'Cleveland' Rocks!

[Parka]

Just so we all know, How to pronounce "garage"

that's funny! And Thanks for keeping me company at my build site! I still have a couple more days of the whatever the Eff I got, Alls I know is that Covid rhymes with Bovid and I May or May not have, One or the Other! Because the symptoms of Covid are almost the sames as the Dreaded, Hoof, Foot & Mouth disease, AKA Bovid.

And I know it's hard to imagine, but I May have both Covid AND Bovid, at the same time! I sure hope I get better! I did go for an easy bike ride today, it was so nice out! Oh My!

 

[Parka]

It is time I made a Stand! Or at least draw a picture of one... For the Big Apple! I gotta get Chicago set up first and that is the plan.

 

[Parka]

This is my own idea, to use a sprinkler hose for the plumbing in the under gravel set up. And it has worked much better than expected using a similar set up in Chicago. I'm only using one pre-filter in Cleveland. Chicago has 2 pre-filters and it has been up and running one year now, and I have checked those pre-filters in Chicago 3 times and they have NOT needed the sponges cleaned. And the gravel always looks like it was recently vacuumed, I am SO pleased, and sorta blown away that it seems like my version of the Under Gravel runs clean. For an entire year I have had to do ZERO maintenance involving the UG filter. I have a good 40 fish in Chicago, about ten Koi and the rest Goldfish and the Koi are getting beefy! I have had to still make a lot of water changes on account of high nitrates due to feeding these pigs.

And I wanted to do this to Chicago, Grow plants hydro to help control the nitrate levels and I do plan on trying that on the Cleveland.

And the Chicago? Well that will get heavily planted now that I'm moving all those Grazing, Plant Eaters into the Cleveland...

And I still wanna go Day Camping too. And the Big Apple is waiting on me!

I wonder if anybody else ever used a sprinkler hose to run an under gravel filter? It's because plumbing, ya see, I never did embrace that line of work and that's why I used a sprinkler hose! Elbows and endcaps... No Thank You! And Good Evening!

It's not in the pic, but I have about 1/3 of the lava rock inside the Cleveland and that will get done tomorrow and then the gravel will start to get poured in. I can't do this work fast because of weight and distance, I move heavy things slowly and incrementally and the work gets done.

 

[Sassafras]

Tell me more about the UG filter setup. I looked back through your pics of Chicago to see if I could see it. Is the prefilter that black box connected with hose to a pump? Are you running the UG reverse flow? Never have used sprinkler hose for anything aquarium related-tell us more.

 

[Parka]

Tell me more about the UG filter setup.

Okay, I will! It is so basic and simple and that is what I like about it. As you mentioned, it is called reverse flow and it all starts at the pre-filter, water is pulled through the filter sponges and then pumped through the sprinkler hose and then those red rocks, lava rocks, each rock has millions of lil worker bees making poop water safe to swim in. And then it just keeps happening, 24-7, 365, 5 ten, 15, 20! Sing it with me, Dummies! That black pre-filter is 10" x 12" and I liken it to a toilet that is constantly running. Ya wanna keep singing with me? 5, ten, 15 , 20, I had Bacon for Breakfast! And Eggs and Toast! NOT Burnt Toast! He's my Goldie!

Here are two more pics detailing the components and layout of my version of the UG. Before I built my first plywood tank, the Akron, I read up on backyard pond builds and a lot of the builds featured reverse flow UG systems, and so I tried it and as I already Brag Mentioned, the pre-filters in the Chicago have been circulating water for ONE whole year and the filter sponges have NOT needed cleaned or rinsed, they don't clog and run almost clean. It Amazes me. I Better do the Sign of the Cross! I can do it with both hands at the same time!


