the place.

Yeah I mean it's a steal for like 12 bucks including shipping. And 25 for the pump I bought. I'm sure you have some hose lying around so for the stress and headache of replanting plants once a week or more during water changes. And balancing the bucket. It's money well spent for sure.

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/11/2022 at 7:00 PM, TeeJay said:

Yeah I mean it's a steal for like 12 bucks including shipping. And 25 for the pump I bought. I'm sure you have some hose lying around so for the stress and headache of replanting plants once a week or more during water changes. And balancing the bucket. It's money well spent for sure.

I'm going to end up looking for a Sicce "zero" pump which just means it works and is meant for this specific task with a low risk of breaking the pump.  I am sure I'll forget.  It's something I'll have and the little syncra pump I just got is likely awesome for this task.  I can also use the pumphead I have sitting around.  I totally think it's worth it if you have 3-4 tanks side by side.  Unfortunately mine are all spread out.  One I can use the normal hose and a hook to refill.   The tank I have in question is just not in a great spot for things so it's frustrating.

Having to get all that out and setup for 2-3 minutes of work compared to just latching something on..... It could be solved so easily and make the hobby much better for so many people if this existed and companies wanted something easy to use and that would expand what is available / doesn't really exist in the market.   So many great ideas on etsy and so many deaf manufacturers with design engineers not really doing much research I guess.... /rant.

It just sucks, I'm a fixer. I want to fix it. Not a bandaid, but securely know it's good to go.  This stuff I've been trying might work, even the tidal testing, it's not perfect.

[TeeJay]

Yes I mean for me it suits my purposes well. I only have the 1 29 gal that I need to use it for. The other 2 I have are only 10 gal. And the one is the shrimp sanctuary so I hardly change much water in it at I'll. If someone put the time into making it. I'm sure they could make a nice piece of change 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@nabokovfan87 I don’t know if this was posted yet or not, but .. bubble wrap!  Can’t remember where I got the idea- maybe Serpa Design? Anyway I’ve been using for the past few water changes on the 5g. It’s very easy to mess up sand in a 5g so a water dispersion tool is a must

And bubble wrap is great! It floats and zero substrate disturbance. Who would have know such a simple thing could be so useful? Hang it on the bucket to dry afterwards.

EDIT: just noticed @Fish Folk already recommended this earlier. Great recommendation @Fish Folk! 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea
Giving props to Fish Folk :)

[nabokovfan87]

Thank you @Chick-In-Of-TheSeaoit's definitely a good idea. Just doesn't work specifically better than my big ol hand in the tank diffusing the water. 😂

I will try to track something down and give it a shot. I think I like Mark's Shrimp Tanks method (mixed with yours) or having very small float valves and slowly adding water in using an airline so I can just not deal with the plants going everywhere.

Checked on the tank tonight, the Corydoras have revolted and started pulling leaves off of the S.Repens trimmings. Fun stuff. They don't understand I am trying to make their plant hammocks bigger!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/31/2023 at 9:10 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

the Corydoras have revolted and started pulling leaves off of the S.Repens trimmings.

They thought you put the plants there specifically so they could pull them. 🥕

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/21/2022 at 7:34 PM, Fish Folk said:

use a surface-covering sheet of bubble wrap. It floats on top, absorbs the impact of water pouring in, and minimizes disturbance of plants and substrate.

Trick I learned from watching MD Fish Tanks.

ALRIGHT.  I'm calling it.  And the winner is......

Found the video! Ignore the emoji, on mobile. 😞

I do like the idea of bubble wrap, not for dumping in 5G of water in 15 seconds, but it is a very elegant, simple solution to this issue.

This is what I went with....


Cut it as big as you can because it does float and will move.  Cork is a good option / replicate as well.  I saw it on a Mark's Shrimp Tanks video and had a bunch of it sitting around for fish boxes.  As long as it's "fish safe" yeah, best thing to use.

Edited February 7, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[Odd Duck]

Here’s mine since I pre-mix my water with dechlor and often am mixing in RO since I have crazy hard water and high pH.

 

[Milliardo Peacecraft]

I rigged this up for draining and refilling my aquarium, it works awesome.  It's 3/4" pvc.  The tee on the bottom has a 3/4" inlet and then expands out to 1" on the outlet that then drops the velocity of the water so it comes out nice and gentle.  The caps on the end are 2" diameter covers that I put on using calk since that is all I could find at my local hardware store that would work so I didn't suck up fish as I drained the tank.

[Tanked]

On 2/19/2023 at 8:28 AM, Milliardo Peacecraft said:

I rigged this up for draining and refilling my aquarium, it works awesome.  It's 3/4" pvc.  The tee on the bottom has a 3/4" inlet and then expands out to 1" on the outlet that then drops the velocity of the water so it comes out nice and gentle.  The caps on the end are 2" diameter covers that I put on using calk since that is all I could find at my local hardware store that would work so I didn't suck up fish as I drained the tank.

Looks good. And, so does what little of the aquarium that we can see.

Be forewarned that when the valve is open, if the pump shuts off for any reason, it will syphon the water out.  I normally do not watch the tanks refill. I also do not normally flood the dining room!🏄‍♂️  Last night was different

 

[Furbs]

On 8/17/2022 at 12:12 PM, TeeJay said:

Ok so maybe I will go with a bit bigger pump. This one has a lift of 10 ft so I know that's plenty for my purpose. And it has and adjustable flow to help in the process. Only a few bucks more. If I go this route I'll post updates.

How has that pump been holding up? Seems like a painless way and cost effective way to get it done. 

[TeeJay]

On 2/19/2023 at 5:11 PM, Furbs said:

How has that pump been holding up? Seems like a painless way and cost effective way to get it done. 

Works like a charm. Plenty of power and lift to get the water from the bucket back into the tank.