Who uses whole-house water filtration?

[chris_todd]

I have been unhappy with my Baltimore City water for some time, not only for my fish, but also for my family, and have been considering a whole-house water filtration system that would include UV, sediment filtration down to 1 micron, and activated carbon (similar to what is shown on Ted's Fish Room). I want something with enough capacity to handle my whole house, so I can just continue to do water changes using my python from my sinks, using house water. I don't think I want to go all the way to DI/RO, as I grow a lot of plants, and I'd just have to replace all the nutrients removed by these processes anyway.

So does anyone here use whole-house water filtration systems? If so, what types of filtration units do you use, and what brands, and what are some of the potential gotchas/things I ought to know?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice/information you can provide,
Chris Todd

 

[SubMariner]

Sorry to hear about your water problems Chris. I hope you're successful in finding a solution for your home.


Good Luck,


Richard

 

[maddog10]

Be sure to check on replacement costs of filters and supplies, as well as required frequency of replacement. My guess is that this can be expensive to maintain.

Baltimore City water must be horrible, no one has anything good to say about it.

 

[chris_todd]

Well, I don't know that it's horrible, it's just that it's alkaline (pH 7.6-8), relatively high in nitrates (10 ppm+), moderately hard (GH averages 8*) and inconsistent. That might be good for african cichlids, but I mostly keep planted tanks, and plants generally prefer softer, more acidic water.

My fish always seem stressed after water changes, and I've lost fish shortly after water changes, I suspect because of organisms in the water. I know other people on this forum have described similar experiences (I think Mad Scientist was one).

 

[kaj41354]

Chris,

Send a PM to BevN. They have a great system on their house that supplies the house and the fishroom. It also gives them the capability to do either lowPH or Neutral.

 

[fweed]

Well it is baltimore... I know a plummer, I will ask him. He know all that stuff

 

[fweed]

Check this site out. www.filtersfast.com/Aquasana-EQ-300-Whole-House-Filter.asp But also check on filter change

 

[danger_chicken]

Be sure to check on replacement costs of filters and supplies, as well as required frequency of replacement. My guess is that this can be expensive to maintain.

Baltimore City water must be horrible, no one has anything good to say about it.

That's funny. At one poing a few years ago Balt City was considering bottling and selling their water.

 

[msjinkzd]

I have a whole house micron and uv system, I couldn't tell you much about it though, lol

 

[drgnfly829]

I have the eq rhino

here's the link to the site.http://www.airandaqua.com/sunshop/
needs a replacement cartridge now after 4 years and that's 600.00

 

[animicrazy]

I use a system for my fish water that uses components designed for whole houses (most of them): Three stage particulate, two carbon bed canisters, UV, and into vats. Before UV the water would kill fish sometimes because too frequently bacteria was in the water. There are a couple of things to consider but I'll post them later - got to run and lost track of time.

TMS

 

[chris_todd]

I use a system for my fish water that uses components designed for whole houses (most of them): Three stage particulate, two carbon bed canisters, UV, and into vats. Before UV the water would kill fish sometimes because too frequently bacteria was in the water. There are a couple of things to consider but I'll post them later - got to run and lost track of time.

So I know it's been almost a year since I originally posted this, but I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on something like what you describe above, but I had some questions about adding a UV filter to this system.

Does it hurt the longevity or effectiveness of the lamp if the bulb is on all the time, even when water is not flowing? I would think you only need the UV lamp on if water is flowing through the system. I've seen some places offering solenoids, but it's not clear to me how they are supposed to be put into a system like this.

And in the setup you describe above, are those components only for your fish room water, or did you apply them to the whole house (which is what I intend to do)? Maybe that's what the solenoids are for - throw a switch that turns on the UV and opens the solenoid, thus letting house water into your fish room water treatment system?

 

[msjinkzd]

Our UV bulb is plugged in 24/7. I don't know if its ON all hte time, or only when water flows through it. The bulbs have to be replaced every year (and are pricey) as it is.

We have particulate filter in addition to our UV. Its applied to the whole house.

 

[bschuhart]

I used to get water reports mailed to me from Balto city, when I kept a reef tank.

The Balto City water supply is considered one of the best in the country. But for fish keeping, especially sensitive species we as aquarist need to monitor the water carefully.

 

[kewx]

I thought Discus Hans used "aged" and de-chlorinated Baltimore City water for all the fish at his fish house. What kind of de-chlorination does he use? Maybe that is the difference.

 

[chris_todd]

Yeah, I really need to talk to Hans about how he prepares his water, though I suspect his setup is considerably more industrial strength than mine, LOL. I don't have dozens of 20 highs and 50 breeders, LOL. I only need to filter a typical household plus maybe 500 gallons of fish tanks.

 

[marge618]

Yeah, I really need to talk to Hans about how he prepares his water, though I suspect his setup is considerably more industrial strength than mine, LOL. I don't have dozens of 20 highs and 50 breeders, LOL. I only need to filter a typical household plus maybe 500 gallons of fish tanks.

Me too. This is a most interesting topic. After you get the research done I can ask you about the details. (Note: I never expect to build anything successfully myself.)

 

[George]

When you say "whole house" do you mean showers, toilets and outside hoses too? It seems to me that you could filter fishroom and drinking water for a whole lot less. All my water change water is essentially filtered and it really is not terribly expensive or difficult to do.

I would be interested to hear what you do finally install.

George

 

[mab]

Like George I have a filter system set-up for the fish-room plus I run a doser for further water treatment. In the summer I catch rainwater and in the winter I can produce RO water which is stored in three 55 gallon drums. When doing water changes I can use filtered/treated tap water, rain/RO only, or mix the two -- all options are accomplished with just a couple valves. If I wanted treated water in my kitchen I'm sure I could run a line up there to utilize the filters; however, I have a newer fridge that provides filtered water.

 

[chris_todd]

When you say "whole house" do you mean showers, toilets and outside hoses too?

Yes, my intention is to filter the water where the house main comes in. I figure if it's not good enough for my fish, why is it good enough for my family?

It seems to me that you could filter fishroom and drinking water for a whole lot less. All my water change water is essentially filtered and it really is not terribly expensive or difficult to do.

Quite possibly correct. I'd be interested to know more about your system, perhaps we can chat about it on Saturday?

I would be interested to hear what you do finally install.

I'll be sure to post about it when I do. In fact, before I finally pull the trigger and purchase and install the stuff, I'll probably post a "I'm about to do this, am I nuts?" kind of post, so as to solicit feedback.

Like George I have a filter system set-up for the fish-room plus I run a doser for further water treatment. In the summer I catch rainwater and in the winter I can produce RO water which is stored in three 55 gallon drums. When doing water changes I can use filtered/treated tap water, rain/RO only, or mix the two -- all options are accomplished with just a couple valves. If I wanted treated water in my kitchen I'm sure I could run a line up there to utilize the filters; however, I have a newer fridge that provides filtered water.

Michael, I'd be interested in hearing more about your system as well. We need to have our roof redone, and we're going to do the gutters and install rainwater collection as well (we'll use it for our carnivorous plants and orchids, in addition to fish and gardening), and while rainwater collection seems much less complicated than whole-house water filtration, I'd still appreciate any tips/hints/gotchas you or others here could provide.

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone, I appreciate it. You can learn a lot on the 'Net, of course, but nothing beats talking directly to people who have been there and done that. That's a big part of what makes clubs like this great...