Pentair 600 gallon questions

Goonie

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2019
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Northern Virginia
So what is the real skinny on these things I've seen a lot of varied posts about them chipping.

I would want a black interior any way so if I were to use a pond sealant over the inside would I still have issues ?

Dose this thing warp badly w/o a top brace, are you guys adding one ?

How are people covering the tops of these tanks ? and what lighting is recommended, I wont need plant lights as what I will be putting in it would destroy them any way though I may run pothos across the top.

How big of a sump would this thing need and would running barrel style sumps off set to the side work?

I would also likely run a pond filter.

I have looked at some other fiberglass manufacturers but the price on their tanks are higher than a full acrylic in many cases.

I was budgeting for a 10x3 acrylic but I figure this 8x4 at its price point would give me almost as many options and give me more than enough money left in the till to do some other things I have on my list (other tanks and breeding set ups)
 
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esoxlucius

Alligator Gar
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Dec 30, 2015
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I have a 360g fibreglass tank. Not a pentair, it's the uk equivalent I suppose. It is black exterior and black interior, those blue ones are hideous, lol. I have not experienced any "chipping" problems, no leakage problems, nor any warping issues. It is absolutely solid, no need for any bracing at all ime. I didn't want mine sat on the floor, too low for my liking so I built a 15" plinth for it to sit on. Covered it with ply and a sheet of thick styrofoam and sat the tank on top.

I don't have plants in mine due to the fish I have so I just use a basic 4ft nicrew led fitting. I filter it with a large plastic drum and inside it is a 4 tier stacked crate set up for mech and bio.

I made the hood myself out of 2x2. There are black plastic panels around the edges of the hood and a large polycarbonate tri wall roofing panel in the centre. My light fitting sits on this.

Mine has been running for about 16 months now. Absolutely love it, no issues whatsoever. My only gripe is that I haven't the inside space to get another bigger one.

Below are a load of pics of mine when I was putting it together.

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esoxlucius

Alligator Gar
MFK Member
Dec 30, 2015
3,670
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UK
I did have some step by step pics of the canopy build but lost them. But I do have some pics of a recent new hood I built for my 180g. Obviously the design is different but it'll give you an idea of how I did it.

I found the most important part of the build is get some timber that is true. It needs to be really straight, otherwise your in for a lot of cursing!

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suckerfish

Dovii
MFK Member
Nov 8, 2005
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LAGASH
Pentair sells paint and filters. If you have room for an Ultima filter, I think those are best. That top gave me some great ideas esoxlucius esoxlucius
 
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Goonie

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 8, 2019
174
82
36
40
Northern Virginia
The ultima is what I planed on going with does it have a placement requirement ?

The sump was basically going to be bio/nitrate filter

Pentair sells paint and filters. If you have room for an Ultima filter, I think those are best. That top gave me some great ideas esoxlucius esoxlucius
 
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