# Making my 800 800 gallons bigger :)



## monsterfishrescue

My name is Jonathan, otherwise known as TheFishGuy on a few other forums. I run monsterfishrescue.com and seem to be rescuing more and more fish. Recently my 800 that I built two and a half years ago started to leak. The tank has been drained and all the fish are living in a roughly 800 gallon pond. So since we have this saying that there's no problems just opportunities I've decided to take this opportunity to make the tank much larger. As it stands the tank measures 14' long 3' front to back and 30" tall. Since my incredibly understanding wife who lets me fill the house with fish tanks doesn't want the tank to take up more room I've decided to add onto the back of it. I'm going to take it a step further though and make the addition deeper. What I mean by deeper is by making it taller by going down. 

Here's the future footprint:











What it'll look like through the glass:










With the addition the total gallons will go from 785.45 to 1623.27 more than doubling gallonage. More importantly this will give options for more fish to go into the tank by creating two huge breaks in line of site. 

Here's a link to the original build, and to the thread that was a continuation:

Cichlid-Forum :: View topic - 1122.08 GALLON TANK PROJECT!!!

The continuation:

Cichlid-Forum :: View topic - My wish list in the 800 gal....

This is essentially part three  And yes, I've started this thread on a bunch of forums because I'd like to get to know the people from this forum. 

I just joined this forum so I'm going to try and get everyone caught up on all my updates of this project!

Here's the list of fish (and their sizes) that were in the 800: 

Black belt 9 
Black belt 8.5 
Black belt 9 
Black belt 9.5 
Blue Acara 5 
Bocourti 11 
Bocourti 10 
Common Oscar 11.75 
Common Oscar 8.5 
Cutteri 5.25 
Firemouth 5 
Giant Danio 2 
Green Severum 7 
Green Severum 7 
Green Severum 6.75 
Green Terror 4.25 
Intermedious 8.25 
Intermedious 8.25 
Intermedious 8.25 
Irridescent Shark 15 
Irridescent Shark 10.5 
Jack Dempsey 6.5 
Jack Dempsey 3.25 
Jack Dempsey 3.75 
Jaguar 7.5 
Lemon Severum 4 
Loepard sailfin pleco 14.5 
Mad Barb 15 
Mad Barb 15 
Midas 7.75 
Midas 7.75 
Midas 7.5 
Midas Mr. T 8.5 
Nicaraguan Cichlid 6 
Nicaraguan Cichlid 7.125 
Nicaraguan Cichlid 7.25 
Nicaraguan Cichlid 7 
Nicaraguan Cichlid 4.25 
Nicaraguan Cichlid 5.25 
Nicaraguan Cichlid 5.25 
Pacu 22 
Pacu 18 
Pacu 17 
Pictus Cat 10 
Red Bay Snook 5.25 
Red Midas 8.75 
Red Terror 7.25 
Red tiger oscar 8.75 
Regans Cichlid 7 
Regans Cichlid 6.25 
Regans Cichlid 5.25 
Robertsoni 10 
Salvani 5.75 
Salvani 4.5 
Silver Dollar 7 
Silver Dollar 5 
Silver Dollar 6 
Silver Dollar 6 
Synodontis 8 
Synspilum 10.5 
Tiger Tilapia 8 
Tiger Tilapia 7 
Tilapia Mamfe 7.25 
Uaru 5 

Most of these will be going back in the tank when it's done, but here's a video of what's going on:
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue

Here’s some video updates for you, mostly of demo:

Update 4: YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition 4

Update 5: YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition 5

Update 6: YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition 6

Update 7: YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue addition # 7

Update 8: YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue addition # 8

I also got all the framing material today from Mentor Lumber, Rick was able to help out Monster Fish Rescue by giving the material pretty much at cost. They didn’t make any money, but they didn’t lose any either… It’s been a tough year for everyone so I didn’t want them to lose money on me. I was also able to order the hardie panel today too. It should be in Friday or Monday. Roughly $600 so far for this repair/addition. I’ll know an exact amount when my bill comes…

I’m hoping tomorrow will be a productive day for this project. If I can get everything framed by Monday then I’ll be able to start installing the hardie right away! Atleast soon we’ll all be able to see the shape of the tank!

As always if there’s any question feel free to ask and I’ll try to answer the best I can.

Sorry for the massive post.......


----------



## Marty

That is a huge project or should i see Monster project.I cant wait to see all this when it is done.Been catching all the vids on youtube.It is great you do what you do.Be careful them kids will be swimming in it lol.Keep us posted bro...


----------



## monsterfishrescue

I will definately do my best at updating this thread. Thanks Marty


----------



## MediaHound

Awesome project Jonathan, bravo! Subscribing to thread and looking forward to see how it all turns out. Best wishes with it!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Thanks MediaHound,

Here’s what got done today….

Up date 9 YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition #9

Up date 10 YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition #10


It took an hour and twenty minutes to clean the second pane of glass. A nerve racking hour and twenty minutes…

It took three hours to frame the floor of the addition. The “sleepers” are scribed to fit the very uneven and out of level floor. But at least the floor of the addition will be level…

Thanks for looking and if there’s any questions please feel free to ask!


