Help me build my new monster tank!

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M

MitchFish

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 25, 2013
51
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Newfoundland, Canada
Four months from now I will be finishing university. The plan is to get myself a mortgage and finally become a home owner. As a grad gift to myself I will be putting together a new monster tank for my dream stock and I want MFK to help me build it. I would like to start the design process now so I can begin picking up some of the essentials as they go on sale over the coming months.

For this tank I am thinking in the range of 225-300 gallons, possibly larger. Dimensions and final size will depend on the space I have to work with when the time comes. First things first, this is the stock I would like to accommodate in the tank:

5-6 Peacock Bass (haven't decided which, suggestions?)
1 Arowana (silver or asian, haven't decided yet either)
1 Florida Gar
For the bottom of the tank I am deciding between either 2 rays or 2 monster cats (RTC, Tig, Lima, etc) and some bichirs if I go the route of cats.
If there is still room in the tank I may go with some Dats or other suggestions that would work well with this stock.

I would definitely love some opinions on the stock and what you would do differently, but I am more concerned with getting your guys help building the tank itself:

1) dimensions?
2) filtration? (possibly with a drip system if this is possible in the location)
3) lighting?
4) heat?
5) substrate?
6) decor? (leaning toward just some driftwood but open to suggestions)
7) air pump?
8) anything else you can think of and would like to include..

This tank will end up downstairs in the house in what will hopefully become somewhat of a "man cave". However, I would also like to set up a more reasonably sized tank either in the same room or in my main living room which will be used to breed feeders. I am leaning toward a planted tank for this one so a species that can do fine with planted would be best. I would love all of the same info for this tank as for my main tank and also some suggestions on which species to go with (convects, guppies etc) and some help getting them to breed as I have never done this before.

Thanks everyone and I look forward to the comments!
 
I would personally be avoiding an rtc or other large catties with an asain that seems like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Filtration I would would into a sump or a closed loop using a pool filter the bass and ray guys seem to love them. Air pump wont hurt but its not a must nether.

I think all the others are up too you really, lighting can be anything they will all work what are you exactly after? heating again there is a fair few options, Eheim jagers will work fine and simple but may use a bit of power. substrate I believe you would want sand if going with rays so they dont get cut or bare bottom. Decor thats completely your choice :) just respect the fishes swimming space.

as for breeding fish I have never done it but if I was to do it I would be looking at 2 red devil pairs if I had the space or convicts for a smaller space, I find rds and cons will care for the young till quite a decent size and they both grow reasonable fast + they are easy to spawn, You would need to be pretty lucky with the timing and all though if planning to use this fish as the sole food source.

If you do end up going with a RTC I would aim for a 4ft wide tank, the other fish will also benefit from this.

hope this helps
 
Thanks for the suggestions! As I mentioned in the original post the final size will really depend on the space I end up having to work with, and as much as I would love to go as big as I possibly can, I am aiming to stick in the 225-300 range. I have had a 225 in the past, it seemed adequate but I am leaning toward a little wider of a footprint to bring me closer to 300 maybe but it all depends on cost differences and the space. I am in a fairly remote location so large tanks aren't a common thing around here and I will most likely have to purchase this tank brand new. Tanks are also much more expensive here than I have seen them sell for in other places so that will be a big determining factor.

I am on the fence about going sump or multiple canisters. My only concern with the sump is how it will need to be set-up. I am trying to make the tank as silent as possible so I would avoid an overflow all together so I do not get the moving water sound, or I have to drill holes in the tank as I did with my previous 225 but I know very little about plumbing and when I ran into trouble with the plumbing last time (which was already pretty well setup from the previous owner) this is when I had to give up and sell the tank to downsize. I didn't have the funds or availability to go through the process of setting up new plumbing in an existing tank. I also found the pump I used which was rated for around 1000g/hour to be quite loud too. It is possible I would debate going this route again but leaning toward to canisters I think.

Lighting is where I would really appreciate help. Ive never known too much about lighting systems. I am wondering what type lighting set-up would be best for this size tank to make my stock look as nice as possible and the water to appear as clean and clear as possible.

I have always used pool filter sand as my tanks substrates as it is a cheap alternative to other substates and looks half decent, however, I find that if the sand is disturbed at all it seems to float through my water for the next while making it look cloudy. I've alway taken all the appropriate steps to clean the sand but this continues to happen. For this reason I have debated going with a smaller gravel substitute. If I do decide to do sand again I would prefer a black substrate as long as there is an option I can use that will not cause the same problem I am currently facing. Are actual aquarium designed substrates better and sinking back to the bottom when disturbed or do they all cause this problem?

Any more suggestions would be great!
 
I am still looking for answers to the question I posed in the last paragraph of my last post ^. I have set my mind on 2x motoros now and scrapped the idea of an cats so I am wondering if anyone can answer that question. Is there a black sand I can get which will not cause that problem.
 
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