Concrete Tanks For Fish

[Mosha]

Reminds me of when I kept koi in the UK. I worked for I.C.I. This graduate engineer was given the task of ordering filter medium for some scrubber units. The stuff looked like white hair rollers.10,000 UK pounds a bag. He only needed 5 and he ordered 50! They could not be returned. So our boss was at a loss what to do with the 45 excess bags. I bought 1 for 50 pence

[cdmtdm]

here are a couple of diagrams on the basic operation , simple but effective , also very low power consumption as they can run on auto and stop and start as the filter clogs , gravity water flow from tanks ....polymer construction with stainless mesh drum , mine will do 60 M3 of water per hour .. u can buy much smaller units i believe....

download.jpgDFP-60 drawing.jpg

Sorry I forgot to respond to this. It seems like the sort of thing I was looking for, but I can't quite work out the mechanics by the diagram.

It would be easier f I could read the print on the B&W image. Can you point me to a web site where I can learn more?

Thanks for uploading the images.

if u google drum filters u will find a mountain of info ... pm me your email and i will send u the one i have cheers

[sjefrie]

Ray here some examples for a barrel filter

http://www.thepondforum.com/showthread.php/72-DIY-55-Gallon-Barrel-Pond-Filter

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?16161-Gene-s-300g-Setup-with-55g-Upflow-Filter

[StefanBBK]

Very nice setup you are having.

I built a couple of Koi ponds myself and alway opted for the chamber filter. One reason being that it is easily hidden away, which is important if the pond is for decoration.

Another reaso being that the pump lasts a little longer when operated in claen water.

I solved the flow problem by putting the pond drain at the far end and pump the filtered water to the near end.

my first chamber usually contains a savk of oyster shells. Lots of the solids get stuck there.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[canuckamuck]

Hey Ray, here is the link to where I got the original idea for my filter. I guess they call it a skippy filter. http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm

You can adapt it to you own needs.

[ray23]

Thanks Guys,

Finally got it to print. simple project. I won'l need it until we start catching fish again, it's only for a holding tank. We catch our fish with poles. Normally do sales through preorders. But, it nice to have a few on hand for those last minute orders.

For what we need it is perfect.

[canuckamuck]

If you want the filter to work best, you should give it a couple of weeks head start to build up the nitrobacters. Throw in a few fish a month early and turn on the pump. the nitrobacters will do much better if there is a constant flow of moving water. They like fish wastes.

If the water is turning yellowish or murky, try a 50% water change, but don't let the scrubbies get too dry.

[crayfish]

Hi I am at the moment building the raceway fish tank you have designed but need to make one or two modifications to it as I am breeding crayfish. This week I will build the column filter and get it up and running. This is the best design I have seen on the internet. Having water flowing around the tank is important for the health and welfare of the crayfish,it copies their natural environment.

One part of the design I have changed is the position of the pump. In your design you have placed the pump behind the return flow, it seems to me that you are creating a push and pull situation whereas the pump is sucking water next to the return flow which is trying to push the water around the tank. In your design the pump is on the right hand side, I have moved it to the left hand side to draw water along the long raceway. I will show some pics soon and see how it works. i also need to figure out a way to stop the crayfish from climbing out, if there is a way for them to get out they will find it. I have built this tank without asking your permission, hope you don't mind. Thank for all the info

Regards

Norman

enclosed is a pic of one of my crayfish, now 4 months old.

[crayfish]

Hi Finished building the raceway tank this weekend. A slight modification in the position of the pump. as you can see in the pic 5239 I have positioned the pump on the other side to the overflow inlet. This works very well, the overflow is pushing the water round and the pump is pulling the water, this creates a good current. I experimented by putting an air inlet just before the overflow nozzle and attached it to an air pump, I didn't notice any difference in the amount of air in the water so I excluded it. One thing less to maintain.

As I am keeping crayfish I have had to fit an aluminium cover around the top of the tank so they can't climb out Pic 5250

I have started a thread on this forum called "breeding crayfish' have a look if you are interested in the topic.

Regards

Norman

[canuckamuck]

Hey that's pretty cool. I think crayfish is a great choice for that style tank. Don't worry about copying the design, just send a royalty check

About the pump position. In my tank the pump is behind where the water jets in by almost a meter, and it is on a bend, so a high pressure area. but your position will work the same. In my case it was easier to put the pump in that corner because of the location of other stuff. I get the best water movement by applying force to the surface of the water at a near horizontal angle. When I tried having the water enter below the surface the current slowed considerably. I guess it has to do with laminar flow. Surface water has the least resistance so it gets the best speed. But the rest of the water keeps up pretty well. You will get the most turbulence at the ends of the horseshoe wall. You lose some current because of it, but it is the best design I could come up with for a rectangular tank.

I have come up with an upgrade to the column filter. Hopefully I will get a chance to post a sketch in the next few days. Probably too late to help you though.

I am very interested in the crayfish idea. I will have a look at your new thread.

[canuckamuck]

As I promised some members, here is the updated concept for the column filter. After running my current design I realized some oversights. For one thing the filter collects a lot of waste. About 12 liters in a week of pure fish poo from my 6000 liter tanks. But my system had no good way of capturing and eliminating it, so I had to hope it would break down biologically. Another thing I didn't realize is that vortex filters are common but they generally use a conical bottom.

The inverted cone does two things. It creates drag on the outside of the vortex so heavier objects drop out, and it collects the waste in a central point.

Another thing that is important is that you can suspend the scrubbies above the vortex action in about 12 inches of water. The tricky part is to build a strong platform for them that allows water to pass upwards through the scrubbies. The scrubbies get very heavy when saturated with waste.

