Aussie bloke, new to large tanks/fish

[Tozman]

gday guys, after 8 years of dealing with my little 4 foot tank, i finally own my own house and have found a spot in the man cave to install a big tank. (the wife vetoed the loungeroom idea haha)
originally i had a huge red devil in the 4 foot, then when she died i had africans and then a planted tank with threadfin acaras and a bunch of catfish. recently had a bad crash and lost almost everything so i have decided to take the plunge for a big tank and some big fish.

the space between the support beams is just over 9 feet so i figured an 8 foot tank would leave enough room on the sides to get in there if i need to.

thinking of going 8x3x2.5 or 8x3x3. just need to get it priced up. i will probably use the 4 foot as a sump.


the main thing i am wondering about though, is what i could put in there. maybe natives? hit me with some suggestions please!

i would ultimately like to get a bunch of young fish and grow them out all together but i dont want to have to rehome anything if it gets too big.

i really like the look of murray cod but i hear they dont go well with other fish.

also wouldn't mind a freshwater ray or 3 if i go down that road.

i have attached some pics of my 4 foot when it was in its prime and my albino threadfin acara.

 

[deeda]

Welcome to MFK!

 

[tlindsey]

Welcome aboard!
Nice looking Threadfin.

 

[Matteus]

Welcome to mfk.

seems like you are in the right place if you are wanting to set up a 300g+ tank. Lots of great folks here to help out in that process.

I’m always down to support new ray keepers. But I would say an 8x3 footprint would be a bit small for a full grown adult ray, it will do well for about 4-5 years but it will eventually get a bit small for them. Typical minimum footprint for adult rays would be 8x4, so if you are open/have the room to do that footprint, you most likely would be able to keep them as adults.

but even with the size of tank you are mentioning, it gives you lots of options. The best thing to do is go with what you want to own. If you are YouTube savvy check out a few different you tubers that are really good

1- “fish story rescue” is really good to see lots of variety of monster fish in his walk through videos.

2- “Ohio fish rescue” another really good walk through video with many different options.

3- “predatory fins” this one is the dream- not much better than these guys on YouTube imo. Lol

4- “stingray biology” another dream. Lol

I don’t like YouTube at all. Because most you tubers are bogus and teach a bunch of garbage to impressionable teens. But these guys are the real deal and are typically super helpful at inspiring and sharing successes and failures.

 

[Jexnell]

Welcome to the fishy family!

 

[Manning99]

Welcome, setting up a tank sized similar to yours (8x3x2) in the next month or two and stocking it with the following.


1x Oscar
1x Black ghost knife
1x SA Lungfish
1x Reticulated Stingray
1x Red Wolfish
1x Pink tail chaleus
2x Rokteil Severum
3x Blood Parrots
5x Electric blue acara

If that gives you any ideas.

 

[FJB]

Lots of choices for stocking, depending on what you like and other criteria such as compatibility, maximum size as adults, levels of intra and inter-specific aggression, etc.
About the tank itself - Aside from cost considerations, a 2 or 2.5' tall tank will be a lot easier to maintain clean and healthy, whereas a 3' tall tank will almost certainly require a step ladder or more to fully reach back corners, particularly if the space on the sides is limited. Worth considering in conjunction with the height of the stand you will use.
Good luck and welcome!

 

[JAYBIRD1011]

Welcome! And thanks for the photos. We like photos. I'm interested to see the process as you go forward.

 

[celebrist]

I agree that 30 inch high tanks are significantly more challenging to access

I also like my 30 inch deep tank, I get 4 layers or zones pretty much exact dimensions you are looking at 8x3x2.5

 

[Tozman]

awesome, thanks guys for all your suggestions!
i will definitely take the height of the tank into consideration, that is a very good point thank you.

over the weekend i completely stripped back the 4ft and restarted it cycling. will probably just get something to go in there and grow out until i get the big tank sorted out.

are planted tanks harder to keep going if you have bigger fish in there, or is it just a case by case basis depending on the fish?