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Round indoor pond project queries.

You also could have a look at Aquaponic / Hydroponic systems.. This is becomming more and more popular and some designs are made to house fish and grow plants.

Some ar every fancy designed and more for decorative purpose indoor or outdoor, which reflects in the price ofcourse.
aquaponics-ambianceoutside-1.jpg


More try to say, you do not solely have to search in the fish or pond industry.. In the aquaponics scene you might find eqaul or even beter alternative base materials and more aimed to what you want. House fish and grow plants.. :)
 
Thanks Zozo. I read quite a bit about the aquaponics system but that involves setting up multiple tanks. I don't want something hugely expensive because its money down the drain. I want the possibility of leaks and tank breaking to a minimum. The risk must be just the external filters only. The idea is not aesthetics or fancy things but reliability. When you've had 3 large enough tanks flood your house you start getting sleep issues and bad dreams. The last time the tank broke on Monday morning. I didn't sleep all night, scooping fish from the 5f tank and trying to set them up in small plastic containers without knowing their future....Nightmare, I couldn't even cry because I had no time....and then I went to work.....It took us 3 weeks to clean up the mess and my partner is not mad about fish.

The tank will be setup in a spare storage room. I have plenty of space but I don't want to flood anything again.

@Nelson

These look really good but the 100g is too small. The bigger version is way too big.

I like the structural foam oval tanks alto hinted about. None for sale in Europe online, lol.
 
Do you have any idea why this happened to you? 2 tanks leaking in such a short time periode is realy bad luck or some constructional issues. Where they big old tanks?
I can image the sleepless nights you had from this, nothing more nasty than water damage indoors. If it happened to me i also would loose my trust...

But i didn't mean for you to setup a aquaponic or hydroponic system, but more like searching in this direction for suitable containers.. Since these containers are constructed to safely hold water and or grow plants.. If it does that it can hold fish as well. If it doesn't need to decorative and only temporary it might broaden the options to choose from even more.

Or polyester ponds (containers) are also very durable and sturdy. This one is 260X62X60 CM.. :)
l_4215-vijver-62x260x60.jpg
 
One of the tanks was 6 year old, the other I got 2nd hand and was build in 2003. The fist one had the stand's middle leg collapse. I am not sure how it happened...the concrete below the carpet may have had a hole and the tank must have moved over the years somehow...
The second one opened up on the seals. I bought it second hand so it was quite old. It was perfectly level as far as we could measure. The issue could be us not properly levelling them but all I can go by is the level and the water level.
For a few weeks the fish weren't a priority for the first time....but I love them too much and giving them away here means demise to them. I'd rather kill them myself...

But i didn't mean for you to setup a aquaponic or hydroponic system, but more like searching in this direction for suitable containers..

Thanks Marcel. I know you meant that. I'd love to have an aquaponics system but I must lose the fear of flooded rooms first :) I've searched a lot. They must do delivery here which is the problem with having a choice. There are better ideas out there but I can't buy them here. The container must be able to go through the door :). The round container I am getting is a free standing koi pond so structurally it is very strong. I think I'll stick with the round one to be honest. I still can't find anything better. I'll be able to access the fish in a round one as well.
 
How about light? Is the 30W flood light going to be sufficient? It must penetrate to the bottom too. The specs are as follows:

Power:30 W
  • Voltage:220-240V AC
  • Multi-Voltage:85-265V AC
  • Frequency:50-60 Hz
  • Lumens:3600 lm
  • LED Performance:120 lm/W
  • Beam Angle: 120 º
  • CRI:85
  • Power Factor:0.96
  • IP Protection:IP65
  • Type:Epistar-SMD2835
  • Number of LEDs:80
  • Life Span (hrs):30,000 Hours
  • Working Temperature:-20ºC ~ +45ºC
  • Size:140x180x40 mm
  • Material:Aluminium
  • Diffuser:Transparent
  • Frame:Black
  • CertificationsCE & RoHS
  • Warranty2 Years

Also, is there any good pond/large tank filtration that I can look into?
 
Those botias are also very inteligent and playfull as you already showed in your lovely video's, never saw them dancing to soul music. :clap::thumbup: Perfect music to show them.
But what you got there already looks very pond like and good.. Maybe a silly idea, all tho i think otherwise have it alread for some time to do one day in the garden. That is to connect several container with aechother with water bridges made from 125mm pvc pipe. I'll make you a small drawing of what i mean. Could be an idea for you.. It's very simple extends their living space to the max and i'm fairly sure botia are certainly fish learning to use it because they love tubes.

Naamloos.jpg


So you can use several sizes of any kind of household tubs, crats, boxes what ever you want, like you are using now. The U pipes made from 125mm PVC you hang over the edge connecting the tubs inline, next eachother or accross the room how ever you like. You can make it as playfull as you wish. Fill all tubs with water.. Then take a hose put in inside the U pipes and suck them vacuum.. They fill with water and stay filled with water as long as the ends are fully submersed.

By the law of communicating vessels all tubs will equal out in the same water level.. So this means you actualy only need one filter.. Water you suck out the first tub you fill back into the last tub it always stays equal in level. Next to that you create a sort of linear stream system for them and it will be over all the same water body with the same amount of flow it will never flood nor never drain as long as the pipes are filed and vacuum.. :thumbup:

You fish are going to love you for it.. I bet you.. And so simple and so cheap to make.. What more do you want??
 
