Hi All
I'm about to install a new pond in my front yard. Due to several factors
(limited space, invasive tree roots nearby, neighbor's dogs cavorting in my
existing plastic pond), I've decided to sink an 8' round, 2' deep galvanized
steel stock tank about 12" into the ground for my pond. I plan to put a 2"
base of sand under the tank to level it. I will then cover the protruding
sides with stackable concrete blocks and cement a top ring of pavers in
place to finish it. I was going to paint the inside black, but if the tank
has to be sandblasted first, forget it. The tank will hold approximately 600
gallons; I'm planning to add goldfish, filter, fountain and a couple of
small water lilies to it. I plan to drill several holes in the tank side for
fountain and filter feeds before burying it, and will eventually install a
small biological filter next to it. We live in Southern California, so I
don't have to worry about the ground freezing.

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how I should clean and condition the
new galvanized metal? Anything else I need to do? I got the idea from my
Midwestern upbringing - both my father and grandfather kept goldfish in
their cattle stock tanks to control mosquito larvae, and they eventually got
pretty big. I always loved watching the goldfish swimming so peacefully.

Thanks in advance for your help --
Sue in SoCal

"Sue Solomon" wrote in message
news:qH5se.88307$yV4.68870@okepread03...
Hi All
I'm about to install a new pond in my front yard. Due to several
factors
(limited space, invasive tree roots nearby, neighbor's dogs cavorting in
my
existing plastic pond), I've decided to sink an 8' round, 2' deep
galvanized
steel stock tank about 12" into the ground for my pond. I plan to put a 2"
base of sand under the tank to level it. I will then cover the protruding
sides with stackable concrete blocks and cement a top ring of pavers in
place to finish it. I was going to paint the inside black, but if the tank
has to be sandblasted first, forget it. The tank will hold approximately
600
gallons; I'm planning to add goldfish, filter, fountain and a couple of
small water lilies to it. I plan to drill several holes in the tank side
for
fountain and filter feeds before burying it, and will eventually install a
small biological filter next to it. We live in Southern California, so I
don't have to worry about the ground freezing.

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how I should clean and condition
the
new galvanized metal? Anything else I need to do? I got the idea from my
Midwestern upbringing - both my father and grandfather kept goldfish in
their cattle stock tanks to control mosquito larvae, and they eventually
got
pretty big. I always loved watching the goldfish swimming so peacefully.

Thanks in advance for your help --
Sue in SoCal
===============================
I had friends who had a setup like that for their goats (galvanize watering
tank) but the bottom rotted out and it started to leak. They had to remove
the goldfish and replace the tank after a few years. You may want to put a
pond liner in the tank to increase it's lifespan.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

If you haven't purchased the metal one yet, and price is similar, look at
the rubbermaid tanks, they already have a bottom drain hole and *I think*
you'd get a better seal if you made any new holes. ~ jan

On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 19:57:25 -0700, "Sue Solomon" wrote:

Hi All
I'm about to install a new pond in my front yard. Due to several factors
(limited space, invasive tree roots nearby, neighbor's dogs cavorting in my
existing plastic pond), I've decided to sink an 8' round, 2' deep galvanized
steel stock tank about 12" into the ground for my pond. I plan to put a 2"
base of sand under the tank to level it. I will then cover the protruding
sides with stackable concrete blocks and cement a top ring of pavers in
place to finish it. I was going to paint the inside black, but if the tank
has to be sandblasted first, forget it. The tank will hold approximately 600
gallons; I'm planning to add goldfish, filter, fountain and a couple of
small water lilies to it. I plan to drill several holes in the tank side for
fountain and filter feeds before burying it, and will eventually install a
small biological filter next to it. We live in Southern California, so I
don't have to worry about the ground freezing.

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how I should clean and condition the
new galvanized metal? Anything else I need to do? I got the idea from my
Midwestern upbringing - both my father and grandfather kept goldfish in
their cattle stock tanks to control mosquito larvae, and they eventually got
pretty big. I always loved watching the goldfish swimming so peacefully.

Thanks in advance for your help --
Sue in SoCal


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 20:30:29 -0700, Courageous wrote:

If you haven't purchased the metal one yet, and price is similar, look at
the rubbermaid tanks, they already have a bottom drain hole and *I think*
you'd get a better seal if you made any new holes. ~ jan

Rubbermaid commercial products doesn't list any 600-800 gallon tanks.

Okay, ;o) I guess I must have thought the 300 looked like 600? ;-) Might
have been the Tuff stock tank, but couldn't find those either googling. The
local Ranch & Home had those bigger "looking" than the 300 rubbermaids
though. ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

Galvanized tanks will last for a while.......but are very susceptible
to any chemicals you may have to treat fish with someday....not really
a good idea.....Get a polyeythylene stock water tank at the local
farmers coop or farm and feed supply. Our stores around here carry
them up to10 & 12 feet in diameter and 24 inches deep. I priced one
earlier this year, a 12 footer, and it was less than
$210.00........These large sized stock tanks are out there, you just
have too look and find them.

