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I dont think anyone can avoid the issue, that in the South East of England, at least, there hasn't been enough rain.

I live in a block of flats, so no garden and no ability to plumb in a water butt even if I needed to. I don't have any plants, or stuff I water.

So, what can I use my dirty water from tank changes for? I currently use water to
wash me, my clothes/crockery/etc
cook with
change the fish
flush loo

So what can I do with the dirty tank water instead of just wasting it by tipping it down the loo?

All my neightbours are shared occupancy, so none of us have gardens.


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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

I'm not sure here but you may beable to reuse the water in the tank. The only way though is to boil it for a good amount of time and at a very high heat. This should kill any bactiria in the water and make it safe to use again. After you boil it simply put it in a container and keep it at tank temp. Make sure to remove any floating objects though before and after boiling the water. When you do a water change simply use the boiled water after it has cooled to tank temp.

Just my thoughts as you can take river water, which is full of the same bactiria, boil it then drink it.

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Its not really the bacterial level that'd be the peroblem IMO, it'd be the organic and inorganic compounds.

We are having a similar issue. A friend of mine has set up a 4' planted tank for the sole purpose of recycling water for her bettas. All water goes in and all water comes out, and its oodles better than our tapwater at the moment, which is pretty much liquid finrot.


Buckets for flushing the loo? I'm not sure what UK toilets look like, but i'm oretty sure a bucket of water can be used to push waste matter along the line directly.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I would only be using it to flush the loo and certainly none of the other uses you either do or suggested.
What amount of water are you thinking about?

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I suppose the only thing you can do is flush it or find someone with a garden after you've watered your houseplants.

Get a reverse osmosis filter and then you can use the water for whatever you want really, might need to get a pump to push the water through the filter at high enough pressure.

Or you could set up an evaportation/condensation system to purify the water.

Or you could just go out and fill your flat with plants and use the water to water them, would give you lots of fresh air in this muggy heat we're getting at the moment.

Forgot to mention - the solution has to be free. Still on the dole, me

I guess there's not much I can do with it. Boiling it won't remove the nitrates, which is what i waterchange to remove, there is literally noone around who has a garden who wants it - and I might get shouted at if I water the weeds with it.

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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

Maybe you could get yourself a nice cheap little houseplant, like an Umbrella Plant, they are usually
only a buck or two small, and you could use the water to water the plant. My Umbrella plant is doing amazingly on
pure fish water .


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I've got a Spider Plant which I water occasionly, only with tank water.

I guess it seems like a waste using it for plants as well. Seeing the reservoir I learnt to windsurf in at 80% capacity and falling visibily almost by the day has really shaken me up!

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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions

80% capacity is nothing, i remember quite a few years back going up to the resovoirs up near ladybower in derbyshire, and you could once again see the villages that were sunk during it's creation.

Then i think there's nothing really you could do with it. Keep it in the freezer then get it out when it gets really hot?

A water garden? A totally planted tank?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I like the idea of the totally planted tank and recycling the water for use in the tank again.

You should be able to find an extra used tank for not too much money or maybe even free.

- Meow -

We are having a similar issue. A friend of mine has set up a 4' planted tank for the sole purpose of recycling water for her bettas. All water goes in and all water comes out, and its oodles better than our tapwater at the moment, which is pretty much liquid finrot.

It breaks my heart to tip buckets of water down the sink too. I am in a unit now, used to put it on the garden when I was in a house.

Gee Calla, that finrot comment is making me worry...

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80% isnt that bad when you consider our drought over here

We are on 40% still i think, but its raining here at the moment, and according to the 'long range' weather forcaster dude it will stay wet til the 20th, fingers crossed it gets up up a whole percent!

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Callatya, I even heard them say it may rain over the catchment area. Lets hope so - it never seems to do that, does it. Fingers crossed this time.

Cheers
TW

Why not just dump the water from the aquarium into the toilet tank next time you flush? You are saving the exact amount of water that you would normally be flushing down the toilet.

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2 Bolivian Rams, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus: Gumby and Pokey

Putting on my thinking cap for Tiny Clanger, the following thought occurs to me.

The requirement here is to remove excess nitrates and other unwanted sources of water eutrophication. Well, taking a tip from the marine aquarists, who use Caulerpa macroalga refugia in their systems, how about this for an idea ...

[1] Obtain a container in which the water can be stored.

[2] Add the water to be recycled.

[3] Add to the water several sprigs of Hornwort, Ceratophyllum demersum.

This plant is dirt cheap where I live (it's about 50p a sprig, and the sprigs are large!), and it also has the advantage from tiny Clanger's point of view that it's a UK native aquatic plant, so it will be ecologically sound to use. It grows like the proverbial Triffids - at least it's always done so for me - and it's a veritable ammonia and nitrate Hoover. One of the reasons my nitrate levels stay low in the Panda Fun palace is because I use it as a floating shade plant in there - it can grow at the rate of three inches per day in there!

Even in an unheated container, if it has reasonable lighting, it will grow pretty fast.

It's worth experimenting with this - if I had the spare container, I'd try it out myself, and use a nitrate test kit to see if the nitrate levels plummeted as expected.

Only thing to watch with Hornwort is this - if you ever plan on putting it in a bona fide aquarium, check it very carefully for snails. If you happen not to want snails, Hornwort can dump some nasty surprises in your lap in this vein. However, a copper dip in a temporary receptacle before pressing the plant into service should be all that is needed, or if you're averse to using chemicals, let a Clown Loach have some munchies off it.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Double post.

Don't know if Tiny_Clanger is experiencing the same weather I am right now, but water conservation isn't a problem where I live at the moment ... an absolute Niagara of a downpour has just been unleashed over my house! I think two inches of rain has just fallen ... judging by how much of it has come through my leaky front bay window ...

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

lol yeah - but it's not going into the ground, it's all running off = problem not solved

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I like to think that whoever designed marine life was thinking of it as basically an entertainment medium. That would explain some of the things down there, some of the unearthly biological contraptions