Washing machine outlet box for water changes???

allykahn · 07/08/2020, 06:23 AM

Doing renovations on the house, and since the walls are open where I will place my old 180g, (been out the hobby for several years). I thought it would be a great time to plan for water changes and anything else that will make life easier for maintenance.

I was thinking about using a washer outlet box with drain plumbed next to the tank for water changes. I would have to lug the brute container from the basement to make RO water since I don't have room for it upstairs. I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks!

Sk8r · 07/08/2020, 07:04 AM

Any water source that can feed to a ro/di unit is ok: I used a Y connector off the washing machine when I lived in an apartment and fed the waste water back into the washing machine to wait for the next load. To make the Brute manuevering easier, Rubbermaid makes a roller base that you can buy where you get the Brute cans.

As a note we have a problem with feeding our fresshwater tank (discus) which needs ro/di, so we're using a small hose fed through aa basemeent air duct into an upstairs bucket: saves lugging all that water upstairs the hard way. If we feed from same-size buckets, overflow is not a threat. Use pumps for what they do: moving water so you don't have to.

allykahn · 07/08/2020, 08:22 AM

I did the same with the Y connector. In my previous home, my tank was in the finished basement with the laundry adjacent to the tank. So it was easy to wheel the brute for water changes. I agree with utilizing pumps to move water.

Vinny Kreyling · 07/08/2020, 10:01 AM

When I did maintenance we did it from the basement when possible.
Make the RO in a brute & mix the night before a change.
Drain to desired level according to brute & then refill with a pump.
Once you figure the drainage it becomes a piece of cake.
Make a U tube from 1" pvc with a strainer inside to break siphon @ the right level & it's off to the races. I can send a pic with an email address.
Make the drain in the washer outlet box with a barb fitting on both ends for hoses.

Sk8r · 07/08/2020, 10:02 AM

It probably also needs to be said again: no brass or copper between your rodi filter and your tank. Lethal. Plus having one on the feed into your ro.di is going to deplete your ro/.di filters early Avoid brass and copper. PVC wherever possible.

Tcook · 07/08/2020, 10:48 AM

Will this have an enclosed canopy? May want to consider putting ventilation duct into the wall to vent the canopy as well as chiller underneath. Can run a sauna fan or Losone fan in the attic to reduce noise. Put an extra conduit in the wall to basement incase you want to run any ro lines or aquabus cable.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

zhangster · 07/08/2020, 02:43 PM

My water change is 50 gallons. I siphon the first 5 gallons into the bucket to vacuum the sandbed. For the rest I use a pump and send the water to a sink 30 feet away via a very long hose. I have markings on the side of the tank to tell me how much water has been pumped out.

07/08/2020, 06:23 AM	#1
allykahn Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 451	Washing machine outlet box for water changes??? Doing renovations on the house, and since the walls are open where I will place my old 180g, (been out the hobby for several years). I thought it would be a great time to plan for water changes and anything else that will make life easier for maintenance. I was thinking about using a washer outlet box with drain plumbed next to the tank for water changes. I would have to lug the brute container from the basement to make RO water since I don't have room for it upstairs. I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks!

07/08/2020, 07:04 AM	#2
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Any water source that can feed to a ro/di unit is ok: I used a Y connector off the washing machine when I lived in an apartment and fed the waste water back into the washing machine to wait for the next load. To make the Brute manuevering easier, Rubbermaid makes a roller base that you can buy where you get the Brute cans. As a note we have a problem with feeding our fresshwater tank (discus) which needs ro/di, so we're using a small hose fed through aa basemeent air duct into an upstairs bucket: saves lugging all that water upstairs the hard way. If we feed from same-size buckets, overflow is not a threat. Use pumps for what they do: moving water so you don't have to. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

07/08/2020, 10:01 AM	#4
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	When I did maintenance we did it from the basement when possible. Make the RO in a brute & mix the night before a change. Drain to desired level according to brute & then refill with a pump. Once you figure the drainage it becomes a piece of cake. Make a U tube from 1" pvc with a strainer inside to break siphon @ the right level & it's off to the races. I can send a pic with an email address. Make the drain in the washer outlet box with a barb fitting on both ends for hoses. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

07/08/2020, 10:02 AM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	It probably also needs to be said again: no brass or copper between your rodi filter and your tank. Lethal. Plus having one on the feed into your ro.di is going to deplete your ro/.di filters early Avoid brass and copper. PVC wherever possible. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

07/08/2020, 08:22 AM	#3
allykahn Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 451	I did the same with the Y connector. In my previous home, my tank was in the finished basement with the laundry adjacent to the tank. So it was easy to wheel the brute for water changes. I agree with utilizing pumps to move water.

07/08/2020, 10:48 AM	#6
Tcook Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Visalia, CA Posts: 1,350	Will this have an enclosed canopy? May want to consider putting ventilation duct into the wall to vent the canopy as well as chiller underneath. Can run a sauna fan or Losone fan in the attic to reduce noise. Put an extra conduit in the wall to basement incase you want to run any ro lines or aquabus cable. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

07/08/2020, 02:43 PM	#7
zhangster Registered Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 31	My water change is 50 gallons. I siphon the first 5 gallons into the bucket to vacuum the sandbed. For the rest I use a pump and send the water to a sink 30 feet away via a very long hose. I have markings on the side of the tank to tell me how much water has been pumped out.