Awesome tank! Is the filter loud?
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Journal Low Tech, Hi Tech Goldie Extravaganza!
- Thread starter *Ci*
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
*Ci*
Tending water worlds since 1975!
I haven’t run it yet … I don’t think it’s supposed be turned on without water running through it, as the pump for the cleaning jets is a built-in submersible, and I am not done with the rest of the filtration.
I’m having trouble trying to figure out how to mount my return pump (submerged into the 2nd barrel), with a 2” check valve, 2” ballvalve and 2” inlet/outlet UV. They are all huge and heavy, as well, and space is very cramped where they have to go under the floor.
Then I have the 2” return pipe going through the floor and have to split it into two 1” returns to the main tank without it looking like a mess. I found this pvc fitting, which I didn’t know existed, that might just solve the problem! It’s on order.
I think the light is as a good choice, you can adjust as needed to your preference/viewing pleasure 
- Thread starter
- #24
*Ci*
Tending water worlds since 1975!
March update:
Plumbing is completed and the tank has been cycling now for a few weeks.
I had to soak the k-1 in potassium permanganate for a few days to get it to stop floating and roll properly in the moving bed. It went through the ammonia portion of the cycle pretty fast and got stuck on high nitrites until I added some media from my discus canister. Now it’s showing .25ppm of nitrite and I’m waiting patiently for that to go down to zero.
The vals are growing long, and the dwarf sag has stopped melting, but is not really spreading yet. I’m adding micros and macros with no nitrate, and dosing to keep my kH at 4 and gH at 6, dosing everything daily to keep up with the constant drip.
No algae, but definitely diatoms.
I’ve decided to get my first batch of 7-9 goldfish from this farm in the US, because his fish are incredible, nothing like anything I can source in Canada:
Zhao’s Fancies
Since they only ship within the states, for me this will involve a 2 hr. drive, then a 1.5 hour ferry to cross the border, pick up at a Fed Ex dropoff point, paperwork, taxes and duty, then home again. But totally worth it! I mean, look at this Orchid Tail Ranchu - you just can’t get any better!
I have a work contract for March and April, so I can’t pick up any fish until that is over (Zhao only ships on Monday’s for a Wed. pickup)., so I don’t mind waiting while the tank takes it’s time to cycle, and the plants have a chance to root more thoroughly.
In the meantime, I am moving my mangrove seedlings into the tank (each one attached to a suction cup to hold them halfway out of the water, and adding more houseplants coming out of the top.
Plumbing is completed and the tank has been cycling now for a few weeks.
I had to soak the k-1 in potassium permanganate for a few days to get it to stop floating and roll properly in the moving bed. It went through the ammonia portion of the cycle pretty fast and got stuck on high nitrites until I added some media from my discus canister. Now it’s showing .25ppm of nitrite and I’m waiting patiently for that to go down to zero.
The vals are growing long, and the dwarf sag has stopped melting, but is not really spreading yet. I’m adding micros and macros with no nitrate, and dosing to keep my kH at 4 and gH at 6, dosing everything daily to keep up with the constant drip.
No algae, but definitely diatoms.
I’ve decided to get my first batch of 7-9 goldfish from this farm in the US, because his fish are incredible, nothing like anything I can source in Canada:
Zhao’s Fancies
Since they only ship within the states, for me this will involve a 2 hr. drive, then a 1.5 hour ferry to cross the border, pick up at a Fed Ex dropoff point, paperwork, taxes and duty, then home again. But totally worth it! I mean, look at this Orchid Tail Ranchu - you just can’t get any better!
I have a work contract for March and April, so I can’t pick up any fish until that is over (Zhao only ships on Monday’s for a Wed. pickup)., so I don’t mind waiting while the tank takes it’s time to cycle, and the plants have a chance to root more thoroughly.
In the meantime, I am moving my mangrove seedlings into the tank (each one attached to a suction cup to hold them halfway out of the water, and adding more houseplants coming out of the top.
JayP
Valuable Member
So large goldfish like that won't munch on or destroy your plants?
I would have never thought myself interested much in goldfish until I clicked on that link. Those are awesome. I didn't know they came like that. I'm excited to see what you get.
Interestingly, I sorted them by price and the ones I like are on the cheaper end.
That'll never happen again.
Interestingly, I sorted them by price and the ones I like are on the cheaper end.
That'll never happen again.
So exciting! 
- Thread starter
- #28
*Ci*
Tending water worlds since 1975!
- Thread starter
- #29
*Ci*
Tending water worlds since 1975!
Ok, update time. The tank finally completed it’s fishless cycle and I decided that I would not get my goldfish from Zhao’s - too much trouble and stress having to get across the border to pick them up, plus most of the ones I had picked out were too big. I wanted to start with babies that would have less of an inclination to destroy the plants right away : )
I bought mine from the best seller in Canada, back east. Not nearly as nice a selection as Zhao, but nicer than pet store fish. I’ll be on the lookout for a few more locally, as nice ones pop up occasionally.
