Indoor Pond Project

[CatWhat]

I have been thinking about doing an indoor pond for years now and finally decided to go ahead and start a log of the progression.
The pond is actually an agricultural waterer that I had to get ordered in and it is approximately 300 gallons. I just picked it up two days ago.
My plan is to frame around it for extra support and then to box it in just to tidy it up. Basically having a ledge around the pond, perhaps to place some potted plants around to naturalize it a bit.
The only thing I have done with it so far is taken the drain and bulk head fittings apart to silicone the fittings before reinstalling them. I don't intend to actually utilize the drain so I figured I would seal it up the best I could before leak testing it.
The next step is to place it outside and fill it up and see how it hold ups for a few days.

[Bas Pels]

on the plus side, I think this can be very beautifull, and cheep. But on the downside, you will not be abel to see any fish from aside, and light in the tank wil lbe dim. Therefore it might be hard to see much fishes

As far as I know, this kind of ponds need outside support. You might want to construct a firm box, and fill it with sand - or potting soil, and make the whole even lushier than you are now planning

further, you could plant aquariumplants in pots too, and let them grow out of the pond. Echionodorus is an example I like very much.

I would like to see ome pictures of the end result (as far as you can call a picture of anb ongoing project a pic of the end result)

[Shane]

These Rubbermaid ponds are very thick and usually fine with no outside support. Same material and thickness they use to make horse/cow water troughs. My only warning would be to pay attention to the amount of humidity it adds to the house.
-Shane

[CatWhat]

This is actually a horse/cow water trough, well they have it listed as a livestock waterer. It seems pretty thick and rigid but I still plan to frame it out for added support just in case. As for lighting I have a 48" 3000 lumens LED that will be hanging over it so it will be easier to view for the fish. As for only being able to see them from above, I plan to house mostly large fish in there that should be able to be seen well from above, although yes you cannot beat the side view for sure.
At the moment with 16 tanks going in the basement the humidity is roughly around 38 with the dehumidifier going and around 44 without. I also have the HRV for the house that will pick up any slack if need be. But do plan to have it covered with clear plexi glass when not being viewed just to cut down on evaporation.

[TwoTankAmin]

You can tell this should need no support because of the drain which is located at the bottom. But also because nowhere on the Rubbermaid site does it state it needs support nor do they show it in pictures being supported. Finally, feeding stock may be done in different locations. I cannot imagine something like this not being easy to move when the need arises. And then there is the fact they call them Structural Foam Stock Tanks. I would imagine structural implies able to withstand whatever it needs to because it is full of water.

But don't trust me, have a read here and it might help https://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone. ... ock-tanks/

[CatWhat]

Agreed TwoTankAmin, I can't even get the sides to bow by pushing or pulling on them. Also I will be leak testing it with no supports so it is no doubt over kill. Although at a minimum I will be boxing it in just to clean it up a bit and have somewhere to hide the equipment and I have visions of putting potted plants around the perimeter to close it all in a bit.

[CatWhat]

Now for the leak test. I'll let it sit for a few days and hope for the best.

[CatWhat]

The leak test is going good after 24hrs, seems to be holding the water with no issue. The overnight temp did dip below zero so there was a little skim of ice over the water this morning but no issue.

[CatWhat]

Ok so after roughly 80 hours there were no leaks so I figured it was ok to call it good. I pumped it out with a submersible pond pump and brought it back inside. Now on to the construction phase although I am of two minds about elevating it up on a boxed in frame. I thought it would be more convenient to have it up off the floor so I could siphon it out, but after using the pump to do so I thought perhaps why not use that for cleaning and draining purposes.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Elevating up the tub would grant you flexibility in terms of siphoning or pumping and perhaps an easier, less back-bending maintenance.

[TwoTankAmin]

I have to agree with Victor. A number of years ago I realized the shortcoming of tanks (or other containers) being on the floor or barely above it. It is impossible to vacuum using a siphon. And one cannot really use a pump for this as the impeller will almost always clog and stop. I use pumps in both directions but never for cleaning the bottom.

For me, the result is I will never set a lower tank tank on a rack such that the bottom of the tank is less than 1 foot above the floor. Given that the container should have an outlet near the bottom for draining, this elevation should also help with that.

[CatWhat]

Valid points guys, never really thought about the impeller clogging up while sucking from the bottom of the pond. Maybe I should go with the frame underneath, I have enough 2" x 12" to do so.

[Viktor Jarikov]

I'd set up the tub on cinder blocks but my setups have been called ghetto style on many occasions But you will be enclosing the whole thing, so I think concrete blocks would be better and safer long term.

[lovefishtank]

I love indoor ponds because they can decrease the algae growth.

[CatWhat]

The construction has begun. Now just to box it in so I can hide the filters, power bars etc...and to have a little bit of a shelf/rim around it for potted plants.

[CatWhat]

[CatWhat]

[2wheelsx2]

Looking good. Is the raised lip to contain any splashing?

[CatWhat]

Not so much for splashing water but to keep any jumping fish somewhat contained. But I am thinking of cutting the sides down a bit more. I put the full sheet of plywood up to see what it looked like and figured I could always trim some off if need be.

[Bas Pels]

If any fish would jump, it would be a pity if it would get into the openings between the plywood and the pond. If possible, please close them.

For the rest, a very inspiring project

[CatWhat]

Those gaps are only 3/4" at the most, but I was thinking about filling them in with silicone. But I am not sure if I can get my hands on black aquarium safe silicone. I may have to go with clear perhaps.

[2wheelsx2]

Maybe you can just use plumber's putty and paint it black. I am with Bas. I find fish are able to get into the smallest gaps and get stuck when you are not looking.

[CatWhat]

Hmm I haven't thought on the plumbers putty. I will look into it tomorrow at the hardware store. I got lots of black paint that's for sure.

[CatWhat]

I used low expansion foam afterwards and painted it black.
Also I was thinking perhaps doing a large shoal of Pictus for the bottom of the pond.

[swampgorilla]

I have a 72 gallon stock tank as an indoor pond ... but mine is galvanized.

It is coated with an epoxy pond liner on the inside that took a long time to prep and paint on. It's beautiful though. If I did this again I would probably go with the rubbermaid ponds. I didn't do that though because most of those had slanted sides and I wanted a rustic look - but the pain of putting that epoxy liner on this galvanized tank made feel different about that! LOL

I use a pump to pump water in / out for water changes. I use two canister filters (a Cascade 1000 and an Eheim 2215) to filter it along with an AC110 HoB. The Eheim is filled exclusively with Pond Matrix and the flow is adjusted to a bare minimum. Output of the Eheim is then sent to a 25 watt U/V.

The canisters each have their own intake - but shared outlet. I had to rig up a special DIY combined outlet to reduce the flow in the tank and it works quite well.

Been working for a year like this and it's GREAT. Fish love to come to the top and interact with whoever walks by. My greyhound has never really shown an interest in eating the goldfish ... but I have caught her taking a gulp or two of water from the tank when she's thirsty! LOL

Anyway - it's a fun tank. I know a lot of people say you can't use a canister filter unless the tank is above it ... but mine work fine.

[CatWhat]

Done and done. Just needs fish.

[CatWhat]

Ahhh thats no good then. Well here is a link to my YouTube Channel that includes some video of the pond.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=397mPIx5aYg&t=24s

[Viktor Jarikov]

Wow! Great job. You have got a lot going on and appear to be much into breeding. That's pretty exciting. Is this all in your basement?

[CatWhat]

Yup, all in the unfinished portion of the basement.