1. Black box is the pre-filter.
2. That Pump, pretty small for the punch it packs. 120 watts, rated at 2600 gal. per hour.
3. Sprinkler hose. I'm not sure it's necessarry but I sliced up the holes a bit bigger in the sprinkler hose because I was concerned too much back pressure might not let the pump perform at full capacity.
4. The Lava rocks. We aleady discussed their role in all this.
5. And then tomorrow I will level the lava rocks, place a layer of landscape fabric over the lava rocks before I add two to three inches of clean sifted pea gravel
6. My goal is a bed 4" deep lava rack tooped by 2 to 3" of pea gravel
7. Since I sift the pea gravel, I remove loads of sand and smaller gravel that my thinking and experience is, it is that the removal of those smaller particles might very well help the UG keep the gravel surface spotless.

Because when I set Akron up, it has a UG but I did NOT sift out the sand and finer gravel. Now, it still keeps the water crystal clear in Akron but the floor of gravel has lots of visible fish debris...

It will be so much fun adding secondary filters, air stones and circulation pumps, and fans too. I wish i could harness the Sun! Because that's fun too, not using electric lights, but indoor lights are a must in my situation.

That big flexible pipe, that is for my Goldies to swim through.

 

[Sassafras]

Thanks Parka , I can see the pond filter roots. Pretty unique for an aquarium, but very size appropriate. Glad that pre-filter survived the white snake attack.

 

[Parka]

Glad that pre-filter survived the white snake attack.

Thanks Frass, them water snakes are mean!

It was too nice out again so I got a late start because I went for a bike ride first. But then when I got to spreading out the lava rocks, I'm about 2 bags short! It was almost 6pm when I realized I'd be short on lava rock and Ace Hardware closed at 6pm. I'm riding my Boss Bike tomorrow to get lava rock! And THEN I can get the gravel poured in.

Pictures for the hard of hearing:

 

[Sassafras]

Thanks Frass, them water snakes are mean!

frass /frăs/ noun

1. Debris or excrement produced by insects.
2. The droppings or excrement of insects, especially larva.

Examples
-After an unusually heavy caterpillar infestation, the ground underneath the trees was coated with frass.
-The larvae cover themselves with poop, called frass, which discourages predators.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Is this guy calling me worm poop?!?

Hey, just kidding, no offense taken. Ya gotta get a lot worse than that to insult me.

 

[Parka]

cover themselves with poop

Hey Buster Frassington, I am NOT Party to that sort of Vulgarity! Let me remind ALL, Fecal Matter is No Laughing Matter!

Debris or excrement

This is SO Gall Dang Funny! No Laughing Matter! None Whatsoever!

All I did today was go get two bags of lava rock from Ace and I took my bike and I got some spinach seed too. It was so nice out again, I dint get much done tank wise but I did get the empty corners filled in with lava rock and the landscape fabric laid. I don't think that fabric is needed at all, other than to keep the lava rock separate from the gravel. If the two were all mixed together, the filter would still work perfectly but the look might be all wrong.

Tomorrow will be so nice again, I will get the gravel pour started! Might go ridin first!

 

[Parka]

I did NOT start the gravel pour today on account of the most beautiful day of the year so far, I went riding today in short sleeves for the first time this year and I was perfectly warm and comfortable even in the shade!

And then my Community Garden is right by the park I ride at anyway and we had a work day scheduled today and I have one raised bed, I think it's 10' x 4' or thereabouts. My bed was FULL of pesty invasive mint. I worked it pretty good with a small pick or Maddox and I removed gads of mint and it kicked my butt, and I dint have any energy left for other heavy work.
This is my first year at the Community Garden. I'm part of the Em Effin Community!

And tomorrow I will be in Atlanta for a good part of the day so I think this weekend we can get this filled back up, and get it ready for fish. I have a super easy, very effective way to catch my fish! Because as soon as my Swimmers are aware I'm on the hunt with a net? Those amazing acrobats will embarrass the best of us!

I trap them instead. I use hoop nets, like the kind ya drop in a stream and catch stuff, it is so easy! It's not super fast or anything but it works with little effort.

I will report later this weekend, hopefully with good progress!