----------



## archer772

Now thats a project, I thought I had seen this somewhere else or at least the drawings are you on AC/MFK ??


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Yes, I'm on over 30 forums


----------



## Marty

Looks like it is coming along well.Alot of work but will be awesome when done.Oh and by the way Happy B-Day Jonathan


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Thanks Marty 

Made some pretty good headway today, 99% of the framing is done. Just seven small pieces to put in and I can start sheeting! 
All the braces under the floor sheeting were installed.
Holes were drilled in the scribed floor joists under the addition.
The floor sheeting was installed and the walls framed.
I also figured out how many gallons of water the tank will hold…

1457.01 gallons! The sump will also have water in it but I haven’t made a 100% decision on the sump yet. It’s got to be quite large in order for it to not run dry before it gets fed. I’m thinking about 175 gallons or 200 gallons should do it. 

Here’s a short video…

YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition # 11

Thanks for looking!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

And here’s update #12

Link:
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition take 12


Embeded:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7HUWcIE-3XY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7HUWcIE-3XY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>


----------



## TheCheeseWizz

Wow your crazy. The good kind of crazy but crazy nonetheless. Can't wait to see it finished.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

I think that's what everyone is waiting for LOL Me too!

update:

The sheeting is done! Next is cutting holes in it where the bulkheads are going to be. The reason I’m doing that is because last time there was barely enough thread on the shower drains to make a good seal. I’m going to make the holes slightly larger than the nut for the bulkhead, this way I’m only dealing with the thickness of the hardie panel and pond armor. And yes, I plan to silicone in the bulkheads this time. Last time I did not. I might go get the hardie panel tomorrow and the two sheets of plywood to make the sump tank. The sump tank will be made out of ¾” plywood lined with hardie panel, then lined with pond armor. Enjoy the video! 

YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Up Date #13


As always, if there’s any questions or comments feel free to ask 


----------



## TheCheeseWizz

How are the fish liking that little pool you have them in?


----------



## monsterfishrescue

I think they might like it better than the 800 in the sense they know their boundries, no glass to confuse them. But I think they'll like the new tank better than the pond


----------



## monsterfishrescue

So I promised everyone an update by Thursday, the only thing I really got done was four out of seven sheets of hardie panel installed. Tomorrow hopefully the rest of it will get done… We’ve got a party Saturday, I’ve got work Sunday and three days next week so not much is going to get done again for a while… I hate work… It gets in the way of the things I really want to do! LOL

Here’s some pictures:

The hardie has been glued to the floor with liquid nails:










This is showing one of the preliminary holes that’s cut for one of the bulkheads:










This is a picture of two dogs and a cat:


----------



## ts40ounce

Wow ... I don't even know where one would get started on something like this. How did you get started on something like this? Or is that a previous post? Looks good, looking forward to keeping an eye on it!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

If you read the first page of this thread it goes through the entire history of this tank


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Here it is, up date 14!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHCMbRywux4

Nothing exciting really, but for those of you that do not have speakers here’s a summary:

1.)	The hardie is going in slow due to waiting for it to dry before the next piece can be put in.
2.)	The pump and unions have been ordered for the radiant heating system. They will be in this week.
3.)	Most of the plumbing has been purchased for the radiant heating system.
4.)	The Pond Armor has been ordered!
5.)	The temperature controller arrived today too!
6.)	The basement is a mess.
7.)	I wish I had more time to get this thing done.
8.)	If I had hair I’d be pulling it out.
9.)	I’m tired.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Sorry about the non working video… youtube insisted that the first time I uploaded it failed. They even asked me if I wanted to try it again… So I did. It said it was successful so I posted… Then all of a sudden they said it was a duplicate! &@[email protected]%#$

That’s ok, I forgot to post the pictures I took of the bracing LOL So here’s the pictures:





























And here’s one from today:











And here’s the video… hopefully LOL

YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Update #14


----------



## monsterfishrescue

And here's a vid from today 

YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition #15


----------



## TheCheeseWizz

I wish I had extra 50 gallon tanks just lying around.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Most of the tanks I have were given to me or I find on the edge of the road in the trash!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Up date #16

You can either watch this:
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Up date # 16
Or read this:

First off, the Pondarmor is here! Here and under strict orders to acclimate for a day. The cans were submerged in hot water for an hour then they’ll sit until tomorrow late morning when we’ll start doing the seams! Sunday morning we’ll go over the whole thing looking for touch ups, which according to Butch we’ll have some. The bummer is I’ve got a side job to do Monday and Tuesday. So the glass won’t get put in till Wednesday…

Also, the circulating pump is here and installed for the heating system… Along with a “T” and valve put in one of the hot lines running towards the tank. This “T” will feed water through the pex tubing that will be coiled up in the sump tank which will act as a radiant heating system to keep the tank at 80*. The pump still needs to be wired and so does the temperature controller. Honestly I’m not too worried about the sump and heating system, I just want to get this thing test filled!

