55 gal bio build
- Thread starter anicho
- Start date
I find that 2" above the bottom is a good place for it to work.
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
Mines 4" above but as long as its not on the bottom it should be fine...if its on the bottom the debris and fish wastes will build up around the pipes and be alot less likely to flush out properly.
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
On these, where do ya'll have your drain/flush lines. I've seen some in the middle on the bottom but some I have seen on the side and two-three inches off the bottom, I'm trying to figure out how that works for discarding the solids that form on the bottom. I've been looking at a tank that is coned down at the bottom with a 15 degree slope and flat at the very bottom for the bulkhead to attach to. This in my mind would make the solids form at the bottom but then I started wondering if it would cause the drain line to become clogged. Any thoughts?
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
anicho said:
Take pics of your build! I'm looking at several different ideas for my future build. I've seen many slightly modified examples. From the ones I have read and looked at, 2"-6" off the bottom seems to be about the norm for most applications.
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
fishin'....naturally on the bottom in the center would be best...but that just isnt practical for some of us... on my 55 gal barrel i thought about heating the bottom and tapering the bottom down and putting the flush assembly there and actually putting cross braced legs on it. but for practicallity the side was easier and performs well. ands you can set the filter anywhere without having to elevate to accomodate bottom plumbing.
fishin4cars said:
All my drums have the drain on the bottom the lower the better,they all set up on blocks to make it work
Having a cone would be great ,with a 2"valve i dont think it would stop up very easy with 500lbs of water wanting out
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
These are the one's I'm looking at, thinking of either the 55 or 80 gallon. May even consider running two, one for each pump then going to the filter Was just reading and I thought they had 15 degree cones but actually 45 degree. the 15 degree cones are on tanks far larger than I will be able to use, Or afford. I think I can have a stand built for far less than what the company charges for their stands and I'm planning on having it poly coated to prevent it from rusting.
My plan is using it/them as a Separator/ course filter, then going to a large bio-filter chamber, then separating the flow 1/2 going directly back to the pond, and the rest going thru a Planted tub for water lettuce and or Hyacinths and anachris to help lower nitrates. Still trying to figure out some details as I want to be able to have a minimum of three holding tanks running on one filter system. that way all the fish use the same water but I can separate the males and females for more controlled breeding. I'm also wanting these to be Koi only, No plants in the ponds except for maybe some floating lettuce for them to nibble on, no shelves, complete covers and straight then slightly beveled at the bottom 4'-6' sides. I've got a lot more research to do as I want a filter that can EASILY handle 50+ 24"-36" koi. yes, when I do this I'm thinking VERY BIG! I also want multiple bottom drains, multiple skimmers and multiple pumps so if something fails I still have enough running to sustain the pond until repairs get made. I do not want to run into the problem of the whole system going down because of a single pump failure again. Liner,?? Not sure on this one yet, guess they will depend #1 on location. I don't want to fight cracking issues in something this large! Also going to make this one predator proof! One way or the other! All this depends on when the wife is going to be able to retire. I'm not going to build any of this here as we don't have plans on staying here once she retires. So it's still future plans as of now. who knows what will have developed in DIY filters by then, I've been looking at tower filtering too but so far I still don't fully understand that whole concept. but it is a option to learn about non the less.
My plan is using it/them as a Separator/ course filter, then going to a large bio-filter chamber, then separating the flow 1/2 going directly back to the pond, and the rest going thru a Planted tub for water lettuce and or Hyacinths and anachris to help lower nitrates. Still trying to figure out some details as I want to be able to have a minimum of three holding tanks running on one filter system. that way all the fish use the same water but I can separate the males and females for more controlled breeding. I'm also wanting these to be Koi only, No plants in the ponds except for maybe some floating lettuce for them to nibble on, no shelves, complete covers and straight then slightly beveled at the bottom 4'-6' sides. I've got a lot more research to do as I want a filter that can EASILY handle 50+ 24"-36" koi. yes, when I do this I'm thinking VERY BIG! I also want multiple bottom drains, multiple skimmers and multiple pumps so if something fails I still have enough running to sustain the pond until repairs get made. I do not want to run into the problem of the whole system going down because of a single pump failure again. Liner,?? Not sure on this one yet, guess they will depend #1 on location. I don't want to fight cracking issues in something this large! Also going to make this one predator proof! One way or the other! All this depends on when the wife is going to be able to retire. I'm not going to build any of this here as we don't have plans on staying here once she retires. So it's still future plans as of now. who knows what will have developed in DIY filters by then, I've been looking at tower filtering too but so far I still don't fully understand that whole concept. but it is a option to learn about non the less.