That said, I have 2 galvanized tanks I use for holding tanks, but the
insides are coated with bitumastic which is made for such
purposes...Galvanized has to be treated or allowed to age somewhat
before most paints or finishes will adhere to it properly, so I would
not recomend any commonly available paints, but would recomend most
any of the bitumastic coatings...............and they are available in
various colors as well.



On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 19:57:25 -0700, "Sue Solomon"
wrote:

===Hi All
=== I'm about to install a new pond in my front yard. Due to several factors
===(limited space, invasive tree roots nearby, neighbor's dogs cavorting in my
===existing plastic pond), I've decided to sink an 8' round, 2' deep galvanized
===steel stock tank about 12" into the ground for my pond. I plan to put a 2"
===base of sand under the tank to level it. I will then cover the protruding
===sides with stackable concrete blocks and cement a top ring of pavers in
===place to finish it. I was going to paint the inside black, but if the tank
===has to be sandblasted first, forget it. The tank will hold approximately 600
===gallons; I'm planning to add goldfish, filter, fountain and a couple of
===small water lilies to it. I plan to drill several holes in the tank side for
===fountain and filter feeds before burying it, and will eventually install a
===small biological filter next to it. We live in Southern California, so I
===don't have to worry about the ground freezing.
===
===Can anyone give me some suggestions on how I should clean and condition the
===new galvanized metal? Anything else I need to do? I got the idea from my
===Midwestern upbringing - both my father and grandfather kept goldfish in
===their cattle stock tanks to control mosquito larvae, and they eventually got
===pretty big. I always loved watching the goldfish swimming so peacefully.
===
===Thanks in advance for your help --
===Sue in SoCal
===


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

snip
===
===Can anyone give me some suggestions on how I should clean and condition the
===new galvanized metal?
===
snip

A conditioner made for galvanize metals is available from most any of
the major paaint manufactuers stores, or any automotive paint & body
shop supply houses. Failing to find that, you can sort of etch
galvanize with common white vinegar.........

==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

Metal does not ROT.........Wood rots, cloth rots, metal does not
rot......If a metal tank is used it will last a lot longer if the tank
is not in direct contact with the ground.....Odds are you will never
find a tank that rusted through from the inside out, if its been
filled with water continuously.....Rust starts from scratches etc on
the outside and works its way in.........Keeping a glavanized tank out
of direct contact with the ground would be hard to do unless its
coated with a bitumastic coating, then if it able to be inset into thr
ground and backfilled without scratching the coating it should last a
long long time.......I have stock tanks well over 20+ years of age
which have had gold fish in them even when used for watering stock
years ago, and are still rust free........but they have never been
placed directly on the ground, and they have always beek kept filled
with water or stored in the barn empty.

On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 22:06:15 -0500, "xxxxxxxxxxxi"
wrote:


===I had friends who had a setup like that for their goats (galvanize watering
===tank) but the bottom rotted out and it started to leak. They had to remove
===the goldfish and replace the tank after a few years. You may want to put a
===pond liner in the tank to increase it's lifespan.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

The zinc that is used in the galvanization process is fairly insoluble at
the normal pH of water, and therefore should last a long time. If the zinc
is dissolved, it can be harmful to the fish when the levels get high. If
the bottom is not kept clean, layers of rotting leaves will become acidic,
the galvanization will be removed and the metal will corrode. Painting will
help to protect the galvanization. Many of the farm supply places that
supply the galvanized tanks have similar polyethylene tanks, and they will
not corrode. The polyethylene tanks will embrittle in sunlight (UV), so it
is a good idea to provide the stack wall you discuss, and water absorbs some
of the UV. They do make paints for plastics now so that you can make it any
color you want. At least until the green algae covers it.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"Sue Solomon" wrote in message
news:qH5se.88307$yV4.68870@okepread03...
Hi All
I'm about to install a new pond in my front yard. Due to several
factors
(limited space, invasive tree roots nearby, neighbor's dogs cavorting in
my
existing plastic pond), I've decided to sink an 8' round, 2' deep
galvanized
steel stock tank about 12" into the ground for my pond. I plan to put a 2"
base of sand under the tank to level it. I will then cover the protruding
sides with stackable concrete blocks and cement a top ring of pavers in
place to finish it. I was going to paint the inside black, but if the tank
has to be sandblasted first, forget it. The tank will hold approximately
600
gallons; I'm planning to add goldfish, filter, fountain and a couple of
small water lilies to it. I plan to drill several holes in the tank side
for
fountain and filter feeds before burying it, and will eventually install a
small biological filter next to it. We live in Southern California, so I
don't have to worry about the ground freezing.

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how I should clean and condition
the
new galvanized metal? Anything else I need to do? I got the idea from my
Midwestern upbringing - both my father and grandfather kept goldfish in
their cattle stock tanks to control mosquito larvae, and they eventually
got
pretty big. I always loved watching the goldfish swimming so peacefully.

Thanks in advance for your help --
Sue in SoCal

The big problem is from the time a galvanized tank is made and shipped
and its finally purchased, it is slid around so much a lot of the zinc
(galvanize) gets scratched enough its now raw steel that is
unprotected. To much of a gamble to bury for a pond IMHO.

