250Gal for first tank....

[logan89]

Hey guys, this is my first post here, happy to be here...anyways, here's my situation...


My friend has a 250gal tank he has never used, his parent decided that they had enough pets and couldn't afford anymore no matter what kind.

So now it's just sitting there, and they were about to THROW IT OUT, I asked if I could have it, they said yes but you have to pay for it (which seems weird because they were just going to trash it) monthly or whenever I get a little cash (they said $20 payments were fine! and I only had to pay $500 total for it). I was just wondering what type of fish I could get? I would like a few medium-large sized "pretty" fish or lots of a smaller, very agressive type fish. So if you guys could suggest anything...that would help loads.


Also, do you guys think I will have a hard time maintaining such as large tank, seeing as I have never even owned anything more than a 5gal tank and a couple neons and goldfish, and how expensive will this new hobby be?


Sorry for asking so many questions (and i'm probably forgetting something else too), I just figured i'd get it all out there at once.

Thanks loads guys,

-Logan

 

[Squishiebabe]

Well, You'll need a monster filter, tons of sand or gravel, a heater, and a really really strong stand.
That is a massive tank, you can have pretty much anything lol, I think that chichlids maybe? They're all semi-aggressive and really pretty. Or you could have a pair of every kind of fish smaller than your hand... just kidding.
I think, and know from experience, that a bigger tank shouldnt be harder, at least not for water quality. On the other hand, decor, water changes, and equipment is the harder part, once you've got all that though, you dont have to worry so much about ammonia spikes, your water heating up or cooling too quickly (as there is more and it takes more time) and just big tanks are better lol, its much more fun, and worth it. My 10gallon isnt really worth all the effort i think as much, because i only can fit 4-6 fish really.
KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS. No matter the doubts. Its how you learn in this hobby, i found you can't just guess on some things, without expecting disasters. Check out some fish profile sites on the net, it'll help you figure out what your looking for. Go to the lfs (local fish store) and browse, see what you think. Are you choosing marine or freshwater? Gravel or sand?
Good luck

 

[pica_nuttalli]

first things first, get yourself a python. buckets would take forever on a tank that big!

other than the initial filling and purchasing gravel/decorations, the 250g shouldn't be terrible to keep up. one of the benefits of larger tanks is that you have more room for error should you skip a water change or miscalculate the aggression levels of your fish. it will however be expensive to run the larger filters, heaters, etc, plus buying meds will be a pain in the butt. you'll definitely want a 10g quarantine set-up for that reason (soooo much cheaper and easier to medicate a 10g). but i think you'll find it worth the extra costs.

do you have the dimensions on it? owning most of the larger species is controlled more by the footprint of a tank than by the actual volume. however, height can be an issue when trying to plant a tank both in finding suitable lighting and purchasing plants that grow tall enough! (you'll want to ask around in Hardware and Planted Tanks on those two.)

there's a great article on "What Kind of Fish Should I Get?" pinned in Tropical Chit Chat. you'll want to read that and also the fishless cycling and new tank syndrome articles pinned in Beginner's. I recommend you do a fishless cycle because not only is it better for your fish, but easier on you! Cycling with fish calls for daily 10% water changes--not bad on a 5g but murder on a 250!

i'm sure you're going to love owning a big tank like that. you'll have infinitely more freedom in stocking compared to a 5g. the only suggestion i can make about stocking is that you should seriously consider a cold-water tank. a large tank of fancy goldfish is always stunning and there's a surprisingly large number of other fish happy to live in room temperature water. you could have 7 or 8 fancy goldfish, about 6 dojo loaches, a paradise fish (or two if you plant it correctly), a nice sized school of bitterlings (which can be stunning), and any of several species of Danio. coldwater tanks can be quite beautiful and allow an unusual glimpse of fish normally stuck in ponds. you also don't have to pay to heat the tank, just the room (which can be a big plus if money's tight).

--EDIT--
heh, the best way i can think of for you to pick out fish is to go to the biggest nicest LFS around you. and start listing the fish you like. then come home, get on www.fishbase.org and see which ones have overlapping water parameters. take those fish, sign onto TFF and start doing some research!

 

[vantgE]

Also maybe the first thing to mention is if that is just a tank no stand, or filter, accesories, that's a not a good deal you could get it cheaper brand new from a store.

Basically you will need a python or a sort of subsitute for that size tank, and with this maintenance should be much easier, and a bigger tank is definately easier to handle for a bigginer although most don't go this far. Depending what you are buying it with, and plan to stock it with you could be paying between 200 to 800 dollars more plus fish.