I also cut up 2” strips of fiberglass mat to put in over all the seams… I’m ready to start water proofing, it’s just waiting till the morning to get started by vacuuming the tank out and starting the process… Yeah. Like I’m going to get any sleep…


----------



## monsterfishrescue

So what do think of the color?

YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition #17


----------



## TheCheeseWizz

Is that the color it is going to be when it is done? If so then I really like the color.


----------



## fishfinder

Its a beautiful color. Can't wait to see it all together with the fish.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Yes, that is the color! Only have to do touch ups on it this morning


----------



## diverduck

Do you ever have a lid on that tank? aren't you worried of fish jumping out?


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Yep, the tanks got lids  And it will have something new this time around... When it was first built it did not have lids for a while... No fish jumped... I think they were in shock at the size of it! LOL

Well, upon request I did a little informational video series… If you ever plan to work with Pond armor this might help you get together some of the things you’ll need… The first three vids are about 5 min each, the last one is a quick snippet… As for progress on the tank… I wired the temperature controller in and tested it along with the pump… The pex is going to work just fine to heat up the water! It gets hot FAST! Everything works as it should! I’m looking fore ward to see it in action!
I was also able to get out and get the fittings and pipe for the filter… Hopefully I’ll be able to work on that this afternoon… We’ll see…

Well, here’s videos 18-21 if you’re interested to see pond armor getting installed.

18-	YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition up date #18
19-	YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition up date #19
20-	YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition up date #20
21-	YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition up date #21


----------



## budcarlson

That is nuts. I can't wait to build one myself.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Well, I hope this thread can help you out. That's kind of why I decided to a thread like this 

Here’s what got done last night… The first video I took was too long for youtube so I had to do it over again and make two and they just recently finished uploading… My sincerest apologies for the delay…

Up date # 22 YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue up date #22

Up date # 23 YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue up date #23

As I’m typing this a video is uploading to youtube from what got done today… You won’t be disappointed when that gets posted!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

And here's what got done today!

Vid #24

YouTube - Monster fish Rescue Up Date #24


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Hi folks,
First off, I’m sorry I have not posted lately. My heart has not been in it. I did fill the tank last Friday and everything was fine. An hour later I discovered a major leak and had to drain the tank. The leak was caused by a spot in the pond armor where a piece of fiberglass was left and a bubble of air was trapped behind the pond armor and burst under the pressure thus creating a crack in the pond armor on the floor of the tank. Another leak was discovered in the plumbing and was easily fixed. Actually I’m kind of embarrassed about that because I knew doing it that it was going to be risky. Both the crack and bubble were fixed with very little effort and the tank was again filled Monday night. The weekend was too busy to do it any earlier. This morning I woke to find the tank about an inch and a half low. There seems to be an issue with the floor of the deep end but I have yet to drain the last three inches out of the deep end and clean it to inspect. I’m feeling a bit defeated at the moment so I apologize for the lack of posting. One thing that did lift my spirits was finding out from the water company that it only costs $12.30 to fill the tank. So I’m not feeling so bad wasting the water. 


The plan is to work on finding the issue tomorrow and solving it then filling Wednesday morning. Hopefully I will have good news Wednesday evening. Third time’s a charm!

Thank you for following the thread and for all the moral support. 

Jonathan

Ps This is a “copy and paste” post and I will gladly get to any and all questions as soon as possible. First priority is to get this figured out. Thanks for understanding.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Here’s a few videos about the leak. I had this interesting set of eleven videos of when I first filled the tank… I shot a quick snippet every 15 minutes, but youtube rejected like half of them and I ended up deleting them all… I’ll take pictures every 15 minutes next time, since pictures don’t take fifteen hours to load! LOL



#25 YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition #25

#26 YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition # 26

#27 YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition # 27


----------



## budcarlson

Bummer. Don't let it get you down man, you're almost there!! Don't give up and 'bend over' LOL


----------



## saddison

I just wanted to say good for you!
This is a huge project and you are doing such a great job!
Don't let the pinholes get you down... Think about how amazing it will be after!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

All I can think about is how many did I miss this time.... And check this out!
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Addition # 28

No worries though, I fixed it this morning before the sun even thought about rising...


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Butch sent me some more pond armor to work with so I can get the sump lined with it today. It just got here so I’m soaking it in a tub of hot water to warm it up before I start mixing. So I figured since I had an hour to wait for that I’d let you guys know that I did a final measurement on everything The tank, including the sump total 1549.65 gallons. 1549 doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like “800” did. For some reason I think I’ll get used to saying 1500 gal. The sump holds 163.09 gallons when full and the tank holds the difference. Now that’s at idle. When the pump gets plugged in it will draw about 100 gallons or so out of the sump tank in order to run the filter…So do you think it’s fair to call it the 1500? Or should it be the1386? Or should it be the 1486 while it’s running? What do YOU think? Also, some people are interested in the fish I have and what I got at the O.C.A. auction. I’ll load those videos tonight and post them tomorrow. Loading videos slows the computers down to the annoying point similar to the dial up days of the 90’s LOL That’s why videos get posted the next morning… 

I will be test filling this evening once more so hopefully that goes well… At any rate thanks for looking!


