Dr Bob said:
My sink is luckily directly right under the tank. What does a drip system entail just out of curiosity?/???!!
There are many options to achieve the end goal, but the basic concept is simple. You have a continuous trickle of fresh water (for a 55 it would literally be a drip) usually around 20% of the total volume per day and the excess is pumped out or you can use an overflow. I pump mine, but since you have gravity on your side, a HOB overflow would work perfectly.
I started using a drip system two years ago, and honestly I can't see doing it any other way. I only change my water when I am vacuuming sand and cleaning my rocks - which is about every six to eight weeks.
This guy is where I first saw the idea
***Very important to note: it is easy to strip chlorine from your water source with activated carbon (I use a .5 micron carbon filter made by spetraPure ) but monochloramine is a different animal. As far as I know, it has to be removed using a dechlorinatoring agent, so no way to really go straight from the tap to the tank. You need to check with your local water company to know what is in your water supply.