Make sure you know and understand cycleing and the three types of filtration before beggining to work on the tank as well decide what type of fish you plan to keep and how

For medium sized pretty fish you could likely make a stunning peacock tank, or go slightly larger and think about hap species fromlake malawi even bigger a 250 should house a frontosa harem, poke around the internet though and see what you like

 

[brown metal-head]

lucky

A small pair of 5 inch or less. And u won't need a filter. or water changes

I reccomend you read a lot about lighting, fish salt and fresh, research is your best friend. Except why do I only research after geeting my fish?....

Good luck and welcome

ps. concern for weight of the tank. Make sure it is in the basment or your you get your floors inspected profesh. water weighs 8lbs or so + additional weight of substrate and whatever else you add. I would imagine that 250 gallons of water would be a huge mess in your basment.

pss. Might as well give the dimensions to a custom builder of fish tanks and get a nice stand make it match the room. Get good quality lighting nothing shows your tank off better than good quality bulbs. expensive though but you can work up to it. Asthetically worth it.

psss. get this on its own circut thing or whatever it will draw alot of power so you want do this. don't know what it does but it is good trust me I have read it multiple times.

 

[logan89]

Wow thanks guys, keep the replys comming! Really helpful/reassuring stuff! I'm reading up on the pinned articles as we speak (well, as we type).

I like the cold water tank idea, do tell some more advantages if you would.

Also, the tank i'm getting comes with a big untreated wooden stand (with 2 cabinets below) and some equipment which is crap by now...been crushed under boxes and things they have stacked ontop of them, and chewed up by their dogs. So, is $500 still not a very good deal?

Oh, sorry no, I don't have the demensions on it, it's just a huge rectangle though.
Few mor questions

What about plants?

Also, i'm hearing alot about plecos and angel fish, what would be good tank mates for fish of that sort?

What are some, like, REALLY big aquarium fish...just out of curiosity.

Should I go for salt or fresh? Do they have equal and opposite advantages/disadvantages, or what's the main diffrences?

That's it for now I suppose, i'm 100% sure i'll think of something else later, i'm just going to start digging into all this infromation, lot to learn.

Thanks again for the suggestions/comments guys, really reassuring.

 

[afireinside]

lucky! u r starting out with a 250 gallon! i can get a new tank in a about a year, around a 70-90 gallon and that would be my third tank. but anyways, i would recromend discus, but they are for the more experiacned fish keeper, so i would go with some cichlids. here are some cichlids u can look at: Click here here and here

 

[Squishiebabe]

Well, lol, the coldwater advatages are great...but theres less choice really. Goldfish can be beautiful, and need little care, the only real biggie is filter, because they are messy messy, but I think its worth them living for so long, some may even live to 15years if kept right(i read somewhere, dont totally believe me there lol) With coldwater you:
-No heater! saves a bit of cash
-the fish are hardy, lots of big ones
-Filter may cost a bit, but you need one either way, unless you just want a betta in that tank

I think saltwater is much more expensive, and more complicated.
Freshwater - Lots of interesting colourful fish, of all sizes
Saltwater- Lots of interesting colourful fish of all sizes , lol
I think its more a person and money thing, neither is better or worse than the other

Plecs can be tankmates with prettymuch anything, I'd read up about the different kinds, they are really helpful for bigger tanks by eating algea, but also make lots of poop too

Angelfish are a type of chichlid, but can be housed with many other typ[es of fish, although smaller ones that can fit in their mouth may be eaten I've heard. they are beautiful IMO, and I'd love to have some myself lol.

Some cool big fish are :
Oscars
Severums
Jack Dempsey??
Types of sharks I might guess as well, like Bala sharks maybe? I dont know much about the big fishies, I only listed a few i know of. Theres many different colour variants on both oscars and severums.

And if the tank comes with a stand, great! Did they try it out though? I'm worried as well about weight, make sure and check that out too...big big mess if something went wrong, lol.
Keep askin questions, its quite interesting to hear about such a big tank, and you should post up a photo diary in the Pictures forum, once things get going, that would be great. good luck

 

[logan89]

Thanks for the info!

Yah, i'll definatly get pictures up as soon as I get the tank to my house...though it will be dirty and dusty and ugly...it will make for good before/after comparisons down the road.

How do I test the stand SAFELY? I really don't know how to tell if it would support the filled tank or not, and no they haven't tested it because the tank/stand has never been used before.

Also, when I see a fish for sale online, it says the minumum tank size, how do I add that up? Like, how do I know what all I could fit in my tank before it's overstocked before I actually get the fish? This is just out of curiosity, because I won't actaully have fish in my tank for awhile because #1. I don't have the money to get the really expensive equipment for my huge tank Let alone decorations, FISH, food, and additives. #2. Well there is no number 2, #1 is about the only problem I have, money (being a semi-jobless teenager isn't helping at all.)

