Go big or go home

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
So if I decide to do panels instead of one big sheet I can figure the thickness I'll need as if the aquarium were the size of the each individual panel?

Also, if I waited til most the fish were at least 6in+ and then added small convicts, as dithers/target fish and for free live food, would that work? Or even though they are way smaller than the other fish would they just reign havoc? Any other ideas on dithers large/fast enough to avoid being eaten by large, predatory cichlids, but not so large that they are the bioload equivalent of another large cichlid? Anything than SDs? I don't really like SDs very much. I don't think any of them are very pretty except Emperor Blue Hooks, which get huge, and they seem dumb and flighty. Are they worth having, IYO?
 
UPDATE on this tank project. I am currently selling off a bunch of my smaller tanks to help pay for this project. These are my list of things I need to do before I can start physically building this tank:
Sell about 5 tanks in the 10-55g range (and extra lights) for $$
Take down and sell my 75g Hex tank
Reseal my 120g tank so I can move fish out of my 72g bowfront and sell that.
Build a stand for my 150g tank.
Move my 150 tank and a 75g tank from the space the big tank will occupy.
Start building the tank!

The dimensions I have settled on are 90"x48"x36". This totals almost 700g. I will have to build some special tools for maintenance. I will probably run the 120g tank as the sump/filter, bringing the total gallons to about 800. I have decided to nix some of the stock list and only stick with the biggest cichlids, and anything that stays much smaller than 12in I will either get rid of, or keep in one of my smaller tanks. I am going to add a couple Peacock bass (they are currently little 2inchers, and have great personalities!), a wild morph Petenia Splendida, and possibly a Black (hopefully) Arowana. I also want to add a Red pike cichlid, and my LFS currently has some adult ones. But I am torn because they are quite expensive, and because they are adult I could not house them with the rest of my juvenile cichlids I am growing out for this tank (they would eat them!). I could set up a tank specially for them, but I don't really want to... Still trying to figure out what to do! The same LFS has a large hi-fin banded shark I am find tempting as well... it is super cool. Considering whether one would work in this tank.
 
Hi fins are appropriate for your upcoming size tank, but they are a temperate species from the Yangtze river in China which is a bit on the cold side.
Though a tropical tank may in theory work, it would keep them in the perpetual top temp of their summer range, which in the end, could be considered stressful, putting them at risk for stress induced diseases that could then infect others in the tank.
They would be more appropriate in an unheated tank of Gymnogeophagus and other Uruguayans, or with US native species, or its cousins, the goldfish and koi.
 
Yeah, I know their temp can go a lot lower than most tropicals. But a lot of places online give a very wide range on temp, and I havent found any really good info on them, even on MFK. The guy at the LFS said he'd sell me the large (~15") Hi fin shark he has for $50. He said the previous owner kept in a 220g tank with rays and other large tropicals. So at least this specific one has done ok at those temps this far. If I put if in a pond in the summer, and left it out til like Oct before bringing him in to the big tank, would that be enough of a cool down?
 
Yeah, I know their temp can go a lot lower than most tropicals. But a lot of places online give a very wide range on temp, and I havent found any really good info, even on MFK. The guy at the LFS said he'd sell me the large (~15") Hi fin shark he has for $50. He said the previous owner kept in a 220g tank with rays and other large tropicals. So at least this specific one has done ok at those temps this far. If I put if in a pond in the summer, and left it out til like Oct before bringing him in to the big tank, would that be enough of a cool down?
 
polleni's can work with the other fish . I have parachromis and polleni's and vega's together with 0 aggression towards one another . However adding Oscar's into the mix I have had bad luck with . It seems the other fish will think the Oscars once they get bigger as "food competition" and will try to eradicate the Oscars. Oscars are lovey fish but I don't really see them as a "long term" fish in this tank. But it is your personal enjoyment so I would go for it and see what happens . I will be following for updates :)
 
Cant wait to see this tank. Should be epic. Just as a disclaimer, I have not built my own aquarium before, but i engineer and sell metal tanks for a living (everything from 5 gallon to 100,000 gallons). Since aquariums are only subjected to atmospheric pressure, one of the biggest things we need to consider when designing your tank is static head. Fresh water is .433 psi for every foot of height, salt water is about .444. So at three feet of height with fresh water, your going to see about 1.299 psi on your tank bottom. For windows, this doesn't seem to come up very often, but i would think that joint configuration would play a much more important factor in thickness than anything. I find it very unlikely that you really need 1" or 1-1/4" acrylic if it was properly attached as a window. Just something to keep in mind. Like i said, i don't work with glass or acrylic much, but if you were to find an engineer friend that had a bit of spare time i would think they could save you a bucket of money... Maybe im wrong. Either way good luck!
 
UPDATE:
With my job working with college students I have a lot of time off around Christmas-through January, so my goal is to have this tank up and running by the end of January. I sold off several tanks, including my SW tank, but still need to sell a couple more to complete the capital I need to finish the project. Hoping by Christmas to have the poured the self leveling concrete foundation for the tank and build the stand.

CHANGES: After doing more careful calculation I will not have space underneath the tank for a sump, and because of where the tank is situated I really don't have a good place for one anywhere near by. So I am going to be doing DIY overhead drip/wetdry filters I'll probably be doing 2-3 of them using smaller pumps, which I think will be cheaper too. I will try to get my autodrip system installed ASAP. Though I think I will still keep the height of the tank near 36" I may make the window a bit smaller, so I can stay with 1/2" glass and save $$.

Updated Stock List: Many of these are still quite small and I have small groups, and a few I don't have yet. Except for a few of my favorite fish, like the Oscars I will probably only have one specimen per species. As they grow I will pull fish that are troublemakers or that I don't like so that it is not so crowded. As they get bigger I'll also adjust the autodrip accordingly.

Astronotus ocellatus
Astronotus crassipinnis
Vieja Synspila
Carpintus
TexasXBloodParrot
Vieja hartwegi
Vieja regani
Vieja Heterospilus
Veija Breidhori
Ampilophus hogabomorum
Amphilophus lyonsi
Pearsi
Bocourti
Polleni
Rock bass
Female Jag and/or a Loiselle
Peacock bass
Petenia Splendida wild morph
Caquetaia Kraussi
Red Pike cichlid
Severum
Chocolate cichlid
Arowana (maybe)
Giraffe catfish
Fire eel
Hi fin Shark
School of Bala sharks
Gold Spot Pleco L001

Also I am wondering when I start the actual building process if I should post in this thread or start a separate build thread...
 
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