Even backfilling it could damage the galvanize, as its not as thick as
you would think it is. Rustoleum makes a epoxy paint with an additive
to make it acceptable for emersion in water....that is supposedly some
good stuff. A fish farm just got done coating a few insides of tanks
with it for their use and stated it works fine.


On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 15:36:24 -0400, "RichToyBox"
wrote:

===The zinc that is used in the galvanization process is fairly insoluble at
===the normal pH of water, and therefore should last a long time. If the zinc
===is dissolved, it can be harmful to the fish when the levels get high. If
===the bottom is not kept clean, layers of rotting leaves will become acidic,
===the galvanization will be removed and the metal will corrode. Painting will
===help to protect the galvanization. Many of the farm supply places that
===supply the galvanized tanks have similar polyethylene tanks, and they will
===not corrode. The polyethylene tanks will embrittle in sunlight (UV), so it
===is a good idea to provide the stack wall you discuss, and water absorbs some
===of the UV. They do make paints for plastics now so that you can make it any
===color you want. At least until the green algae covers it.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

The tank will hold approximately 600 gallons;

squared(radius)*PI*height =
16*3.1415*2==100.52 cubic feet =
* 7.48 gallons per cubic foot =
751 gallons, overflowing

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how I should clean and condition the
new galvanized metal?

Read both links; they say different things. Look for "galvanized".

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWe...contpdsart.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tkstdfaq.htm

You could line the thing with the standard pond liner,
which will be black, and will solve your painting problem also.

(Look for directions on the net regarding pond liners, pleating,
and so forth, but really--not rocket science).

As for your plumbing, if you don't put a bottom drain in, you'll
wish you did. You may consider having the bottom drain connect
through underground conduit to some second small tank. As you
put more water in your pond, gravity will naturally push the
water in your pond to the second tank. From their, you will
pump water in the second tank to the pond, ad nauseum.

Water on the bottom of the pond is lowest in oxygen, so you'll
be oxygenating your pond simply by bringing this low oxygen
water to the surface, where it pick up more air by exchange.

Structured right, this second tank can be made to pick up a
lot of your pond detritus. Vacuuming the second tank will be
a lot easier than vacuuming the main pond...

C//

On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 20:17:21 -0700, ~ janj JJsPond.us wrote:

If you haven't purchased the metal one yet, and price is similar, look at
the rubbermaid tanks, they already have a bottom drain hole and *I think*
you'd get a better seal if you made any new holes. ~ jan

Rubbermaid commercial products doesn't list any 600-800 gallon tanks.

http://www.rcpworksmarter.com/rcp/pr...categoryID=555

Where'd you find them?

C//

"RichToyBox" wrote in message
...
The zinc that is used in the galvanization process is fairly insoluble at
the normal pH of water, and therefore should last a long time. If the
zinc is dissolved, it can be harmful to the fish when the levels get high.
If the bottom is not kept clean, layers of rotting leaves will become
acidic, the galvanization will be removed and the metal will corrode.


What about the other side of the tank that is on contact with the ground?

A

Galvanization is generally pretty good protection against soil and soil
moisture. Guardrail posts are galvanized, though generally a heavier
coating, and last virtually forever, even though they have been driven
through base stone, and soil. Soil auger anchors for telephone poles are
also long lived.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"Angrie.Woman" wrote in message
m...

"RichToyBox" wrote in message
...
The zinc that is used in the galvanization process is fairly insoluble at
the normal pH of water, and therefore should last a long time. If the
zinc is dissolved, it can be harmful to the fish when the levels get
high. If the bottom is not kept clean, layers of rotting leaves will
become acidic, the galvanization will be removed and the metal will
corrode.


What about the other side of the tank that is on contact with the ground?

A

Most of the commercial type stuff like hardware on power poles, guard
rails, stay wire anchors etc are galvanized with a much different
process than light gauge materials like stock tanks and residential
chainlink fence posts, stove pipe a/c ducts, roof flashing, roof
panels etc. The best process used is a cold dip which puts a heavier
concentratin of zinc/cadmium on the item, where things like stock
tanks are hot dipped or washed........coating is much thinner and not
nearly as durable. You can generally tell the difference by the
patterns of the material as well as its surface texture.
Cold process is most durable and usually more rougher in texture, and
its not uncommon to find nibs of it where it was supported during
coating.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 21:15:35 -0400, "RichToyBox"
wrote:

===Galvanization is generally pretty good protection against soil and soil
===moisture. Guardrail posts are galvanized, though generally a heavier
===coating, and last virtually forever, even though they have been driven
===through base stone, and soil. Soil auger anchors for telephone poles are
===also long lived.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

Thanks to everyone who has offered suggestions! I really appreciate your
help - and this group!
Sue

"~Roy~" wrote in message
...
snip
===
===Can anyone give me some suggestions on how I should clean and
condition the
===new galvanized metal?
===
snip

A conditioner made for galvanize metals is available from most any of
the major paaint manufactuers stores, or any automotive paint & body
shop supply houses. Failing to find that, you can sort of etch
galvanize with common white vinegar.........

==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o