Design The Tank

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Davidiator

Davidiator

Polypterus
MFK Member
Sep 17, 2017
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Alright so I have a 150 gallon aquarium but I haven't decided on how to stock it for sure yet. So in this thread I want you to basically design my tank for me. I don't want to change my equipment as it is all running great.

The tank is:
72" x 18" x 24"

Filters:
Hydor Proffesional 450 External Filter x1
Aquatop CF400UV OR CF500UV can't figure out which one it is.

Air Pumps:
Air pumps x2 (both have 2 outputs)

Lighting:
I don't know what this lighting is called but I know that it is supposed to be good for plants. And it has 2 light tubes 1 white and 1 blue.

Heater:
100 Watt Heater keeps the tank at 80*F

CO2:
I don't really want to set this up... I have a system that uses baking soda and citric acid but I really don't want to deal with it.
IMG_1823.JPG IMG_1818.JPG
 
Equipment looks good, except a 100 watt heater is no where near large enough to keep a 150 gallon heated. 100 watts is good for like up to a 30 gallon tank. If you keep the room warm ambiently that is probably helping you keep the tank warm, but if the room gets chilly in the winter I would upgrade to a 300watt heater at least. Then again, many fish can be kept at 72* room temperature no problem, so if you pick species that don't need extra heat, you could probably forego the heater altogether. Still good to have in case of emergencies though... like what if a ball goes through the window in January and the room drops to 50*. Unlikely I know.

Fish wise, I know you have an Aro that I believe you've said you are getting rid of. And a BGK I think? Pretty sure you made a couple threads about stocking before and got tons of replies, have you not made up your mind from those? I would pick a fish you 100% want to keep, or pick a "theme" like amazon river, CA lake, etc. and then choose fish around that.

As far as the scape, I would personally go to Stanzz's thread in the CA/SA section on creating natural aquariums. He gives lots of good info. I would try to avoid things looking too arranged, like I would spread those rocks all throughout the tank, and get some more pieces to take up the upper space. Bloomsandbranches.com sells sandblasted manzanita wood for good prices, that's what I use to fill up the top/mid parts.

Tank looks good so far man
 
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Gourami Swami said:
Equipment looks good, except a 100 watt heater is no where near large enough to keep a 150 gallon heated. 100 watts is good for like up to a 30 gallon tank. If you keep the room warm ambiently that is probably helping you keep the tank warm, but if the room gets chilly in the winter I would upgrade to a 300watt heater at least. Then again, many fish can be kept at 72* room temperature no problem, so if you pick species that don't need extra heat, you could probably forego the heater altogether. Still good to have in case of emergencies though... like what if a ball goes through the window in January and the room drops to 50*. Unlikely I know.

Fish wise, I know you have an Aro that I believe you've said you are getting rid of. And a BGK I think? Pretty sure you made a couple threads about stocking before and got tons of replies, have you not made up your mind from those? I would pick a fish you 100% want to keep, or pick a "theme" like amazon river, CA lake, etc. and then choose fish around that.

As far as the scape, I would personally go to Stanzz's thread in the CA/SA section on creating natural aquariums. He gives lots of good info. I would try to avoid things looking too arranged, like I would spread those rocks all throughout the tank, and get some more pieces to take up the upper space. Bloomsandbranches.com sells sandblasted manzanita wood for good prices, that's what I use to fill up the top/mid parts.

Tank looks good so far man
Click to expand...

Yes I am VERY indecisive :/

Yes aro and BGK are going to go.

I am thinking to do a community tank. But again I can't decided. Maybe I will look into doing amazon river theme?
 
None of us can decide for you man, I would just pick something. Plenty of time in your future to do other setups. Amazon river would be a great theme. Lots of plants, rocks, wood. You can do swordplants, anubias, crypts, java ferns, vallisneria with no c02 pretty easily. For fish, tons of options from SA. If you want it to be a community, I would go for a bunch of tetras, group of angelfish, festivums, could do some other dwarf cichlids like cupido's or bandit cichlids (guianacara). Tons of options if you go that route.
 
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right now i am considering angelfish with 1 redtailed shark, 1 male cockatoo dwarf and 3 female cockatoo dwarf plus 1 male bristlenose and 2 female bristlenose (plecos will be removed when there are eggs in the tank)

how many angelfish could i do?
maybe i will add some different kinds of tetras
 
How about this?

Angelfish x?
Red-Tailed Shark x1
Male Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid x1
Female Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid x3
Male Bristlenose Pleco x1
Female Bristlenose Pleco x2
Neon Tetra x15
Rummy Nose Tetra x15
Black Neon Tetra x15
Betta x1
Shrimp?

I believe all of these are from the Amazon except for the Red Tailed Shark and Betta.
Plants are going to be Amazon Swords, Java Moss, and some Anubias (probably)

Also I am willing to do more WC cause I want this tank to be filled to the mac while the fish are still happy.
 
I wouldn't recommend the red tail shark with fish with long flowy fins like the angel or betta. The sharks are notorious fin-nippers.
I'd also go for some taller-bodied tetras than neons, as the angels can snack on slim-bodied tetras when fully grown. Serpae, von rio (flame), emperor, would be some good choices.
I wouldn't include the betta personally, they come from small rice paddies in asia with not much water movement, and in a big 150 with flowing water I feel it would either be lost, or pushed around. If you really like them, I'd set up a little 5 gallon for one, easy to do.
The angels, in a tank this size a group of 10 would be good
 
Do delhezi birchir, big shoal of Congo tetra, butterfly fish and trio of climbing perch.
Add a brown knife fish.
A small group of red juwels to set it off.

Another option is a tilapia buttikoferi and 10 red juwels, have to get em all young so the butti grows up with em and add some stacked rocks for hide outs, maybe a syno.
Yellow and black butti plus the red juwels would look stunning.
 
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justarn said:
Do delhezi birchir, big shoal of Congo tetra, butterfly fish and trio of climbing perch.
Add a brown knife fish.
A small group of red juwels to set it off.

Another option is a tilapia buttikoferi and 10 red juwels, have to get em all young so the butti grows up with em and add some stacked rocks for hide outs, maybe a syno.
Yellow and black butti plus the red juwels would look stunning.
Click to expand...

well you see i want the tank to have tons of fish and tons of movement but pretty good setup, i really am thinking about the amazon river setup :)
 
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