NWC
New Member
Very cool tank. I look forward to following your journal.
Ch4rlie's New Tank!
- Thread starter Ch4rlie
- Start date
FishHobby99
Fish Gatherer
I’ve always meant to try that stuff. It sounds gross, but must be ok if so popularMarmite is a kind of yeast extract spread, LOTS of folks here in the UK loves this stuff, not me though but its nice when mixed with other stuff and cooked but on its own on toast, no thank you very much
You US guys might have similar stuff called Vegemite maybe, not sure.
View attachment 146268
Generic pic from website google search.
OP
OP
Thanks
Hmm, not really sure what plans have at the moment, I have hard water from my tap, so it’s going to have to be hard water fish species.
Might get a nice big shoal of Forktail Blueyes for a start.
With some amano shrimps as well maybe.
OP
OP
Not really, just because it’s popular and lots of folks may like it does not mean you’ll like it, I don’t for a start
FishHobby99
Fish Gatherer
Hey, dude, I was trying to be polite here & not say what some Americans say it tastes & smells like.
xxBarneyxx
Fish Aficionado
Nice. Looking forward to seeing this one progress.
Was literally just looking at these in the LFS. Big shoal would look good.
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OP
OP
Thats cool, wonder how many forktails can fit into this 180 itre tank once have the tank ready, will have wood decor and and live plants etc?
OP
OP
Decided to make sure tank cabinet is strong enough to support the weight of my tank filled with substrate, water, plants & decor etc.
So my calculations are as follows -
Tank itself is about 30kg
substrate 20kg
wood 2kg
plants 2kg
water 155kg
(less 15% for substrate, plants & decor)
Total @ 209kg give or take a kilo or two (460 pounds)
Wow! Lotta weight!
The sideboard is made of oak, has central drawers so middle is supported and has a fairly chunky thick top, and also under the sideboard there are sturdy support struts, so am pretty certain this will be fine to use.
So my calculations are as follows -
Tank itself is about 30kg
substrate 20kg
wood 2kg
plants 2kg
water 155kg
(less 15% for substrate, plants & decor)
Total @ 209kg give or take a kilo or two (460 pounds)
Wow! Lotta weight!
The sideboard is made of oak, has central drawers so middle is supported and has a fairly chunky thick top, and also under the sideboard there are sturdy support struts, so am pretty certain this will be fine to use.
Looks like an interesting project On the internal filters I agree the Juwel ones are a real shame in some respects, I wish they were easier to remove without it being totally permanent, I tried to cut one out of a Trigon 350 once and failed lol. It was actually a pretty good filter truth being told - though a nightmare to clean 3 foot away from the front of the tank...
You can get some good 'cover' options for them now though, but they are expensive. AquaDecor do some tree trunk style wraps for internal filters which are nice and their silicone mats could probably be adapted to work too.
In terms of your fish choices, if your going with hard water fish do you have plans for something other than the school? I'm trying to think of some options but drawing a bit of a blank?
In terms of schooling to go with the Forktails you could go with things like Celestial Pearl Danios, Rummy Nose Rasboras, Daisys Rice Fish, Medeka. Livebearers could be a good option? Maybe go for some of the fancier species like the Montezumae or a type of Skiffia? Bottom Dwellers would be best with Synodontis but just the smallest like Nigriventis or Petricola? There are a few smaller Loach species that would work like Rosy Loaches or a few others you often just get under their scientific name - I've seen these in my local Maidenhead before though so it is possible.
The other option (not sure how set you are on a community tank?) Would be a Tanganykia tank? Probably looking at 2-3 species; a shell dweller group, pair of Altolamprologus and some Cypichromis (smallest species)? Possibly some other combinations with things like Fairies, Julis or a larger shell/rock dweller like Caudopunks.
Wills
On the internal filters I agree the Juwel ones are a real shame in some respects, I wish they were easier to remove without it being totally permanent, I tried to cut one out of a Trigon 350 once and failed lol. It was actually a pretty good filter truth being told - though a nightmare to clean 3 foot away from the front of the tank... You can get some good 'cover' options for them now though, but they are expensive. AquaDecor do some tree trunk style wraps for internal filters which are nice and their silicone mats could probably be adapted to work too.
In terms of your fish choices, if your going with hard water fish do you have plans for something other than the school? I'm trying to think of some options but drawing a bit of a blank?
