800-1000g tank

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Cyclop3000

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 22, 2005
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Quebec, Canada
Ok. Well I am planning a 800g to 1000g (something like 2-3' high tank, that I can clean without swimming in it...) tank for my basement sometime next summer or the one after (depends on wife...hehe).

Basement is on concrete, and heated. I was thinking to build the base, back and both sides from concrete blocks, and add a viewing panel in the front either acrylic or glass...i think acrylic will be better for color/distortion. I will finish the inside of the tank with pool paint or epoxy, and build my own filters from linked canisters or tubs. I was thinking pool-style filters with sand etc...

I write this here cause I am at the conception stage, and I want to have people's ideas and opinions on this. I want to house a few fishes in there, or maybe one very large fish. Predatory is a must. No saltwater please, I am not into this. I prefer freshwater predators.

What fish, or fish combination, would you suggest (please no gigas, i don't like those)? Ideas on the filter design? Plumbing? Tank design?

Thanks !
 
check the mfk articles forums - there are a few tank diaries in there to help give you an idea (granted they are larger then what you plan but still the same ideas)

i would do a tank that was at least 8-10ft long and at least 4ft wide so you could have a number of options on what to keep

fish suggestions -- (1) i would probably do a school of atf's in a tank that size just b/c i always wanted one and fish dont get more predatory then tigerfish! (2) another option i would go with would be a amazon biotope --> stingrays, aros, p-bass, redtail cat, tsn catfish, fill the tank with huge sunken logs and have some big plants would look really cool
(3) my final suggestion would be to do a mixed tank --> tiger dats, clown knife, p-bass, etc let your imagination run wild -- i could go on all day thinking of ideas for a tank like that

good luck and keep us updated as you progress
 
There are some good DIY plans on the net for in the wall tanks. I had one bookmarked, but accidently deleted it. Search for wall fishtanks.
 
Acrylic scratches much more easily than glass so maybe you should consider what fish you want to keep in it before deciding what material to use.

As for fish suggestions, if I ever had a 1000g tank I'd put a silver aro in it. :drool:
 
Never heard of a fish scratching an acrylic panel?? And at this size (4'x8') a glass panel would cost a fortune and be heavier than the friggin water in the tank... ;)
 
Acrylic can scratch when cleaning it, if using a magnet type cleaner. If you get sand/or small gravel caught in the magnet, it will scratch the hell out of the acrylic. also cleaning the outside is not as easy as glass either. windex, etc causes problems with acrylic. plus that large of a peice of acrylic will bow.
 
I used glass because of the price. The glass in front is 8'X3' 1/2" tempered, and it cost me about $500. It weighs about 160 lbs. Acrylic would have been much more expensive do to the increased thickness. The whole tank is 8'X3'X3'. I wanted 8'X4'X3' but I ran into my furnace.
Guinness
 
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