New Oscar Tank Setup

[Renegade87]

Hi Guys,

I'm new here, (first real post) but not necessarily new to the hobby. Unbelievable site. Tons of very valuable info.

I have some experience with Oscars having raised a couple to adulthood about twenty years ago. So, I'm beginning to collect everything I need to setup a new Oscar tank. This tank will house 2 Oscars and at least one other potentially meduim to large Cichlid. In this new tank I'm probably going to put 1 Tiger Oscar in with 1 Red Oscar. I want to raise them from young juveniles (2"-3") to full grown adults once again. A Gold Severum or Chocolate Cichlid are also potential tankmates (not necessarily both, probably just one of them).

I am in the process of trying to acquire a 150 Gallon Long (60" x 24" x 25") tank and stand (with canopy). Finding the right stand at the right price is the one sticking point. I'm trying to find just the right stand and canopy, but am waiting on a couple of quotes from an online retailer and the biggest surviving LFS. One thing I'm wondering about is if I were to purchase an unfinished stand & canopy (or build one myself as I've seen many here do), is there a special non-toxic stain I'll need to use to finish them with, or will any off-the-shelf stain suffice? What about polyurethane?

Beyond that, I just received the following:

2 "Marineland C530 Multi-stage Canister Filter, 530GPH"

2 "Hydor ETH 300 In-Line Heater UL 300W f/16mm & 5/8" Hose"

1 "Tetra 26076 300 Whisper Air Pump"

1 "Aqueon Aquarium Water Changer - 25 Feet"

1 "Coralife Digital Thermometer 1/4' x 1 1/2'"

1 "API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT"

I'll get airline tubing, airstones & check valves at my LFS or Petsmart (there's one 2 miles from my house). Beyond the tank, stand, canopy, cover and substrate/decorations (dritfwood, rocks, fake plants) I think I'll just need a light. No worries.

A question on the water conditioners you guys prefer. Is "Dr. Tims One and Only" as good as I've heard?

One thing I am concerned about though is the Hydor ETH 300 In-Line Heaters. I've seen one in use at one of the better LFS's in in the area (Tropic Isle - Framingham, MA). They swear by them. Anybody here have any experience with the Hydor ETH In-Line Heaters? I got a digital thermometer so I could keep an eye on them, but am a little concerned about potential failures. Also, I didn't know this prior to pulling the trigger on the purhase, but the hose ID on the C530 canister filters (these things are massive!) is 1" so I'll either have to hook them up to the Hydor In-Line Heaters with some reducers and 5/8" tubing or return them and get some conventional in-tank heaters.

I look forward to and appreciate all replies.

Thanks guys.

Dave

 

[Andrewtfw]

A 150 would make two oscars happy. A 180 would worm better since width and length are valued over height. Depending where you live and your patience, craigslist could be your friend.
I've never used the hydor inline heaters but have heard good things about them too.

Sent from my DROIDX using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Renegade87]

I wish I could fit a larger (6') tank in the available space Andrew. But that would protrude into a hallway. 5' is as big as I'm able to go.

I'm looking for reducers for the Hydors. Nothing yet. Might have to return them and get conventional heaters. We'll see.

Looked at CL & eBay yesterday and will again this morning. Nothing there for me. This morning I'm off to the biggest LFS around. Maybe order the tank and stand today.

 

[Renegade87]

I found the 5/8 in. Barb x 1 in. Barb Hose Adaptors I needed for the Hydor 300W In-Line Heaters. MarineEast.com stocks them at $2.81ea in case anyone else needs them.

Just ordered the 150L (60" x 24" x 24") tank, stand and canopy (R & J Enterprises Maple Dynasty Series w/custom antique cherry stain) from my LFS. Sometime next month I should have it all setup and cycling.

Anybody have significant experience with the Marinland C530 canisters? I bought 2 of them. I see the Fluval FX5's all over the place here and same with the big Eheims. But for a filter that supposedly has "virtually no bypass" there doesn't seem to be a huge "fanclub".

 

[Renegade87]

Update: Last month I cancelled the glass tank, stand and canopy order from my LFS. Reason being they were way too slow on details and pricing (I put down a deposit prior to finalizing the deal - which was promptly refunded). I ended up ordering an acrylic 155gl tank (60" x 24" x 24") stand and canopy (R & J Enterprises Maple Dynasty Series w/custom burgundy stain) from a reptable online retailer. I'm expecting to take delivery on them late next week.

