3 part Aquarium renovation

[AgentOrange]

part 1 -- Explanation
Part 2 -- Fish room
part 3 -- Ingredients

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Part 1 --> Explanation

I am doing a multi hundred dollar upgrade to my fish tank.
I have kept fish continuously since 1969 and my equipment has changed many times. Sometimes I had a dozen tanks, but since I moved here, just the one. I have 4 fish that are about a hundred years old, thinking about adding some Discus this Fall.

The tank is 150 gallons, and I have had it since 1986. I built the stand out of cheap 2X4s housing studs with just a hack saw and a $10 drill as I had no time for things that needed tools back then (so I had ). I see no reason to upgrade the tank or the stand as both remain sturdy.






For my new home (since 2001) I drew in a fish room which is a narrow room with a work sink. The tank sits on the other side of the wall in the big room near the TV. I watch/enjoy it a lot.

In 2001 I built a filter out of a large plastic tub I filled with plastic media and some glass balls which were the top of the line then. I fed clean water from small canister filters into the tub which then drained into the tank through the wall. I did not touched that tub since 2001, just cleaned the canister filters that fed it.

I have accumulated equipment for a major change over the last weeks.

For the fist time in 13 years, took the tub away, tossed it and the contents. It looked OK in there, but WTF?

I drained and cleaned the tank with bleach for the first time in 13 years. It took about 7 hours to refill the tank as I ran all the water slowly through an ion filter. This is the same filter I use to filter water to make beer.





"API Tap Water Filter effectively removes impurities and dissolved solids from tap water. It removes sediments, chlorine, chloramines, heavy metals, organic chemicals, and inorganic ions from tap water - creating contaminant-free deionized water for reef, saltwater, freshwater, and planted aquariums."


I use no gravel as I think that is just a place for bad things to hide. If you must have a bottom, use sand.

My tank is always clean. I do partial water changes when the mood hits me. The clean bottom allows the filters to work more efficiently.

[AgentOrange]

Part 2 --> Fish Room

As I said, I have a fish room behind the wall.
I have a utility sink there:



This is extremely handy. All my maintenance is easily done through the wall with no mess.

Water leaves the tank and goes through the wall here:


I use a piece of leaf gutter (kiss) drain pipe, it looks tacky, but I have it tiled in on the viewing side.

Here is the big filter (950GPH). It is the biggest I have run across and does the job. Size matters as you can load in more media crap. Just circulating water accomplishes little. This sends filtered water to he new pond filter:


I got one of these for my 4000 gallon pond and really like it, so got one for inside.
This is big too, I am there for size reference:


Here is a cut away photo:

The deal here is that the media is kept in motion (fluidized bed) to encourage bacteria to grow. All that white stuff floats and will be whirling around. This is just a big house for bugs (bacteria to grow in. The water coming in will be filtered, should not have to open it for years.


Then the water flows back through the wall to the tank through the leaf gutter drain pipe you can see in the photo. This pipe has been there for 13 years, so while it might look 2nd rate, it works perfectly. This drain pipe splash also adds oxygen to the water. In the past, have not used/needed an air pump, but am adding one in the upgrade for ambiance.

[AgentOrange]

Part 3 --> Ingredients

As with all hobbies, the real cost is in the accessories.
You scrape up the $$ for a boat, fish tank, bike, Bride, computer, etc -> then you find the real expense was not the "major item" but the food or ear rings.

Some ingredients I use are:

Fluval FX6 High Performance Canister Filter
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=26262



Tetra Pond Bio-Active Pressure Filter
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=20057



Chemi Pure Grande Elite 46.96 oz,
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4177



Phos Ban
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=8996


Pinpoint ph monitor
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4482



Poly Filters
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4335



Luft Pump
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=9327



-- test kits

-- heater

etc, etc

The reason most people start a fish tank and don't succeed is not that they don't have all this equipment, but that they don't read and learn about the hobby. There is a lot to know --> a lot!
You can keep a fish healthy in a salad bowl just using a tea cup for equipment. It would be a lot a work. That is not a lot different than when I was a kid and had a gold fish bowl, except I did not know about the tea cup.

[AgentOrange]

This thread has been so popular with zero replies, thought I would quench your desires for an update.



One problem for me here has been low ph and me not keeping up with. To that end, got the PinPoint 24/7 tester. I love this thing. My tap water is about 8, so don't understand why the ph falls, but it does.
The newly filled tank came in at about 4.9 and that is a mystery. It took me a week, but I have it steady for a couple days now at a perfect 6.8.

The phosphate level is high and has not dropped, wondering if it is my test kit.
All other things are ideal.

Yesterday I looked on line and decided to mail order in about $400 dollars worth of Discus. Since I was in the house (sober) as opposed to out here today (drinking) --> I did not.
I had to run into Lowes for some plumbing crap today, stopped at Petsmart and picked up a tub of tiny fishes, about 30.
I will see how these do and maybe in a month reconsider the Discus.

[sundance]

Mighty nice setup AO.......tried to talk da huss into an out door pond, waterfall, etc......so far....naw (I do have an endless bird fountain though)
......of course, I'll pirate your ideas for later.........

[AgentOrange]

Mighty nice setup AO.......tried to talk da huss into an out door pond, waterfall, etc......so far....naw (I do have an endless bird fountain though)
......of course, I'll pirate your ideas for later.........

Good deal --

Lets do it here:
http://yardcraphome.com/showthread.p...9199#post19199