I got a couple of 20gal longs, but....

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ThePBM

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 26, 2007
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Hawaii / Wisconsin
both of the tanks have a hole in the bottom. That makes me believe that these might be tanks made for herps and such, not for use as an aquarium. I'm not sure how to find out really, but i did see other tanks that had a tag saying "do not fill with water". my tanks don't say that.

anywho, should these tanks be deemed fit to hold water, i was wondering if i could make use of that hole and make something like i drew in this artful masterpiece

TankSetup.jpg


There would be pipes or hoses from the bottom of the tank in the shape of a U that goes back up into a smaller container, so the water level is naturally equal in both containers. Then, a powerhead/water pump thing in the smaller container would pump water into the big tank, raising the water level in the big tank, forcing water down through the hole in the bottom, etc.

I could either put filter material inside the big tank (light green) or at the bottom of the smaller container (dark green). I think i'll need some kind of screen/filter inside the large tank to stop things from getting into the tube, so i was thinking of going with the light green location anyway. my only problem with that is it appears to keep crap inside the big tank and would just dump all of it if i tried picking it up out of the tank.

I only got 1 plug for both tanks so i'll have to find a way to make use of the hole or else go find something to plug it. not sure if the plug i have will even hold up against all that water. i'll have to do a fill test later on.

any ideas or advice on figuring out if this is one of those critter cages or if i could resilicone it myself and make it ok for aquarium use or any such comments would be appreciated. the glass doesn't seem to be any thinner than my other tanks of the same height, so i only have concerns about the silicone, such as whether they use a diff silicone for herp tanks than aquaria tanks.
 
:iagree: My 20g long reptile tank has the hole for the heater cord. The glass is the same thickness as a 20g long fish tank. I thought about using it like the drawing but small bulkheads are kinda hard to find. For my turtle tank, I had to get them from a boating store.
 
Yes, your plan is sound. During a power outage minimal backwash will occur.

Check out Home Depot's electrical dept. gray electrical water tight connectors (bulkheads) 1/2" & 3/4" with 'O' ring. Straight & right angle.

Or a poor man's bulkhead.

How big is the hole in the tank?

Dr Joe

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It'd be cool to take two of those 20 gals and attach them via the hole so the fish could swim through. I saw a link somewhere of a huge aquarium system where there were many small tanks with big tubes connecting them accross the room.
 
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