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My Small But Nonetheless Smashing Pond


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#1 malawiman85

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Posted 03 October 2013 - 08:11 PM

I've been wanting to do a small pond with a glass front for ages... The biggest problem I had was working out where I wanted it... I wanted it to be somewhere I could see it all the time... I kept drawing blanks, but then just as I was starting to lose  hope my massive brain constructed what is probably the greatest idea in fish keeping history. 

When I explained it to my wife she threatened to leave me... Hoping she was serious and this wasnt just another idle threat, I went and built it anyway... Enough from me... Just check it out, its not finished yet but it is up and running:

 

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So I bought this tank 1600ltr (Some of you probably recognise it).

 

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Then I started building out of materials I had on hand... Mostly limestone, sand and cement.

 

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By this stage the wife still hadnt left so I kept on going. Moving the tank on my own was unbelievably difficult!

 

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I used existing holes in the tank to set up the filter/pump.

 

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The water is still a little cloudy and I havent cleaned the glass yet but already it looks great! So far I have only chucked my marron in, no fish yet. Cant wait to get this tank scaped and full of fish.

Fish that will be going in are:

- A Murray Cod - until it turns into a monsterous killer.

- A few silver perch

- Eeltail catfish

- Lots of shrimp

Best thing is I can literally feed the fish and top up water from my couch.

All up I have only spent $550.

 



#2 JackMack

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Posted 03 October 2013 - 08:25 PM

That is brilliant dude!
Saw that on gumtree many times and am glad someone finally put it to use.

Cheers


Edited by JackMack, 03 October 2013 - 08:26 PM.


#3 Kleinz

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Posted 03 October 2013 - 08:27 PM

Wow, that monstrous flocote thing is really making the rounds! :)
Nice positioning, but won't you need to insulate the sides?



#4 malawiman85

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Posted 03 October 2013 - 08:35 PM

Yep Kleinz I will be insulating the sides and rocking up to the full height of the tank. There is some room around the outside for some small native plants... should look good if I ever get it finished.



#5 garlic shrimp

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Posted 03 October 2013 - 09:49 PM

run a uv light ,at least 18 watt and place it after the filter where it returns to the pond.you should also consider building  a cover/gazebo type structure or a sail over it or the algae will spoil it.


Edited by garlic shrimp, 03 October 2013 - 09:51 PM.


#6 Androo

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Posted 03 October 2013 - 09:51 PM

Looks great man. Well done, is that glass on top or just the water level?

#7 malawiman85

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Posted 04 October 2013 - 06:29 AM

Yeah i way over filled it. But at least i know for sure its level. Ive dropped the waterlevel down about 20mm now.

run a uv light ,at least 18 watt and place it after the filter where it returns to the pond.you should also consider building  a cover/gazebo type structure or a sail over it or the algae will spoil it.


Garlic shrimp, why put the uv light after the filter? At the moment there is a 9w built in uv light in the filter.
Not sure what im gonna do for shade yet... It gets quite a lot of sun so it definitely needs some shade and soon to help minimise excessive water heating.

#8 MrLeifBeaver

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Posted 04 October 2013 - 09:05 AM

This is great! Well done. I look forward to more photos.

I once had a colegue who's father inlaw had half a window for a tank, looked very cool. Maybe one day when I build a house I will make that a pre-requisit.

 

Do you think the Murray Cod and Silver Perch will smash the shrimp to non-existance, or do you have lots of hidey holes?



#9 Fox

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Posted 04 October 2013 - 10:16 AM

Awesome stuff, Will look even more so when you get some plants etc around it.
Brilliant job :welldone:

 

 

P.S

I like your rant hahah always good when the missus threatens to leave :)


Edited by Az Aquatic, 04 October 2013 - 10:17 AM.


#10 malawiman85

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Posted 04 October 2013 - 01:22 PM

There will be heaps of hidey holes and plants for the shrimp... that is assuming the plants survive the attention of the marron. I only want to keep two marron in there.
It will take time to establish a permanent fish list given that they wont all live harmoniously.
Because the fish are all quite big it shouldnt be to hard to create some shrimp safe areas. The ones that get eaten... Well thats life when you're a shrimp!
My cod is still pretty shy doesnt really like leaving its pvc home. The silvers are like a pack of rabid piranha at feeding time and are more of a worry to the shrimp than the cod at the moment.

Im about to post a question under the technical and equipment section about outdoor tank temps if you can help out there it would be great.

#11 malawiman85

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Posted 05 October 2013 - 06:56 PM

Righto another couple photos. Water is cloudy as buggery cos i chucked in another 20kg of gravel.
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#12 malawiman85

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Posted 07 October 2013 - 10:16 PM

I threw some fish in the pond so far
5x silver perch
1x murray cod
4x blue marron - soon to be two because they are absolute vandals!
Still to go are:
2x Eeltail catfish
200x glass shrimp
Maybe:
2x archers over summer - would be awesome to watch them shooting insects outdoors.
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Edited by malawiman85, 07 October 2013 - 11:52 PM.


#13 malawiman85

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Posted 11 October 2013 - 06:22 PM

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Just added a huge lump of wood.

#14 Androo

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Posted 11 October 2013 - 07:18 PM

Has that rock gone yellow or is it just the picture?

#15 malawiman85

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Posted 11 October 2013 - 07:42 PM

Yep its gone yellow alright :-( Not really as bad as the pic looks though.

#16 malawiman85

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 10:42 AM

Goddamn it! White Spot... WTF??? Where in hell did that come from? Had to almost completely empty the tank to catch the fish... Had to put em in a bloody big hospital tank to crank up the temperature and bombard them with salt. Poor little Murray Cod looks the worst... Its weird, this is the second time I have ever had white spot... Both times this month, two completely separate tanks with no contact between the two... I am absolutely baffled! 
Anyone know of some good quality 500W heaters around the place? Im gonna heat it during winter and try and keep some Archers in there rather than the silver perch.

Edited by malawiman85, 26 May 2014 - 09:23 AM.


#17 Mattymak

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 12:33 PM

Have you moved to a new area by any chance?



#18 MrLeifBeaver

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 12:56 PM

Same net used for both tanks?



#19 malawiman85

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 02:36 PM

Same house, different nets, everything is kept seperate. Buggered if I know, ive had all the fish for a few months and they all seemed great.

#20 MrLeifBeaver

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Posted 29 October 2013 - 02:43 PM

I would say there has to be some kind of cross-over contamination. Obviously there are some many variables but you could be using the same syphon in each tank, the same arm with out washing it in between tanks, etc. As long as you can clear both tanks then it's all good.

To answer the other question I missed, do LFS sell 500W heaters? Or are they a little too large?






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