300 Gal Tub to winterize 30 goldfish in new home...

[ProfJeanniesGarden]

Hi everyone, I'm trying to find the best way to move my goldfish to my new home, here in Mass. where the ground will be getting too cold to dig soon, I'll be moving in early November. I have a large basement with windows and discovered I can purchase a 300 gal tank, which seems like a good winterizing solution until I can put in a pond in my new home in the spring. I have a lot of fish...they keep producing new ones! I know 30 is a lot for 300 gal. I'm willing to clean the pond poo regularly. They're not that big, between 1" and maybe 4".

But I have no idea how to make the tub work best for fish. Best filter? How do you attach a hose so I can clean the water in snow season (it's a walkout basement)? How warm do I need to keep them, the basement is semi-heated? What about light? (There are windows)

Or, for my cold climate friends, is it possible to install a pond in November? Temps will be in the 30s to 50s if we're lucky. I worry about moving the fish then due to shock. I've done all pond installations in previous homes personally, solo myself, up to 2000 gallons or so)

Stats: Current pond is about 1300 gallons. Well filtered, use a bubbler and heater in winter. My pump is way too strong I'm sure for this small tub; I could double filter using my current outside-the-pond one and a new one...

Thanks so much for your sage advice!

 

[Stephen Noble]

I missed this post and answered some of your questions at your introduction. Regarding your walk out basement:
Back when lived in the frozen tundra way up north , I used a portable sump pump with a flexible hose to do super-fast water exchanges out the door. The hose was about 25 feet long and sent the water far enough away from the house into the yard to not cause any problems. Draining about 25% of the dirty water only took a couple of minutes. I purchased the pump and hose at a home improvement store. This leads to my first post about pond placement. Place the pond where routine maintenance is easy. If it isn't easy, it won't happen. Choose a spot where water is easily accessible and if your basement is finished, consider what splashing water will do the area. If the basement is carpeted you will need to also be prepared for the carpet underlayment to break down under the extreme weight of a 300 gallon stock tank. And to restate from my first post, please make sure to use a GFCI socket for all electrical. Heating? Your goldfish don't need heat unless your basement is so cold that the water will freeze. Cooler water means less feeding and less metabolic waste which is a plus. Filtration is a personal choice. I use sponge filters and they work great. But with your bioload, I would personally use two, air-powered, large size (125-gallon) sponge filters and one smaller internal power filter with larger indoor stock tanks.
www.amazon.com/Lustar-Hydro-Sponge-Filter-Aquariums-Gallons/dp/B0002602SM/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=hydro%2Bpond%2Bfilter%2Bsponge&qid=1633362362&sr=8-3&th=1
For power filters I like to pick and choose. One filter I have going now is a Danner Pond Master pump coupled to a Tetra filter.
ww.amazon.com/Pondmaster-Magnetic-Drive-Pump-Black/dp/B000BJK3QQ/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=danner+pond+pump&qid=1633362622&sr=8-16

Here is the filter:www.amazon.com/TetraPond-Submersible-Filter-Ponds-Gallons/dp/B0024EFYU6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tetra+pond+filter&qid=1633362707&sr=8-1

Hope this helps!

 

[ProfJeanniesGarden]

I missed this post and answered some of your questions at your introduction. Regarding your walk out basement:
Back when lived in the frozen tundra way up north , I used a portable sump pump with a flexible hose to do super-fast water exchanges out the door. The hose was about 25 feet long and sent the water far enough away from the house into the yard to not cause any problems. Draining about 25% of the dirty water only took a couple of minutes. I purchased the pump and hose at a home improvement store. This leads to my first post about pond placement. Place the pond where routine maintenance is easy. If it isn't easy, it won't happen. Choose a spot where water is easily accessible and if your basement is finished, consider what splashing water will do the area. If the basement is carpeted you will need to also be prepared for the carpet underlayment to break down under the extreme weight of a 300 gallon stock tank. And to restate from my first post, please make sure to use a GFCI socket for all electrical. Heating? Your goldfish don't need heat unless your basement is so cold that the water will freeze. Cooler water means less feeding and less metabolic waste which is a plus. Filtration is a personal choice. I use sponge filters and they work great. But with your bioload, I would personally use two, air-powered, large size (125-gallon) sponge filters and one smaller internal power filter with larger indoor stock tanks.
www.amazon.com/Lustar-Hydro-Sponge-Filter-Aquariums-Gallons/dp/B0002602SM/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=hydro%2Bpond%2Bfilter%2Bsponge&qid=1633362362&sr=8-3&th=1
For power filters I like to pick and choose. One filter I have going now is a Danner Pond Master pump coupled to a Tetra filter.
ww.amazon.com/Pondmaster-Magnetic-Drive-Pump-Black/dp/B000BJK3QQ/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=danner+pond+pump&qid=1633362622&sr=8-16

Here is the filter:www.amazon.com/TetraPond-Submersible-Filter-Ponds-Gallons/dp/B0024EFYU6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tetra+pond+filter&qid=1633362707&sr=8-1

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much for this detailed answer! A sump pump is a great idea, that way I don't have to deal with the hole in the base of the tub. The basement is not finished and has a cement slab, so for the time being no worries there. I'm checking out your suggested filters -- this is super helpful!

 

[Stephen Noble]

Glad to help! Please ask away. One other thought: It sounds like you are using a stock tank (perhaps Rubbermaid?). Suggest you remove the drain plug and wrap the threads with plumbers Teflon tape. This will help prevent any leakage. It is painful to fill the tank half full and have to dump all of the water to deal with a leaking drain plug.
I am attaching an image of the sump pump, hose and removable coupling set-up. It will save time if you take the image to the store. Remember, please use a GFCI socket to run any electrical in your basement. Good luck!

 

[WaterGardener]

Check out Intex pools. If you have the room, a thousand gallon pool will cost much less than that stock tank and they can last for years. I bought some with damaged boxes on eBay for 60 to 80 dollars each. Everything in the boxes was brand new and perfect. Only the boxes were torn.

You still need filtration since what comes with the pool is pretty useless.