----------



## budcarlson

I say whatever water is in the total system is the effective tank water and that's what I'd call it. Allow yourself to brag. You've earned it.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

LOL Some are saying to call it the fifteen hundred, or the fifteen fifty. I kind of like fifteen hundred... Nice and round I suppose... LOL Not gonna be callin' it anything if it doesn't hold anything though! LOL


----------



## monsterfishrescue

After numerous attempts at filling and re-sealing I still have a leak. Unfortunately I cannot find the source. I am not sure what my next step is going to be but I will be taking a break from this project. You tube consistently keeps rejecting my videos all of a sudden so there will be no video up date this time around. I did fill the tank and sump (which does not leak) this afternoon and I also finished the plumbing for the filter. I temporarily put the pump in and tried to run a cycle on the tank. Unfortunately the tank is going to need another bulkhead to feed the sump as the pump almost overflowed the tank while simultaneously draining the sump tank. According to my calculations each inch of the tank is 39.83 gallons and it takes two inches to fill the pipes in the filter system so roughly 80 gallons to get the filter running. But again, the sump is not getting fed fast enough. In theory the sump should be half full when running normally and completely full when sitting idle or during a power outage. If when I add another bulkhead to the tank it is still not enough then the sump tank needs to be larger. I find this hard to believe since this is the same pump that ran the 800 with zero issues in a sump tank that held only 115 gallons or so. The only difference is 12 gallons of water per inch in the addition. In my opinion 24 gallons is not enough of a difference to warrant a larger sump tank than 163 gallons. The major difference is one less bulkhead, one less feed to the sump.

That is where we stand. 

I need to work tomorrow on a small job that should take less than 12 hrs to complete, so nothing is going to get done tomorrow. 

Here is a punch list of things that need to happen before full operation and stocking of fish:

1.)	Fix the leak.
2.)	Install the under gravel jets and spray bar.
3.)	Add a bulkhead and another run to the sump.
4.)	Install and connect the heat coil.
5.)	Make lids.
6.)	Test everything for a week.
7.)	Drain and decorate.
8.)	Stock.

2-8 are very easy steps. It’s one that I’ve got an issue with. The only feasible idea I have is to re-coat the entire tank by spraying it. Other than that I’m open to ideas. I believe I’m only a few clicks away from reaching my limit of patience. Honestly, I’m past patience and frustration and have moved right onto the “I don’t care anymore” stage! LOL

So please. Any and all ideas are welcome. 

Jonathan (aka TheFishGuy aka MonsterFishRescue)


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Up Date:
Since you tube is not cooperating we’re going to do this up date old school… I got the entire tanks seams siliconed this afternoon. By the time I was finished (which it only took about 20 minutes) my eyes were burning! LOL I was able to keep the door open and there’s an exhaust fan just a few feet away in the small bathroom/laundryroom in the basement that I was able to keep on and it took care of most of the fumes from the silicone… Actually I think I’m still HIGH LOL. Here’s some pictures of that:



















I also decided there wasn’t any reason the heat coil couldn’t be ran so I did that too… That really only took about 30 minutes seeing as I already had the thermostat wired and the pump installed. I’ll re-cap how this is intended to work. I might even go super old school and do a drawing in paint! Yeah… Let’s do that:










So here’s some coiled in the sump around a cage made from eggcrate from an old project. When I run out to my shed I’m going to grab a bunch of zip ties to separate the coils so they’re not touching each other. Hence the eggcrate… And it got the dang thing out of the way in the fish room! LOL



















Here’s a shot of the heat lines running into the tank room and down into the sump. As you can see I took the 55 out in order to do this:










Here’s the pump mounted about 5’ up in the laundry room/little bathroom (which is essentially just a toilet, my toilet according to Dominic! LOL)










And here’s where you can see it going into the drain cock of the water heater.










Now I couldn’t just hook this up and not test it… So I filled the sump with 46* water and set the thermostat to 60*… We’ll see how it does… Of all the upgrades I’m doing to this tank this is the one I’m most excited about, well that and now I’m on the hunt for a giant piece of drift wood… Maybe I’ll just go cut a tree down in the back and wedge it in the tank so it doesn’t float… OOOO… Chainsaw! 
That’s it in a nutshell, hopefully tomorrow will be a good day and we’ll have no more leaks. I’m goingto get on the horn with you tube and see what’s up their rear lately… Don’t they understand the importance of this? Sheesh… the nerve…

As always, if there’s any questions feel free to ask! I will do my best to typ out an answer for you… cuz you guessed it… you tube sucks!
Ps. Sorry for the book, but it would have only been a short video to listen to if you tube didn’t suck…


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Up Date:
Well…. It’s been two hours and SHE HOLDS! The extra pipe running back into the sump because the pump was a little too much seems to be doing it’s job well! The tanks been running for about an hour now and all seems to be well!!!!!!!! So let me ask you… Did you enjoy the drama? LOL I didn’t. It took over six hours for me to fill this time, and my feet hurt from pacing back and forth! But who cares about me… I took a few pictures so we can go step by step through the saga of filling…
In this picture you’ll see that I’ve got the spray bar plumbed in. I decided in order to force myself to slowly fill the tank that I would fill the sump, shut the water off, then use the pump to pump the water into the tank. Then while the sump was filling from the tap again it would give me time to inspect everything. Then with one final inspection after the sump was full I’d plug the pump in adding 150 ish more gallons to the tank. It took eleven times in order to completely fill the tank.










