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Outdoor pond into saltwater tank?

Discussion in 'Saltwater Fish Forum' started by California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009.

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  1. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    So i posted a pic of my puffer in the photo section to see what size he is and people are saying between 3 and 4". And since he is getting bigger fairly quickly i need to start thinking of a future plan for his tanks. My parents are against my tanks and would never let me get another one let alone a 55gal which is what the puffer needs at full grown. And also there is no room for a bigger tank. So i was thinking, if i can talk my parents into it, turning our backyard pond into a saltwater tank for him. Tank needs lot of cleaning but i'd be willing to clean it. Would the pond be a good substitue for a 55 gallon tank? And what kind of equipment would i eventually need to get
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  2. Guidoman888

    Guidoman888 New Member

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    The problem is heating and filtering it will need extremly good care and I dont know if its even possible but then again I barely know anything about saltwater.

    I'll just say lets ee what the others have to say ^^
     
    Guidoman888, Mar 8, 2009
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  3. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    ok, i'd have to go through the costs of everythin that i would need for a 55gal and the pond and find out which is cheaper, if 55gal would be cheaper i would have to find space somewhere in the house
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  4. Guidoman888

    Guidoman888 New Member

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    How big is your pond.. Maybe a 55 gal is cheaper since I assume you will also sell your old tank (because of your parents) A big pond needs a huge amount of filtration . The filter has to be able to filtrate 3 times the actual tank size per hour.


    For example a filter of 3gph is only suitable for a 1 gallon tank or less :)
     
    Guidoman888, Mar 8, 2009
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  5. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    not really sure, it's just a common size hard plastic pond found out Lowes, and i think by this time next year he will have outgrown his tank if not sooner, and maybe if i find the each price of everything that i would need for the pond and 55gal they may go for the 55gal, like you said is probably cheaper, and i will most likley have to sell my 20 gall and try to find a nice used 55 gallon that's not to expensive
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  6. Guidoman888

    Guidoman888 New Member

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    Some used tanks can be really cheap and in perfect state. Thats probadly the best you can get and I should check any auction site thats aviable for you :)

    Good luck ;)!
     
    Guidoman888, Mar 8, 2009
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  7. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    ok, oh lol and my lil puffer will get this big one day <a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfsDGJ4FqZU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfsDGJ4FqZU</a> so i think i'll eventually need to get him a 100 gall
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  8. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    It could be possible to do, but it would be a lot of work. It seems to me like it would be a lot easier to take care of a tank. You'd end up with a lot more evaporation, you'd have to heat it when it's colder, and probably run a chiller when it's hot so that you could keep a constant temp. Filtration would be another issue you'd have to figure out. I personally wouldn't attempt something like that, but again, it's all in what you want to try.
     
    NoctuVide, Mar 8, 2009
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  9. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    lol it's also up to my parents i know they would be against both ideas but i'd have to wait until he gets huge and barley move in his 20 gallon until they can finally see that he needs a bigger tank
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  10. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    yeah, unless it's a pea puffer, you're going to run into problems with them, either out growing their tank, or not mixing well with other fish. Even the pea puffer my girlfriend had for a little while would nip all the other fish's fins.
     
    NoctuVide, Mar 8, 2009
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  11. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    He might not even get up to that kind of size. With all the stress of not being able to grow correctly in a correct sized tank, it could easily kill him.
     
    NoctuVide, Mar 8, 2009
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  12. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    i have a green spotted puffer, i learned quickly that he couldn't go with fish, i orignally had my 20 gallon set that i now know was overstalked, but i had a couple of decent size gouramis in there, then i added him and a scat, i came home from work one day and they were all floating up at the top of the tank with chuncks bitten out of them, and he was just there buzzing around like nothing happened. I didn't have the heart to take him back so now he's all by himself in the 20 gallon, even now looking a bit big for it
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  13. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    yea, i want him to grow huge and live like 10 years like there supposed to
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  14. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    20 gallon for a puffer that gets large, scats that will eventually need full saltwater and 100 gallon tank, and did you have some kind of brackish gourami? ut oh, someone didn't do their homework before they bought fish lol We're all guilty of this at times though. Trust me, I've done it a few times myself lol
     
    NoctuVide, Mar 8, 2009
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  15. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    lol it was an impulse buy and they were fresh water, he even killed the scat, so now he's in brackish, so now i've done loads of research since then :)
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  16. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    A saltwater pond is not something I would attempt. As someone else stated the water will evaporate rather quickly, especially in CA, causing huge fluctuations in water quality and eventually killing your fish. The cost for upkeep alone would be A LOT.
     
    Anthony, Mar 8, 2009
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  17. Guidoman888

    Guidoman888 New Member

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    Good!. Everybody makes mistakes and we make mistakes to learn from them so we can do them better next time ;)
     
    Guidoman888, Mar 8, 2009
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  18. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    yea, i think i'll end up having to get a tank, and to please my parents get rid of both the 10 gallon and the 20 gallon, which really my puffer would be worth it, and maybe i'll get some money of the 10 gallon when the time comes to get the 55gal especially if the plants go well
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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  19. Guidoman888

    Guidoman888 New Member

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    You could always use the 10 gallon as a Wet/Dry filter. That might spare some money too!
     
    Guidoman888, Mar 8, 2009
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  20. California Cowgirl

    California Cowgirl Thread Starter New Member

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    that would be a possiblity, then i'd have to get rid of the fish, i'll now need to do research on maintaing sw tanks, i know the equipment is REALLY expensive so i'll need to try and find some used stuff when the time comes
     
    California Cowgirl, Mar 8, 2009
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