Do I need a sump for an arowana tank?

[Patrick M Bodega Aquatics]

Hello! I am looking to invest in a 300g arowana tank with 1 black arowana, 2 black diamond stingrays, and 6-10 discus. I've kept many fish tanks but never to this size or with a sump. My planned filtration was going to be a Fluval FX6. Would this be enough or would it be overstocking? Thanks!

 

[Matteus]

First up welcome to mfk.

a sump would do well in addition to your fx6 on that tank. The bio load of the rays alone will put you over the fx6 range.

and a quick heads up- hopefully save you some money here- I would drop the discus from that stock list. It may work out for a short time 3-4 months or even a bit longer but they won’t be a long term fish in that tank.

if you are planning to have rays- look for a bigger footprint style of 300g. It will give the aro more room to swim as well. A friend of mine has a 330 that is 8’x40”x20” that works really well for very similar stock as to what you are looking for.

 

[Potato Patatto]

First up welcome to mfk.

a sump would do well in addition to your fx6 on that tank. The bio load of the rays alone will put you over the fx6 range.

and a quick heads up- hopefully save you some money here- I would drop the discus from that stock list. It may work out for a short time 3-4 months or even a bit longer but they won’t be a long term fish in that tank.

if you are planning to have rays- look for a bigger footprint style of 300g. It will give the aro more room to swim as well. A friend of mine has a 330 that is 8’x40”x20” that works really well for very similar stock as to what you are looking for.

agreed on all points, you’ll definitely need 2-3 fx6’s with that stock so I’d do a sump. Also a big fan of the frag styles, height is relatively useless for most species of fish, keeping it under 24 inches will give you the best length/depth

 

[Matteus]

agreed on all points, you’ll definitely need 2-3 fx6’s with that stock so I’d do a sump. Also a big fan of the frag styles, height is relatively useless for most species of fish, keeping it under 24 inches will give you the best length/depth

It will also potentially keep cost and weight lower because they can use thinner glass at those heights. This is if you are buying, building a new tank.

 

[Potato Patatto]

It will also potentially keep cost and weight lower because they can use thinner glass at those heights. This is if you are buying, building a new tank.

they should cost less due to what you mentioned, I’ve unfortunately learned they generally don’t when buying new because most tank builders know they are mainly used by saltwater keepers. Once you get up to the 4-500g + range you absolutely see the difference in height costs

 

[Patrick M Bodega Aquatics]

First up welcome to mfk.

a sump would do well in addition to your fx6 on that tank. The bio load of the rays alone will put you over the fx6 range.

and a quick heads up- hopefully save you some money here- I would drop the discus from that stock list. It may work out for a short time 3-4 months or even a bit longer but they won’t be a long term fish in that tank.

if you are planning to have rays- look for a bigger footprint style of 300g. It will give the aro more room to swim as well. A friend of mine has a 330 that is 8’x40”x20” that works really well for very similar stock as to what you are looking for.

Just curious, would dropping the discus be because of aggression or bioload?

 

[Matteus]

Just curious, would dropping the discus be because of aggression or bioload?

All of the above. Not the discus’s bio load, but everything else has a huge bio load.

once a ray gets to be over 14” they will start to see the discus as possible food options. Once they get over 20” they are food. This will take some time and if you want to risk it you can do whatever you like. But just warning it is not a good long term idea.

this info I am sharing, is not my personal experience, but what I have seen happen with other folks who are more experienced than me. Often I like making my own mistakes, so I get it if you choose to do it.