New 325 glass Arowana tank (7ft) with simple set-up

islandguy11

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I know that vendors/farm owners or reps say a lot of things, but I have personally never seen a baby aro kept in WTT look the same later in life, unless it was kept in WTT its entire life./
Of course shine and color are 2 different things -- and yes without doubt a GH's color will darken (or actually become more golden hopefully), which is the whole purpose of changing them over to a blue or black background after you've shined them up. So (I guess) the reason people use WTT is so their fish carries maximum shine into this (inevitable) darkening/goldening process. And yes, some of that shine will go away (sometimes a lot depending on fish quality/genetics), the question is how much....

Personally I'm not arguing for or against WTT until I can see the results with my own experience, and while I for sure won't be doing it until the fish is 15-16", let alone any 24/7 light kind of stuff -- in 3-6 months time we will see the effects after I change over to a different color scheme, stay tuned :)
 
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islandguy11

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In fact I had intended to start a new WTT thread to show my (if even brief) experience with it -- and to solicit opinions & first hand experience exactly like RD nicely gave, but for now will continue this thread's set-up theme.

First I got rid of the hospital like look of the white acrylic strips bordering top and bottom tank, simply by covering them with black masking tape; imo it looks heaps better.

325g Filtration 1 med.jpg

And here's what I've put in for filtration initially:
1) 1 pre-seeded big sponge filter -- frankly with the current bio-load the tank has, I'd bet money this 1 simple sponge filter could support enough beneficial bacteria to take care of 1 juvenile Arowana in that 7 ft tank no problem for some time to come, especially if I'm as usual zapping out waste every day with my handy battery powered tank siphon.

2) To the left of that is a Sonic power head (2000 l/hr) that is feeding a Sunsun HW-603 pre-filter and a Sunsun 704a canister (no UV as I plan to add a separate unit later) in a tub behind the tank. The 704 is filled entirely with pre-seeded, good quality Ocean Free Pro 3D bio-media.

325g SunSun 704a and HW 603 med.jpg

I know it's generally not a good idea to have a power head connected to a canister filter -- but I tried all night to get the pre-filter/canister combo primed without one, but just couldn't -- and even if could final return flow rate would have been abysmal. Once I put on the Sonic it's been working perfectly, smooth flow, no air bubbles, no crazy sounds and no overheating of the 704's pump even though the room is a pretty constant 80F+.

Both the Sonic and the 704a have (published) flow rates of 2,000 l/hr, so maybe they're a good match, time will tell. I also know the 603 is not rated for this flow, but have been using 2 of them on other tanks for about 2 years (also above stated flow rate) and haven't had a single problem so far, knock on wood. In all these set-ups though as a bit of peace of mind, in case any leaks develop I have very loud Doberman Security water alarm in the tubs.

325g SunSun 704a and HW 603 top med.jpg

3) On the right side of the tank is a 2,500 l/hr Sonic pump that is feeding a 15-tray shower/trickle filter I ordered online from China. In fact I was planning to install one of these even before I saw his video (I'd seen them on some vids of Singaporean & Chinese tanks), but PondGuru has a good video on YouTube about these filters, he seems pretty keen on them. They're not everyone's cup of tea as they can't be easily hidden, but I personally don't mind this and can see they make a great environment for beneficial bacteria.

325g Shower Filter 4 med.jpg

As a side note though, I tried 4 smaller feeder pumps, starting at 800 l/hr then working up, and none of them could pressure the water enough to go out decently in the last 2 trays until I put in the 2,500 l/hr unit. I also expanded the holes of the last shower ring a bit, which helped.

325g Shower Filter 1 med.jpg

4) Under the return of the shower filter I have a Sobo mini-powerhead to help distribute good water falling from above, while also helping to push any waste toward one end of the tank for easier cleaning.

5) Finally, for aeration I got another Hailea CP-60 AC/DC air pump, which will automatically change to its internal battery when the power goes out. This pump has an output that way exceeds my needs on this tank, but the next size down ac/dc pump I could find is too small.

Hailea cp 60 pump.jpg

So with current bio-load I would maintain this set up is more than enough filtration, though I do plan to add a good-sized UV sterilizer later this month. In fact a lot of the bio-media is probably just sitting there largely unoccupied because not enough food source to support the additional BB, but it's there if needed and if I later add a tank mate or two.

And it's all pretty simple -- all I need to do (besides my usual daily zap of waste with vacuum), is clean out the pre-filter on the canister maybe twice a month and clean/change the top level mechanical filter pads on the shower filter as required now and then.

Happy to have any opinions or questions.
 
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islandguy11

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As an update on this tank: First, filtration seems to be working great, consistently 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 8-10 ppm nitrate with API Master Test kit. But with just the single occupant this shouldn't be surprising.

I'm now in the process of transitioning away from WTT treatment, using large pieces of plastic future board. Both me and I think my Goldenhead got tired of the boring WTT pretty quick.

Future board creates more reflection when viewing the glass compared to oyama sticker, which has a closer seal, but it's easier to install and change to another color any time you want.

I'm currently going with a light blue background, maybe later I'll change it to dark blue or black. I just need to figure out what to do about the bottom of the tank (which for sure I want to keep bare bottom for ease of maintenance -- that tiny little 3w wavemaker in the bottom right is doing a great job of pushing 95% of Lightning's waste to the left side of the tank, where I can easily siphon it out twice a day before feeding).

GHXB new blue background 5 m2.jpg

GHXB new blue background 10 m.jpg

I have to admit that putting the white oyama stickering on the bottom was a huge mistake -- I really should have ordered it in black, then temporarily covered it in large white tiling during WTT. So now I have to decide whether to just leave it as it is, or put in either a darker, ceramic tile base or maybe a couple of big pieces of measured/cut smoky black acrylic.

Just wondering if anyone has used acrylic sheeting to change the color of their tank bottom before?

GHXB new blue background 11 m.jpg
 

islandguy11

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Thanks TexasMFK31, he's just a youngin' but hopefully with good care and good luck he'll continue to get nicer as he grows.
 
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DN328

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Nice tank Islandguy. I've not seen eurubraced tank that also have bracing all around as well. I suppose that would increase the safety factor. Did you paint the trim black? I think that's a good deal considering 16MM and eurobraced.
 

islandguy11

Redtail Catfish
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Nice tank Islandguy. I've not seen eurubraced tank that also have bracing all around as well. I suppose that would increase the safety factor. Did you paint the trim black? I think that's a good deal considering 16MM and eurobraced.
Thanks DN328, with the trim I just used (a wider) black masking tape (much easier to take on/off than say duct tape) and even up close it looks pretty good. I've recently got in another of these 325's, this one in black trim already (and black oyama sticker bottom).

Also I made a mistake in the OP, the tank is 12mm glass, not 16mm; but with all the bracing I'm confident that's fine.
 

islandguy11

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Beautiful Arowana. I love that overhead filtration system.
Thx Thomas; I'm also digging on the OHF, it seems quite effective and pretty easy to change out the foam in the top. 2 things I'll change though: 1) I'll probably add a 4th row of bio media and 2) now water is only coming in from one side; I've found on another system I just set up on another Aro tank, it's better to make a T split off the pump and have it come in from both sides.
 

TexasMFK31

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Thx Thomas; I'm also digging on the OHF, it seems quite effective and pretty easy to change out the foam in the top. 2 things I'll change though: 1) I'll probably add a 4th row of bio media and 2) now water is only coming in from one side; I've found on another system I just set up on another Aro tank, it's better to make a T split off the pump and have it come in from both sides.

Do you have a link of where you purchased this system?
 
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