Well we couldn't find any water barrels like the ones everyone uses. What kind of places do you guys get them at? We might end up going with a large trashcan if we can't find one.
Building filter and landscaping pond?
- Thread starter TorchwoodMindfreak
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koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
check craigslist. check carwashes, they will sometimes give them away. or a small fee.
But isn't it bad if they've had soap in them?
sissy
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Buy a sump pump vault if you can't find them .It has flat spots for the adapters plus noticed some of them now come with the tank adapters already and come in lots of sizes .For the barrels I found out here you can contact the city parks and recreation department and they can sell them to you at least here they do for 10 dollars .I also found my local plumbing supply store here sells them(fergusons plumbing supply ) 15 dollars and found that a farm store here sells them also ,you just have to ask for them and they are 25 dollars .I also find them all the time at flea markets .
I got my recent barrels from craigslist - found a local guy who recycles barrels from various sources and had all shapes and sizes of containers. Better yet, he had barrels rated as food-safe. The ones I got contained the syrup for making mountain dew.
On the other hand, as koiguy mentioned, car washes are also a good source. There used to be a truck wash up on the interstate that gave away their empty barrels, and this was the source of the filter for my first pond. Of course this is something you want to rinse out very well. Hose it out with a strong spray several times, then set it up on your pond with a pump to run water through it for a few days, changing the water once or twice. The longer you can flush it out, the safer it will be. Just make certain to do a *complete* water change again a few days before getting new fish... you don't want any lingering chemicals in the water.
On the other hand, as koiguy mentioned, car washes are also a good source. There used to be a truck wash up on the interstate that gave away their empty barrels, and this was the source of the filter for my first pond. Of course this is something you want to rinse out very well. Hose it out with a strong spray several times, then set it up on your pond with a pump to run water through it for a few days, changing the water once or twice. The longer you can flush it out, the safer it will be. Just make certain to do a *complete* water change again a few days before getting new fish... you don't want any lingering chemicals in the water.
sissy
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So your fish are dewed up LOL.
Probably explains why they were so hyper and jumping out of the water while I was building the new pond :razz:
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
I USE BARRELS FROM THE CARWASH...IF THEY HAD SOAP IN THEM IT CLEANS OUT EASILY....THATS THE REASON POLY BARRELS ARE USED FOR SO MANY THINGS...THEYRE CHEMICALLY INERT AND RESIST ABSORBTION OF OTHER CHEMICALS. $5 - $10 is the prices i got from carwashes. the ones that gave them away, you had to keep calling...first come first served....
My main reason for continuing to watch for barrels from the car wash is that they are the only source I've found for black barrels. Every other source around here handles only blue or white, both of which are difficult to hide unless you build a structure around them.
sissy
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why not just get the plastic spray paint .Here they have a lot of grey ones .Some of the darker grey ones come from the miller plant over in Eden NC and say hops on them .
Well yesterday we bought some rock and found a barrel in my step-dads shop. It's dirty but hopefully I can get it clean, it's freezing outside now so I don't really want to xD but he's not inclined to work much on it today either. I'll probably work on the filter during the week. So for media should I just use those round pot scrubbies and sponges?
Freezing? In Texas? Is that even possible?!? 
Don't use sponges in your filter. So many of them have some kind of soap or cleaner embedded in them, its best not to take chances. However I have used those round plastic pot-scrubbers in aquarium filters, and if you can find a good price on them, they would probably work very well in the pond. Different people use different media. Lava rock is cheap and easy to come by, but it clogs up and needs frequent cleanings. Cut up plastic pipes are good. I used a roll of plastic box strapping shoved into mesh laundry bags. Basically anything that provides a very large amount of surface area, but won't clog up easily with fish waste, is going to work well. The green scrubbie pads work great in the bottom because they will hold the larger bits of waste in the bottom of the barrel long enough for it to break down, or be flushed out your drain.
Don't use sponges in your filter. So many of them have some kind of soap or cleaner embedded in them, its best not to take chances. However I have used those round plastic pot-scrubbers in aquarium filters, and if you can find a good price on them, they would probably work very well in the pond. Different people use different media. Lava rock is cheap and easy to come by, but it clogs up and needs frequent cleanings. Cut up plastic pipes are good. I used a roll of plastic box strapping shoved into mesh laundry bags. Basically anything that provides a very large amount of surface area, but won't clog up easily with fish waste, is going to work well. The green scrubbie pads work great in the bottom because they will hold the larger bits of waste in the bottom of the barrel long enough for it to break down, or be flushed out your drain.
Yeah it's been in the 30's all weekend and I just saw like two snowflakes! And did you have to order the plastic straps online? They sound like a good idea to me. I'm going to check the local dollar stores this week to see how much their scrubbies are. And ok no sponges, check.
Well here's the link to the stuff I ordered...
http://www.polyandsteelstrapping.co...ping-black-1/2-in-16-x-6-core-9000-p-118.html
By the time you get through shipping, it gets a bit expensive, but I couldn't find anyone that carried something similar locally. I think I ended up using about 5000-6000 feet between my two barrels, however I'm considering adding more to them this year. This is just your basic common plastic strapping used to wrap around boxes for shipping. There is nothing special about it, other than it is plastic and it creates a large surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow on.
http://www.polyandsteelstrapping.co...ping-black-1/2-in-16-x-6-core-9000-p-118.html
By the time you get through shipping, it gets a bit expensive, but I couldn't find anyone that carried something similar locally. I think I ended up using about 5000-6000 feet between my two barrels, however I'm considering adding more to them this year. This is just your basic common plastic strapping used to wrap around boxes for shipping. There is nothing special about it, other than it is plastic and it creates a large surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow on.
taherrmann4
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shdwdrgn is it smooth or does it have a bit of texture to it?