Well after 8 years of being out of the hobby I'm back. I have a total of 10+ years of active fish keeping, mainly with larger central and south american species. I've raised everything from Frontosa (African I know), to Red-tail cats, Oscars, GT (a personal fave) Jaguars and a whole lot in between.
I always wanted discus so.... For my first tank back, I started back out with an ambitious 125 gallon planted, but low tech discus community tank. It's doing quite well. But I miss my monsters for sure.
I just recently picked up a 260 gallon 8' x 2' x 2'.2" with a complete 50 gallon sump ( I likely will not use) for a whopping $300. Granted it needs some work but that's part of the fun, right?
The glass is cleaned up ready for a fine scratch removing polish and a silicone re-seal. The stand was an impracticable wobbly nightmare as it was improperly braced and is being redone.
With all of that being said, I am trying to avoid multiple tank syndrome here, as that is what got me out of the hobby in the first place. Work took over my life as I fell into a swell of corporate demands that made my free time more valuable than I could measure. I'm back into self employment and have more time to pursue my hobby again. Hurrah!
So, on to my point. This tank is big enough to house my 15 discus for the rest of there lives and leaves plenty of room for adding many more. But instead of adding more discus, I want my large pet fish again. My dilemma is that I made a deal with my wife, 1 tank only. No barrier on how big, but just 1 tank. So I'm considering putting in a permanent, silicone in divider in the aquarium blocking off say, 60 to 70 gallons of space and adding my 1 big fish that I desire. (I could block off more and add more than one however). The possibilities are huge here.
I'm looking for thoughts and opinions on this as to whether or not its a good idea. Perhaps suggestions on the fish itself. I'm thinking of a flowerhorn as a possible candidate (if I did just 1).
I know people use dividers all of the time, but this is basically the equivalent of housing 2 aquariums under the same glass. I would use plants, decor etc to block the view of the beastly neighbor or neighbors. But any Ideas on the best way to accomplish this are welcome. separate water shared water etc. Hell, even if its not "considered a good idea" is welcome as well.
Thanks for reading!
I always wanted discus so.... For my first tank back, I started back out with an ambitious 125 gallon planted, but low tech discus community tank. It's doing quite well. But I miss my monsters for sure.
I just recently picked up a 260 gallon 8' x 2' x 2'.2" with a complete 50 gallon sump ( I likely will not use) for a whopping $300. Granted it needs some work but that's part of the fun, right?
The glass is cleaned up ready for a fine scratch removing polish and a silicone re-seal. The stand was an impracticable wobbly nightmare as it was improperly braced and is being redone.
With all of that being said, I am trying to avoid multiple tank syndrome here, as that is what got me out of the hobby in the first place. Work took over my life as I fell into a swell of corporate demands that made my free time more valuable than I could measure. I'm back into self employment and have more time to pursue my hobby again. Hurrah!
So, on to my point. This tank is big enough to house my 15 discus for the rest of there lives and leaves plenty of room for adding many more. But instead of adding more discus, I want my large pet fish again. My dilemma is that I made a deal with my wife, 1 tank only. No barrier on how big, but just 1 tank. So I'm considering putting in a permanent, silicone in divider in the aquarium blocking off say, 60 to 70 gallons of space and adding my 1 big fish that I desire. (I could block off more and add more than one however). The possibilities are huge here.
I'm looking for thoughts and opinions on this as to whether or not its a good idea. Perhaps suggestions on the fish itself. I'm thinking of a flowerhorn as a possible candidate (if I did just 1).
I know people use dividers all of the time, but this is basically the equivalent of housing 2 aquariums under the same glass. I would use plants, decor etc to block the view of the beastly neighbor or neighbors. But any Ideas on the best way to accomplish this are welcome. separate water shared water etc. Hell, even if its not "considered a good idea" is welcome as well.
Thanks for reading!