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You could take sevral 100 litre round tubs and just link them thogeter like that. Take as much as you have space for.. I think as you say the fish will love it and don't have to swim in circels all the time and can travel from tub to tub.. They certainly will. :thumbup:
 
you could take a look at the blagdon affinity ponds, designed for patios and decking they come in octagon , half octagon, oval octagon and square. they come as complete kits with planting baskets and filters-pumps, iirc, and they have viewing windows around the outside. sorry I don't know how to put a link up?!!
 
I don't know what your budget is looking like, but Affinity Pools - might be worth contacting them & discussing your concerns re leakproof etc
(It would be so nice to have the "View")

You've had awful luck with your tanks but I'll admit that buying used big tanks is always much more of a gamble - re size, people are more likely to have torqued them while moving (this twisting pressure on the seams is also much more of an issue with a big tank that isn't level across the diagonal - of course this is very difficult to tell once tank is filled as it's unlikely to "rock" anymore)
Tanks that have sat empty for an extended time or had any sort of reptiles/rodents are also much more likely to have compromised silicon seals
It really is rare for tanks to leak when set up level etc
 
Hey alto. Thanks a million. I am not worried about the viewing area. Perhaps I can get an underwater camera one day.

The tank that got bust the last time had sat dry in the previous owner so was definitely a bad idea buying it. I was very close to giving away all my fish. I just can't part with the loaches to be honest.

The affinity pools are really nice but not what I am looking for. I am not mad about the look and the liner inside. It doesn't sound leak proof or rigid to me at all. I've had enough from 4 corner tanks. Those things have got multiple corners :). And one can do a DIY tank like that for a lot less.

I want a preformed one piece heavy duty plastic container. And I really like the round shape. I just feel like trying something different too. The loaches may not get their recommended min 180 length but 60cm width is pretty narrow for large fish long term too. 60cm height is also pretty much the minimum height for small clown loaches. I can't imagine that being enough for adult clowns. My large loach tried to do a vertical swim in the 5 footer, but being too shallow, a 50cm tall tank, he nearly got out of it. They'll enjoy the extra bit of depth.

Unless fish get dizzy when swimming in circles, the perimeter gives a possible length of 380cm to infinity theoretically. In a rectangular 6f tank they get 180 cm. Do fish get dizzy swimming in circles? I don't know... But apparently the round shape is good for fish that like flow. It is also easier to keep clean via filtration due to the gunk settling right in the middle. It does not develop dead areas like rectangular tanks do. And the large surface area will help as well.

So round I go lads :rolleyes: It's just a matter of time now..
 
I have not read all the post but if I was interested in such a project I would think about a ridgid structure rather than any type of flexible plastic or rubber.
Fibreglass containers would be my first choice but nylon fish boxes would also be an option, I live on the coast and several boat related stores sell both of those options.
Another option would be a DIY ply box lined with fiberglass.
I know that round containers will keep live baits alive far longer than square containers, many believe that bowl shape containers are the best of all, our locale sand eel (sea fishing bait) stockist use large fiberglass bowl shape containers to house the fish.
I just feel that any flexible containers would indeed be very prone to flexing and spilling water if nudged.
 
Hi foxfish. I am looking for exactly what you are describing. The specs of the round pond I am aiming to buy are as per the below. Its made from MDPE polyethylene. Do you think it can flex?

Ecosure MDPE Ponds
Moulded from tank grade polymer for exceptional strength and durability and incorporating the latest UV stabilisation packages, Ecosure ponds are suitable for long-term external use and combine real quality with practical design. They are frost resistant, have high impact strength and are non-toxic to fish. The smooth sides of the pond make cleaning and maintenance easy. These ponds are available in different colours to suit location or to enhance the colours of your fish.
 
Tony Chen the Discus chap has a indoor pond were he keeps all his personal fish,show specimens,you could check this out I can't find it but the article is in a Nathan Hill piece were he visits Tony in Practical Fishkeeping
 
I use such a MDPE polyethylene round concrete mixing tub from the hardware store to tempararely storing my goldfish in the winter.. The round ones do not bulg out at 150 litre and 45 cm height.. I also have several square ones which do indeed bulg out if topped with water, but are still to strong to crack.. One way i used to prevent this bulging and to stabalize is using that cheap galvanized steel double loop chain. The ends you can cut to create a hook, wrap it tight around the empty tub, hook 'm and take a piece of chain hooked from left to right over the top in the width of the tub and it cant bulg out. :)
 
I called the seller of the polyethylene round tank above. They said the tank is perfectly fine set up above ground as free standing system. I've seen the polyethylene ones on youtube used in aquaponics. They don't look flexible to me but what do I know. As foxfixh mentioned, apparently round shape is the best for fish and I want to try a round tank.

I found a place selling fiberglass round koi tanks for a reasonable price but they are only 35cm deep:eek: They are advertised as koi ponds. That's barely deep enough for my tiny corydoras...I was so disappointed. The woman on the phone said they don't do deeper because there's no demand for deeper..???Lol How come?
 
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