Hello fellow KBers, I have been wanting to build a QT system on my side of the garage (my wife gets half and I get the other half
) for some time now, and after reading Steve Joneli's article on wood-framed QT in the latest issue of Koi Nations, I have decided that now would be a perfect time to build one.
A lil bit about myself, I currently have a 7,000-8,000 gal outdoor pond (12' x 22' x 5' avg oval shaped w/liner) and a small 200 gal outdoor QT tank made from a Rubbermaid livestock watering tank. Please note that the exact size of the main pond is an estimate as I didn't use a flow meter when I built it during summer '06. I have 18 koi in the pond ranging in size from 10" to 25". My goal is to have 12-15 good quality koi, attend a couple of shows a year, and meet new people and make new friends. I am also in the process of designing a new 12,000 - 15,000 pond. However, this won't be until several years down the road when my family and I purchase a new home (whether it's gonna be a DIY project or professionally installed is still indecisive).
My objective in building an indoor QT tank is to be able to bring a few, if not all, of my koi inside during the winter and to use the tank for new or sick koi. I also plan to use it as a grow-out tank for some smaller koi. I will post a design of the wood-framed QT tank once I finish drawing it up in Adobe. In the meantime, the best I can do is describe it for you guys: the QT will be 4' wide x 3'9" tall x 8-10' long (total volume of ~800 - 1000 gallons) constructed of 2x6's and 3/4 inch plywood similar to the one in Steve's article. It will most likely be lined with Steve's drop-in box liner with a 2" bottom drain that's posted in the fancykoioutlet website. No skimmer as this will be inside the garage. I am still working on filtration.
I did do some reading of materials on both this and other forums and the ONLY thing I learned is that there is definitely not one correct way to make a QT system. There are tanks ranging from 100 gal aquariums to 3,000 gal polyurea ponds. There are filtrations ranging from just a Savio skimmer w/media inside to systems with their own mechanical vortex and Nexus Easy Pod and fluidized K-1 and J-mats and Matala mats and the whole shebang.
Anyways, to make it short, here are my questions for the KBers:
1. The tank will most likely be 4' wide by 3'9" deep. I am still debating on the length. Should I build it 10' long (for a total volume of ~1,000gal) or is it okay to be 8' long (for a total volume of ~800gal). Yes or no or it doesn't matter.......or should it be longer or shorter?
2. From your guys' experience, what do you guys think of the depth? Good depth, doesn't have to be that deep, or doesn't matter?
3. It will have one 2" bottom drain as posted in fancykoioutlet. Should I have an aerated BD or does it matter?
4. Now for the most important question of all: what type of filtration should I use? Here's what I can tell you guys, and that is I can realistically come up with 1/2 hr a week to clean/maintain the filter. Costwise, I can probably spend up to $800 on filtration supplies (no more than $1,500 on the whole project). Stockwise, I would like to bring all of my koi inside during the winter. Turnover rate, about once an hour. Given all of these criteria, here's what I have come up with so far, and again this phase of my design/planning is still very much in its infancy, so please feel free to fire away.
- Option 1: Ultima II 2,000 gal max for mostly mechanical with some biological followed by a 55-gal K-1 fluidized barrel.
- Option 2: Steve's design of 55-gal K-1 fluidized barrel, then pump, then his design of 55-gal sand filter.
- Option 3: Ultima II 2,000 gal max followed by a smaller version of Momotaro's bakki shower with most likely J-mats and Matala mats.....BH might be too expensive for me.
- Option 4: 55-gal K-1 static followed by 55-gal K-1 fluidized.
Whew, what a lengthy post
! Anyways, your guys' thoughts and opinions are much appreciated. I plan to take pictures and post them along the way for other rooks out there who might be interested in building a similar QT. Thanks very much fellow KBers.
Lam
12-09-2007
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