designing tank for museum

[chefjamesscott]

Hello all, I was just offered a contract to redo and upkeep the fish tank in the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Here is a pic of the tank dimensions in inches 28x59x36 so comes in at 250

I did not get to test the water quality yet, but from what I saw I would say its probably very much above what is acceptable. There is a very great lack of water break on surface and minimal bubbles to break surface as well and the 10 year old gar in the tank just sits on the bottom behind the log very sedintary.

The fish closet where the feeder tank is kept is very unkempt, will take pics as sort of a before and after thing.

What I am looking for is thoughts and advice as to how you would plan this out. They are considering adding another gar, a bowfin some catfish and possibly a sturgeon.

The plants are fake and the substrate is rough gravel coated with a fin layer of green hair algae.

So here it the chance to put your thoughts forward and help plan a tank with a ancient look to it, there is a senegal bichir about 4 inchs in the fish closet.

looking forward to your thoughts on this, I will be emailing this post the the museum employee who contacted me

thanks chef

 

[uting]

You can put a stertlet or paddlenose sturgeon temporarily but since there is a senegal bichir the temp requirement can't be matched since sturgeons live in cold water and polys live in warm water

 

[beblondie]

bump

 

[vaine111]

I'd do a trio of different gars, and a trio of all different birchirs.

 

[Eoibio]

African Butterfly Fish, Bichirs, Gars and possibly an aro as the show fish. If you cant see the gar much I would take it out. No point in having something you cant see

 

[Eoibio]

You could do some of the bigger synodontis species as theyare really nice cats.

 

[beblondie]

How big is the gar?

 

[chefjamesscott]

How big is the gar?

glad you asked, today I picked up my keys and access card and have been given the go ahead to start the remake of this tank

I took the following shots of the gar as he was out of hiding.

And I was really saddened by what I saw. Here is this gar who is 10 years old and he is actually only about 11-12 inches

what made me sad is that this fish is only that big for being 10 years old. the next step confirmed it for me we opened up the back to take a good look at the tanks set up and here is what there is

a aqua clear 70 which is bone dry and looks like it has not been in use for over a year at the very least, on the upperback inside of the tank there is a good inch thick salt crust that runs from the top to 3 inches down. The tank is covered by egg crate the water line is about 6 inches from the top and the drywall behind the hob has actually degraded to a great degree so much so that it is actually crumbling. Miracle of miracles none has actually fallen in the water.

On the good side there is a killer water purfiying system that pulls water from the bottom of the tank and flows it back at the top.

Here are the pics of the fish maintenance room.

the feeder tank and believe it or not the damn cover for this tank is right beside it on the ground just made me sigh.

All the free salt you could ask for

this is the red ear slider turtle tank it has no filtration, no uv lamp turned on, and no heater. Thankfully they asked me to rehome this poor guy, so this weekend his home will be moving to my basement fish room where his quality of life will improve

this is 2 other tanks that are in the room first held a snake, second I wonder what was murdered in it

there are two cupboards full of supplies i have to itemize and reorganize

I have been given the green light to start the fixing up of this whole set up. First on my list of things to do is run a full gambit of tests on the water quality so that the curator can actually see where it was at before I started. I must also make mention that the person before me actually had some personal issues happen with family that dictated his time for him so that has a great deal to do with the state of neglect here for that I wish the best for him. Personally, I would have told them I could not do the tank for them rather than let it get like this

The only side bar issue to the remake of this tank is the stocking of it. I had thought the gar was more like 18-19 inches and thought he would eat any new tankmates but since he is only 11 inches I do have some fish that will easily survive in there, but, it depends on how the resident paleo wants the tank done 1-with fish that are in the local fossil record or 2 - with fish that are ancient in look. Either way this tank is hopefully gonna look snap. There is also the issue of do we start with completely new fish or add around this gar. If new I have a supply lined up and I have a place to rehome this old guy. If around the gar I also have that angle covered just will cost a bit more to get the larger specimens dependant upon what fish are chosen.

The substrate is for sure being changed to sand, fake plants are out real plants are in. A bit more wood will be brought in to create more hiding spots. Even better they have a supply of real fossils and resin copies that can be used for decor. I will have to take a shot of the wonderful display that is just around the corner, the person who brought me in to do this tank likes the idea I have in mind.

will be picking up a fluval fx5 for the main tank on saturday

 

[Aquarist Andy]

Wow, just looking on the shelves and I noticed the old containers that Tetra used for fish food - the yellow and brown colours. Last time I saw one of those was back in the late '70s when my grandfather kept fish.

Not sure when they changed the packaging, but it sure brings back memories

 

[JakeH]

That is the coolest gig I've ever seen! You have all the gear you want, tanks to spare & a museum that is cooperative. Cant wait to see it. Good luck!