Large indoor pond

[fishguy777]

Just upgraded to a Red Sea 3XL 900 G2+, and I realized that it’s not gonna be big enough for my hi-fin snapper long term…

I have room in my basement for any size pool pond, I was thinking something around 8-10’ diameter , 3’ high, so around 1k gallons.

1. Is there really any fish that I can’t put in this pond? Excluding giants like a bumblebee grouper, and emperor snapper?


2. For filtration, what do you recommend?
I was thinking two simplicity 800 DC skimmers, but I’m not sure if that will be enough.


3. For heaters, I was thinking 5-6 1300 W heaters.

4. I was hoping I could get away with a cheap Amazon “swimming pool” or tractor supply has a pond that’s an 8’ circle, but only 2’ tall.

5. during the winter, it gets to 55 Fahrenheit down there, would that outweigh the heaters?

6. The humidity level already is between 40%-45% throughout the year. I have multiple dehumidifiers running in there. The pond would be in the same 30’ by 15’ room.
How big of an issue is this?
Stopping mold from growing is a priority.

7. How much of an increase should I expect from my electricity bill?

8. For lights, I’m not gonna do coral in this, would LED strips off of Amazon work?


9. And lastly, this part of my basement isn’t finished, so it’s concrete floor. I shouldn’t have any problems with the weight of the pond right? There’s nothing below it, concrete wouldn’t crack?

 

[Peair]

Just upgraded to a Red Sea 3XL 900 G2+, and I realized that it’s not gonna be big enough for my hi-fin snapper long term…

I have room in my basement for any size pool pond, I was thinking something around 8-10’ diameter , 3’ high, so around 1k gallons.

1. Is there really any fish that I can’t put in this pond? Excluding giants like a bumblebee grouper, and emperor snapper?


2. For filtration, what do you recommend?
I was thinking two simplicity 800 DC skimmers, but I’m not sure if that will be enough.


3. For heaters, I was thinking 5-6 1300 W heaters.

4. I was hoping I could get away with a cheap Amazon “swimming pool” or tractor supply has a pond that’s an 8’ circle, but only 2’ tall.

5. during the winter, it gets to 55 Fahrenheit down there, would that outweigh the heaters?

6. The humidity level already is between 40%-45% throughout the year. I have multiple dehumidifiers running in there. The pond would be in the same 30’ by 15’ room.
How big of an issue is this?
Stopping mold from growing is a priority.

7. How much of an increase should I expect from my electricity bill?

8. For lights, I’m not gonna do coral in this, would LED strips off of Amazon work?


9. And lastly, this part of my basement isn’t finished, so it’s concrete floor. I shouldn’t have any problems with the weight of the pond right? There’s nothing below it, concrete wouldn’t crack?

Try Anemones, Bubble Tip, Black Widow, Japanese.

 

[Ernie Mccracken]

I have done this before, in my garage. Some tips:

1. Don't use a cheap inflatable pool or similar. Get a fiberglass aquaculture tank if at all possible. I ended up driving ~600 miles in a rented truck to get one and boy did that suck, but I'm glad I did.
2. There's usually commercial grade skimmers and equipment floating around the second hand market if you know where to ask. Put the word around.
3. You need less heat than you think. I think I only used about 1800w and it held through the winters no problem (I had 2 Mag 18 pumps heating the water as well, though).
4. Humidity is a big problem, make sure you are totally prepared. Even though mine was managed, a lot of my tools in the garage started developing surface rust. I covered the tank in the winter.
5. Use big internal pumps to keep detritus off the bottom. I was changing filter socks every day that were absolutely filthy (I fed about 1lb of food/day), but filth mostly stayed out of the tank. Don't even think about trying to keep sand.
6. I think the average bill for the tank was $200-$300, years ago. One winter, we had a real cold spell and I remember paying an $800 electric bill, though.
7. Run your water line at least 8" below the lip to ward off jumpers. Even then, I'm sure fish like wrasses could vault themselves onto your floor.
8. Use the absolute minimum amount of lighting that you are happy with. I remember sometimes leaving the garage door open in the summer and letting natural sunlight hit the tank. Boom, algae city.

 

[fishguy777]

I have done this before, in my garage. Some tips:

1. Don't use a cheap inflatable pool or similar. Get a fiberglass aquaculture tank if at all possible. I ended up driving ~600 miles in a rented truck to get one and boy did that suck, but I'm glad I did.
2. There's usually commercial grade skimmers and equipment floating around the second hand market if you know where to ask. Put the word around.
3. You need less heat than you think. I think I only used about 1800w and it held through the winters no problem (I had 2 Mag 18 pumps heating the water as well, though).
4. Humidity is a big problem, make sure you are totally prepared. Even though mine was managed, a lot of my tools in the garage started developing surface rust. I covered the tank in the winter.
5. Use big internal pumps to keep detritus off the bottom. I was changing filter socks every day that were absolutely filthy (I fed about 1lb of food/day), but filth mostly stayed out of the tank. Don't even think about trying to keep sand.
6. I think the average bill for the tank was $200-$300, years ago. One winter, we had a real cold spell and I remember paying an $800 electric bill, though.
7. Run your water line at least 8" below the lip to ward off jumpers. Even then, I'm sure fish like wrasses could vault themselves onto your floor.
8. Use the absolute minimum amount of lighting that you are happy with. I remember sometimes leaving the garage door open in the summer and letting natural sunlight hit the tank. Boom, algae city.

There’s the link for one of the ones I was considering, it’s not inflatable, but still cheap. Is this a hard no?

Also, there’s one at tractor supply that’s an 8’ circle, same material as the Rubbermaid 300 gallon. Would this be better?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I'm assuming the link was from Amazon - it isn't displaying (the site no longer seems to display Amazon links properly).

 

[fishguy777]

isn't displaying (the site no longer seems to display Amazon links properly).

Bestway Steel Pro MAX 14' x 33" Round Above Ground Pool Set | Includes 530gal Filter Pump​

That’s the description for the pond, it looks similar to the one that the YouTuber Nick Bingo used for a while

 

[Peair]

Check out tank-depot.com: They have nice tanks: https://www.tank-depot.com/

 

[toi_ss]

Make a plywood tank with a glass front panel, seal it with marine epoxy and polyeurathane also put fiberglass and thickened epoxy in the seams and youll be set. I would design it with a subfloor for the bottom and back and two sheets of half inch plywood - the top one slightly shorter then the bottom one on the bottom piece so that you have a lip to put the glass into.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I’d put a thick Styrofoam Board under the Pond, to keep the Concrete Floor from pulling the heat out of the Pond. I looked into this years ago, and was going to go with a Rubber White Pond Liner with Used Dry Rock sides, that had a clear Coating near the Pond Edges. Or an Acrylic Edge. Was thinking of a Slider edge for Jumpers. All on a Syrofoam Base. Wife shot Down the idea. Was going to Stock it with Rescued Fish. Most of the Construction Stuff I could get free.

 

[William Chiavetta]

Bestway Steel Pro MAX 14' x 33" Round Above Ground Pool Set | Includes 530gal Filter Pump​

That’s the description for the pond, it looks similar to the one that the YouTuber Nick Bingo used for a while

Nick bingo is one of my friends!

 

[Formulator]

I think you were on the right track with tractor supply. You should be able to find deeper cattle watering pools, so I would check any other farm supply places or grain elevators in your area if you have any.