Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Questions On Setting Up Fish Tank - Redneck RAS

That's the name. I am wondering what the best way to cut the top on one is, will you lose structural integrity ?

What media are you using in your biofilter?

And is your pump on top in your clarifier pulling the water out and then the siphon puts it back in? Have you ever had an issue with one of these getting clogged up or other issue to cause water to come run out of tank?

What size pump do you have in the clarifier?

Do you also have a drain on the bottom of your fish tank as well?

reciprocating saw, drill an access hole near one corner first. You don't have to cut all the way to the sides if you don't want the whole top of the tank open. I don't think it would cause any problems, but if you're concerned, just don't cut the metal braces going across the top of the tank.

There's a few companies that make adapters for the valves to connect to a garden hose or smaller PVC pipe.

So I went to look at the containers, they are in great shape and the large ones. The problem might be what they used them for. Bark mulch dye, from what I read it is charcoal based and 100% environmental friendly. For 25$ a container it's almost worth the risk . What do you guys think?

You mean you don't have them yet?

I'd get them, rinse them out, wash them out with simple green once the tops are cut off, see if you can scrub the sides with a brush on a pole and then triple rinse them.

MB3 sold by this company:

http://www.w-m-t.com/Products/WaterTek_MB3_Moving_Bed_Media.php

It's 1/2 the price of Kaldnes, works better, and is made here in the U.S. vs. Kaldnes that is now made in China. Only $25.00 per cubic foot and one cubic foot is 184 square feet of surface area. I really like the self cleaning aspect of moving bed filters.



Yes. When water is pulled out of the clarifer tank the siphon compensates via gravity and pulls water out of the fish tank. The siphon always tries to keep the water level the same between the fish tank and the clarifer tank. Hence why water comes in via the siphon as water is pulled out of the clarifer tank.



No. If your fish are small enough to fit into the siphon you make a screen to keep them out. (although you want to periodically clean the screen if you are feeding heavily as in fingerlings.) I do that by having two screens. The fish are scooted away from the screen, it's removed and immediately the new clean one is placed on. Then the one removed is cleaned and used for next time.

Only problem I have had is not completely filling the siphon before it's initial use and having air slow it down. But it won't overflow if that happens. It would be just the opposite. That is more water is pumped out than is coming into the clarifer tank and the water level in the clarifer tanks gets low.

If you fill the siphon and keep both ends under water you will never have to fill it again. You simply drop the siphon in the fish tank, allow water to fill it up and cap the end you will be pulling above water to place into the clarifier tank. As long as both ends stay under water you will never have any issues.



It's mag drive 60 watt pump that does about 14 gpm I think. I've used as small as a 30 watt and 10 gpm and it worked fine. The mag drive pumps are very efficient and last a long time.



Yes the one pictured in an earlier post is the center drain system for the tank. The clarifier tank has it's own simpler drain. See below for fish tank drain system:

So do we think they won't kill my fish

Ok I am thinking about trying this out and wanted to know if anyone has used this or not and how it works.

http://www.amazon.com/Pond-Solutions-Clo...ywords=cloram+x

I have mentioned before that the city water here is now full of Chloramine instead of Chlorine and this product states it is safe for humans. I just want to use something in my tank that will not be harmful to my family. I am sure what I have used in the past was not smart to use, but since I am not sure how much of it the fish take on it may or may not be that big of a deal.

I just want to go the safest route possible for us and the fish.

Thanks

AmQuel and Proline Dry Ammonia Remover do the same thing and are considerably cheaper if your fish aren't destined directly to the table.

I use the Proline Dry Ammonia Remover (Pentair Aquatic Eco-systems) pg. 130 in the 2013 catalog for one of the systems I set up at the local high school that uses city water. However the fish come back to me at the end of the school year and are not for consumption.

We also keep it on hand at the schools in case of an ammonia or nitrite spike. None of the above have a negative effect on the biofilter.

The fish I have will be for consumption, it will be the Tilapia that are left and large enough to harvest.

I have not had as much luck this year with them spawning, or they have been eaten quicker this year as I had dipped up thousands last year and grew them out large enough to dump in our ponds for extra food, and maybe a few made it to eat some algae.

This year I have only noticed one spawn and was able to get about 25 fish out of it so not as happy but hey better than nothing.

So I am looking for something that will do the trick in the water and still allow us to consume the fish.

Thanks

Then the ClorAm-X is what you want to use.

That's said, I doubt there is any difference between the compounds. Probably just that the maker of ClorAM-X has spent the money to do the testing to show it's harmless to use for fish that are to be used for consumption. It's one of the biggest scams going in this country. He who has incredible amounts of money to do the testing gets approved. Otherwise you're SOL.

To be honest they stuff I am currently using probably is not harmful in the amounts we the fish in. I only have about 30-40 fish that may come out of there and we will eat it over a 3-9 month time so it may or may not be an issue unless the chemicals in it can build up and never pass through the body.

I am not familiar with this so that is why I am trying to get the info from the brains like yourself and many others on hear that know about this stuff.

I would prefer to just use pond/rain water but that is not an option at my current location.

I have used the following in the past, what problems do you think they pose for fish doomed to consumption?


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K82PWO/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i05?ie=UTF8&psc=1


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00176AYTI/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Thanks

No clue really. Sorry.

use ascorbic acid (vitamin c) to treat water with chloramines.. safe for fish bound for the table..

i've read that "super chorinating" works as well, breaking down the chemical bonds, but i'd use the vitamin c for a tank

Yeah I forgot about vitamin C.

Where would you get Vitamin C in that amount? Also how long does the water have to set before adding the fish back to it?

When I do a water change or exchange I usually just add it back in without removing the fish and all has worked so far.

I just want to get to something I know is safe rather than taking any chances.

Thanks

Sodium Ascorbate. PH neutral form of Ascorbic Acid. Ascorbic Acid will lower your PH.

Cheapest I've seen for the real stuff is 105 bucks for a 5.5lb bucket. Has all the gub blessings to boot.

One gram of the powder will destroy 1ppm of chlorine and, or, chloramines in 100 gallons of water, approximately. Best to pre mix and test tho.