Maintenance of a Monster Tank
- Thread starter Hungryfish
- Start date
For my 450g I run a reeflo hammerhead pump:
http://www.whatafish.com/servlet/the-219/Reeflo-fdsh-Sequence-Hammerhead-Pump-5800/Detail
And two 48" nova extreme freshwater sets of lights:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...rent-usa-nova-extreme-t5ho-x2-freshwater.html
I have 2 300w heaters and 1 250w heater in my sump running at 80F.
I've been doing 50-60% water changes about every 5 days.
My monthly utilities have went up about $125/month since adding the tank.
I can do a water change in about 2 hours. I have one hole in the bottom of the tank devoted to water changes. Its just a pvc pipe coming down with a valve and a hose connection on it. The pvc in side the tank runs up about half way. I just connect a hose and run it outside to whatever plant needs watering, turn the valve, and the tank drains to about 50% on its own. I usually break out the python and pick up whatever little bit of poo didn't make it to the overflows.
When the tank is done draining, I use a python hooked up to a sink so I can regulate temperature as the tank refils. I usually add Prime before I fill it up. I buy the gallon jugs of pond prime as its cheaper than regular prime.
http://www.whatafish.com/servlet/the-219/Reeflo-fdsh-Sequence-Hammerhead-Pump-5800/Detail
And two 48" nova extreme freshwater sets of lights:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...rent-usa-nova-extreme-t5ho-x2-freshwater.html
I have 2 300w heaters and 1 250w heater in my sump running at 80F.
I've been doing 50-60% water changes about every 5 days.
My monthly utilities have went up about $125/month since adding the tank.
I can do a water change in about 2 hours. I have one hole in the bottom of the tank devoted to water changes. Its just a pvc pipe coming down with a valve and a hose connection on it. The pvc in side the tank runs up about half way. I just connect a hose and run it outside to whatever plant needs watering, turn the valve, and the tank drains to about 50% on its own. I usually break out the python and pick up whatever little bit of poo didn't make it to the overflows.
When the tank is done draining, I use a python hooked up to a sink so I can regulate temperature as the tank refils. I usually add Prime before I fill it up. I buy the gallon jugs of pond prime as its cheaper than regular prime.
Currently: temporary 500gal intex pool. 50w pond pump, can't remember what brand but it is lower wattage for the 8,000ltr per hour turnover than others i could find. The pool has a layer of bubble wrap around the outside and a plastic sheet over the top to help keep the heat in and 3 300w tank heaters in the filter so all the water runs over them. Since putting the bubble wrap around and the plastic sheet over the top the heaters are on far less than they were. Water change is about 20% per week (100gal ish) syphoned out then slowly topped up with a hose. I don't use dechlor and have never had any issues with not using it even when doing 75% water changes on tanks in the past in this area.
The permanent 1000gal wood framed tank/pond i'm building has much more insulation in the walling to retain more heat. Insulation seems to be a much more important factor with these large builds than small tanks to help reduce heating costs. The same filtration and pump will be moved over from the 500 to the 1000 and still use 3 heaters. I have a couple of 55gal plastic drums ready to turn into water butts for rain water to help with the water changes but will probably need more than 2! When the indoor pond is complete i'll probably look into digging a heavily planted pond in the garden to drain the water change water into to help recycle it and if possible use it for future water changes if it all works right. Any ways of reducing bills is a good thing!
The permanent 1000gal wood framed tank/pond i'm building has much more insulation in the walling to retain more heat. Insulation seems to be a much more important factor with these large builds than small tanks to help reduce heating costs. The same filtration and pump will be moved over from the 500 to the 1000 and still use 3 heaters. I have a couple of 55gal plastic drums ready to turn into water butts for rain water to help with the water changes but will probably need more than 2! When the indoor pond is complete i'll probably look into digging a heavily planted pond in the garden to drain the water change water into to help recycle it and if possible use it for future water changes if it all works right. Any ways of reducing bills is a good thing!
Thank you guys, the input has been very helpful. I will look into Clepco and incorporate the features into my design.
On my 220 I use a diy automatic water changer that uses timers and solinodes valves and drip systems on everything else. Currently, it does about 10% a day; at one point it was set to do 30% due to bio-load. No dechlor, the water line is plumbed to the sump and drops about 6" giving it a nice dose of areation when it spashes into the sump. I added an FX5 for extra mechanical filtration and plumbed the return to about 6" from the bottom of the tank and it acts like under gravel jets and blows all the debris off the sand and into the filter - so no vacing - at all! I have a 300w heater but its just as a backup. The sump pump and lights (three 150w metal halides that run 3 hrs a day) keep the tank between 79-82 depending on the season. The tank is built into the wall and enclosed on all sides so that may provide extra insulation, I never gave it much thought before reading some of the posts in this thread.
The only maintenance I do is glass cleaning, when needed, and filter cleaning every 3 months. It really needs to be done every 2 months but I'm lazy. I'm working on some ideas to get out of doing both of those too
I want to take filter maintenance down to 15 seconds once a week.
The only maintenance I do is glass cleaning, when needed, and filter cleaning every 3 months. It really needs to be done every 2 months but I'm lazy. I'm working on some ideas to get out of doing both of those too
I want to take filter maintenance down to 15 seconds once a week.
For heaters, I think best bang for your buck are these, though they only go up to 800watt.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/693/Finnex-Titanium-Heaters
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/693/Finnex-Titanium-Heaters
Wow, thanks for the link Spiff.
At my LFS, 200 watt heaters are already at 30-40 bucks a piece. I'm no longer gonna look at their heater selection. LOL
At my LFS, 200 watt heaters are already at 30-40 bucks a piece. I'm no longer gonna look at their heater selection. LOL
