It's finally gonna happen......Help me go Monster!!

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STONEDFISH

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 19, 2005
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..in an octopus' garden in the shade:)
In 2 weeks I will finally be out of this top floor apartment!!! I'm on the slab in my new place!! Whoo!! I need to start buying stuff so I can get set up as soon as I move. I need advice, because I have many smaller tanks (55, 52, 29, 20) running fine, but have never had a huge tank. Here are my questions:

I'm thinking I'm going over 200 gallons. Acrylic or glass?

Sump or Canister? I have one Magnum canister in use and I like it. Could I use 2 canisters or would a sump be better? I have never used one before.

I'm building the canopy and stand, could I use a shop light in the canopy for lighting?

Thanks
stndfsh:grinno:
 
Honestly, I'd go glass. I would go for sump for water treatment and then an fx5 for mechanical filtration. Go for both a sump (1/3 size of main tank) and then latch on two canisters for a truly monster tank. Congratulations!!!
 
the acrylic vs glass debate will take over this thread no doubt. It's up to you. if you wanna be careful and have really clear viewing of your tank, go acrylic, if you're OK with a heavy tank and a big of green tint in exchange for scratch resistance, go glass.

Do a sump with some room left over so you can add an FX5 if your sump doesn't cut it for mech.
 
If you want a scratched up tank, go acrylic. If you want a clear view with a slightly green tint, go glass. Glass is the way to go whenever you can. get a 265 glass tank. Ask Rallysman, he has both.
 
You know, there is glass without that green tint. It's called starphire ;) . Expensive though. I'm gonna use it when I build a tank, for the front viewing window. If you don't have anything that comes into your house that might scratch your acrylic and you're careful then it shouldn't be a problem to go that route.

Do a sump, believe me a couple of mag filters isn't gonna cut it for that size tank. I like Onion's idea.

Yes you can use a shop light for lighting. Hell, use whatever you want. If you have a canopy that stuff isn't going to be visible anyway.
 
is glass cheaper? I was thinking about getting a 240 long (96x24x25), how big would my sump have to be? Where is the best place to get a tank that big? I just need the tank. Most LFS around here sell complete set-ups and they seem to be way more expensive than ones I've seen at petsmart and such. Is petsmart good place for equipment? I never go there anymore, so I don't know what they have.
stndfsh
 
Either of the routes will work well. Acrylic is lighter, and is extremely clear, however, scratches easier. Acrylic is also easier if you want to drill for sumps. Glass is heavier, has a slight green tint, but doesn't scratch easily. Glass is harder to drill, and runs more risks. Starphire is even heavier than standard glass, but much clearer (IMO better than acrylic) and is scratch resistant. I have all three types, and prefer the starphire to all other forms of aquarium.

You will get tons of different votes on the filtration. I personally think redundancy is critical on larger/expensive tanks. If you have experience with w/d filters definitely go that route, if you haven't a large canister can provide a great biological foundation. Back up either of these systems with a couple ac110 filters for mech filtration, and you will have a very stable system.
 
U should get the big kiddie pool at walmart set it up in the front room full of cichlids that would be alot of fun.
 
big train;1119669; said:
U should get the big kiddie pool at walmart set it up in the front room full of cichlids that would be alot of fun.
Click to expand...

Meh it's been done ;)
 
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