Browse Forums Outdoor Living 1 Sep 18, 2011 4:55 pm Hi I am planning to buy a 2m (L) x .5m (W) x .5m (H) glass fish tank to be kept outside. I got a lower window in the Family Room just below TV, refer attached photo: Window from inside: http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/8714/p1000106d.jpg I am planning to keep the fish tank outside just in front of above window, refer attached photo: Window from outside: http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/4967/p1000105jd.jpg The reason for this is to watch fish from inside house but to keep the tank outside. So, what do you think guys? (a) Could I maintain “Clear Water” throughout the year? (b) What equipment should I attach to this tank? Please let me know. Thanks Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 2Sep 20, 2011 8:29 pm Hi I think you may struggle to get this to work. I would have 3 concerns. First, given that the tank is outside you will get a lot of sunlight - which will cause LOTS of algal growth, so the tank will go green very quickly. Second, depending on the type of fish you want to keep and where you live you may need to heat the tank. This may be expensive if you live in a cool climate and need warm water. Third, you need will need a filter to go under the tank, and for this yo need about 2 feet of clearance under the tank, and you don't seem to have the room for this without digging some sort of trench. Paul Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 3Sep 21, 2011 8:10 am Hi Paul Thanks for your reply. Are there any equipment or method to control algal growing as I would like to keep this tank very clean? I am in Melbourne, VIC - do you think that I should heat the tank? If I get the tank wider than the window, do you think that I could fit a filter beside the tank? Thanks Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 4Sep 21, 2011 11:53 am NiMa, have you kept fish before? I would recommend you talk to a dedicated fish shop (rather than a generic pet store) and get some advice. The operating equipment and environment varies a lot depending on whether you are keeping gold fish, tropical fish or marine fish. E.g. tropical fish need to be kept within a particular temperature range. Too hot, or too cold and you end up with floating fish rather than swimming fish. Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 5Sep 21, 2011 8:04 pm If you want to keep gold fish then yes it will work to a certain extent I used to breed tropical fish and the basic fundamentls of tank care is filtration, air supply, water quality and temprature Fish like Discus as an example would die in several hours if the chemical, temp and bacteria balance alters by a small % African and American Chiclads are more hardy but they wont survive outside with minimal habit fluctuations There are UV filters available but they kill good and bad bacteria and algae A tank needs a bacteria colony in the substrate and canister filter to be semi self sufficant Fish like Bristle nose catfish or most sucker fish eat algae as well as some snails but most snails will become a pest I had five tanks running and did weekly water changes, this can be quite expensive and is very time consuming Water changes can be automated as well as chemical balance adjustments etc but massive dollars to invest there The basic aquarium setup requires (tropical not marine) - Canister filter to suit tank size (Ehiem preferably or Fluval at minimum) or better still a sump tank Heater/s to suit tank size Under gravel filter Air pump CO2 difusser if wanting quality plants Gravel vacum Full length tank light (globe type depend on fish and plants) That size tank when setup properly with decent fish will cost around the $10,000 mark (your specified tank size will be custom not off the shelf) boronia aquariums forum is a good place to ask questions and there is also a classifieds section Da Vinci Outdoor Living Architectural landscaping http://www.davincioutdoor.com Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 6Sep 25, 2011 8:12 pm I had a tank outside under the eaves on the southern side of the house, so it received very little direct sunlight and it still was full of algae. That was OK as I didn't really see it much. Having an algae-free tank is not an easy thing. Most waterways have some sort of algae in them. But serious hobbyists spend ages trying to get the balance of nutrients and sunlight right. Most will agree that a lot of plants will help outcompete the algae. But with having no control on sunlight, it makes it really hard. As posted above you could go the UV steriliser route, but you have to be super-diligent with water changes as you won't have much if any in the way of bacteria to convert fish wee & poo + uneaten food from ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate and ammonia and nitrite are very harmful to fish. To get around the heater issue, you can look for coldwater species like goldfish (which I find a bit boring), white cloud minnows, or native species like Pacific Blue-eyes or Crimson-spotted rainbowfish, that can handle colder temperatures. Can I ask the obvious question: why does it need to be outside? Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 7Sep 29, 2011 7:52 am Hi guys Thanks for your replies, guys. I am confused and do not know what to do. As it seems to hard to maintain I might setup a koi fish pond or simior. Mazisto, we do not have space inside house for a fish tank. I got these lower level glass at family area thinking that I would setup a fish tank outside. Please refer above pictures. I will post pictures if I get a tank or a pond setup outside. Again, thanks a lot. Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 8Oct 03, 2011 8:06 pm Hi Nima, Lots of variables that you'll need to consider before going ahead with this as you'll run into all sorts of problems if you haven't had experience keeping fish before. Definitely go and speak to a dedicated fish store and bring the photos you took and they'll be able to have a more detailed chat with you about what you want to do and how much you're willing to pay for it. You mentioned you don't have space inside for the tank but is that just for the large one? Alternative suggestion would be to consider a nice 2ft tank, it'll fit in most places and is a great tank to start with. Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 9Oct 04, 2011 1:13 am Hi There, I keep a 600L tank (sounds about half the size of what you have) and I have a gravity fed 3 compartment bio filter. The tank has about 30kg of coral on the ground to help trap dirt and you need to change partial water every 3 weeks or so. The algea does bild but a simple scrub will get rid of it. As you are viewing from inside it will be important that the viewing area can be cleaned. If you are only intending one viewing surface then you could mask the rest with either single colour or a picture back drop. Mine is two viewing sides. I am in Singapore so I don't need a heater for Chichlids, Parrots and some loahces but in Melb you will need a heater for tropical. As the other poster said, some fish are very sensitive, i.e. discus and need very good water and temp stability. At least the tank your size should be stable. I use a reverse osmosis water filter with gas and something else filter with a mineral infuser so I dont have to mess about with declorinisation, which would be a hassle. A tank your size is a substantial investment in time and dollars. Worthwhile getting a aquarium specialist to quote and assist with the set up. All that said, they are very theraputic watching the radomness of their swimming. Ciao Mark Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 10Oct 05, 2011 6:56 am Hi Mark Is there a way you could post a picture of your tank or email it to me at nalincg@hotmail.com? Thanks Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 12Oct 05, 2011 9:36 am NiMa what kind of fish do you plan? ...tropical, marine or goldfish? You've been given some good advice already but can I'd like to add one more thing. Have you thought about an inground pond with goldfish outside that window? We've had a fishpond in every house we've ever owned, one house had floor length windows similar to yours which meant we could sit inside and watch the fish through the window. This was in a cold climate and in winter the pond water would freeze with around 100mm+ of ice on top...thick enough to support an adult's weight when walking on it!! Every couple of weeks we would get out there with a sledge hammer and smash through the ice, so the whole pond didn't freeze into one solid block and the expanded 'water' break the pond walls. The current fishpond is outside the kitchen bench window so it's possible to watch the fish from the kitchen, but it's also close to the alfresco. We've always found it best to have a pond close to the house to stop kookaburras etc from catching the fish...they tend to be a bit wary of coming in so close. The filter system is very basic and consists of a home-brew barrel filled with polyester wadding and a mix of sand and pebbles...but, it works!! Most of the year a small solar pump is used to aerate the water, but during really hot times an electric submersible pump is switched on as well. Goldfish maintain rich colours when eating algae and once the algae levels have built up don't need to be fed so the pond is self-maintaining and a great delight for the kids (and adults)!! One of the biggest problems with having a pond (or tank) outside will be keeping cats out, not only will they kill and eat the fish they make a huge mess of the pond and plants in their attempts to get at the fish. Hope this helps? Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 13Oct 05, 2011 10:36 am HappyCampers advice seems to be another solution as well. In fact my folks have converted their concrete pool into a fish pond for about 15 years and there must be thousands of fish in there. The birds also feast...... My friend has a big Koi pond sourrounding his windows in his house and it looks great. Its made from granite so a couple of algea eaters take care of the the cleaning and every thing else is left alone. Hmmmm maybe a pond will be now considered for my build.... Feng Shui also good... Cheers Mark Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 14Oct 05, 2011 11:07 am LOL....you'd laugh at some of our ponds in the past!! Dig a hole to required size/shape/depth, if soil is rocky etc put a layer of sand or even old carpet is good, buy some builder's (underslab) black poly from the hardware store (really cheap) and place over the old carpet, a double layer of plastic is good insurance. Half fill with water, then weigh down the excess plastic around the edge with rocks or whatever you plan for the edge, add remainder of the water and once the plastic has had time to settle trim the excess so it doesn't look daggy!! An old bathtub (freebie) is another good pond, just seal the plug area with silicone/etc (make sure it's the aquarium safe one if no plastic liner) then it's not a bad idea to place a piece of black plastic inside the bathtub just in case it rusts through after a few years. The plastic isn't essential though. If using tap water don't add fish for a couple of days, give the chlorine time to dissipate or you can buy 'water ager'...or even better, use rainwater and you don't need to do anything, just add fish for an instant pond. Give them something to hide under. So you can see you don't need to spend a million $$$'s on a pond that will not only look good but be a nice feature in the garden. Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 15Oct 06, 2011 6:49 am Hi HappyCamper_au Thanks for your reply and I do not have any idea what sort of fish to be placed in the pond/tank at the moment, first time. If you could post few pictures of your pond, it would be appriciated. Re: Outside Fish Tank (Glass) 16Nov 19, 2011 6:19 am You need to ensure the glass is thick enough. 1/2" plate should do it, but for a tank outside, it would be prudent to go with tempered glass. The concrete can be formed to prevent the glass from bowing, and protect the sides and bottom edges. The edges of tempered glass are the weak spots, so plan to cover the top edge too. Temperature is critical for any fish, so you will have to control the water temperature so that whatever outside weather extremes you may have, they will have no effect on your tank water. Heating is easy, but In very hot regions, you may need to also cool the water in the summer. The entire interior of the custom fish tank can be sealed with an epoxy paint. This will allow you to paint good looking backgrounds as well as provide a waterproof seal for the concrete. Plan ahead, the pump for an outside filter may be plumbed through the walls of the concrete by casting the concrete around a couple of small cardboard tubes or PVC, making maintenance easy and preventing you from the hassle of working it in through the top cover. The cover should also prevent the constant exposure to sunlight and the effects of radiation heat. Thanks for letting us know. The programmer will have a look at this later today. 2 6685 18 90484 From what I know about water tanks (I've been working with a client on them for a few years now) is this - The concrete can last a lifetime if they don't crack for some… 2 10630 |