Optimizing multiple tank water changes

[hose91]

With 5 tanks now in the garage (and a 6th show tank in the house) and with the water shortage we're facing, I'm searching for a better solution to water changes than siphoning into multiple 5 gallon buckets and then carrying them to the yard to water the plants. I'm visualizing a brute garbage container on wheels that I can siphon all of my tanks into in sequence, then wheel it out on my driveway where I can drop a pump attached to a garden hose and spray the plants. I'm looking for input on

- container (Brute seems good, other options?)
- Wheeled Dolly. Is there one that will hold up to 30 or 40 gallons of water in the can and still roll (concrete in the garage, hard packed gravel in the drive way).
- Pump and garden hose. I don't have a sense for how long it takes to empty a 40 gallon can in practice. A 200 gph pump should do that in 12 minutes, but that's ideal. Anyone do this already? Does it hurt a pump to have a spray nozzle on the end of the hose like you do from a normal house spigot?

I refill from a garage utility sink via python, so I'm cool there. Just looking for a way to optimize the draining and reuse of the water more than the five gallon bucket brigade I'm using now. I have a 29, 20, and 3 10G's in the garage now, and will soon be adding another 80G tank and am currently using 3 5G buckets.

Any and all input and ideas are welcomed, thanks for the time!

 

[L190]

Brute has a wheel base you can try. Not sure if will work out for you and your packed gravel. What I use is a 55 gallon water barrel and a long garden hose to water my plants. I am trying to figure out a good pump to move water to the garden, so far I think I need something in the 1000+ gph. To empty my tank I just use a large diameter hose and that fills water real quick from my 180 to the 55 gallon barrels. I am trying to automate things on the 450 gallon to save some time

 

[Ali]

I think something like this is your best bet for getting it over gravel. http://www.kotulas.com/deals/ProductDis ... tent=46529

The wheeled bases for trashcans are good for smooth concrete or tile at best. It's surprisingly easy to tip them over too (or maybe I'm just exceptionally clumsy!)

 

[Caseyf]

To answer your pump question, yes you can pump against a restriction. Pumps generally don't have a problem with that. Just don't have the restriction on the intake side, or put the pump at the top of a hill and the supply at the bottom. Pumps are terrible at pulling, and it will tear them apart.

 

[hose91]

Thanks for the inputs. I am rethinking my "mobile water storage" unit concept, and think maybe a stationary 55G drum close to my garage tanks so I could easily dump the 5G buckets into it then pump out to the yard with a long-ish garden hose when needed. Any advice on purchasing a 55G plastic drum? Several avail on craigslist. Since I don't plan at this point on aging water in it to go INTO the tanks, but will only use it for water out of the tanks and to the yard, I'm less concerned about contamination, but it still seems like a food grade barrel would be desirable.

Any tricks to the bung plugs or seals or otherwise using one of these barrels in fishkeeping?

 

[L190]

I got a black food grade barrel with the bung holes. I couldn't find an easy way to open them up so I just cut the yop off. If I were to do it again, I would use one with a screw off lid.