Thinking About Piranha...

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Wiggles92

Dovii
MFK Member
Apr 25, 2009
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I was thinking about converting my 75 gallon aquarium to a piranha aquarium. Decor would consist of aragonite sand substrate (keep pH stable), driftwood, and some plants. Filtration would be in the form of an HOB canister, either a sump or DIY canister, and possibly another filter if need be. The pump for the sump/DIY canister is rated for 750 gph @ 1ft head, so there should still be plenty of flow after the fittings and such, right?

Now then, would I be able to keep four full-sized RBPs in there, or do I need to consider getting a larger aquarium in order to achieve this goal? I saw that the sticky says 20 gallons/RBP, so I was thinking that it might work, but I figured that I may as well check in order to be sure.
 
I don't think aragonite sand would be good substrate for p, they are good for reef tank as fish from amazon like water with lower pH level.
the turnover rate should be ok if the pump is close to the top of the tank other wise you may have too much head lost, make sure you have enough bio media to cover the bio load produced by your fish stock.
75g would be ok for the amount of rbps you have in mind just keep water parameters in check.
you can do a small pygo shoal in 75g or a large solo serra, either would look sweet with the proper aquascaping.
 
jp80911 said:
I don't think aragonite sand would be good substrate for p, they are good for reef tank as fish from amazon like water with lower pH level.
the turnover rate should be ok if the pump is close to the top of the tank other wise you may have too much head lost, make sure you have enough bio media to cover the bio load produced by your fish stock.
75g would be ok for the amount of rbps you have in mind just keep water parameters in check.
you can do a small pygo shoal in 75g or a large solo serra, either would look sweet with the proper aquascaping.
Click to expand...

Okay, I'll swap out the aragonite for pool filter sand (if I can find it) or some other pH neutral sand when I make the switch. My water is fairly soft, though, so the aquarum's pH is around 7.2 even with the current setup having aragonite as the substrate; hopefully it will not go too low for the RBPs once I switch out the sand and add driftwood.

I'm using around 50 standard scrubbies for bio media plus I'll also have some large blocks of sponge for both bio and mechanical filtration; additional mechanical filtration will be provided by filter pads. I figure that the plants will be a big help with the water parameters, too. Do you think that's enough bio media or should I get some more? Also, I'm guessing that a sump is preferred over a canister filter for the main filter since bio filtration is pretty important for piranhas?

Could I potentially do more than four pygos or is that about the maximum for adults even with ample filtration?
 
test your tap water for pH then you'll know what you are dealing with.
as for which filter to use, a wet/dry def. has more potential than a canister (unless you have a tinny sump vs a monster size canister).
you can try with more than 4 depends on the size of the fish, just keep your water parameters in check and use common sense to see if there's enough room in there for your fish and down size the shoal as you see fit.
 
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