I know I originally said this filter is a zero maintenance filter. And this is true if you do not have high concentrations of fish. However, as I have as many fish in there as can survive. The amount of waste produced overwhelms the biological filtration and waste needs to be removed periodically. The good part of this is that you get quite a lot of free fertilizer. Our guava trees love it, as does the garden.

Here is the new design. Forgive some of perspective errors, cutaways are hard to do.

I hope to do an upgrade on one of my filters soon. I will post pictures if I do.

[teletiger]

Is there an optimum distance between the vortex base and the coned bottom?

Regards.

Edit: The highest point of the coned bottom.

[canuckamuck]

I am going to go with about 50 - 70 cm, but that is just because it will fit what I got.

My guess would be that a 1:1 ratio, height to width, would be best. Less height would give more drag and slow your vortex.

[David48]

As I promised some members, here is the updated concept for the column filter.

I hope to do an upgrade on one of my filters soon. I will post pictures if I do.

Mate ... that's both great and inspirational ...

[teletiger]

There is a septic tank design that stuffs scrubbies in the outlet pipe. So, extend the outlet pipe to the other side of the tank, stuffed full of scrubbies, unglued, plug and play.

But would that be enough scrubbie barrier?

Also, exposing the filter to the elements. I had a problem with my indoor aquarium and mossies in the integral filter. I tried small fish in the filter itself with mixed results.

Regards.

[canuckamuck]

The scrubbies work best when exposed to sunlight. The algae that grows on it multiplies the area where beneficial bacteria can transform the waste. Also the bacterium like oxygen, which is more readily available at the surface.

I don't know what that setup looks like, but my guess would be it lacks both light and oxygen.

The scrubbies will however hold on to some waste which will breakdown, but at a slower pace. Also you might find it necessary to rinse them off from time to time.

[crayfish]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39xT5xzNu3s

A video on vortex filters. Worth a look

Crayfish

[canuckamuck]

Thanks for the video, it is interesting to see someone else's approach to it.

I felt bad for the guys wasting all that time and effort flattening the barrel bottoms, when the could have just plumbed it when they made the concrete cone. That would have got it all done in one step. They didn't have to make a plastic cone over the concrete either. if they are worried about the concrete being slightly toxic it is easy enough to coat it with a waterproofer. I use fiberglass resin, but some people don't like that either.

They have got a four barrel approach to the filtration. That is pretty cool. I tried to get it all done with one, but I can see the advantage of more columns.

I imagine they have some very good filtration from that system.

[canuckamuck]

Well I have upgraded a column filter and I took some pics.

First I cut a hole and added a new outlet pipe. This one is inch and a half, previous one was 1/2 inch and underground. Nearly useless.

Then I made the bottom funnel, leaving a slot for the drain. It is a deeper funnel than it appears from the top.

Then I took to af the plastic grates, ziptied them together, and marked out the size of the interior of the concrete ring.

Here it is cut out

[canuckamuck]

Here is the ring installed with my daughter's approval

Here is the pipe that goes down the middle with opposing outlets to create vortex

Pipe installed and water turned on

Here is the water at working level with scrubbies added.

Here is the whole setup in operation in my raceway and ready for crayfish.

This is the tank to the left of it with a similar configuration and Tab Tim

[crayfish]

Ready to go, good luck. How many crays do you have in the breeding stock?. I am in the process of building another raceway tank, Picture on my thread. What size pump are you using and what size inlet pipe?. I like what you did with the roof tiles, good daytime cover for the crays and will help keep the water temp down.

keep in touch

[canuckamuck]

I got 16 crayfish, 3-4 inch. Already two have gone missing. I think I figured how they did that though so I made a change.

I am at about 700 meters here, so daytime water temp isn't that bad. 24C in hot season, about 17C right now. But I think they will appreciate the cover regardless.

[treysd3]

Hello Canuckamuck,

great operation.. I notice in your Tab Tim tank you don't use the racetrack method?? would that go for Pla Nin as well??

Thank you

Here is the ring installed with my daughter's approval

Here is the pipe that goes down the middle with opposing outlets to create vortex

Pipe installed and water turned on

Here is the water at working level with scrubbies added.

Here is the whole setup in operation in my raceway and ready for crayfish.

This is the tank to the left of it with a similar configuration and Tab Tim

[canuckamuck]

Hi Treysd3. I only have the one raceway tank, and at the time of this thread I was setting it up for crayfish. The Crayfish didn't work out for me, it was just too cold up on my mountain in January. Currently I use the raceway for my Tab Tim fry. But I did use it for Bla nin, and they did very well with it.

I am about to build some new circular tanks. First two small ones, than two 5 meter diameter tanks.

I will be using an upgrade to my filter technique. Stay tuned.

[leo202]

Chanukamuk, here's a few photos of my tilapia pond and the radial flow for the catfish pond.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[leo202]

Here's some photos from above the filter, it's a bit rough at the moment. Added some scrubbies today just to see how it works out.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[leo202]

Here's some mor pics of the tilapia pond and the filter I use.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[canuckamuck]

Wow, you've really have done some great work there. I am not in Thailand at the moment, but when I get back I hope to get started on a new tank. I am pretty sure I will borrow heavily from what you have done here. It looks really well thought out.

[leo202]

Started work on the new filter system, not much to see yet but I'll post as I go along. I've done a few tweaks to the radial flow and added a spray bar. It's working well.

[leo202]

Got the base of my second chamber done today..

Here's a photo of some biofoam blocks that I'll be using fit the final stage of the filter.