125 gallon river tank??

[Curtis]

I may have a chance to turn a 125 gallon tank 6 foot x 18 in x 18 in tank into a river tank.

My questions are....

1) If the water temp hovers around 67-68 F is that a good temp for hillies and others or too cold? (Tank will be in the finished basement but it stays cool down there)

2) Will 4 maxi-jet 1200's (300 gph each) with a river tank manifold be enough flow for hillies in a 125 gallon tank?

3) What plants would survive in a tank like this?

I've got a ton of other botia species but I've just recently considered a river tank.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks.

[KhuliKhilla]

i think that whatever you decide you must post lots of pics of the process.

i should think what you have is ideal as a river tank.

[grizzlyone]

Depends on the particular hillies but the species index for most is 68-75 F, so you have a pretty good start there.


Kevin

[Ciddian]

I am not sure about a fish plant combo but if you tie down some java moss it would look pretty cool My moss always seems to do better in a cooler, higher flow area..

sounds like a wonderful tank.. :3

[Martin Thoene]

This is basically a numbers game Curtis.

Firstly, a 72" x 18" x 18" is 100 gallons, not 125. A 125 is 24" deep.
You don't need extra depth anyway and the lower tank works better for you in this application. A 100 gallon tank can still be a totally awesome River-Tank.

My original concept was to recreate natural conditions for these fish as far as is feasible. Remember that we're talking about water flowing as much as 1 meter a second. That means you would have difficulty standing in it at any reasonable depth. Moving water like that in an aquarium just isn't feasible so we have to settle for a lesser flow.

The possibility of using 4 Maxijet 1200s is because you have them or that was just an idea? Total setup cost is dependant on knowing what you are trying to acheive and what your pocket can stand. The bigger we go in aquarium capacity, the more expensive it gets. This is because we're talking about total water turnover. If we realize that just about anything we can fit in a conventional aquarium is substantially less than nature provides these fish, then under sizing the pumping equipment lessens that ability to provide a facsimile of nature.

My first River-Tank was around 52.6 USG and the R/T manifold was powered by two Aquaclear 802s at a total approximate pumping rate of 1800 gph. This gives a turnover rate of approximately 16 times per hour in an empty tank. Reduction in water capacity due to decor means that the actual water capacity turns over more than that assuming the pumps work at their most efficient.

If you look at Emma's new River-Tank setup I think (please correct me Emma) that is a 48" x 15" x 18" tank which is around 56 USG. Powered by 3 Maxijet 1200s that works out at bang on the 16 times an hour minimum I would always shoot for now because I know it works.

With 4 1200s in a 100g tank you're looking at 12 times per hour which is below the minimum by a fair percentage. 4 pumps squeezed into 18" of width might not be doable either. Look at 3 in Emma's tank.



You have no room due to the length of each pipe 'T'.

So choosing pumps comes down to calculation.

100 x 16 = 1600 gph required.

I like Aquaclear 802s (Aquaclear 70), they work in this application great. But at 400 gph we would need 4 to be right on the money. No space. An alternative is 2 Aquaclear 110s (old 901). These pump 900 USG/hr so you would end up with 1800 GPH which is even better

Only problem is I look at prices and compared to the Maxijets you're talking twice the money. But if a job's worth doing it's worth doing right.
Power costs money unfortunately. The 110s are just an example. I'm not sure what other options there are out there but the things you need to look at are bang for your buck (in other words, pumping capacity balanced against cost) and actual adaptability to the PVC pipe fittings.

As regards the manifold itself I would build it exactly like Emma's new one with 4 longitudal tubes because this will aid water movement at these sort of flow levels.

It is quite probable that with multiple pumps or even just 2 big powerheads that the heat-sink effect from them will actually heat the water up over the ambient air temperature. I would expect at the temp you're quoting that the tank would probably maintain a temp in the low 70's which would be ideal.