The tank went a little cloudy after adding the fish - small bacterial bloom, I suppose, and I’m not worried about it. RDF is working great, but here are some things I’ve learned.
1) Herbie style overflows are really hard to tune. I bought the best gate valve I could find (Spears), I got the pump tuned just right for both the tank water level and the RDF, but damned if I can get the overflows silent. Small adjustments seem to do nothing, then suddenly it’s too much and trickle noises ensue. I give up ¯\(°_o)/¯
2) I can’t believe how much maintenance jungle vals need! I am constantly in there up to my armpits pulling ageing leaves off the rosettes. Like, several times a week. I knew there would be some initial melt back, but they should be past that by now. This was supposed to be a super low maintenance tank …
Soooo, time for a rescape. The dwarf sag is getting uprooted by the fish and the vals have to go.
I’m switching them for some tall crypts from another tank and putting everything in faux driftwood pots like these
:
I’m removing the rocks, and 2/3 of the pool filter sand, leaving just enough for the goldfish to dig around in.
Another problem is the glass in back is too hard to clean with all the vals in the way (problem potentially solved), and houseplant baskets and mangroves suction cupped to the glass.
The mangroves are rooting and sprouting, so I think I can start selling the excess off. For the ones I keep, I have an idea for floating rings to set them in and tether them to the tank frame. The houseplant baskets - I don’t know. But things should improve alot with the other changes.
Hopefully, next update will incorporate all of these changes for the better!
I bought mine from the best seller in Canada, back east. Not nearly as nice a selection as Zhao, but nicer than pet store fish. I’ll be on the lookout for a few more locally, as nice ones pop up occasionally.
The tank went a little cloudy after adding the fish - small bacterial bloom, I suppose, and I’m not worried about it. RDF is working great, but here are some things I’ve learned.
1) Herbie style overflows are really hard to tune. I bought the best gate valve I could find (Spears), I got the pump tuned just right for both the tank water level and the RDF, but damned if I can get the overflows silent. Small adjustments seem to do nothing, then suddenly it’s too much and trickle noises ensue. I give up ¯\(°_o)/¯
2) I can’t believe how much maintenance jungle vals need! I am constantly in there up to my armpits pulling ageing leaves off the rosettes. Like, several times a week. I knew there would be some initial melt back, but they should be past that by now. This was supposed to be a super low maintenance tank …
Soooo, time for a rescape. The dwarf sag is getting uprooted by the fish and the vals have to go.
I’m switching them for some tall crypts from another tank and putting everything in faux driftwood pots like these
:
I’m removing the rocks, and 2/3 of the pool filter sand, leaving just enough for the goldfish to dig around in.
Another problem is the glass in back is too hard to clean with all the vals in the way (problem potentially solved), and houseplant baskets and mangroves suction cupped to the glass.
The mangroves are rooting and sprouting, so I think I can start selling the excess off. For the ones I keep, I have an idea for floating rings to set them in and tether them to the tank frame. The houseplant baskets - I don’t know. But things should improve alot with the other changes.
Hopefully, next update will incorporate all of these changes for the better!
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My favorite.
Could you give me some more detail on your herbie setup?
- Thread starter
- #32
*Ci*
Tending water worlds since 1975!
In this photo you can see my internal overflow box in the righthand back corner.
There are two 1.5” holes drilled in the floor with bulkhead fittings and stand pipes. The emergency pipe (EP) comes up to about the height of the teeth cut into the top of the box, this is called the “weir’. The other pipe is the main suction pipe and I have that set about 6” below the EP. I followed this guide for setting it up:
Herbie Overflow Method Reef Tank Plumbing Guide
Down below, inside the stand and close to the floor, I have a 1.5” Spears gate valve to control the speed of water flowing through the suction pipe. I thought I could flow around 900gph through this system as that is the top limit of the rdf, but that is way too much for the weir and 1.5’ pipes to handle (like the tank was about to overflow when I first turned on the pump). I had to adjust the pump way down to get to the sweet spot for the weir and suction pipe. I have no idea how much I am pumping at this point.
Anyway, in trying to get the system silent, my research led me to believe that the suction pipe should probably have only been 1 inch in diameter, so I swapped the standpipe in the box for a 1” but after the bulkhead on the tank floor, the piping and valve are all 1.5” all the way to the rdf (just under the floor in the crawlspace). It helped a little. Maybe.
