Makes sense. We all know how sensitive redears can be to winter conditions. OTOH perhaps if there weren't too many morts you could come up with a line of redears that is coldwater resistent?

Just my opinion of course, but I think you're shorting yourself by not adding a couple of barrels for mechanical and bilogical filtration, and raising temps and feeding them. Less water to change for the few lbs. of fish you have and they will be healther. For only 50 lbs. of fish in a 500 gallon tank you could get away with one 10 percent water change per week.

Really easy and simple to add on even if you don't add a center drain. I could show you on this website with clear pictures step by step. The bio media you need is just up the road in Missouri and not only the cheapest on the market but has the most surface area here:

http://alliedaqua.com/moving-bed-bio-media-by-the-cubic-foot.html

You could ge the media bacteria going seperately in the drum by feeding it nonsudzing ammonia until it's cycled and then hook it up to the tank.

All you need for a mechanical filter is a blue plastic 55 gallon drum, about four or five foot of 2 inch PVC, two 2 inch elbows and a 2 inch connnector, a 1 1/2 inch bulkhead fitting for a drain in the bottom of the drum, barb fitting and plastic hose, and 2 cinder blocks. And orchard netting cut in pieces for the filter material and a small mag drive pump that sits on top of the filter material to pull water up through the material to the adjacent biofilter drum.

The biofilter consists of another blue plastic drum, a 9 inch membrane diffuser or two 9 inch air stones, and an airline to an air source. And of course a water line that feeds the biofilter water from the small mag drive pump on top of the mechanical filter. The water line can feed in at the top or bottom of the biofilter tank. I'm gravitating to feeding it into one of the bung holes of the lid of the drum. If you cut the top of the drum off where it slightly narrows you can flip it over and use it as a lid.

Gotta go. Have to draw something up to get a building permit.



Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 09/17/15 09:54 AM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.