Big Tank - Free Tank

[kakihara]

Hi

I am hopefully going to be getting my hands on a free (and hopefully not leaking) 4 foot fish tank, which is residing out the back garden of a work colleagues mothers house (if you get me) for I don't know how long.

My question is this, the tank is completely bare, it is basically just the tank and its stand, it hasn't even got a lid.

What would I need to buy in order to set it up, do I have to have a different type of filter (i.e. undergravel) and would the size of the tank be more suitable for coldwater or tropical fish?

What would any of you guys do in this situation?

I'm open to all avenues



K

 

[Clairel]

I dont think undergravel filters are much good....

I would go for a really good heater, and filter.... Get a lid with the appropriate lighting etc......

Make sure its water tight too, fill it up, and watch for leaks, as its been sat outside for some time, you may need to re-seal it?

It would make a lovely Tropical set up....

You could have sand, a few rocks/pebbles, plants etc..

And of course fish once its cycled lol

Claire x

 

[trace1]

think the best thing you can do is see what sort of tank it is & how easy it would be to get a lid of something for it, a tank that size would be better with an external filter thats what i have on my 4 ft tank & really the choice is yours when deciding whats going in it. personally i would have it as a tropical tank

 

[rdd1952]

If it's a standard 4' tank, it should be easy to find a lid for it. Basically, you will need the lid, lights (the type depends on whether you intend to have live plants or not), heaters (plural as it is generally better to have one on each end of a large tank) and filters (again plural, see heater reference). I would suggest buying these online if at all possible as hardware is much cheaper that way.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, I'd get a hood with a minimum of 4 flourescent fixtures, if you cand find one with more, do it. Dont skimp on light cause if you ever want to add real plants you'll be sorry you did Then, I'd get a canister filter suitable for your tank size in gallons. there's a few calculators in the stickies at the top of this forum for tank size. you enter lengthxwidthxheight and it'll tell you your size, or alternatively you could post the dimensions here and someone could prolly figure it out for you. with a tank of that size an undergravel or hang on back filter wouldnt be very suitable, canister is the way to go. As for heater, prolly a 300 watt would heat a tank of that size pretty well.

Substrate could be gravel or sand. if you want some bottom feeders you'll have to look at smooth gravel or sand, otherwise just about any colored substrate will do. sand should be less than 2" thick, and gravel can be more if you like. Also consider any decorations you'd like to add; live or fake plants and perhaps some driftwood...