Finished My New Coldwater Tank....

[big mick]

My wifes 96ltr coldwater tank was getting far too over crowded so i took it upon myself to upgrade it to a new 240 ltr while she was at work, it was a big job but now that its finished Im chuffed as muck with it.

Here it is before, the plants are all fake as the fish just eat them, it was nice but like I said way too over crowded.

I bought a 240ltr and attached an expensive but great looking rock background, it silicons to the back of the tank and cost £60 but nothing is too good for my wife

I decided to go with a sand bottom, stick with the fake plants (apart from a few onion bulbs which they dont eat) and a nice natural wood look. I added an air pump feature which i think sets it off nicely and a warm glow bulb at the front to bring out the orange colour in her fish. Its still a little cloudy and i'll update this thread with a new picture once its cleared completely but see what you think...

Full tank shot

Air pump feature....not usually a fan of air pumps but Im quite pleased with this one...

Happy fish...

She has two dojo loaches who are having the time of their lives in the sand. The four shubunkins will be going into a pond when they get too big but its better than them all being cooped up in a 96ltr but to be fair to her they were all small when she got them.

 

[flumpit2]

hi big mick,wow...what else can i say!!!that new tank youv done is lovely!!!wish i had room for such a big tank in my house.im sure your wife will love it!wish my fella would do sumut like that for me!!!! x

 

[big mick]

Funny thing is we dont really have room for it, we have the 240 ltr coldwater tank, a 300 ltr tropical and a 100 ltr lobster tank all in the livingroom, a 30 ltr red bellied newt tank in the spare room and a 30 ltr tetra tank in the bedroom with white skirt tetra and diamond tetras in.

We are getting a 400 ltr tank for the spare room once we get the new carpet to move my catfish into from the tropical tank and putting the teras and the newts into the 96 ltr Judes colwater fish used to be in along with the tetras for the4 bedroom again when we get the new carpets.

Its more a case of MAKING room rather than having room.

Thanks for ther comments though, Im rather pleased with it (as you can tell)

 

[black angel]

I think its stunning and I love the backdrop. Can i ask how much it was as I have a 240 litre tank and would love that backing to it.
Beautiful fish as well.

 

[big mick]

The backing was bought from http/www.juwel.co.uk/shop/index.html?lan...&target=d1.html
scroll down to the Rock 600 back ground, it took 2 of them to cover the back costing £60 (it cuts to fit perfectly very easily) and although it may seem expensive to some its well worth it in my opinion.

It silcons to the back so you'd need to start with an empty tank but if you're setting one up Id recommend it.

 

[flumpit2]

i know,if i get rid of the two kids and all there toys id have plenty of room for loads of big tanks instead of just the little 54L and the little cory fry tank that are in the kitchen,lol!!!seriously tho,i would love a tank in the living room but do you not find it a pain when you have to do water changes etc (water going on the carpet etc & keep having to trapse into the kitchen).is there an easier way to do it?im trying to get all the answers b4 i approach my hubby about it so i can answer his questions and talk him round!!!do love your new tank,im so jealous! x

 

[big mick]

We have a total of 640ltrs of water in our livingroom spread over 3 tanks, my wife wasnt into fish when we first bought a house together and I was allowed one tank....that was when I got the 96ltr. here we are 12 months later and not only do i have a total of 4 tanks myself dotted about she has her own (the 240ltr coldwater)

I quite enjoy doing the water changes and they dont take long to do, I just have a blanket i put on the floor to catch any drips and use a plastic bowl to take the water out the tanks and fill plastic buckets. I can water change all tanks inside 2 hours without spilling a drop and when im done the blanket goes down the side of my tropical tank andf the buckets and bowl are stored in the cabinet under my 300ltr.

The trick is not to ASK your partner if you can have a new tank......simply TELL him you want a new tank. Im sure women can purswade men easier then men can perswade women.

I think a well set out aquarium makes a real centerpice of any room, especially a livingroom where you spend alot of time with your family and also when you have friends round. Our friends spend more time looking at the fish when they come up than they do talking to us, its like sea world to them and funny enough most of them now have tanks of their own since coming up.

Its not like an buying a new sofa its a little world you are creating which you have total control of, thats what facinates me so much about fish, just seeing them everyday going about their business and envying them, they dont have to go to work, they dont pay council tax and they dont have to concern themselves with rising energy prices.....they just swim about as happy as you like without a care in the world.

 

[Judmacaroni]

The trick is not to ASK your partner if you can have a new tank......simply TELL him you want a new tank. Im sure women can purswade men easier then men can perswade women.

Yes well it was put to me as "i got you a present!"

I didnt have much choice in the matter however I would like to point out I am a lot more sympathetic than other partners would have been and he doesnt realise how lucky he is! But I'll get my own back when I get enuff money to have my horses again!!!!



I will say that the tanks look great in the house and it is a major focal point every flat surface in the living room has a tank on it! I just keep worrying about when we move house! It's going to be a nightmare!

 

[big mick]

I will say that the tanks look great in the house and it is a major focal point every flat surface in the living room has a tank on it! I just keep worrying about when we move house! It's going to be a nightmare!

That is very true, when we move house it is going to be a big job, we would need to have a weeks over lap so that we can get the tanks in, assuming we dont need to decorate where the tanks are going.....which we probably will....




.....Im not even going to think about the hassle of moving house (since it wont be for a couple of years anyway), I'll just enjoy the tanks till I need to worry about it.

.....after we get the 400ltr tank that really has to be the last one though!

 

[england]

very nice tank mate........................just to say also my paradise fish are fine,,,,,,,,no fighting at all.....gr8 to watch

 

[big mick]

Cheers mate, glad your paradise fish are okay, they are stunning fish. Like I said Ive never kept them myself but I used to work in a pet shop many moons ago and people used to bring them back all the time saying they had just battered their other fish (no pun intended )

 

[WILDER]

Beautiful tank well done.

 

[england]

no worries m8......................advice is allways welcome......................... ..................just so far ive been lucky,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but my other two fish are probally like sharks to them,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,every so often when the big1s swim over they look up like what is that,,,,,,,,,

 

[big mick]

Thanks Wilder, Im pretty chuffed with it and so are the fish......especially the two dojo loaches, they love the sand for buryinging themselves and Ive never seen them so active....they are all over the place ande out way more than usual.

And they still have their coconut house so they're happy

no worries m8......................advice is allways welcome......................... ..................just so far ive been lucky,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but my other two fish are probally like sharks to them,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,every so often when the big1s swim over they look up like what is that,,,,,,,,,

Some fish are different, if your other fish are a good bit bigger they will probably get on fine, the albino paradise fish are really nice too.

 

[coolskelto]

The tank looks brilliant, I'm very jealous and now have a huge urge to spend some money on tank decor. Where did you get your natural wood?