IBC tank pond?

[Jim Sinclair]

I'm not sure which section this should go in. If I'm putting it in the wrong place, moderators please move it to where it belongs.

I have purchased two used IBC tanks (this kind: https://www.uline.com/BL_173/IBC-Tanks), made of food grade plastic and previously used to house feeder fish and turtles. (In fact one tiny little goldfish was gasping and twitching in about half an inch of scummy water at the bottom of one of the tanks when it was delivered. I didn't need any more fish, but this fish obviously needed me. It is now doing well in quarantine and I have to figure out what to do with it when it clears quarantine. My other fish are so much bigger that I'm afraid they will eat it. Anyway, back to my questions about the tanks.)

The tops of the tank have been cut off so they are now open top, and when turned on their sides, are able to fit through the door to my house and down the basement stairs where I want to set them up--with a bit of squeezing, and after both the house door and the basement door have been removed from their hinges.

The metal cages, on the other hand, are not squeezable and will just barely fit through the doorway of my house (again, with the door itself removed from the hinges). They won't go through the doorway to my basement, even with the door removed.

One friend has suggested cutting the top several inches off the cages, then welding them back on once we get them in the basement.

Another friend has wondered about bolting it back together rather than welding.

I had the idea of slicing all the vertical bars away from the horizontal frame, then once in the basement screwing or bolting them back onto the frame, rather than just cutting the tops off and trying to weld or bolt them back together. That would be more work at the outset, but would give me the independence of being able to take it down and move it myself should I need to relocate it. Cutting and welding would require me to enlist the help of people who have tools and abilities that I don't possess.

Upon further discussion, the friend who recommends cutting off the tops is now suggesting instead of welding them back on, we could cut segments of tubing from lawn chairs or canopies to make sleeves to hold them back together.

QUESTION 1:

Which of these ideas, or some other idea, do people recommend for getting these cages into my basement?

QUESTION 2:

What are some good ideas for filtration of fish ponds made from this kind of tank? I'm hoping to get recommendations from people who have personal experience doing this. I know there are lots of videos I can watch (but can't make a lot of sense of because I'm autistic with significant visual processing issues). I'd like to hear from people who have actually tried it, and have the benefit of their personal experience and availability to answer questions.

Anyone willing to coach me on this?

 

[Colin_T]

We cut them in half and patch the hole in the top so you get 2 ponds but others have simply cut the top few inches off the pond to make a large open top pond. I think you already have the top cut off yours so that's fine.

The metal cage can be cut down about 6 inches from the top and pop a metal sleeve over each bit of metal. Then you can lift the top part of the cage off when you want to move. But the top of the cage will help stop the plastic container from bulging out so make sure it is attached somehow..

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Filters can be external or internal power filters like an Eheim, Fluval or another brand.

You can use air operated sponge filters. There are some big sponge filters around nowadays and they work quite well.

I used plastic trays about 18 inches long x 12 inches wide x 4 inches high and put an undergravel filter plate in the tray, then covered it in gravel. It ran off an air pump but you can also use a water pump like an AquaClear power head instead of air. You gravel clean the gravel when you do a water change.

 

[Jim Sinclair]

We cut them in half and patch the hole in the top so you get 2 ponds but others have simply cut the top few inches off the pond to make a large open top pond. I think you already have the top cut off yours so that's fine.

The metal cage can be cut down about 6 inches from the top and pop a metal sleeve over each bit of metal. Then you can lift the top part of the cage off when you want to move. But the top of the cage will help stop the plastic container from bulging out so make sure it is attached somehow..

----------

We cut them in half and patch the hole in the top so you get 2 ponds but others have simply cut the top few inches off the pond to make a large open top pond. I think you already have the top cut off yours so that's fine.

The metal cage can be cut down about 6 inches from the top and pop a metal sleeve over each bit of metal. Then you can lift the top part of the cage off when you want to move. But the top of the cage will help stop the plastic container from bulging out so make sure it is attached somehow..

----------------
Filters can be external or internal power filters like an Eheim, Fluval or another brand.

You can use air operated sponge filters. There are some big sponge filters around nowadays and they work quite well.

I used plastic trays about 18 inches long x 12 inches wide x 4 inches high and put an undergravel filter plate in the tray, then covered it in gravel. It ran off an air pump but you can also use a water pump like an AquaClear power head instead of air. You gravel clean the gravel when you do a water change.

Thanks for the reply.

Where did you put your gravel filter trays?

 

[Colin_T]

Where did you put your gravel filter trays?

Anywhere on the bottom of the pond. Not much fun doing it when the pond is deep and full but in shallow ponds they work a treat.

 

[Jim Sinclair]

Yeah, I don't know how I could get anything off the bottom of these things. If a sick or dead fish was lying on the bottom of the tank, I don't know how I'd get it out. Where do you get nets with long enough handles?

I was thinking in terms of building a filter that would be outside the tank, or else hanging on the side like an aquarium filter, for accessible maintenance.

 

[Colin_T]

Where do you get nets with long enough handles?

Gaffa tape a fish net to a broom handle or piece of pvc pipe. You can also make nets out of pvc pipe and pvc elbows. Then get some mosquito netting from a shop that sells material to make clothes.

External pond filters are easy to make. A 20 litre bucket or 45 litre plastic rubbish bin with a hole near the bottom, add some sponge and use a water pump to pump water from the pond into the top of the bucket where it flows down through the sponge and back into the pond.

 

[Jim Sinclair]

If water flows "down through the sponge and back into the pond," does that mean the bucket is above the pond? How do you place it?

 

[Colin_T]

Yes the container with the sponge in is located above the pond. You can have it on a shelf out the way and use pvc pipe or black irrigation pipe to go from the filter outlet to the pond. Or you can have it above the pond and let it run back back.