Thanks for the links oppositearmor, got some good ideas from there.

I'll post again later.

Again, thanks for all your help so far guys!

 

[afireinside]

oh, for the tank size, that's what size the fish like, not per fish. so anything under 250 gallon is acceptable, cept you can only have around 250 inches of fish.

 

[Squishiebabe]

Lol, i agree,...I'm squeezing for a 30gallon, Money is really hard to make and keep around here man, and aquariums arent for the, uh, pennyless lol (unless its like me, pennyless AFTER aquariums)

I'\m pretty sure you wont get an overstocking problem lol, but general rule is 1inch of fish, per gallon, but dont think you can get 250 1 inch fish now, lol.
I have no clue how to test it safely, maybe ask in the hardware section, or your fish store?

 

[afireinside]

oh ya, and i also recromend cycling ur tank when u set it up.

 

[vantgE]

I like the cold water tank idea, do tell some more advantages if you would.

No heater,

If you want disadvantages there isn't alot of selection, you could get a goldfish tank, or a whitecloud, weather loach, danio tank, or possibly a native tank.

Also, the tank i'm getting comes with a big untreated wooden stand (with 2 cabinets below) and some equipment which is crap by now...been crushed under boxes and things they have stacked ontop of them, and chewed up by their dogs. So, is $500 still not a very good deal?

It sounds somewhat salvegeable, and I assume if it has a light setup then it's definately the way to go IMO, these tend to be very expensive (was 85 dollars to add a lighting fixture to my 20 gallon tank). But invest in a new dependable filter at the least then use whatever you can. Though it still isn't a great deal maybe you could bring em down a little,

What about plants?

They should work in most any tank (but not with certain fish), if your planning to go heavily planted it would be worth it to ask questions in the planted section of the forum below it can definately get a bit technical.

Also, i'm hearing alot about plecos and angel fish, what would be good tank mates for fish of that sort?

dwarf cichlids, (Don't know for sure but look into, rams, apisto's, and cockatoos)
Large tetra's
cory cats
and just a guess I know nothing about these but guarmi's

What are some, like, REALLY big aquarium fish...just out of curiosity.

Don't just be curious this is definately an option and what I would definately do
Arrowana
Fahaka puffer
Big catfish such as shovelnose
Frontosa
Central american cichlids I think like midas, oscar, jaguar

Should I go for salt or fresh? Do they have equal and opposite advantages/disadvantages, or what's the main diffrences?

Saltwatter is very complicated and very expensive for a tank that size have nearly a 5000 dollar budget, definately not for a begginer

How do I test the stand SAFELY? I really don't know how to tell if it would support the filled tank or not, and no they haven't tested it because the tank/stand has never been used before.

If it looks like it's made for an aquarium, and your fit's on it it should work if you are worried you'll have to look into get into another one.

how do I know what all I could fit in my tank before it's overstocked before I actually get the fish?

This is a very personal question. The answer affected by decorations, filtration, and the specific types and amounts other fish in the tank

I don't have the money to get the really expensive equipment for my huge tank angry.gif Let alone decorations, FISH, food, and additives.

MAybe give us a complete list of reliable working equipment, for an estimate there. And if your intrested I think the cheapest stocking would be with a few common South american cichlids, these can live healthy almost purely on cheap cichlid pellets, maybe $10 dollars a month, and watter conditioner $5 a month. Very rough estimate, most likely a little low on the food and slightly high on the conditioner

 

[platyfreek]

LUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!! My dad just bought me a 50 gallon tank- iwanted an 80 If I were you I would have a big ole' school of neontetras or somethin or several balas sharks - I love balas sharks.

 

[logan89]

Thanks for taking the time to answer all that vantge.

I'm gonna sleep, but from 4 hours worth of straight research, i've definatly learned alot about maintaining tanks and fishless cycling. However, i'm still very uneducated on fish themselves. I don't have a nice LFS anywhere close to me as far as I know. Just some dinky store (Pet Supplies Plus) and they just have like guppies and neons and small red bellied piranahs, goldfish and things of that nature, I want exotics. You guys know where I can read up on them online without getting TOO technical? I mean I need to get a general idea of what the matured fish look like since generally they differ so much in appearance from babies to fully grown fish, and all I can find are pictures of the smaller fish. I could probably come across a good site after looking forever but I figured you guys knew the best places right off hand...


Thanks,

-Logan