Hello everbody,
Well this is our first Fast water tank. My son and I went on a trip a few years ago with Chip Rinheart,Casper and Frits Rohdes in S.C. when he was writing his book. Had a great time and good memories with my son. We caught a large selction of fishes like Darters,shinners,a hellbinder, speckled Madtoms and lot of others. I liked the cat fish. Well my son (now 13) want to set up a fast water tank this year and try our hand with some Darter,Shinners and so on.So what we Need is Ideas or Info on how to do this. Like what type of filter to use (under gravel,canister or what?) What would be the Min size tank? Just tell us how to set up. What Materials we need. Thank for all you guys help...joshua and Paul.

Hello everbody,
Well this is our first Fast water tank. My son and I went on a trip a few years ago with Chip Rinheart,Casper and Frits Rohdes in S.C. when he was writing his book. Had a great time and good memories with my son. We caught a large selction of fishes like Darters,shinners,a hellbinder, speckled Madtoms and lot of others. I liked the cat fish. Well my son (now 13) want to set up a fast water tank this year and try our hand with some Darter,Shinners and so on.So what we Need is Ideas or Info on how to do this. Like what type of filter to use (under gravel,canister or what?) What would be the Min size tank? Just tell us how to set up. What Materials we need. Thank for all you guys help...joshua and Paul.

Depending on what you want & how many, a 20 long or 33 would be a good start. a HOB filter at one end and a power head for current on other end would work. Rocks & driftwood would be good for structure & current breaks.

...So what we Need is Ideas or Info on how to do this. Like what type of filter to use (under gravel,canister or what?) What would be the Min size tank? Just tell us how to set up. What Materials we need. Thank for all you guys help...joshua and Paul.

Filters:
Each filter type has its advantages and disadvantages.
*Undergravel filters have the disadvantage of not being compatible with live plants (their roots interfere) and occassionally sucking small fry through the gravel. If you don't have baby fish or live plants, that won't matter.
*Hang on back filters (waterfall filters) help create water flow and do a fairly good job of filtering, but they make a splashing sound when the water level is low and they have obviously visible parts.
*In-tank underwater box filters have obviously visible parts.
*Out-of-tank filters that suck up water from the tank, filter it, and pour it back in can be very inexpensive to build and good at filtration, but you will have to allocate space outside of the tank for the equipment.

Because I have extremely limited space (I'm in a dorm room) and have both fry and live plants, I use the hang on back waterfall filter myself. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each type of filter and choose the one best for you.

Minimium size tank is determined by the fish species kept and the number of fish. I personally enjoy larger tanks and giving the fish as much space as possible. There are great large used tanks on craigslist.org and other re-sale marketplaces. I bought my 55 gallon tank for $25 on craigslist. If the tank is very large (200 gallons + ), you can save money by building it yourself out of thick plywood and a waterproof sealant and a single front pane of glass or acrylic.
If it were me and I had my own place (again, I live in a dormitory and can only dream of such a thing), I would build a 400 gallon plywood tank and seal it with Zavlar or some other sealant. Then I'd build a sump to go under the tank inside the aquarium stand, put a water pump in it, and fill it with little scrubbie pads. *sighs* Aaanyway, what size tank you want is up to you. The more water volume you have, the more stable your conditions and the healthier your fish will be.

What materials you'll need:
*tank
*really strong tank stand
*light(s)
*substrate
*plants/decorations
*a filter of some kind
*a seed culture from the filter media of an established filter. This will start your fishless cycling (the nitrogen cycle. Read this article if you don't know what that is http://www.fishkeepi...ing-article.htm )
*No heater (native fish don't need a heater)
*a powerhead, a really good high powered one. You can always turn it down or block the flow, but you can't make it more powerful, so buy a bigger one not a smaller one
*gravel siphon
*a bucket for gravel siphoning
*fish food (you're probably going to want to think about this. Wild caught fish often won't eat flakes. Culturing your own food will save you money)
*lastly, fish

My 55 gallon tank made a really nice home for the darters I kept. I had a good strong powerhead to create current, a hang on back filter, gravel and kitty litter mixed substrate, full spectrum lights for my live plants, and I fed them diced up frozen cocktail shrimp and Wardley sinking pellets and snails.

Edited by EricaWieser, 21 December 2010 - 10:12 AM.

Having made several fast water biotopes over the decades, the one piece of advice I can offer is to use a designated external centrifugal pump to provide the main current. Little Giants are very good but there are many similar available.

