Ideal tank for large New Worlds?

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Wesley M

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2013
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St. George, Utah USA
I have an 85 gallon tank with 2 JDs, 2 Managuense, 2 Midevils, 1 Green terror, 2 convicts (breeding for food), 2 (soon to be one because one is dying) Mayans. And someday may e Dovii, or other new worlds (africans are lame haha). I would love to keep them all for life but OBVIOUSLY that isn't happening in my 85. I would like to build a larger tank to hold them (probably plywood with a glass viewing window). I was thinking 300 gallons or something close. Would it work for my stock? Also does anybody have plans already drawn out and a tank made and established that it works? I'm open to any dimensions as it would be going in my garage. Also how should I go about filtration (i want to stay away from Sumps).

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why do you wanna stay away from sumps?
 
To me it seems like a sump would be a pain in the butt. You have to clean it like you would a regular tank and the media sound like it would be expensive. Although I am willing if that would be my best option.
 
Yeah you'd need a pretttttty big tank for that stock list to work out I think
 
Wesley M said:
To me it seems like a sump would be a pain in the butt. You have to clean it like you would a regular tank and the media sound like it would be expensive. Although I am willing if that would be my best option.
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I think your over complicating the sump idea. The only thing you should have to clean in a sump regularly would be your filter pad just like in any other kind of filter. If you were to go with a K1 sump then the media even cleans itself and you shouldnt ever have to worry about cleaning media. You are adding more water volume which is a plus, more bio media than any HOB you can buy and if you build your own then you are cutting cost even more. K1 sumps might seem a bit over whelming at first but look into them, once you get the ratio of media you need and you get the air volume needed in there you are set to go pretty much. All you have to do then is clean out your filter pad or filter sock (which ever way you go) like you would if you were using any other filter.

If you want to go real simple then you could get a 75 gallon tank or a large tub and build a trickle filter (wet/Dry) for it. Lots of ways to go about a sump, and not as complicated as you may think or as hard to maintain as you seem to think. Look up some DIY sumps on youtube and check them out.
 
I agree with all the others, and use sumps on all tanks, and find them easy to deal with.
I use lava rock and plants as biological media, so very inexpensive.
For mechanical filtration, I use filters socks, and because all media and hardware is in the sump (filter socks, heaters, pumps, etc), its easy to get at, to change, and to maintain. When I add water after water changes, it goes to the sump first, eliminating shock, or gas bubble embolism.
And all that gear is not an eyesore in the tank proper.
If you use plywood its easy to drill with common tools for overflows.
 
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