Here are the spots where it leaked every other time it was filled. These were the spots where I closely inspected about five times after every time 150 ish gallons was put in the tank. The white line that you see in the pictures is the ¾ decking of the deep end, water would slowly dribble out from the top of it:




























Now here’s the spray bar in action giving the tank a nice shower every half hour or so:



















And here’s Max coming to inspect my work! LOL Future county building inspector! LOL



















And here’s a slide show of the fill:



Then when the tank spilled a tiny bit of water into the sump tank I stopped filling it and started to just fill the sump tank. When both containers were at maximum then it was sitting at what I call “Idle” This mimics a power outage or when I unplug the pump to do a water change.










Somewhere in the middle of filling the tank I completed the plumbing return lines and the overflow line back to the sump:
Here’s the “overflow” line:










Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the line that feeds the under gravel jets. But it’s nothing exciting really, and hopefully you tube will let me get some videos up to night… You’ll see it then…

Since everything was plumbed and the tank and sump were full it came time to fire it up, and fire it up we did. Everything seems to work well, the water level has stayed the same though I did have to tone down the spray bar a bit. My theory is that once all the jets are in place it might slow things down enough where neither return line will have to be toned down.










The water level is holding steady at about an inch and a quarter down from the top. I wanted and inch and a half but what’s a quarter amongst friends? LOL



















p.s. I did and have been shooting video so hopefully some day you tube will remove it’s head from it’s rear and allow them to get uploaded! I will not cheat anyone of the videos! BUT I’m considering making DVD’s of the whole process and selling them for like $5 to help fund the project and MFR. Think they’d sell? Of course there’d be bonus content of the fish room and videos I didn’t upload… Like my little rant about Sanitred LOL
Sorry about the massive post and tons of pictures taking forever to upload. Some sites only allow five pictures per post so on those sites I’ll be making multiple posts! Thanks again for looking… And oh, in the past hour or so the tanks temperature has gone up FIVE degrees!
TFG, MFR, JJS


----------



## monsterfishrescue

I had a small confrence to go to this morning but when I got home I got this incredible burst of energy... I went out back and cut the top off a tree I cut down last year and put it in the tank! LOL It's 9' long, and the picture isn't all that great because of the bubbles on the glass... I couldn't find my magna sweep...

























Not only that but I got a half a ton of wash stone and brought most of it down to get ready to rinse it It was fun carying two five gallon pails full down stairs at a time... 12 buckets should do it...














AND I also brought in all of the decor that was under the pond liner outside the back door... 














I'm begining to think there's seriously somethng wrong with me



As for the tank, the pump is dialed in and working well, things might change with that once all the jets are in but I'll deal with it... I plugged the pump back in at 6:45 am this morning and the heater had gotten the sump water up to 80*. After being gone for four hours the tank it's self climed 11* up to 72*... Then I decided to shut the thermostat off, there was no real reason to heat the tank up just to drain it Saturday AM... After I'm done posting it's down to the fish room for a few hours to start cleaning gravel, then I've got parent teacher confrences to night... I hate when life gets in the way of fun stuff... anyone wanna come over and rinse a half a ton of gravel?


----------



## saddison

Great job, Johnathan!
I am so happy to see that this has come together so nicely!
I am ecstatic for you and can't wait to see the final!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Thank you!  I'll be putting the fish in this Saturday


----------



## TheCheeseWizz

I wouldnt mind helping rinse some gravel but the flight tickets would be a bit expensive.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

LOL Too late anyway...

The jets were installed Friday night alond with the bark getting stripped off the wood and the cross bucks getting painted with drylok:



It’s been a long time comin’ but the fish are in! The tank is full and holding just fine. The temperature last nite in the tank was only 71* As of this morning it was 77* We took a lot of pictures so here’s a slide show again for you. I was just too pooped to get to posting last nite…



