starting up a 180 gal acrylic freshwater tank inputs PLZ

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GodzillaFoo

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 30, 2013
70
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Utah west valley
So im starting up a 180 acrylic tank with 2 overflows i bought it used and its already pre drilled so i decided to just go with a freshwater sump. These are my ideas for the tank anybody feel free to let me know if im doing anything wrong or got any good ideas, kinda new to this.

equipment
aqueon proflex model 4 with the wet/dry system
aqueon quietflow submersible pump 8000
hydor koralia evolution 1400/1500gph
coralife 12x turbo twist uv sterilizer
catalina titanium heater 500 watt (wasnt sure to go with the 500 watt or the 1000 watt but i thought 500 watt would do let me know if you think otherwise)

havent decided what lighting i liked yet but was looking more interested in led lighting so let me know what you guys think are some good one. Need it be good for planted tanks

Fish
fish i want in the plz let me know if you think ill be crowding the fish
1 arowana
1 spotted gar
1 teacup stingray
few bichirs

Im kind of thinking about doing a little plant life in it too and i know the fish i want in the tank need lots of space so i wouldnt do to much.

Substrate
eco complete or some kind of sand substrate just want something good for the plants but good for the fish too . was wanting something white or black substrate. not sure if stingrays would like the eco complete any opinions?

Decoration
maybe one medium sized driftwood couple small rocks and some plants
 
Tank looks nice, definitely a sweet setup!

Everyone will have a different opinion as far as the lights are concerned but I really enjoy my marineland led's; I've got both the single and double bright models but not the plant specific model (so you may want to do a bit of reading).

As far as stock, I like where you're going but that tank will not be large enough to house an Arow; so you may want to look around a bit more to decide what you want. As for the gar and the ray, I'm not sure about them as I've never kept either but I'm sure someone will chime in on space, substrate, etc. requirements.

Keep us updated on the setup and let us know what your final stock list is. :)
 
nice ..good luck:)
 
I'm still very new to gars myself (having just picked up my first this pasty weekend). My experience with arowana's has been unfortunate, having lost my beautiful 24" silver when he jumped.

If you were looking for fish that could survive their entire lives in the 180, and you wanted to keep the Arowana/gar/stingray/bichir set-up I would consider:

Jardini Arowana (debatable, but of all the arowana's, this one is the most likely to be content in a 180, though there is their reputation to consider)
Florida Gar (this is what I grabbed, mainly because it can live it's life in a 180, which I have!)
Teacup ray - I have no valuable input here. I briefly toyed with this idea of rays, but I stayed away because I was worried about it stinging my other fish
Bichirs - best tank mates for aggressive fish apparently. Get along with everything that doesn't fit in their mouths. My Sen (though the smallest of bichirs) has always gotten along with big aggressive fish: silver arowana(s), scomb. payara, knife fish, and now a FL Gar.

In regards to your equipment, that aqueon proflex 4 is an awesome sump. That was my dream sump, but I found a good deal locally, so I went that route. The catalina 500W heater also has great reviews. The only change I would suggest would be to the pump you plan to use. I picked up a Laguna 2000, and I've been very pleased. Thye move more water using less electricity, which adds up quickly over the course of a year,
 
^ Alex was one of the guys to recommend the Laguna initially. He didn't steer me wrong. :thumbsup:
 
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