Patio Tanks Rock!

[duanes]

I know you are aware of this, just throwing it out there for anybody that reads this.
Unless this is an older 55 most are made of tempered glass so check before you drill.

The was was a good warning, I had not considered tempered glass would be used in the entire tank.
My plan was to drill the back, and being used, there aren't any remaining labels or info, so no idea where it was made, or made of.
So I did the computer screen/polarized sunglasses test, and as the glasses were inverted on the outside of the glass, with the computer inside the tank, the image blacked out, leading me to believe (at least in theory), that the glass isn't tempered.

 

[BIG-G]

The was was a good warning, I had not considered tempered glass would be used in the entire tank.
My plan was to drill the back, and being used, there aren't any remaining labels or info, so no idea where it was made, or made of.
So I did the computer screen/polarized sunglasses test, and as the glasses were inverted on the outside of the glass, with the computer inside the tank, the image blacked out, leading me to believe (at least in theory), that the glass isn't tempered.

It’s always good to check even if you think you know.
I blowed out the back of a 55 being impatient and assuming it was fine.
If you’ve never drilled a tempered tank,
it’s ahhh..... Explosive, to say the least.

 

[Ulu]

Hi Ulu is the patio tank heated? Do you keep any unheated tank/pond? Where I live is a bit warmer(40~50F) but not so warm to keep tropicals unheated all year around.

I don't have a pond.

In the summer the patio tank was run wide open with HOBs splashing to keep the temps down, as our summer temps top 100F. It still heats the indoor system well, with the heaters off. This pic was taken before the indoor tank was installed and plumbed. It now sports a lot more plumbing.


The 125g indoor tank and attached 55g patio tank are not heated, but the 30g sump has 400 watts, so it constantly supplies warm water.
I set them to 80F, but the tanks both run about 75F at night and 78F in the day.

Of course the other half of this system (the indoor tank) is uninsulated and our house is kept 68F.

This was once our fireplace. (We live in the desert. Hated the fireplace.)


It plumbs to the outdoor sump through an insulated wall.

 

[Ulu]

@duanes That looks exactly like my two Petco 55's, and I was told they are all tempered glass.
Perhaps you can just make the tank 1" taller with an overflow spout.

You can make it higher with acrylic plastic, solvent welded right to the polystryene. Just leave a spout for it to cascade over or incorporate some PVC fittings glued in.

Acrylic solvent welds to PVC OK as does Lexan polycarbonate, though Lexan wants an extra coat of primer.
I hate purple primer, and just use Chemtool carb spray as primer.

 

[Ulu]

It has warmed a lot here and I have taken the insulated doors off of the patio tank.
Once the nights quit going below 60F they don't need as much insulation.

I like this photo so much I posted it again.
This is a ghostly image of my patio, as reflected by the patio tank.

Buttercup is on the left and Photon on the right.

 

[duanes]

Although the fish population in my tanks has remain almost the same, the plants keep getting thicker.


And locals keep bringing me semi-aquatic plants they find near streams in the rain forest, to make a couple bucks during our isolation.

 

[Ulu]

Oh that's nice @duanes. I haven't grown anything but ivy and algae.

 

[Ulu]

Temps are in the mid to hi 100's now and so the cover is off the patio tank and I'm spraying water into the air to cool it.

I'm not sure how much will evaporate, but I may now install my new RO drip system without worrying about a drain.

If it makes more than evaporates, it will overflow the sump onto the concrete, and out to my big tree.

 

[Ulu]

This is Pepper the Pleco and Buttercup the Malawi, In another weird reflective shot of our patio tank.

The little white fairy, the dove, and the eucalyptus tree are not actually in the tank but the other visible plants and fish certainly are.

Here you see little Lemon Butterfish, poking his nose out of the sump habitat.



The temperatures on our patio have moderated to 80s & 90s lately due to cooling ocean breezes that are quite unseasonable to us.

By August it should be completely still and 100° F every day.

I would Quote you lyrics to the song August in Fresno but you would not be as amused if you haven’t lived here.

 

[Ulu]

Here are the real fairy, ceramic dove, and eucalyptus tree.