So in many cases bigger is better.
Having had fish for over 30 years, I enjoy incorporating smaller tanks into larger tanks. To be honest when I first started out I didn't have that option financially. However once I was able to afford large tanks; either by buying new or buying used, I find the maintenance overall is easier on a larger tank.
Having a larger tank also has led me to get some larger fish/eels and is also left me in the need and desire for incorporating my fish into a larger tank (those bumblebee Oscars are getting big!)
Now the cons of a larger tank is of course the price, but a larger tank also comes with a larger weight/profile. Many people are unable to keep a larger tank simply because they don't have the manpower to get it into a basement, a large enough staircase, and because there's nowhere else in the house that is structurally sound for something larger, say 210, 250, 280 and above.
I have had a couple of acrylic tanks and they both have left me disappointed. The first one that we had was used, it was a 75- 80 gallon tank that we traded for one of our glass 75 tanks. It failed and popped a seam within 7 months.
More recently I had purchased a new 120 gallon acrylic tank and for some reason it popped at the bottom after less than a year of use.
I currently have a 60 gallon, 120 gallon, and 125 gallon that I would like to rearrange and incorporate some of the fish from the three tanks into a larger tank and the 125 gallon tank, possibly getting rid of the 120 gallon glass tank entirely.
When I say a large tank I'm talking something like 220g and above, which are a ridiculous amount of money, not to mention that I would need to hire movers to get it into the basement as I don't have enough gentleman friends to help me take it out of whatever truck I'd have to run to move it from the store to my home and then down the stairs into the basement.
In this area anyone selling a tank that size used believe that they should be getting their money spent out of it and charge almost as much as a new tank would be. Not sure why as I could find listings for other states that are more reasonable like a dollar per gallon and below for the tank.
I have hooked my sister up into this hobby as well and she recommended possibly building a plywood tank, and showed me this gentleman's video. He is a member of the Chicago cichlid society so he is someone local and built this I believe back in 2024 or 2023, so relatively recently. This is the last video on the series (if you would like to see it in its entirety you can use the link I provided below and go back to find his first I think one out of four videos as he built this.)
If you could would you use this method to build a tank for yourself, of course it doesn't have to be 500 gallons like he built, but something similar?
Having had fish for over 30 years, I enjoy incorporating smaller tanks into larger tanks. To be honest when I first started out I didn't have that option financially. However once I was able to afford large tanks; either by buying new or buying used, I find the maintenance overall is easier on a larger tank.
Having a larger tank also has led me to get some larger fish/eels and is also left me in the need and desire for incorporating my fish into a larger tank (those bumblebee Oscars are getting big!)
Now the cons of a larger tank is of course the price, but a larger tank also comes with a larger weight/profile. Many people are unable to keep a larger tank simply because they don't have the manpower to get it into a basement, a large enough staircase, and because there's nowhere else in the house that is structurally sound for something larger, say 210, 250, 280 and above.
I have had a couple of acrylic tanks and they both have left me disappointed. The first one that we had was used, it was a 75- 80 gallon tank that we traded for one of our glass 75 tanks. It failed and popped a seam within 7 months.
More recently I had purchased a new 120 gallon acrylic tank and for some reason it popped at the bottom after less than a year of use.
I currently have a 60 gallon, 120 gallon, and 125 gallon that I would like to rearrange and incorporate some of the fish from the three tanks into a larger tank and the 125 gallon tank, possibly getting rid of the 120 gallon glass tank entirely.
When I say a large tank I'm talking something like 220g and above, which are a ridiculous amount of money, not to mention that I would need to hire movers to get it into the basement as I don't have enough gentleman friends to help me take it out of whatever truck I'd have to run to move it from the store to my home and then down the stairs into the basement.
In this area anyone selling a tank that size used believe that they should be getting their money spent out of it and charge almost as much as a new tank would be. Not sure why as I could find listings for other states that are more reasonable like a dollar per gallon and below for the tank.
I have hooked my sister up into this hobby as well and she recommended possibly building a plywood tank, and showed me this gentleman's video. He is a member of the Chicago cichlid society so he is someone local and built this I believe back in 2024 or 2023, so relatively recently. This is the last video on the series (if you would like to see it in its entirety you can use the link I provided below and go back to find his first I think one out of four videos as he built this.)
If you could would you use this method to build a tank for yourself, of course it doesn't have to be 500 gallons like he built, but something similar?
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