Sixty Gallon Journal

[gwand]

Entry #1
I have been thinking about this for a few months and finally decided to build a 60 gallon aquarium dedicated to West African Cichlids. I purchased an Aqueon tank measuring 48.5 inches in width times 16 inches in height times 18.5 inches in length. It holds 60 gallons of water. The tank was on sale for $99 at Petco. They report that it’s a 50% savings. I will pick up the tank in an hour and tomorrow I will test it for any leaks.

 

[gwand]

Entry #2
The only place were the new 4 foot long 60 gallon tank will fit is where my current 20 gallon long livebearer tank and 5 gallon shrimp tank sit on a desk side-by-side. I am going to move the 20 gallon and 5 gallon tanks to across the room. But in order to do this, I will first have to move my hospital tank out of the way of where the two tanks will be going. So the hospital tank will be moved into the kitchen where I have a 10 gallon tank. They will share the same stand one above and one below. The next step is I ordered an aquarium stand from wayfarer that will house the 20 gallon long and the 5 gallon tank. The new stand will arrive in about a week, and I will piece it together since it comes unassembled. Once the new aquarium stand is assembled, I will go through the delicate process of transferring the 20 gallon long and 5 gallon tank onto the new stand. Once that is accomplished, I will then have a large space freed up that will accommodate the 4 foot long new tank. Oh boy, musical tanks.

 

[MaloK]

That's quite a project...

 

[gwand]

That's quite a project...

Indeed. What makes it more complicated is that my wife is not enthusiastic to say the least about my hobby.

 

[ClownLurch]

Your tank prices over there are bargains compared to ours even at full price.
A 2 year old Ferrari costs the same as as a 60G tank over here. Then there’s the lid at the cost of a low mileage Series 3 BMW Convertible that’s still under warranty…….inc a full tank of petrol and fancy satnav/stereo.
It’s outrageous I tell you.

 

[Sparx]

Your tank prices over there are bargains compared to ours even at full price.
A 2 year old Ferrari costs the same as as a 60G tank over here. Then there’s the lid at the cost of a low mileage Series 3 BMW Convertible that’s still under warranty…….inc a full tank of petrol and fancy satnav/stereo.
It’s outrageous I tell you.

A little exaggeration but no you’re not wrong about how expensive they are.

Just as an example, I’ve just looked up the prices of 288 litre aquarium from my LFS, (76 gallon - closest I could find) which range from £639.99 up to £1139.99. This does include the stand/cabinet for it to sit on, but still. $99-$200 for a 60g is a frikkin’ steal!

This is probably why a lot of us over in the UK have small tanks…

Good luck with the musical tanks though! How will you move them? I assume you’ll need to drain them first?

 

[gwand]

I am going to drain each tank by about 75%. I will place those little fuzzy things under the legs of the new aquarium stand to make it easy to move. I will push the new aquarium stand right next to the aquarium stand with the tank. I will then slide the tank from one stand to the other stand. With those little fuzzy things under each leg of the new stand it’ll be easy to push the new stand and tank across the room to its new location.

 

[gwand]

Entry #3
I originally thought about making an East African cichlid tank, mostly from lake Malawi. But my very good friend has several such tanks and I thought it would be more fun for me to have something different than his so we could compare notes. In addition The lake Malawi cichlids like GH around 350ppm. My water GH is 200 ppm.
After much review I think I will first stock my tank with 3 male/female pairs of Anomalochromis thomasi, the butterfly Cichlid. This little guy comes from Nigeria and Cameroon. If all goes well I will add 3 mating pairs of Pelvicachromis subocellatus down the road. These guys are found in Nigeria, Gabon, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. It will be many weeks before the tank is ready for fish. I will take my time aquascaping with plenty of rock caves and some plants to reduce potential aggression. The rocks will sit on a sandy floor. I purchased egg crates to place underneath the sand to protect the glass bottom from the rocks. Well that’s the plan. Let see how much I deviate from this strategy in the coming weeks.

 

[gwand]

Entry #4
The 60 gallon tank arrived today.

 

[Fishfunn]

Entry #4
The 60 gallon tank arrived today.

View attachment 346125

Does it have the same footprint of a 75 gallon tank? I think its close, 75 (48.5 x 18.5 x 21.25) vs. 60 (48.375 x 12.875 x 23.875). So the stand you get could be large enough to handle both.
reference: http://aquanswers.com/fish-tank-dimensions-sizes/#large_standard_aquariums

so you could use your stand for a 75-gallon tank if you ever wanted to upgrade.

 

[gwand]

No. My Footprint 48.5x18.5x13H. I have a rock solid desk that will serve as a stand. My wife would kill me if I upgraded yet again.

 

[Fishfunn]

No. My Footprint 48.5x18.5x13H. I have a rock solid desk that will serve as a stand. My wife would kill me if I upgraded yet again.

Footprint means length and width, which are the same for both. With a 75, you get 5.5 inches higher (18.5 vs. 13). No disrespect at all, but 75 has the perfect depth for growing plants, easy maintenance, breeding, viewing the fish, and more depth to swim vertically.
Petco has sales on these all the time, too, and would take exchanges.

Just my friendly input and preference developed over the years if I were to buy a 4-foot-long tank.

60 gallons is a nice tank.

 

[CassCats]

Entry #4
The 60 gallon tank arrived today.

View attachment 346125

That's a fantastic shape to work with! I love a nice low style tank, shame they're not very common here or I'd have swapped all of my 55 gallons for the same you got. These are fantastic for working some wood exposed out of the top and doing emergent plants with.

 

[gwand]

Entry #5
I have a dilemma. I was all set on Anomalochromis thomasi and Pelvicachromas subocellatus but then I saw Apistogramma borelli and fell in love. @gary has provided me with vital information on a. Borelli including potential tank mates. Well I have many weeks to decide. My tank will not be set up and cycled anytime soon.

I have a second dilemma. This one is technical. My well water has a nitrate level of 28 ppm. My fish in existing tanks are doing very well 18 months into the hobby with only one loss out of 30 or so live stock. However I am looking into a nitrate filter I can install under the sink I use to python my water into tanks.

 

[MaloK]

This might help ?!

Removing Nitrate from Potable and Groundwater Systems