Patio Tanks Rock!

Ulu

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Dec 13, 2018
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The Sunny San Joaquin
This Thread is for people with tanks on their patio or deck, outdoors. (Pools and ponds do not count.)

20190817_070828.jpg

This is my first outdoor aquarium ever, and it's been a real learning experience so far.
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Right now it is populated by 2 plecos, 2 convicts, 2 serpae tetra, and 5 assorted corys and ancistrus.

The patio tank is 55 gallons and it drains to a 30 gallon sump. My 125 gallon indoor tank also drains through the wall to the same sump.

I plumbed it all up with some pretty stout stuff.
20190722_121258.jpg

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I changed that pump for a larger one right away as it is only a 365 GPH.

So they all share water and this mitigates having two plecos in just a 55, because the 125 is underpopulated. I'm actually only carrying about 180 gallons of water in a theoretically 210 gallon system, but it seems to be enough.

Here is where the plumbing goes through the wall to the indoor tank.
20190723_181316.jpg
There was a tiny leak and you can see the wet spot below the feed pipe on the concrete. I actually had to cut that apart and reglue it. It moved while I was gluing the pipe and the second time I put on sandbags to hold the pipe as I pushed it together.

This is the sump without the insulation on it. Each tank drains to its own floss basket & 5g media bucket .
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There are two Eheim heaters in the sump. I am also running this fluidized bed sand filter, because a friend gave it to me, but it's not really cycled yet. This is the first test that I gave it and it's on a different sump.

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I'm growing pothos in a pond basket and a garnet yam which is just exploding.

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tlindsey

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2011
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Ohio
This Thread is for people with tanks on their patio or deck, outdoors. (Pools and ponds do not count.)

View attachment 1384542

This is my first outdoor aquarium ever, and it's been a real learning experience so far.
View attachment 1384535

View attachment 1384536

View attachment 1384539

View attachment 1384541

View attachment 1384544

Right now it is populated by 2 plecos, 2 convicts, 2 serpae tetra, and 5 assorted corys and ancistrus.

The patio tank is 55 gallons and it drains to a 30 gallon sump. My 125 gallon indoor tank also drains through the wall to the same sump.

I plumbed it all up with some pretty stout stuff.
View attachment 1384587

View attachment 1384586

I changed that pump for a larger one right away as it is only a 365 GPH.

So they all share water and this mitigates having two plecos in just a 55, because the 125 is underpopulated. I'm actually only carrying about 180 gallons of water in a theoretically 210 gallon system, but it seems to be enough.

Here is where the plumbing goes through the wall to the indoor tank.
View attachment 1384590
There was a tiny leak and you can see the wet spot below the feed pipe on the concrete. I actually had to cut that apart and reglue it. It moved while I was gluing the pipe and the second time I put on sandbags to hold the pipe as I pushed it together.

This is the sump without the insulation on it. Each tank drains to its own floss basket & 5g media bucket .
View attachment 1384588

There are two Eheim heaters in the sump. I am also running this fluidized bed sand filter, because a friend gave it to me, but it's not really cycled yet. This is the first test that I gave it and it's on a different sump.

View attachment 1384592

I'm growing pothos in a pond basket and a garnet yam which is just exploding.

View attachment 1384591

Very creative and everything looks good.
 

Ulu

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Dec 13, 2018
1,843
3,135
164
The Sunny San Joaquin
Thank you!

I forgot to mention Photon, who is in the second pic.
20190411_081753_001.jpg
She's the world's dullest Malawi peacock, so probably a female.
She used to have a lot of blue, but now she looks like the convicts.
20181120_191235.jpg
 

islandguy11

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Sep 17, 2017
2,217
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154
Thailand
Good stuff Ulu, Thx for sharing. That fluidized sand bed filter looks interesting, have seen similar but never tried before, let us know how it goes. What is it easy to set up properly or did some of the sand go into your tank?
 

Ulu

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Dec 13, 2018
1,843
3,135
164
The Sunny San Joaquin
It was pretty easy, but I did make mistakes setting it up. It does not need a large flow or a large pump to operate it. I have a small powerhead to run it and it's turned almost all the way down at the throttle. (the tall knob on the top.)

It should have a check valve to prevent sand backflow into the pump, if the power should go off. That bit was defective and it's why I got this for free. It's sat on the shelf unsold until the soft rubber in the valve went rotten.

If you place the pump in the tank and the outflow into the sump, the sand cannot run back uphill when the system shuts off. It will still siphon some water through it into the sump until you turn the knob off, but not very quickly.

I like it so much I want to build a much larger one and I will start another thread about this first.
 
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duanes

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Isla Taboga Panama via Milwaukee
My only tank at the moment is a patio tank, a 180 gal.
Because earthquakes are common here, tanks tend to leak at bit.
fullsizeoutput_18e6.jpeg
One of the sumps, is behind, one is off set to the right, and because it gets a lot of sun, is more of an algae scrubber.
fullsizeoutput_fa8.jpeg
all fish are local Panamanian species, as are some of the plants, I obviously don' need a heater, and don't use artificial light, tank gets heavy sun from about6-10AM, and diffused light in the afternoon.
Pumpage is around 2000 GPH.
fullsizeoutput_18da.jpeg
Stock
A dozen Andinoacara coerleopunctatus (Panamanian G.T.s (or acaras) depending on your perception)
fullsizeoutput_12ce.jpeg
couple Roeboides tetras
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a Panamanian Plecosostomus.

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and a sleeper (Eleotris picta)
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and various local crustaceans, sometimes eaten by the tanks inhabitants, sometimes not.
fullsizeoutput_108f.jpeg
 

duanes

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Isla Taboga Panama via Milwaukee
I tore the tank down last week, when the landlord decided to fix a crack in a cement overhang (tank had to be moved to do it, all spelled out about in the Lil Earthquake Lil Leak thread). So the tank was resealed, although it still seeps during the time the sun hits the east panel.
 

Ulu

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Dec 13, 2018
1,843
3,135
164
The Sunny San Joaquin
That's weird . . . I guess I didn't get notifications about your thread.

So it's all back together again.
 

fish_dude199

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 22, 2019
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My only tank at the moment is a patio tank, a 180 gal.
Because earthquakes are common here, tanks tend to leak at bit.
View attachment 1384631
One of the sumps, is behind, one is off set to the right, and because it gets a lot of sun, is more of an algae scrubber.
View attachment 1384632
all fish are local Panamanian species, as are some of the plants, I obviously don' need a heater, and don't use artificial light, tank gets heavy sun from about6-10AM, and diffused light in the afternoon.
Pumpage is around 2000 GPH.
View attachment 1384633
Stock
A dozen Andinoacara coerleopunctatus (Panamanian G.T.s (or acaras) depending on your perception)
View attachment 1384634
couple Roeboides tetras
View attachment 1384635
a Panamanian Plecosostomus.

View attachment 1384636
and a sleeper (Eleotris picta)
View attachment 1384637
and various local crustaceans, sometimes eaten by the tanks inhabitants, sometimes not.
View attachment 1384638
Verry nice tank!
 
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