Outdoor Tank Shots

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cchhcc

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 31, 2006
2,449
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Virginia Beach, VA USA
Had an "issue" with the UV system on the outdoor 10x4 tank. ;)
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Much better now...... I can actually see the fish again!
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It turned out I had a bad ballast. Now that everything is in working order again, I cleared out about 50 POUNDS of water hyacinth (seriously!) and took a few shots. The baskets you see are serving two purposes. One, it keeps the plants (hyacinth and parrot's feather) from floating away (I had the skimmer operating when I shot these). two, they are great refuges for the smaller inhabitants. In fact, there is a apawning pair of Lake Nic convicts in the center one right now. Truthfully, though, the little guys hang just fine with the giants --- they show them NO RESPECT!
Some of the tank's inhabitants:
Wild male labiatus with amarillo, rostratus, and xiloaensis also in the shot.
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Male altifrons and wild female rostratus
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Clockwise from top left: wild male xiloaensis, wild male longimanus, altifrons, wild xanthic male sagittae, nicaraguensis pair (and a serious need to trim the grass around the tank!)
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F1 labiatus (female)
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These guys keep the mosquito fish in check (only 3,456,782 left!)...... grammodes and dovii, males
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Male citrinellus
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All in all, it was an interesting experiment. If I made an effort to actually decorate the thing with the several hundred pounds of rocks (boulders actually) and driftwood I got it might actually look pretty cool! Until then it's a good thing it's inside a privacy fence!
Got to go...... have to order a backup UV light ballast! :D
 
Any chance at a complete stock list?

Do you heat it? If so, how much and what's the temp? I'm assuming you're going to break it down for winter...

How much spawning occurs? Do different species of Amp. cross?

What do you have going on for filtration? I see an overflow, but that's obviously not going to do much when it's on the ground.

Very cool!
 
Modest_Man;2256833; said:
Any chance at a complete stock list?

Do you heat it? If so, how much and what's the temp? I'm assuming you're going to break it down for winter...

How much spawning occurs? Do different species of Amp. cross?

What do you have going on for filtration? I see an overflow, but that's obviously not going to do much when it's on the ground.

Very cool!
Click to expand...

Hah, hah.... It does seem a little weird when I step back and think about it!

Stocklist (I may be missing something...):

pair of nicaraguensis
two wild pairs of xanthic xiloaensis
wild male longimanus
male altifrons
wild female rostratus
several pairs wild nigrofasciatus
three dovii
one pair grammodes
six amarillo
one chancho
one red isletas
six wild labiatus
one F1 labiatus
one wild male xanthic sagittae
one large rhino pleco
several bristlenose pleco pairs
several wild swordtail pairs
3,456,781 mosquito fish (the male dovii just ate one!)

So, by my count, that comes to 3,456,832 fish! :naughty:

I don't heat it at all..... The low temperature of the season so far was 74 (it really holds the heat well through the night thanks to the volume of water). I do have several 1000 watt fireplug heaters on standby should they become necessary prior to breaking it down for the winter though. I'm on the fence right now about that. Part of me is planning on building a greenhouse around it and finishing it off as a permanent fixture --- part of me is saying "the heck with that" and plans on getting rid of everything.

Lots of spawning occurs, but NOTHING makes it far past the freeswimming stage as the piscivores are pretty relentless, and there's not a lot of cover for any fry. The Amphilophus species have three dominant males of separate species (cit, lab, sag) but not enough mature females to go around. So the cit breeds with a lab, and the sag breeds with another lab. The big male lab only concerns himself with eating!

As far as filtration goes, there is a giant pressurized pond filter with a 4000 GPH pump and a 40 watt UV system. There is also an internal skimmer with an 1800 GPH pump and an attached submerged bio-filter (you can see the skimmer on the left side of the tank). I ran it for a couple of months with just the smaller filter with good results (the pressure filter was being replaced). Honestly, the dilution effection of the large body of water and the very strong plant growth (you should have seen it!) were more than enough. In fact, nitrates are nearly undetectable because of the hyacinth and parrots feather.

You are right about the overflow. The tank was designed to be a walk-around (viewable from all sides), and that overflow is near the center of the tank.

If you're wondering why it's outside, we have been renovating the house (floor coverings, etc.). I just got used to having fish in outdoor ponds the last couple of summers, and I find it much easier in every regard!
 
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