My reasoning is that the two biggest drawbacks of most other methods [most of which I've tried], is heat addition and clogging to the point of reduced flow.
If you're the type that is good about general maintenance and frequently clean your intake screen, the clogging part is less a problem.
If you're like me and prefer the "Do Nothing" maintenance schedule, a decent centrifugal with just a course intake screen to keep the fish, sticks, rocks etc out is the way to go. The external location and ceramic wet end transmit almost no heat and small things like uneaten food and fish poo blow right through without clogging. They are also close to silent which the hang on back water fall style is not.

If you want your pump to be integrated into your filtration, use an overflow with sump and stick with the centrifugal pump. Just be sure your overflow can keep up and have a low water shut off to protect the pump. Of course this last is the exact reason I prefer a designated pump just for flow.

Filters:
Each filter type has its advantages and disadvantages.
*Undergravel filters have the disadvantage of not being compatible with live plants (their roots interfere) and occassionally sucking small fry through the gravel. If you don't have baby fish or live plants, that won't matter.
*Hang on back filters (waterfall filters) help create water flow and do a fairly good job of filtering, but they make a splashing sound when the water level is low and they have obviously visible parts.
*In-tank underwater box filters have obviously visible parts.
*Out-of-tank filters that suck up water from the tank, filter it, and pour it back in can be very inexpensive to build and good at filtration, but you will have to allocate space outside of the tank for the equipment.

Because I have extremely limited space (I'm in a dorm room) and have both fry and live plants, I use the hang on back waterfall filter myself. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each type of filter and choose the one best for you.

Minimium size tank is determined by the fish species kept and the number of fish. I personally enjoy larger tanks and giving the fish as much space as possible. There are great large used tanks on craigslist.org and other re-sale marketplaces. I bought my 55 gallon tank for $25 on craigslist. If the tank is very large (200 gallons + ), you can save money by building it yourself out of thick plywood and a waterproof sealant and a single front pane of glass or acrylic.
If it were me and I had my own place (again, I live in a dormitory and can only dream of such a thing), I would build a 400 gallon plywood tank and seal it with Zavlar or some other sealant. Then I'd build a sump to go under the tank inside the aquarium stand, put a water pump in it, and fill it with little scrubbie pads. *sighs* Aaanyway, what size tank you want is up to you. The more water volume you have, the more stable your conditions and the healthier your fish will be.

What materials you'll need:
*tank
*really strong tank stand
*light(s)
*substrate
*plants/decorations
*a filter of some kind
*a seed culture from the filter media of an established filter. This will start your fishless cycling (the nitrogen cycle. Read this article if you don't know what that is http://www.fishkeepi...ing-article.htm )
*No heater (native fish don't need a heater)
*a powerhead, a really good high powered one. You can always turn it down or block the flow, but you can't make it more powerful, so buy a bigger one not a smaller one
*gravel siphon
*a bucket for gravel siphoning
*fish food (you're probably going to want to think about this. Wild caught fish often won't eat flakes. Culturing your own food will save you money)
*lastly, fish

My 55 gallon tank made a really nice home for the darters I kept. I had a good strong powerhead to create current, a hang on back filter, gravel and kitty litter mixed substrate, full spectrum lights for my live plants, and I fed them diced up frozen cocktail shrimp and Wardley sinking pellets and snails.

erica, wanted to thank you and the others that have replyed so quickly. you have givin my son and i alot to think about. but at the same time i didnt relize how easy it is to start. so after the holiday we are going to get started gathering the materialto get going. that way buy spring the tank will be ready.

erica, wanted to thank you and the others that have replyed so quickly. you have givin my son and i alot to think about. but at the same time i didnt relize how easy it is to start. so after the holiday we are going to get started gathering the materialto get going. that way buy spring the tank will be ready.

Sure, glad to help. If you have any more questions, we'll be here for you. And we'd all love to see pictures of the tank's progress as you start to set it up

Edited by EricaWieser, 22 December 2010 - 08:10 AM.

Sure, glad to help. If you have any more questions, we'll be here for you. And we'd all love to see pictures of the tank's progress as you start to set it up

Yea Erica I will do that.Ill take pics along the way so thats people or New-bes can see how fun it is to start a new tank along the way. Thanks...paul

Edited by pjenkins, 23 December 2010 - 12:36 AM.