In terms of schooling to go with the Forktails you could go with things like Celestial Pearl Danios, Rummy Nose Rasboras, Daisys Rice Fish, Medeka. Livebearers could be a good option? Maybe go for some of the fancier species like the Montezumae or a type of Skiffia? Bottom Dwellers would be best with Synodontis but just the smallest like Nigriventis or Petricola? There are a few smaller Loach species that would work like Rosy Loaches or a few others you often just get under their scientific name - I've seen these in my local Maidenhead before though so it is possible.
The other option (not sure how set you are on a community tank?) Would be a Tanganykia tank? Probably looking at 2-3 species; a shell dweller group, pair of Altolamprologus and some Cypichromis (smallest species)? Possibly some other combinations with things like Fairies, Julis or a larger shell/rock dweller like Caudopunks.
Wills
OP
OP
I had a Trigon 350 once a upon a time, really regret selling that tank tbh. But I know exactly what you mean about reaching the back of that tank, hard enough just reaching down to bottom of front glass never mind the back! And thats on steps as well btwLooks like an interesting project
I was lucky enough to get that tank without the internal filter and ran it on a Tetra Tec Ex1200 filter at the time, brilliant filter, sold with the tank too. Nice big tank and cool to have at the time.
My tap water is pretty darned hard truth be told, TDS around 284 from the tap, gH at 18 - 19dH which makes it around 300 - 320 ppm hardness, liquid rock almost, kh at 11dH which is a good buffer and pH is at 8.
Thought about going down the RO mix route as I have a RO system for my nano SW tank yet to be set up in near future, but the amount of water required to make 50 litres RO and adding maybe around 20-30 litre tap to do a mix of 70-80 litres to do a rough 40% weekly water change would mean a lot of water wasted.
So, to make 50 litres RO, the amount of waste water would be around 80 litres plus 30 litres of tap water so therefore means 50(RO) + 30(tap) + 80 (RO waste) need around 160 litres of water in total for each weekly water change. Thats too much imho as our water is metered and water bill would rise considerably so a bit of a no go sadly.
Especially since as gas bills is set to rocket up next year, so we do need to budget.
So this is hard water and a lot of fish species listed in SF is up to around 268ppm hardness, with a few exceptions, mostly rainbowfish are ok, but CPD, Rummies and even rosy loaches are limited to 268ppm
But forktails are perfect for my water hardness levels and I do actually like these, I thought about getting those a few years ago when there was another member of the forum had thouse, @ninjoutata but got Threadfin rainbowfish instead at the time so I thought why not this time.
Syno bottom dwellers I have to research a bit more into, never had those before so am uncertain on those at them moment but defintely worth consideration as i need something for the bottom of tank.
Will get amanos and snails as i like those so thats a definite anyhow.
Cichlids / Lake Tanganykia, I did give some serious thought to those and there are a lot of choices as my hard water is pretty much ideal for those but am not swayed at the moment as I have never had such a set up before.
I would much prefer a community and planted set up for now as this is what I know and have done over the years so sticking with what am experienced with for now anyway as have been away from the hobby for almost 2 years so want a kind of gentle re-introduction for now to ease me back into the fishkeeping community.
Some great suggestions, thank you so much for that.
Edit - forgot to say, any other tank stocking suggestions that may suit my water hardness and pH would be way more than welcome as am kinda struggling to think of anything else that may suit.
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FF_Member146894
Guest
the weight of the tank and cabinet could easily crack the floor by being distributed over a too small area.
so, at that point i would make a cabinet specifically for an aquarium, i don't know how many supports you have underneath it but you're probably pushing it based on the pictures (that's assuming the cabinet by itself doesn't weigh anything)
i don't know how good you are with furniture building but if you sold the existing cabinet you would probably have enough to get yourself the materials for a stand and a miter or table saw if you don't already have one
OP
OP
The sideboard is resting on floor joists adjacent to wall so its at strongest points on top of 22mm thick chipboard so the floor support is fine imo.
There are 6 legs / supports underneath the sideboard so think should be ok. I do have extra adjustable sturdy metal leg supports to fit underneath should they be required.
I am definitely no carpenter, me and woodworking don't mix at all, so making ANY furniture is extremely likely to end in disaster
F
FF_Member146894
Guest
it's your floor and your cabinet, i guess
Don’t worry! Im setting up a 340 liter tank that in total is over 1,000 pounds, and it’s upstairs. No need to worry. Contact your structural engineer if you want.Total @ 209kg give or take a kilo or two (460 pounds)
Wow! Lotta weight!
F
FF_Member146894
Guest
the worry isn't in the floor not being able to support the total weight, it's about how the weight is distributed
i won't say anything more on this, i don't want to take over the thread with worries
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