Journal Low Tech, Hi Tech Goldie Extravaganza!

[*Ci*]

Lowdown on the Low Tech side:

Fancy goldfish - easy plants. No C02, no fertilization, no heater, natural sunlight.
Goldies have always been my first love, paving the way to both my pond and aquarium obsessions : ) Time to get back to my roots!

Delicate negotiations with spouse were successful, including where such a tank would be located in our small, shared house and how much money I can spend (he doesn’t care as long as he can buy some boat stuff, as well).

The chosen spot in the dining room, now officially labeled “The Fish Room”:
Before:



After:



That’s better! Room for a 6 footer, if you ask me …
I’ll leave a space behind the tank for a wide sill and fill the window with houseplants. Maybe some household pendant fixtures from the ceiling with low wattage grow bulbs over both the plants and the tank.
No background on the tank, seeing through to the greenery and the outdoors.

An AI virtual (close but I couldn’t get it to make the tank a little taller):



Highlights of the Hi Tech side:

A virtually no maintenance, self cleaning system consisting of drilled overflows to a 100g basement sump with an RDF* (rotary drum filter), a 50g barrel k1 moving bed biofilter, oversized UV, constant drip water change and robotic algae cleaners**.

* https://ninjasieve.com/products/rotary-drum-filter-10000-l-h
** MOAI | Advanced Aquarium Cleaning Robot

The plan thus far:
I need to have the tank custom built. 72”L x 18”W x 24”T = 130g.
I live on Vancouver Island (4hr. + over $200 ferry travel to get off and on again), so my choices are limited without adding a lot of extra expense. There is a tank fabrication company on the island and we are in talks right now. I’ve never had a sump, so I am thoroughly researching overflow configurations and how they will work with the RDF.

The NinjaSieve RDF is already purchased. Rotary drum filters have been state-of-the-art in koi ponds for the last decade, but only recently have been available in smaller, less expensive sizes. I have only been able to find 3 instances on the entire internet (!) where one is in operation in an aquarium sump. They filter to 74 microns, and self clean using jetted water when the drum starts to clog, flushing the waste out of the system.
Clean water then goes to the moving bed barrel, which will have a valved drain on the bottom, in case any debris settles over time, then to a second 50g barrel housing the return pump and UV lamp. Total water in system = 230g (unless I decide to add a third barrel!)

There are a lot of steps to this project, which I will be accomplishing all by myself, and could very well take me all winter. Now that I’ve cleared the space and settled on a tank size, I need to buy metal jack stands and wood to shore up the floor in the crawlspace. Then I will work on collecting the pieces need for the filtration set up, while I’m waiting for the tank to be built and delivered.

Thanks for following along, comments and suggestions are always welcome. I will get to the plant and aquascaping portion of the build, eventually … I promise!

 

[JayP]

The chosen spot in the dining room, now officially labeled “The Fish Room”:

Dedicated dining rooms are highly overrated.

 

[PeerUnk]

Highlights of the Hi Tech side:

A virtually no maintenance, self cleaning system consisting of drilled overflows to a 100g basement sump with an RDF* (rotary drum filter), a 50g barrel k1 moving bed biofilter, oversized UV, constant drip water change and robotic algae cleaners**.

* https://ninjasieve.com/products/rotary-drum-filter-10000-l-h
** MOAI | Advanced Aquarium Cleaning Robot

Oh wow, RDF, K1, UV and auto water change... this really has to result in pristine water quality

But I've never seen a robotic algae cleaner. Really like the idea! Thanks for the info. Pretty pricy though...

 

[BenB]

This looks great. I used to follow a guy on Instagram that breeds goldfish. He really makes you want a nice tank like this. Now I can enjoy yours.

 

[Koan]

RDF* (rotary drum filter), a 50g barrel k1 moving bed biofilter, oversized UV, constant drip water change and robotic algae cleaners**.

And here I thought the electric otter fence was badass

 

[*Ci*]

Tank and stand are ordered.
A simple 72” x 18” x 24” rimmed tank, black silicone, and an internal corner overflow, herbie style. The stand will be simple, as well - open with a finished and trimmed top, and I will put black curtains around the front and sides. Nothing will be inside the stand except storage - all the filtration will be in the crawlspace below.

The two man company ~Out of the Blue Creations, being the only builder on Vancouver Island, is backed up with orders and my tank will take up to 8 weeks to arrive.

In the meantime, I’ll work on getting everything else mostly set up.