In all the articles I’ve read, they say you adjust the gate valve so that the water level is just below or slightly trickling into the EP. I can almost do that and it IS noisless, but it never seems to stay, in a few hours or a day later, it rises so there is gurgling going down the EP, or it lowers so that the water makes noise pouring down through the teeth. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. The tank water level stays steady because it’s a sump, and a constant drip - the only variable is the rdf which flushes every half hour - but that uses just, like, a cup of water, and doesn’t effect the main tank level at all. Maybe the gate valve is too big, and should be reduced to 1” as well? I don’t feel like swapping it out!
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- Thread starter
- #34
*Ci*
Tending water worlds since 1975!
Haha, interesting thread … not very hope inspiring, though!This seems to be a common feature of initial setup of the Herbie
- Thread starter
- #35
*Ci*
Tending water worlds since 1975!
I removed 3/4 of the pF sand, and glad I did. I think as thick as i had it, it was a time bomb waiting to happen. There is only 1/2 inch in there now. The jungle vals got replaced with some tall crypts, and all the rooted plants put into the driftwood planters. Much tidier and now you can see the houseplants and window behind better. Fish are happy - I’d forgotten how cute and friendly goldfish are! So unlike the slow moving but easily startled discus.
Since the tank has an overflow, all the food has to sink or it gets sucked right in, so I’ve been holding a pinch full underwater for a minute to soak it before releasing and these guys, from day one, started eating right from my fingers. They follow me around whatever I’m doing with arms in the tank, very curious, active and fun.
Since the tank has an overflow, all the food has to sink or it gets sucked right in, so I’ve been holding a pinch full underwater for a minute to soak it before releasing and these guys, from day one, started eating right from my fingers. They follow me around whatever I’m doing with arms in the tank, very curious, active and fun.
Good move with the sand, I agree. It’s why I actually switched to a larger grain sand. Easier to clean and you don’t need as much to make a nice thin layer.
JayP
Valuable Member
I do miss this from the cichlid tank I had back in the 80s, fish being less afraid of you and eating out of your hand. The small tetras and rasboras just don't get relaxed enough for that.
I would adjust it so it only gets any water down the emergency drain if there is some sort of clog in the main drain.
- Thread starter
- #39
*Ci*
Tending water worlds since 1975!
Update time. The tank has finally balanced out in regards to the overflow gurgling vs the rdf cycles and the inflow. All these fluctuations were possibly the problem. The tank is almost silent now.
I changed the constant drip to a timed inflow of 15 seconds every 10 minutes (after finally finding a timer that could do this!) and moved it from the moving bed barrel to the upper left hand corner of the main tank. This gives the new water the most dwell time in the system before going out the overflow to waste in the sump.
The RDF had a few problems in the beginning, requiring some replacement of parts. I bought a second rdf (same model) to keep the tank running while awaiting said parts, since shipping and customs hold ups usually take a lot of time. I’m glad I did that though, it’s easy to pull one out and pop the other into place, as everything is connected with fernco fittings. I’ve already done that twice, once to replace the motor and again when I decided to change the screen to a different mesh. It feels very comfortable to have a spare. By the way, the company that makes them had excellent customer service, helping me troubleshoot through photos and video, and promptly sending replacement parts free of charge.
The plants in the tank were taking a beating, plus not enough NO3, I think, so I pulled most of them and replaced with (gasp!) plastic: ) The (live) giant vals on the left are ok, so I left them, and all the plants growing out the top are doing fantastic, including the 4 mangrove’s I kept after selling off all the extras at a huge profit.
There are now 11 fancy goldfish of various sizes thriving in the tank. I’m super happy with them and how the whole tank looks, with the plants behind it and the window (those plants are doing great, too, watered weekly with my discus tank water).
I changed the constant drip to a timed inflow of 15 seconds every 10 minutes (after finally finding a timer that could do this!) and moved it from the moving bed barrel to the upper left hand corner of the main tank. This gives the new water the most dwell time in the system before going out the overflow to waste in the sump.
The RDF had a few problems in the beginning, requiring some replacement of parts. I bought a second rdf (same model) to keep the tank running while awaiting said parts, since shipping and customs hold ups usually take a lot of time. I’m glad I did that though, it’s easy to pull one out and pop the other into place, as everything is connected with fernco fittings. I’ve already done that twice, once to replace the motor and again when I decided to change the screen to a different mesh. It feels very comfortable to have a spare. By the way, the company that makes them had excellent customer service, helping me troubleshoot through photos and video, and promptly sending replacement parts free of charge.
The plants in the tank were taking a beating, plus not enough NO3, I think, so I pulled most of them and replaced with (gasp!) plastic: ) The (live) giant vals on the left are ok, so I left them, and all the plants growing out the top are doing fantastic, including the 4 mangrove’s I kept after selling off all the extras at a huge profit.
There are now 11 fancy goldfish of various sizes thriving in the tank. I’m super happy with them and how the whole tank looks, with the plants behind it and the window (those plants are doing great, too, watered weekly with my discus tank water).
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