Once the deep end was full with water from the pond I started to stock the tank and the first fish to venture into the rest of the tank was a female jaguar cichlid. Soon after it seemed everyone wanted to be up there. LOL The only fish I haven’t seen yet is the larger of the two iridescent sharks, but I expected that…
Here’s a list of what’s been put in so far:
Paco the pacu 22”
Female Jaguar 8”
Iridescent shark 15”
Iridescent shark 12”
Mad Barb 15”
Common pleco 17”
Leopard Sailfin Pleco 16”
Synodontis euptrus 7.5”
Tiger Oscar 10”
Common Oscar 12”
Tiger Oscar 9”
Silver Dollar 5”
Fire Mouth 5.5”
Bocourti 11”
Lemon Severum 4”
Green Severum 7.5”
Midas 9”
Black Belt 10”
Bocourti 10.5”
Jack Dempsey 6.5”
w/c Midas 10”
Convict 8”
Female Nicaraguan cichlid 5”
Uaru 5”
Male Nicaraguan Cichlid 6”
Male Robertsoni “Bob” 9.5”
Midas/???? Hybrid 8.5”
Belly Crawler pike cichlid 6”
Male Salvanii 6”
Black Belt 9” 
Black belt 8.5”
Synodontis Notata 10”
Synpilum 11”
Male Jaguar cichlid 9”
Male Red Terror 8”
Black Belt 9.5”
Female Jaguar cichlid 7.5”
Silver Dollar 5.5”
Silver Dollar 5.5”
Midas 8.5”
Midas 8.5”
Intermedious 8.5”
Intermedious 8.5”
Midas 8.5”
Tilapia Mamfe 7.5”
Red Bay Snook 5”
Blue Acara 5”
Pim Cat 10” Silver Dollar 7”
Female Nicaraguan Cichlid 4”
Today I did water changes on all the other tanks and moved some more fish in:
Male Paratilapia polleni 8”
Female Paratilapia pollen 7”
Female Paratilapia pollen 6”
Tilapia Marae 4.5”
Tilapia buttikoferi 5”
Synodontis ocellifer 8”
Ctenopoma Kingsleyae 8.5”
Ctenopoma Kingsleyae 7.5”
Ctenopoma Kingsleyae 7”
Ctenopoma Kingsleyae 6”
Siamese bumble bee catfish 7.5”
Leopard Sailfin Catfish 16”


----------



## saddison

I would love to see a video of the final set up with fish in the tank!
I know youtube is being sucky right now, but perhaps in the future?

One day I hope to be able to do what you did


----------



## rpc07

Ive never posted in your thread before actually im pretty new to the hobby but i read all there is to read in your thread and followed along, its an inspiration that you didnt give up and completing something so huge is awesome, cant wait to see the finished pruduct!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Thanks very much for the kind words  Here’s slide show of some pictures my wife took with her camera:

And this is the filter for the tank. The water first passes through 4 square feet of prefilter pad which is cushion for boat seats. This is the same material that was being used in the 800 and for filtering the pond when it was up. Then is passes through three three pound bags of charcoal. I’m hoping it helps to clear the tank up. Then finally it passes through the bio media then into the sump tank where the pump and the heating coil is located.










At first I just had the three 2” pipes running water into the filter but then I added an undergravel filter to spread the water around so it passes through more of the prefilter. So far it’s working great!


----------



## budcarlson

It's been over a week! How about an update?


----------



## MediaHound

Lets see a pic with all the fish! And those videos! 
Great job btw, looks like a lot of blood sweat and tears! I wish my dad had a tank like that, Max is a lucky kid!


----------



## budcarlson

So we still haven't heard anything in a while, does that mean some kind of catastrophe has befallen you or the tank? I hope neither...please give us an update!!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

I'm sorry I didn't get notified... Everything is fine with the tank! Here's a few pictures:


----------



## TheCheeseWizz

Wow! That looks amazing. Great work.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Thank you 

Ok... So I'm a little fired up at the moment... Let me explain... I went to the village of Orwell (my home town) to ask if I could put out my Monster Fish Rescue.com sign in the front yard because I was hosting a board meeting for the Ohio Cichlid Association as I'm a board member and voulonteered to host a meeting. The sign is 18" x 24".










I went to the village and I asked if there was a permit I needed to get to put the sign out, she (Vicki Thomson who is the zoning inspector) said she wasn't sure but if I wanted to put it out this one time that was fine and then we'd talk about it at a later date... This came in the mail for me:



















After calling this morning she tells me people were complaining about the sign... Likely story. No one has ever complained about the sign before I brought it to her attention. When I brought it to her attention I also told her that we're not open to the public and that rescues were performed over the internet and that at a last resort fish would come here. And 99% of the time I go get the fish IF the fish even needs to come here. Thankfully most rescues are resolved before even making it to the website or here! The last time someone came here and brought a fish that needed rescued was four months ago. And the sign was out for a couple of weeks at that time... Not a single complaint then...



So now I've got 90 days to shut down my non-profit LLC for running a buisiness out of my home. There's a Planning and Zoning Meeting April 21st @ 6:30 P.M. at:



179 West Main Street

Orwell Ohio 44076



They want me to come and ask for a conditional use permit which costs $175 because I run an internet fish rescue. 



I'm asking for your support. If you believe that what I do is a good thing, if you're a supporter of Monster Fish Rescue then come to the meeting, it's open to the public. If you can't come to the meeting write a letter and send it to: 



Orwell Zoning Commision

c/o Vicki Thomson

179 West Main Street

Orwell Ohio 44076



I'm not asking for donations, I'm asking for your support in any way you can. Personally I find the entire situation rediculous. No good deed goes unpunished.