• Got my wood and jack stands yesterday, for shoring up the floor
• Got a 5 ft. planter to install under the window for houseplants behind the tank and thought of a way to semi-automate their watering with tank water from my discus waterchanges.

 

[JayP]

There are a lot of steps to this project, which I will be accomplishing all by myself, and could very well take me all winter.

Speaking of winter, how do you plan to heat the sump in the crawl space? I imagine you'll have to heat both it and the main tank.

 

[*Ci*]

Speaking of winter, how do you plan to heat the sump in the crawl space? I imagine you'll have to heat both it and the main tank.

It is an insulated crawlspace, 4 - 6 ft high, really just a weird, uneven floored extension of my basement, and mostly underground. It stays around 60-65F all winter. All of my canister filters are down there, as well as my heated discus ageing barrel., with no problem .
I might throw a heater in the return pump barrel just to make sure the temp. doesn’t fluctuate too much, but still keep the whole system rather cool for the goldfish.

 

[*Ci*]

Progress made, though mostly planning and purchasing, not much really picture worthy.
The room is prepped for the tank arrival - planter box under the window and, what will hopefully look like a living wall, on the right. Two large houseplants on the left. All these planters are being watered and fed with hoses and valves connected to my discus tank, where I now have a submerged pump and pipe permanently installed for water changes. Turn on pump, flip some valves, plants get watered. The planters then drain down hoses into 1.5” pipe coming up through the floor and on to a sump basin I put in the basement (where the fish tank overflow and waste from the rotary drum filter will end up as well). This will gravity drain to the sewer line and also have a sump pump to the outside as a backup, in case of blockage.
I also cut a chunk out of the carpet so the new tank can sit on the hard floor.


In the basement crawlspace, I added extra joists and beams, poured concrete pads on the uneven floor and put in 3 steel jackposts. I’m pretty confident that it is way overkill for the extra weight of the new tank.

Next, after much research, I’ve purchased:

Ninjasieve Rotary Drum Filter
Laguna Max-Flo 4280 water pump (the best pump curve and wattage for the 11 ft head I need)
Lifegard Pro-MAX 55w UV
2 x 300w Weipro Titanium heaters
and this nifty magnetic holder to mount them inside the barrel, which was a conundrum (suction cups don’t work) -
Octo Strong Double Heater Holder
2x 50 gallon barrels, one for the moving bed and one for the return pump/UV/heater housing (already have a Medo Lph45 air pump for the moving bed)
4 cubic feet of K-1 media
9” air diffuser

Want to know how to build a 50g moving bed in a barrel? Go to a pond forum!
Birdmans Fluid Bed Filter

The barrels were completely coated with dried chocolate syrup which needs to be scraped out and then melted with a heat gun and wiped to get the rest, plus multiple baths of hot water and dish detergent and a final vinegar rinse.



I had other, food safe and easier to clean options, but none of them had these nice removable lids which I definitely want for my filters.



Anyway, I got one of them cleaned so far.
The only glitch now is that the tank builder called to say that one of the panes of glass he ordered for my tank came in with a flaw, so the build will be delayed for a few more weeks.

Oh, well, I have plenty of left to do while I am waiting! Once the other barrel is clean, I can plumb them together and into place, assemble the moving bed, mount heaters and uv, maybe even start cycling the k-1 (any reason why I can’t do that without a main tank connected, just run the moving bed by itself?)
Thanks for any input and Cheers!

 

[JayP]

Wow! This is quite the project. Who knew cleaning dried chocolate syrup from barrels would be an aquarium related task?

 

[VJM]

Incredible build! I love goldies so much and you don’t see them get the royal treatment very often. Looking forward to all the developments!

 

[*Ci*]

As I wait for my tank to be built and work on the filtration, I’m starting to think about the aquascape/environment for the display. Obviously, it needs to be goldfish friendly with tough, but low demand plants.
What keeps coming to mind is a grassy streambed with rounded stones, flowing from left to right. In fact, I may put my return as a spraybar on the short lefthand end, while the overflow box is on the right for a nice linear/riverine flow.
I’m inspired by this thread for plant ideas:

Recommend Tall grassy favorites

Some possibilities:
Eleocharis vivipara
Eleocharis montevidensis
Vallisnaria sp.
Sagittaria subulata
Maybe Java fern sp. tucked around the rocks
Maybe move some anubias over from my jungle tank

Plus, I did this:



These are mangrove propagules, and they are very hard to find or import into Canada. They also slow to develop roots and stems, but sometimes in the future I will have a grove happening in the goldfish tank! They should do well with the open top and in front of a window as I have it.
Here’s what they could look like, eventually (random photo from net):


I like light coloured substrate, so I think I will go with pool filter sand, and I found a selection of tan/brownish rocks at a local landscape yard:



Some additional “grassy” inspiration photos from the net:





And Kwyet’s 125G Nature Tank !


