Fishy Business

How to properly set up a stock tank?

Alexander1312

Alexander1312

Supporting Member
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I bought this 150-gallon stock tank, and it arrived today. To me, this is an emergency tool only, but I would like to be ready before I need it.

Now the question is, how do these need to be setup properly to work in case of an emergency?

How should lights, skimmer, flow, heater etc be setup temporarily to make this work, and what practices proved to be not efffective or even problematic?

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It needs an appropriately sized heater and a way to move water to mix with oxygen, with some live rock for filtration ready to go. Wavemaker or pump works fine.

A light is a nice to have, as is a screen. An ato will save you some time but you can make a mark on the outside of the tank and manually top off to that mark.

That's about it.
 
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Milk crates weighted with live rock or zip tied together work good getting the skimmer the right depth..Then you don’t have to worry about power heads alone breaking the surface allowing oxygen exchange.. But regardless you need a small pump breaking surface water tension..There are many types of mesh covers out there from exact fit to oversized. Ive normally gone oversized that way I can easily snap together a pvc frame no glue needed then bungee the mesh around the frame and tank allowing more room for maintenance each to their own..I prefer the mesh up higher a bit vs using the skimmer as a raised tent pole..Pvc frame can rest inside the stock tank also allowing a tighter fit when the mesh is bungee around the lip of tank. Depending on what season and or if its outside in an non heated area insulated slip ins can help a lot maintaining heat at night or just in general all the time. There are numerous ways to hang temporary lighting like those free standing adjustable metal racks made to hang lights mainly designed for growing plants which work great. Cord management is number one keep organized and off the ground. I’ll hang extension cords from the ceiling then zip tie cords plugged into them together or utilize the light rack. GFCI with pigtails are handy and can plug into any properly grounded extension cords. Here’s a few pics to get an idea of what can be utilized that aren’t specifically made for aquarium use which dramatically lowers prices lol..Oh one of the mesh pics has a bear please do not think for one second mesh will help in any circumstance especially if you have them in the neighborhood!!
 

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Many options for filtration a lot of people have used these tubs for years in there garages for growing corals/fish or just using as sumps.. Bulkheads are super easy to install ( using slip fitting on water side allows for more adjustments ) then adding one or two skimmer drain cups or drain bars. Im a fan of the H2O stealth overflows actually adding them to my tank soon. Which then just drains into storage tote or extra tank/sump holding your skimmer/UV/heaters/ ATO etc..A lot of freshies use box filters that use gravity dumping back into tank..Canisters filters will work but a PITA to clean and very limited. @Bryce.martin23 has been running a large tote for years with great results!!
 

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PjFish said:
This new canister filter on a tub tote looks interesting. Like the simple wood stand with castors great idea plus lighting rack!! Wonder if he’s a BAR member @SupraSaltyReefer

Click to expand...

I've spoken to Peter a few times. Really nice guy. I think he lives in Austin, TX. I believe he used to live in Fremont, hence his screen name. He's business partners with @Song at @Nature Dimensions so maybe he is on ninja mode on BAR lol. Maybe we can arrange to get him to be a guest speaker one of these days at an event.

He was actually on YouTube LIVE with BRS yesterday talking about @Nature Dimensions new products and new NatureBot AI aquarium assistant.
 
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