If you sell Avon, or Creative Memories supplies, or have ever sold a single thing on eBay or Aquabid you're an internet buisiness. If you've ever babysat for someone, you're running a buisiness out of your home. Better run out and get that permit!



On a lighter note, youtube has pulled their head from their [email protected]#% Here's some videos of the tank and our latest rescue!!!!



YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue 1500 gallon RESCUE tank



YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue Giant Gourami "Bert"


----------



## Marty

Well that sucks if i were not so far away i would be there,Thanks for the updates and good luck friend


----------



## sweetlipsa_d

How much of the tank is viewable 
Do you have pics of your other tanks and fish


----------



## monsterfishrescue

I'm going to shoot some video of a little tour of the fish room(s)


----------



## budcarlson

I'll be writing a letter. What BS!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

This was written and posted on another forum I belong to. I , of course think it’s excellent! Feel free to do with it what you please.

[quote name='BenPursglove' date='Mar 23 2009, 08:55 PM' post='2317586']
OK if anyone wants to help support the MonsterFishRescue.com project please see the email at the bottom of this post. 

I'm sure a little spammage from this site will soon sort them out and we can enjoy some more vids. Replace the "etc" at the end of the mail with your name...my mail is going as soon as I post this.

Dear Sir / Madam

It has recently come to my attention that you have recently served Lora& Jonathan Strazinsky (address unknown) with a “stop zoning and/or building violation” order via:
Orwell Zoning Commision
c/o Vicki Thomson
179 West Main Street
Orwell Ohio 44076

Whilst I understand that the laws of your county must be upheld, I think I must internationally state my disagreement regarding the issues surrounding this zoning order. Lora and Jonathan Strazinsky, in my opinion, do a particularly great service locally and to the wider USA community, as they re-house large to very large tropical fish that any negligent previous owner did not realize would grow so big for their fish tank upon buying them. This negligence is routed in fish shop supplying these creatures but there is no jurisdiction in place to stop these shops from doing so.
Lora and Jonathan Strazinsky do not ask for any profit nor recompense for their valued service and seek to further re-house said rescued fish into local attractions and beauty spots that will accommodate them comfortably in time.
For some while now I have been an admirer of Jonathan Strazinsky’s excellent work online, as I believe it embodies the true meaning of the word charity. Charity that is aimed at fish-keepers less knowledgeable than himself, who, in the act of fish keeping, and who decide to try to keep large adult fish in an uncomfortable, near death state in their homes wish to re-house their mistakes. I do not belive he seeks recompense from your juristiction nor from the USA government in the upkeep of these animals, yet.
In short, Jonathan’s work, in my opinion should be admired by your community and much more widely appreciated also, as he is running a non profit organization, I implore you to remove the zoning order. I am a fish keeper and animal owner / lover myself and cannot abide when a creature is destroyed because the owner is negligent. I hope that you will have the good sense to understand the work of Lora and Jonathan Strazinsky, understand what they do and therefore remove the zoning order and uphold the removal as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully

etc

If you want to support this guy email the above code to:

*[email protected]* unfortunately poor Cindy is the only point of contact on their contact page... she'll be busy then...
[/quote]


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Ok, what do you say we get this thread back on track with some VIDEOS!!! People have asked about my other tanks and what fish I keep. So I took the camera down stairs to do a little tour of the basement… 

Vid #1 is of some small tanks in the back behind the 240
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue All my tanks. Vid #1

Vid #2 is more small tanks behind the 185
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue All my tanks. Vid #2

Vid #3 is the 185
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue All my tanks. Vid #3

Vid #4 is the 240 (wifes frontosa tank with no frontosa in it at the moment LOL)
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue All my tanks. Vid #4

Vid #5 is the 1500
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue All my tanks. Vid #5

Vid #6 is of the mechanicals of the 1500 (filter and heating system)
YouTube - Monster Fish Rescue All my tanks Vid #6

I’m working on some statistics of the 1500 and I’ll post those later today ;-)


----------



## monsterfishrescue

For you numbers people here’s some fun stats:

This represents total water volume involved in running the tank:


Sump = 163.09 25 ½” X 23” X 63 ½” 
Right = 340.85 28” X 37 ¼” X 76 ¼”
Left = 458.18 28” X 42” X 90”
Deep = 587.53 52” X 29” X 90”
Total 1549.65



Videos shot of build: 52
Videos on you tube: 35
Total video views on you tube: 27,159
Total comments on you tube: 201
Threads on internet forums about this tank: 24
Total views on all threads combined: 80,116
Total posts of all threads combined: 2,865
Money spent on rebuild: $1,581.87
Tubes of liquid nails: 21
Total tubes of silicone: 23
¾” plywood: 3
5/8” plywood: 8
5/16” hardie panel: 11
Kits of pond armor used: 11
Weight of the glass: 7 tons
Total estimated man hours: 56
Beers drank during build: 6
Fish adopted out to new owners during build: 13
How many people asked what I was going to do about the gravel falling over the edge into the deep end: 11
How many times I crawled under the tank during the build: Too many…
Tears Shed when I couldn’t figure out the leak(s): Not a one ;-)

Total donations during construction: $60 Thank you to those three people, your support is much appreciated!