And finally, I always wanted to give an underwater waterfall a try. So with my smooth rocks and white sand, Ai gave me a virtual that I may be able to replicate (simulating the sand in a stream bed spewing along the course, yea, I know it’s a stretch, but nothing about a fancy goldfish tank is realistic, lol!)

 

[BenB]

Crypt balanse, tonkinensis, or retrospiralis? There is another that starts with a "u" that a big long strap.
The only problem with them is the big long runners and when they start putting up random plants here and there. Which is also a positive of them.

 

[Kwyet]

Thank you!

 

[JayP]

You may already be aware of this, but Sagittaria Subulata will try to take over every inch of your tank. It's easy to grow and looks nice but it sends out runners like crazy and seems to be everywhere in no time. I really only meant to use it as one of those babysitters in my nano tank, but it's already taken over the island and now wants to move to the beach.

 

[*Ci*]

You may already be aware of this, but Sagittaria Subulata will try to take over every inch of your tank. It's easy to grow and looks nice but it sends out runners like crazy and seems to be everywhere in no time. I really only meant to use it as one of those babysitters in my nano tank, but it's already taken over the island and now wants to move to the beach.

I’m thinking maaaaybe that’s what I want …? Lol!
It could be that the goldfish will be constantly uprooting everything, anyway. If I can get the tank to look like a grassy field with only a couple of species (plus the epiphyites), I would be happy.
With an uncomplicated scape like that it shouldn’t be too hard to yank up unneeded runners.

 

[*Ci*]

Progress has been made! Tank was finally delivered after holiday and truck breakdown delays.
It looks good - very smooth black silicone seams. The stand is okay, utilitarian, but sturdy. I was going to use black curtains around it, but I may also do something radical like put lighting and more plants down there, maybe wall in the interior with plexi and make terrariums …. or tarantula habitats (and not mention it to significant other) …



With the tank in place, I was able to line up the bulkheads with where I needed to drill down through the floor to the crawlspace sump area. That’s done now with a gate valve on the suction pipe and the RDF filter hooked up.
The two blue barrels are squeezed into place behind my furnace and plumbed. The moving bed has been created with a 9” air diffuser on the bottom plumbed to a Medo 45lph air pump via a valve manifold. It’s filled with K1 media, but nothing is started up yet. I need to work on my return barrel next, installing the pump, check valve, ball valve and UV and drill another hole in the floor for the returns to the display tank. I am embarrassed to take pictures of all this stuff as it is not a pretty sight all cramped, dark and dingy down there … kinda creepy.

I searched all over for white pool filter sand, to no avail, and after trying a bunch of rock stacking configurations, I decided to abandon the idea of a sand waterfall. I did find inexpensive pool filter sand ($10 for 50lb.) in a very nice, natural looking brown, though, and I love it. It needs alot of rinsing, which I am doing in small batches at the kitchen sink - half done at this point.



And I put in an order for plants! I figure I can fill the tank and get the plants started while I complete the other tasks - maybe put the heaters and a small circulating pump in the main tank, in the meantime.

 

[BenB]

That looks great. That tank is huge!

and make terrariums

That sounds awesome 10/10 recommended!

…. or tarantula habitats

hard pass... 10/10 not recommended

 

[*Ci*]

Fully planted. I moved a big anubias and some java fern over from my other tank, after soaking them for 2 days in an alum solution to kill the snails. I’d like this tank to be snail free so they don’t start getting into the overflow and the rdf. We’ll see if the alum works … I’ll get assassin snails if I see any pest snails that survived.



I was thinking about having no lights above the tank, as there is the window plus surrounding plant lights (some strip leds are behind the valance pointing down on the plants in front of the window), but in the end I put up these two pendants that match what I have on some of the plants, with these bulbs:



They light up the tank nicely on the dimmest setting. Might be just right or, come summertime, there might be an explosion of algae from too much sunshine!
Everything is looking just how I pictured it, so far.
Filtration is not done yet. I keep running into roadblocks that I have to think about for days : )

 

[JuJuFish]

That sand is a great color!