Hey all,

Looking for some feedback now that I am in the rough design stages of my possible AP expansion. Since I upgraded my FT to accomodate the greater number of fish, I now have an available 150 gal tank, in addition to some pond liner that I had previously purchased. I am considering options for what to do with the 150 gal tank after I move the fish.

One option is to put it in my hoop house, which is unheated, but covered in plastic Oct - Mar or so. The hoop house will have (after some modifications) two 2' wide GB's on either side, one will be 10' long and the other 16' long. My first thought was to take the 10' long bed, remove the soil, add the liner and some hydroton and turn it into a bed where I place wicking pots (similar to something that I saw in one of JCO's setups). The other side of the hoophouse would remain as a soil bed that I would water from FT overflow once I pipe rainwater catchment to the tank.

In this arrangement, I would need a cold tolerant fish that can do well in an oval-lish tank. Comet goldfish or koi are potential options, but I would prefer an edible fish. Trout would be great, but don't know if they would do well in such a small tank without streamlike flow conditions.

Another factor is filtration, and I am considering a pond filter that will be sufficient to run the system sans-plants if/when necessary. The hydroton in the bed would be overkill to whatever filter I use since I prefer to not have to clean that bed as regularly. In addition to edible plants, it would be nice to grow some ornamentals to add aesthetic value to the house and keep the Mrs. happy.