Retirees' 300-gallon adventure

[pondholler]

We've been posting on the "Introduce Yourself" section about our mission to revive the 300-gallon aquarium we built into our living room wall 20+ years ago. We managed to keep it going for several years and then Life intervened, the tank failed, and we didn't have the time/energy/$$$ to revive it at the time. Now we're retired and on a mission to get the old tank going again. So far, so good. All the equipment came back to life with new bulbs in the hood and hoses to the filter and pumps. The pumps coughed and sputtered a bit (turns out they were air-locked) but now have water flowing in and out of the tank just fine. We have the substrate (creek gravel), rocks and driftwood in, as well as some plants and WATER. And this morning, after testing the tap water from our spring, I added the first dose of ammonia for fishless cycling. We are very excited and can't wait until the plants grow a bit, the water is cycled and it is time to add a few fish. For now, I'll just share a couple of photos. The pic on top is the view from our living room and the one on the bottom is the view from the bedroom. There are several Native American artifacts (from our farm) in both views. Can you find them?

 

[10 Tanks]

Nice to see a larger tank. I keep them too. Have a 300 gallon myself with 15 fairly large Goldfish. Used rocks and driftwood from the local wooded areas to decorate. No filtration, just large weekly water changes. Keeping everything very simple. As a retiree myself, I find simple is better. Nothing much to remember. Had some fry a couple of years ago and they're growing nicely. Have fun and keep me posted.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Freshyfishy]

Whoaaa! Can't wait to see some fish in there! What an awesome scape! How many lbs of creek gravel did you use?

 

[Back in the fold]

@10 Tanks I totally agree. Keep it simple.

 

[Freshyfishy]

why 15 goldfish in 300gallons when you could have hundreds of mollies/guppies..

 

[Back in the fold]

why 15 goldfish in 300gallons when you could have hundreds of mollies/guppies..

Because certain fish show best in big aquariums. People tend to overlook Goldfish but they can be very beautiful.

 

[Freshyfishy]

I like some ranchus... and some orandas. but guppies have more variety.

 

[Back in the fold]

I like some ranchus... and some orandas. but guppies have more variety.

You are a perfect candidate for many aquariums.

 

[Freshyfishy]

huh?

 

[10 Tanks]

why 15 goldfish in 300 gallons when you could have hundreds of mollies/guppies..

Hello Freshy. Have smaller tanks for the smaller fish. Like the Goldfish, some are the size of your hand from wrist to the tips of your fingers. Very hardy and they'll live longer than several generations of Guppies and Mollies.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Fishmanic]

Our May Tank of the Month contest will be for tanks sized at 31 gallons and larger. It sure would be nice to see a couple of 300 gallon tanks entered in that contest.