Date I emptied the 800: 11-14-08
Date the fish return to the 1500: 2-21-09

Fish were in the pool 98 days. 

Here’s a break down of the sites I’ve started threads on about this tank:

Cichlid-Forum: 309 posts, viewed 21,913 times

MFK: 368 posts, viewed 14,366 times

Loaches on Line: 124 posts, viewed 5,204 times

Aquariacentral: 200 posts, viewed 4,363 times

Tropical Fish Forever: 207 posts, viewed 3,979 times

BC Aquaria: 98 posts, viewed 3,130 times

Arofanatics: 57 posts, viewed 2,962 times

Ultimate Bettas: 130 posts, viewed 2,627 times

Pet Fish.net: 108 posts, viewed 2,599 times

Plecofanatics.com: 89 posts, viewed 2,425 times

East Coast Aquarium Society: 106 posts viewed 1,944 times

Oscarfish.com: 118 posts, viewed 1,935 times

Oscarfishlover.com: 118 posts, viewed 1,911 times

Cichlid Madness: 129 posts, viewed 1,756 times

Flowerhorncraze: 115 posts, viewed 1,379 times

Planet Catfish: 47 posts, viewed 1,274 times

Discus Forums: 53 posts, viewed 1,244 times

The Water Snake.com: 148 posts, viewed 1,161 times

Water Wolves: 73 posts, viewed 1,002 times

Aquarium forum: 62 posts, viewed 983 times

Toms Place: 105 posts viewed 726 times

Finvillage: 29 posts, viewed 532 times

Cichlids.com: 39: posts, viewed 500 times

Aquatic Worlds: 33 posts, viewed 201 times


One more interesting stat:

The original build of the 800 boasted 2,282 posts and 443,026 views

Part two of that thread due to a glitch in the system has 394 posts and 36,402 views combined its 479,428 views and 2,676 posts.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Upon request I’ve shot some videos again.
The first is feeding the masses… 
YouTube - Feeding the 1500

YouTube - Feeding the 1500 pt 2 the elusive siamese bumble bee cat

Then I thought I’d take you guys through a water change. Also in this I’ve tested my water upon request. I normally do not test my water because I feel if fish are spawning and getting their fry to free swimming stage on their own then the water must be clean… A bit old fashioned I guess… It was only after spending some time on forums I thought I’d better get a test kit. So I went and wasted some money on one… I don’t test my water when fish get sick because they rarely do. It’s when I introduce new fish then usually the only thing I ever have to deal with is ick. And I can handle that without testing water 
Here’s a short series of what I have to do for a water change. It’s not rocket science. So if it’s “I” before “e” except after “c” how do explain the word “science”. I guess you can compare it to the world of cichlids and attempting to give advice on them. No mater what the rule there’s always going to be an exception to it. So the next time you try to get into an argument on line on one of these forums just remember that ;-)

YouTube - Water Change pt 1

YouTube - Water Change pt 2

YouTube - Water Change pt 3

YouTube - Water Change pt 4

YouTube - Water Change pt 5

YouTube - Water Change pt 6


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Hello Everyone and Happy Easter. I’m writing today in desperation. We’ve received a disconnection notice. Work has just started back up for me and we’re still playing the catch up game and money is not coming in fast enough. We’re short roughly $1000 and I’m afraid of what would happen if our electricity/gas gets turned off. I know that times are tough right now for everyone but I’m asking if someone could please dig deep to help MFR out of this situation. Thank you very much. Jonathan


----------



## Coral Cove

this is all amazing I have a 300 gallon all glass fish tank that i bought from a fish store because it was leaking I took it all apart and cleaned all the glass up. I want to put it back together but have no idea what type of silicone to use. I was wondering what you yourself used and where I could pick it up?


----------



## budcarlson

Jonathan, I hope you got through your crisis, I was unable to help because as you said, times are tough. Please give us an update!


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Well, let's see, I'm starting to realize even though there's a few supporters out there who have given to the cause, it seems as if I'm in over my head. I've been struggling to keep MFR alive since its inception. Now it seems the cruel reality is that I'm $20,000 in debt, I'm at risk of loosing my home, the utilities are once again a month behind and at risk of being shut off, and it's all because I've decided to rescue fish! LOL. Good news is I did get a raise and work looks like it's beginning to pick up. It seems as if I will be putting MFR on the back burner and getting rid of most if not all of the fish. This ught to be interesting because just about every fish here is here because people didn't want them LOL

That being said, I'll be listing everything that's here on the website as soon as I can get it formatted. If you're interested in what I've got feel free to email me and I can send the list as an attatchment 
[email protected]

All adoption fees are negotiable.


----------



## monsterfishrescue

Here's a not so great update:

YouTube - Another Feed The 15 video, and a plea for help


----------



## monsterfishrescue

The auctions are now up on eBay:

Clown Loach Shirt

Oscar Shirt

Thank so very much for your help and support.


----------

