I am fairly new to fish keeping, but I got myself into a predicament... About two months ago my therapist recommended I get fish to help me focus on something other than myself. Well, my mom came with me to pick out the fish and she saw two baby oscars. I didn't want them at first because I saw the size tank that they needed, but my mom said that didn't matter.. I bought my babies Becky and Chad. They almost died the first night I had them, I put them in a 3 gallon tank when they were both 1" long. I stayed up all night with them because they were breathing very heavy and did research on them and realized the situation I got myself into with them. I bought a 30 gallon the next day and a 60 gallon a month later. I grew really fond of my babies in that month and they really had been helping me with my mood. Every time I'd have a breakdown I'd go watch them and they' help me. Every time I'd go into the LPS and walmart I'd go to look at the oscars because they're so adorable. I didn't think I'd be getting anymore, but I saw one at my LPS with her left pectoral fin and caudal fin ripped apart. She was the one being bullied the most- I watched them for ten minutes and it was clear how scared and stressed she was, she was almost completely black. The owner of the LPS sold me Mia for half price because of her damage. A week later I was at walmart and saw baby oscars again. Well, this time there was a tiger oscar with a visible deformity of his lip. I'm not sure what caused it, my boyfriend and I call it a derp lip lol. But he was smaller than all the others in the tank and he wouldn't leave the side of the albino red oscar in the tank. I bought them together. Currently I have my 5 oscars in the 60 gallon tank which I am well aware is too small. They're wonderful fish and whenever I cry and go to the tank, every single one comes up and won't leave me alone until I give them kisses and start smiling. I literally can't bring myself to get rid of them...
So, I would like to build a tank to house my oscars and possibly more in my basement in a 3.5'x12' nook. The floor is cement, so I know it will hold any size tank I put there. I was researching how to go about building the tank the past few weeks that I've had all my oscars, however I think I need some help and opinions. I'd like to make the tank out of plywood due to it being a bit lighter on my bank account with one front viewing panel. I was mostly looking for other inputs on the things I will need to build the tank (like thickness of the plywood and glass/acrylic) so that it will support the weight of the water and what I should use for filtration, circulation, and heating (preferably DIY).
There are so many options out there and since I'm new at this, I'd really like someone else's input on this. I'm trying to do everything I can for my babies and I've gotten very routine with their water changes, I've educated myself on their needs, and I want to be a better fish keeper. They're very happy, colorful, healthy fish. They just need the right tank!
So, I would like to build a tank to house my oscars and possibly more in my basement in a 3.5'x12' nook. The floor is cement, so I know it will hold any size tank I put there. I was researching how to go about building the tank the past few weeks that I've had all my oscars, however I think I need some help and opinions. I'd like to make the tank out of plywood due to it being a bit lighter on my bank account with one front viewing panel. I was mostly looking for other inputs on the things I will need to build the tank (like thickness of the plywood and glass/acrylic) so that it will support the weight of the water and what I should use for filtration, circulation, and heating (preferably DIY).
There are so many options out there and since I'm new at this, I'd really like someone else's input on this. I'm trying to do everything I can for my babies and I've gotten very routine with their water changes, I've educated myself on their needs, and I want to be a better fish keeper. They're very happy, colorful, healthy fish. They just need the right tank!
