Let me start by saying I'm very much aware of the fact that pacu need more than a 2ft wide tank. 10 years ago I was one of those people who saw a quarter sized red belly at Walmart, thought it looked just like a piranha and believed the tag that said grows to 8"... that's true and all but it didn't say they kept growing to 3ft.
He was the first fish I bought in college so I put him in a 10g, quickly had to upgrade to a 55, then a 90 and now here we are with a 240g in a 2nd story apartment. Call me crazy but I love this fish and will be buying an Intex pool the day I finally get a house followed shortly by a ~1200g plywood build. If that doesn't happen within the next year like we're planning I'm thinking about putting a pool in my apartment garage.
Anyways I haven't really posted pics of the tank on mfk for several years because it was bare and honestly embarrassing keeping a pacu in a 240. I've made several changes this year that I'd like to share nonetheless.
Stock is a 5" flagtail, 4x 4" tiger silver dollars, my 22" pacu named Tupac and a 23" Achara catfish who came with the tank when he was 6 inches. I like to consider it an Orinoco Basin biotope because all are found there together but can also be found all over lol. Unfortunately the Achara is missing a whisker thanks to the pacu accidentally biting it off while eating so now I call him one whisker Willy. I may add 4-6 more sd's but nothing else (though my wish list is long).
Filtration is an fx5 and 660gph Jebo canister with all 6 trays full of matrix, ac110, ac70, ac50 powerhead with 2 quick filter attachments, another powerhead with sponge prefilter, and an airstone for a total around 3000gph. I perform 80% water changes 3 times a week.
The fx5 didn't come with tubing so I made my own out of 1" reinforced vinyl hose and PVC, along with a 2ft spraybar I reduced to 3/4" with 17 1/8" holes. The Jebo exits downward and combined with the spraybar/powerheads they create a gyre effect where water rises up and gets pushed towards the intakes. When I feed pellets they roll quickly along the substrate opposite the surface flow direction.
Lighting is my next upgrade, planning on buying two 48" beamswork Fspec but currently using two 48" 4-bulb T8 fixtures with a combination of aqueon colormax, actinic and daylight LED tubes. I keep the right side darker because the Achara has always preferred it that way. I painted the lights this summer from rusty white to gloss black. Did the tank background and sides at the same time with matte black acrylic and made a huge difference.
Other things I've added this year are a sweet potato rooted in a cup of tank water that's now 4ft long, 100 more pounds of white quartz PFS, more fake 2ft plants, and some manzanita branches I collected in Monterey -the biggest of which is 5ft long and 2ft high. I searched all over CA for a piece in this specific shape so the big fish can swim under it freely. It goes straight up in the back of the tank (hiding my intakes), diagonal along the surface and down the front panel. The Achara turned the other branches into his cave and is almost in a trance he seems so relaxed
In the near future I'd like to build a new stand because this one can't fit a sump and I also need to tip and pour #40 because there's some crazing and white marks in the seams. I may need a pool before I can take on those projects but will keep this thread updated with any progress. Thanks for reading!
He was the first fish I bought in college so I put him in a 10g, quickly had to upgrade to a 55, then a 90 and now here we are with a 240g in a 2nd story apartment. Call me crazy but I love this fish and will be buying an Intex pool the day I finally get a house followed shortly by a ~1200g plywood build. If that doesn't happen within the next year like we're planning I'm thinking about putting a pool in my apartment garage.
Anyways I haven't really posted pics of the tank on mfk for several years because it was bare and honestly embarrassing keeping a pacu in a 240. I've made several changes this year that I'd like to share nonetheless.
Stock is a 5" flagtail, 4x 4" tiger silver dollars, my 22" pacu named Tupac and a 23" Achara catfish who came with the tank when he was 6 inches. I like to consider it an Orinoco Basin biotope because all are found there together but can also be found all over lol. Unfortunately the Achara is missing a whisker thanks to the pacu accidentally biting it off while eating so now I call him one whisker Willy. I may add 4-6 more sd's but nothing else (though my wish list is long).
Filtration is an fx5 and 660gph Jebo canister with all 6 trays full of matrix, ac110, ac70, ac50 powerhead with 2 quick filter attachments, another powerhead with sponge prefilter, and an airstone for a total around 3000gph. I perform 80% water changes 3 times a week.
The fx5 didn't come with tubing so I made my own out of 1" reinforced vinyl hose and PVC, along with a 2ft spraybar I reduced to 3/4" with 17 1/8" holes. The Jebo exits downward and combined with the spraybar/powerheads they create a gyre effect where water rises up and gets pushed towards the intakes. When I feed pellets they roll quickly along the substrate opposite the surface flow direction.
Lighting is my next upgrade, planning on buying two 48" beamswork Fspec but currently using two 48" 4-bulb T8 fixtures with a combination of aqueon colormax, actinic and daylight LED tubes. I keep the right side darker because the Achara has always preferred it that way. I painted the lights this summer from rusty white to gloss black. Did the tank background and sides at the same time with matte black acrylic and made a huge difference.
Other things I've added this year are a sweet potato rooted in a cup of tank water that's now 4ft long, 100 more pounds of white quartz PFS, more fake 2ft plants, and some manzanita branches I collected in Monterey -the biggest of which is 5ft long and 2ft high. I searched all over CA for a piece in this specific shape so the big fish can swim under it freely. It goes straight up in the back of the tank (hiding my intakes), diagonal along the surface and down the front panel. The Achara turned the other branches into his cave and is almost in a trance he seems so relaxed
In the near future I'd like to build a new stand because this one can't fit a sump and I also need to tip and pour #40 because there's some crazing and white marks in the seams. I may need a pool before I can take on those projects but will keep this thread updated with any progress. Thanks for reading!
Last edited:
