Committing to the game

[Robert Fling]

Alright I’m finally at a point in life where I can spend absurd money on another hobby I used to love. The only problem is I can either afford a 10x4x2.5 tank only or a 8x4x2.5 with a stand. I’d love to get ahold of a 5 Hystrix rays but they are incredibly hard to get now and I know either of those tanks would house them indefinitely, however since I probably can’t get them after emailing several places about finding some I’ll most likely go with snow leopards for the time being until some Hystrix come available if they ever do. My question is how would I filter the 10x4x2.5 if it’s sitting on the floor? It’ll be in my living room and I’m going to install a drip system regardless of tank size I just won’t have room for a massive sand filter or anything else

 

[Robert Fling]

spotfin was the homie that got me into rays however I failed miserably, do you happen to have any leads on Hystrix?

 

[audioscience10]

If it was me, with the space limitations, and wanting the aquarium on the floor, I would probably do one of a couple things. Either go with the 8' tank with a 90gal sump at the end, or the 10' with a large overflow/section added to function like one of those desktop saltwater setups. Either of those are going to compromise a bit of footprint for filtration.

Another thought. Is putting the filter in a basement, under the tank, an option?

 

[Robert Fling]

My house is on a slab so that’s not an option, if I go with the 8’ tank I’ll be getting a 30” tall aluminum subframe with it so I’ll either use a 125 or 180 gallon for a sump with a small chamber open for potential future pups or an overly aggressive male for a time out if space permits of course. Leaning towards a 180 for sump

 

[danotaylor]

Agree w A audioscience10

The 3 other common options are canisters sitting in the floor beside the tank , an over head sump which would require the pump/s to be in the main tank delivering water overhead, or built in matten filtration.

 

[Robert Fling]

I don’t have a preference if it’s on the floor or not, just the extra cost of a 10’ aquarium with a stand is 11k where an 8’ foot with a stand is 7500

 

[Robert Fling]

Thanks for the replies I feel as if my questioned has been answered, 8’ tank with a stand for a sump. I’ve just been out of the fish world for a few years so I wasn’t sure if there was some new thing people were doing that would permit me to spend my entire budget on a tank alone instead of buying a tank and stand

 

[danotaylor]

Having the 8’ tank w a 180 gal sump is gonna give you approx the same water volume as the 10’ footprint tank, with seemingly less filtration hassle, and the additional benefit of a section for pups as you mentioned.
Your gonna need that extra $3K to pay for the sump, plumbing, heat controllers & pumps and rays anyway

 

[Robert Fling]

Having the 8’ tank w a 180 gal sump is gonna give you approx the same water volume as the 10’ footprint tank, with seemingly less filtration hassle, and the additional benefit of a section for pups as you mentioned.
Your gonna need that extra $3K to pay for the sump, plumbing, heat controllers & pumps and rays anyway

That was my thought exactly!

 

[danotaylor]

When I kept 4 x 14-22” hybrid rays in my 10’x3’ footprint I didn’t anticipate the amount of waste they would produce. Literal foul smelling baby sized turds, typically immediately after a water change. Switching from massivore pellets to carnivore helped diminish the odor, but the tank still had a pretty noticeable “fragrance” in our basement. I didn’t have auto-drip, which a lot of ray folks install, but was doing weekly 400gal changes.
Something to be mindful of if you’re putting b the tank in your living room and you’re not single