Setting up a River Tank

[Setsuna]

G'day all. I just got my new tank. It's exact dimensions are 3'9.5 long, 1' wide and 1' deep.

I was wondering if it would be possible to use garden hose instead of the 1/3" pipe? I'm on a budget and garden hose and the irrigation connections would be cheaper, but if it wont work I'll spend the extra money and use the pipe.

Also (I'm hopeless at maths) would two 750L/hr powerheads be enough, or would they be too strong?

Thanks guys, I'll keep you updated as my tank develops ^_^

[LES..]

Hi Setsuna,

That sounds like a good size for a river tank and your pumps sound comparable to a number of similar setups. How are you routing your garden hose? It will be very important to make sure that they don't collapse under the weight of your substrate. You will also need hose that can withstand a vacuum if you intend to follow Martin's design with the pumps drawing water through the pipes. This could be solved by reversing the flow and placing the pumps at the intake end, just remember to guard the intakes :-)
Another issue is how you intend to support the pumps, using ridged tubes will give you a nice framework to hold things in place.

I can't see an reason why you could not use hose for a river tank but you will probably need to solve a number of new problems that don't occur with pipe work.

I wish you every success in building this setup, above all else have fun experimenting :-)

[Martin Thoene]

I would avoid the garden hose route for many of the reasons that LES states. The reason I chose the material I use is it is a fit and forget option. The 3/4" bore allows sufficient flow potential and you can plonk a big rock onto it without fear of it collapsing. The rock makes it stay where you want it. I think the very flexibility of garden hose will make setting it under the substrate a pain. One huge advantage of the glued together PVC is that it gives the whole structure a torsional rigidity that keeps it flat.
Barbed junctions will severely reduce the flow potential because of all the internal steps they create in the pipe. This stuff isn't very expensive and it's worth that little bit extra to use materials that you don't have to worry about in use.
Look at angelfish83's signature. That's a good mantra.

Martin.

[Setsuna]

I was thinking of using a hose used for DIY underground irrigation systems, but I'd honestly forgotten about the whole supporting powerheads.

I'll fork out and go for the pipe. Rather spend more now then have to rip everything apart later for repairs.

[rich]

Hello Setsuma,
I`d spent the money, because they often put chemicals in hoses to keep them soft. if the hose stays in the water cicuit, those chemicals are likely to wash out and endanger your fishes, they might not die immediatly, but suffer none the less.
The Powerheads might be a bit over the top, just try.
I overdid it once and flooded the plugs --- my wife was`nt pleased