I have everything else I need to complete the setup and get the system up and running. In addition to what is listed above I also picked up 2x JBJ JB1511 TRUE TEMP Digital Heater Controllers and a Marineland LED Single Bright Aquarium Lighting System 48" - 60". Now all I have to do is figure out whether or not I really want to install a 3D background prior to filling the tank. And if so, which one. I'm kinda leaning towards the Slimline Mesa Rock wall.

We'll see.

 

[Renegade87]

Okay, the tank and stand were delivered on time with no damage. That's the good news. The tank is great. I'm a little disapointed that they were to rushed (or cheap or lazy) to blow out the considerable amount of residual acrylic dust from inside. I'll have to bring it out to the backyard and rinse it out. Not a huge deal, but given the following issue with the stand & canopy...

Now, the stand. First off, it's a nice looking stand. The thing is, I ordered it with a custom stain (Minwax Burgundy) to match some of our other furniture. Prior to finalizing the order, I did go to Home Depot & Lowes to pick up a small can to try it on a piece of Maple and match it up to our furniture so I could ensure my Wife was comfortable with it before pulling the trigger on the order. Unfortunately, the big box home improvement stores didn't carry that stain (plenty of Minwax, no burgundy). I couldn't find it locally and didn't want to scour the country looking, only to wait another week or two to try it out. Bad idea.

The stand arrived first. It was a beautiful, bright sunshiney day in Northeastern Mass. When we opened the box on the curb (to inspect for damage) I couldn't believe my eyes - PURPLE! The freakin stand looked purple in the bright sunlight!
As I unboxed it, I couldn't refuse delivery. "You bought it, you own it!" type deal. I can't blame the FedEX driver. The stand & canopy were in perfect physical condition. We moved it inside into it's designated location. Once inside, It looked much better and much more like I intended. But there are areas on the trim and doors where the coat of stain looks uneven and/or thin. I was getting to the point where, though not happy with the finish, I could almost live with it. Almost! Then the Wife saw it... and started crying. It's not the end of the world, but she wasn't happy... at all. Nor was I.

Anyhoo, after several calls, emails & pictures sent to the vendor, we have no recourse. I chose the custom stain. I authorized the application of the stain. They verified my authorization. I don't know if they tried to fix a screwup or they were late in the build/finishing and tried to make up some time by cutting corners ("just one coat?") or whatever. It'd be too expensive to send back, so we're going to refinish it ourselves. OY, another couple of weeks until I can set it up. We'd have to do it outside and the recent New England weather isn't cooperating on the weekends.

I've heard very good things about R&J, but they fell down on this one. I relay this story (sorry for the length) to you so that hopefully others won't get caught up in the same situation. I guess the moral of the story is Buyer beware. or, stick to their standard finishes if you plan of getting one of their stands.

 

[Renegade87]

wasn't happy that day. And the Wife cried... for hours. So, after a death in the family and a cancer scare, I finally got down to work. We put the stand up on the dining room table (covered with plastic) and started the refinishing. Two coats of the Minwax Polyshades Bombay Mahogany (tough to work with) and two coats of polyurethane later:

 

[Renegade87]

Okay, so onto the bracing... again (photobucket locked up and I lost this whole post once already). So as received, there's no way the stand could hold 1400lbs of water, substrate, equipment and decorations (150 x 8.3lbs/gl of H2O - 1245lbs alone!) so I modified it (add Tim Allen pig grunts here). First, I got some GE Silicone 1 and sealed the bottom seam all around. Then another trip to Lowes for some 2 x 4's, fire up the chop saw and get out the Rigid 18v drill/driver...

 

[Renegade87]

Okay, so the stand was built with a Luan top. I'm so sure that wouldn't hold up to the weight of my 155gl (60" x 24" x 24"). So, I found some beautifully flat 3/4" Birch Plywood at Lowes. I had it cut to size, slapped it on, measured and marked it for the 2 x 4 bracing centerlines and drove some 3.5" deck screws in to secure it!

 

[Renegade87]

At this point, the stand was ready to come off of the table. We put it in place and I slapped on some 3/4 styrofoam to cushion the acrylic tank bottom.