Plants that will work are Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss, Bolbitis. If it's not in the direct flow from a powerhead Vallisneria will probably work too. Others have experience with various plants in River-Tanks and can advise.

Martin.

[Curtis]

The tank is actually 24 inches high I never measured it previously.

I currently have 4-5 maxijets laying around so that is why I was planning on using them.

This tank will also have 2 - eheim pro II (2028)'s on it as well set with the intake and output on opposite sides of the tanks.

I'm still not positive what I'm doing with this project.

I'm getting married in Sept and moving all of my tanks, and I ordered new tanks but the order was messed up, so I'm moving my tanks in an order I didn't plan on. So in the end, I will end up with a 125 gallon tank in my basement that wasn't planned on... so I could either sell the tank or turn it into a river tank.

Does anyone have a good list compiled of river tank fish that can handle the current and temp? For example dithers and loaches and any other possible inhabitants?

Thanks for all of your help.

[Curtis]

I could also buy a mag drive 24 and plumb it into a river tank manifold.

Mag-Drive Supreme 24 2400 GPH Pump

I could even get teh mag-drive 36 for 3600 gph plus add the two eheim pro II's to the setup.

Let me know what you think.

[Curtis]

Do you use Hydro 4 sponges for river tanks of this size.. or is it a different kind of sponge... for example one for a pond that is more course.

Lustar Hydro-Sponge Filter 4

[Martin Thoene]

I could also buy a mag drive 24 and plumb it into a river tank manifold.

Mag-Drive Supreme 24 2400 GPH Pump

I could even get teh mag-drive 36 for 3600 gph plus add the two eheim pro II's to the setup.

Let me know what you think.

Ok, this tells me that you're thinking big. Rather than put all your eggs in one basket with one big pump I would look at using two pumps. This is because most pumps will give a fairly concentrated pressure jet of water and you really want more of a spread if possible.

This looks quite good:

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~ ... B3117.html

The threaded inlet and outlet mean that adapting to a manifold might be quite easy.

2 would give you a LOT of water-movement. If you are considering adding two Eheim Pros to the setup also then obviously that needs factoring in into the total water movement. In my Clown tank my Renas intake at the River-Tank manifold end and return via spraybars mounted on the powerhead end of the tank. What are they 2026's? That's about 500GPH extra with those.

Having extra filtration may possibly add some heat-sink into the water again raising the temperature slightly. If you still found the tank ran below 70F in the basement you could always add a heater anyway.

Martin.

[Martin Thoene]

Do you use Hydro 4 sponges for river tanks of this size.. or is it a different kind of sponge... for example one for a pond that is more course.

Lustar Hydro-Sponge Filter 4

Using those comes down to what is that internal diameter hole for the tube and just how big in diameter is that sponge? Looks a bit bulky to me.

Personally, I prefer coarse sponges that are intended as pond pump pre-filters. The ones in use in my tanks are 8 years old and still going strong. Very good quality foam unlike some that is used in certain internal power-filters which I find degrades. With really high pump capacity I would go for coarse foam.

Martin.

[Emma Turner]

If you look at Emma's new River-Tank setup I think (please correct me Emma) that is a 48" x 15" x 18" tank which is around 56 USG. Powered by 3 Maxijet 1200s that works out at bang on the 16 times an hour minimum I would always shoot for now because I know it works.

Yes, you're very close with the dimensions, Martin. The tank is a Fluval Roma 240, which measures 120cm long x 40cm wide x 50cm high (in old money that's 47.2" 15.7" x 19.7"). As well as the 3 Maxijet 1200's, this tank is filtered by an Eheim Professionel II 2028 (rated for a 600 litre tank - this tank is 240 litres) with the spraybar return positioned at the same end as the powerheads.

Does anyone have a good list compiled of river tank fish that can handle the current and temp? For example dithers and loaches and any other possible inhabitants?

I'm actually in the middle of putting together an article for LOL on dither fish for various types of loach aquariums, so watch this space!

Emma