Potential project

[colley614 101]

I bought a few tanks a few years ago. I got 2 tanks that are 5x2x2, 1 4x2x2 and 1 7x1x1. I also have 2 that are approximately 3x1x1 and 1 thats 4x1x1.

I'm thinking of building a fish house for orandas and ranchu. I was also thinking of building a goldfish pond for summer months. I was thinking of keeping one of the 3x1x1 as a qt tank but plumbing the rest of the tanks and the pond to a big central filtration system that I can shut down flow to the pond in the winter.

I'm interested in others opinions on the idea.

[koko 14,327]

8 hours ago, colley614 said:

I bought a few tanks a few years ago. I got 2 tanks that are 5x2x2, 1 4x2x2 and 1 7x1x1. I also have 2 that are approximately 3x1x1 and 1 thats 4x1x1.

I'm thinking of building a fish house for orandas and ranchu. I was also thinking of building a goldfish pond for summer months. I was thinking of keeping one of the 3x1x1 as a qt tank but plumbing the rest of the tanks and the pond to a big central filtration system that I can shut down flow to the pond in the winter.

I'm interested in others opinions on the idea.

@shakaho is really good with ponds...lets see if she see this. 😊👍

[colley614 101]

1 hour ago, koko said:

@shakaho is really good with ponds...lets see if she see this. 😊👍

Do you think it's worth connecting all the tanks and pond to one big filtration system or keep them separate?

[Arctic Mama 3,616]

5 hours ago, colley614 said:

Do you think it's worth connecting all the tanks and pond to one big filtration system or keep them separate?

I’d put a separate pond filter in each for disease control. Linking filtration has major issues if a pathogen does get in the system.

[colley614 101]

6 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

I’d put a separate pond filter in each for disease control. Linking filtration has major issues if a pathogen does get in the system.

Yeah, I was weighing up the pros and cons. I like the idea of having a big central filtration system with loads of k1 and a big uv steriliser and being able to set up a drip water change system. At the same time I don't fancy the idea of all my fish being able to get sick from the one water source. Especially when I'm considering ordering expensive quality fish from a fancy goldfish specialist.

[Arctic Mama 3,616]

You could still do a drip system for fills, but you wouldn’t want recirculating among the tanks. Water going in, but draining out in an overflow and not through the filter. You can set your system with one component and not the other. And as someone who uses K1 I have been unimpressed, if it makes you feel any better. UV is okay but in an outdoor system it can be overkill, too, so that’s something to consider.

After futzing around with multiple canister and fluidized bed options I’m coming to the conclusion that a good old fashioned sponge in a giant breeder pool is still the superior low current, clean, easy to maintain option. Shocking, but true. But yeah, for continuous good water having a drip/overflow drain system is still a good choice, and maybe use that water in the garden instead of again in tanks. You COULD UV sterilize it and recirculate, but you’re losing mineral/redox potential of the fresh water in, old water out, approach.

[colley614 101]

Thing is, I'm pretty much set, however way I go. I've got the tanks, I've got a linear piston air pump, hundreds of bioballs, 100 litres+ of k1. I also have an old ro system I can disassemble and convert to just carbon for the drip system. I have a few big pond pumps, a uv steriliser and power heads. I just need to decide which way to go.

[colley614 101]

I do like the idea of just running sponge filters. My only concern is whenever I see goldfish tanks on YouTube driven by sponge filters, they seem to be really cloudy and have a lot of particulates in the water column. Is this to be expected?

[Arctic Mama 3,616]

Depends on what they are driven by. A sponge with a power head doesn’t have this problem because of increased suction, especially if there is other current driving poo toward the filters. But air pump sponges do tend to have a lot of debris, which should be siphoned out. It’s pretty normal with the method but not impossible to overcome. In a show tank I’m a fan of high flow sponges on a strong power head, though.

[Arctic Mama 3,616]

Another option is something like a matten wall filter, which is essentially a giant sponge but with a slightly different setup. They function very similarly in the end and are still easy to maintain compared to a canister, though.

[colley614 101]

On 9/19/2020 at 7:13 PM, Arctic Mama said:

Another option is something like a matten wall filter, which is essentially a giant sponge but with a slightly different setup. They function very similarly in the end and are still easy to maintain compared to a canister, though.

I'm starting to like the idea of using air driven filtration. I think They would be handy for my set up. Instead of building a proper pond I think I will use intex style pools to start with