Last year I had a tub pond that I made by building a frame around a 45gal rubbermaid tub. (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?416175-DIY-45-gallon-tub-pond&highlight=) I bred rainbow cichlids in it over the summer months. I didn't have a filter and instead used a lot of plants and did 40% water changes once a week.
Yesterday, I went to my LFS and found that they had gotten a lot of used rubbermaid stock tanks in. He had already put most of them to use storing live foods, but there were a few extra. I picked up a 150gal for $20. The only problem is a leak in the drainage part. I filled it a third way with water yesterday and while it is leaking, it is only doing it at a drop every few minutes. So I'm gonna go to home depot this week and get a tube of silicon (should I get 100% silicon or some other kind?) and just completely cover the whole area.
This year I would like to be able to have both tub ponds going at the same time. I'm planning to use the same size fish, water changes, and amount of plants this year in the 40gal. Assuming that I can get the stock tank to hold water, I would also like to do the same (with larger cichlids; maybe GT's) for this newer rubbermaid. I'm just not sure if the plants and water changes alone would be able to provide enough filtration for a such a large system?
Does anyone have any experience or opinions about the filtration methods that I should use for this project?
Yesterday, I went to my LFS and found that they had gotten a lot of used rubbermaid stock tanks in. He had already put most of them to use storing live foods, but there were a few extra. I picked up a 150gal for $20. The only problem is a leak in the drainage part. I filled it a third way with water yesterday and while it is leaking, it is only doing it at a drop every few minutes. So I'm gonna go to home depot this week and get a tube of silicon (should I get 100% silicon or some other kind?) and just completely cover the whole area.
This year I would like to be able to have both tub ponds going at the same time. I'm planning to use the same size fish, water changes, and amount of plants this year in the 40gal. Assuming that I can get the stock tank to hold water, I would also like to do the same (with larger cichlids; maybe GT's) for this newer rubbermaid. I'm just not sure if the plants and water changes alone would be able to provide enough filtration for a such a large system?
Does anyone have any experience or opinions about the filtration methods that I should use for this project?
