Well Notchie is in her new home. Kind of a basic layout in the tank for now with about 8" of water. Mostly so I can move the tank around. She seems to like the lower water level. She can stand anywhere in the tank and raise her head up to breathe. Still not sure how to introduce the water to the tank. By that I mean do in intentionally set up the discharge to make a current in the tank? Do I let the water fall or discharge below the water line? I like the idea of flow towards the drain. Even with a current, in a square tank the corners are pretty calm. I have been toying with using a 1" pipe with maybe 4 discharge points along the bottom end of the tank. It would kind of make a one way current without any noise or splash.
Embarrassing enough, my pump and filter leaks are diminishing. I managed to find an o-ring kit and get it ordered Friday. While playing at home later I noticed that there was an o-ring in the filter. It is a fairly deep groove in black plastic so it blended right in. I went to cancel my order for a new ring and it had already shipped. I might need it anyway. The filter leaked with the old o-ring in. I don't know how long it had been doing that. When it is an outside filter a few drips don't really matter. I got the old ring out and there were some flat spots on it from being squished for a couple years and not being used. The mild lesson here is if you have this type of filter , if you are stowing it for awhile, don't clamp the lid shut. I cleaned, massaged and lubed the ring and at present, no leaks. At least from the filter. The pump had a couple leaks from where its discharge fittings attach. When it was in the old tank it didn't matter. I have it down to where there were only several drips over night.
I am not quite sure where I am going to keep the tank. In the same general location but maybe by a different wall. It is pretty big. It ended up at 4'x9'. That 9 is going to shrink some. That 2' deck is bigger than is needed and is set up to shorten easily. It ends up that the tank doesn't need to be real close to the utility sink or a floor drain. By using the pond filter that has a backflush capability, I can pump the pond almost dry through the filter and just need a discharge tube that hits the tub or a drain.
The pics attached are from the first start up and the basic plumbing. I still need to do something permanent with the lights and think about a cover/top.
