Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Aquariums?

Okay, not a pond..but maybe could be considered a very, very small pond...

While visiting Todd Overton on Saturday, I was absolutely enthralled with his outdoor aquarium....a roughly 3x6 by 4 foot deep container made from angle iron and glass. Todd had F1 LMB, HSB, CNBG, crappie, and a bunch of other fish...it was just fabulous to observe the fish that we put in our ponds.

To those who have had or have aquariums, is it naive to think about building one like that and jumping in without ever having had (or been able to afford) an aquarium? Is that size too large to start with? Thanks for any responses.

p.s. objective: to observe the same species of fish that are stocked in the ponds and show guests what they will be catching

So, Todd built it himself? Did he say how much it cost to put it together? Interesting.

Bruce,

No Todd purchased it from someone else. Todd has it mounted on a small trailor to take around to meetings.

Just looking at it, it appeared to be a relatively simple construction project. Weld the frame, insert glass, seal, and add fittings. It had several inches of gravel in the bottom along with a few crawdad bottom cleaners. It had a pump which pulled water down through the gravel and recirculated it with aeration added.

It was so fascinating to watch the same fish that are in our ponds interact in that setting. I came away saying "got to have one of those"...but now wonder if that's realistic from a maintenance standpoint. From a building it standpoint, I'm convinced it's not that difficult.

Check out this gamefish aquarium thread from OhioGameFishing.com : "A Fisherman\'s Aquarium"

Theo,

That's some neat pictures...and it's not as large as the aquarium at Todd's place.

The thing I worry about is high maintenance, but that fellow seemed to say it wasn't a big deal.

In the south, it could stay outside, on the deck, year around.

Really a neat thing to just sit and watch.

Stupendous!!!!!

The thing I wonder, is it like the old sideshow exhibit of the lion and the lamb laying down together?

The lamb has to be frequently replaced.

Seeing all the aquarium's sure brings back a lot of memories for me, I used to work as a glass cutter about twenty years ago, In our free time we could cut all the glass we wanted for whatever project. The only stipulation was, that for every project we made, we would have to contribute a couple bucks towards the employee Christmas fund. We were cutting out aquariums six feet long, out of half inch thick glass. One of our supervisors had twenty five aquariums in his basement, they were so big his kids would play in them. We were also making basketball backboards out of inch thick tempered bronze glass with holes drilled prior to the tempering process with brass inserts to support the hoops, they were gorgeous."aahhhhh the good old days"!

If you can measure the dimensions accurate, locate an experienced glass cutter, making aquariums any size you like for yourself is quite viable. Meddling with silicone glue for aquariums is not so tricky when you get the hang of keeping the work area and surfaces clean and cleaning up stray glue.

Setting the glass plates up to set accurate can be as simple as adjusting stacks of books to keep everything straight and steady while the glue sets.

I'd be very reluctant going straight in the deep end starting with a four foot deep job. Doing an intermediary 15" depth would be be a good start to build confidence, if ever a four foot deep aquarium split for unforseen reasons, the pressure and weight of that disintegrating mass would be a bit traumatic... and potentially that bit more dangerous

My first attempt at making aquariums were custom four foot long jobbies for some shelf positions, it all worked out right first time with no complications, though, filling them for the first time was a little tense, filling them in several steps to take the load step by step eased the tension up some

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

Meadowlark the larger the body of water you put your fish in the more stable the system will be. This is true for ponds and aquariums. The larger the body of water the greater the amount of oxygen and its ability to absorb ammonia. Temperature fluctuations will be more gradual also in a larger system which is safer for the fish. That all said a smaller tank is cheaper and less money to maintain just like a pond.

Amen to that post James Holt. A 20 gal aquarium is 10 times easier to stabilize than a five gallon.

Andy,

My plan (which is evolving) was to build the frame out of angle iron and then take it to a glass shop down the street from here for precisely cutting and fitting the glass and sealing it good. Thanks for your post and cautions.

James,

Thanks for the encouragement...and I'm inclined to start out large, even though the impacts of failure are greater. A large one is required, I think, to really observe your pond fish.

Anyone have any thoughts on aeration and/or water purification?

An aquarium similar to a pond can easily be overloaded with fish. Both situations cause problems. Amount of filtration and aeration will depend on the fish biomass. In my experiences with tanks and recirculating aquaculture systems too much filtration is much better than too little.

How many gallons are you talking about? The reason I ask is that you might consider using plexi glass. It's stronger and lighter than glass of the same thickness. Plexi also has a closer optic quality to water than glass which might play a major role in visibility or clarity when using very thick pieces. On the filtration portion you will want to have both mechanical (remove debris) and biological(nitrifying bacteria to break down chemical wastes) filtration. Start with about 1/4 the population you wish to have for the first couple of months and monitor first ammonia and then nitrite levels. Once they spike and return to zero levels (this cycle usually takes 4 - 8 weeks) your biological Filtration will be ready to add more fish. After that if you have adequate biological filtration your ammonia and nitrites will remain zero. At this point start to monitor your Nitrate level ( this is the end result of breaking down the ammonia, and nitrite which are harmful) Nitrates are much less harmful until they are at very high levels which will then weaken the fishes immunities. At this point it will be time to make a 25 - 50% water change (usually monthly) unless you have many plants to utilize the nitrates as fertilizer. Just my $.02 from my experiences in my aquarium days. Good luck and Keep us posted!

A friend of mine has a 75gal. "gamefish" observation tank stocked with 5 LMB 5 BG and 5 channel cats he purchased during our trip to the local fish farm. I am planning the same for my old 75 gal. cichlid tank. The aquarium has been in operation for about one year. Most of the fish were only a few inches long when they were put in and have doubled in size. It is captivating to watch these fish interact and feed. They are all considerably more aggressive than standard community aquarium fish. He has put in 100 minnows and the bass will erradicate them in a week. Amazing. The catfish are being fed pellets and bluegill get whatever is left. It has been quite a balancing act to keep the water quality in good condition with all this feeding, more difficult than previous salt and freshwater tanks stocked with more standard aquarium varities but still very rewarding. I would recommend staying away from real plants as they can, in most cases, require a great deal more maintanence and often bring in snails and algae. Special lighting is also required.

ML,

Just a suggestion:

You should put some of your finicky, feed-trained, Florida LMB in your aquarium and feed them to satiation. Then try to develop a technique to get these impossible-to-catch critters to bite.

It would be another good experiment to add onto your GG exp, if you can take on two at once?

tritonvt,

Only one problem with that plan...how to catch the Florida LMB?

Actually, that is one of the things I want to do....observe the behaviors of a pure Florida, an F1, and a native at the same time in the same tank.