Pimpest tank ever....if you could help pls.

[FishHottieWithaBody]

Hey everybody! Just found this site and had to join! Anyway me and my roomie are really big into fish. We currently have 2, 10 gallon tanks with just little things in them. We want to make the big leap to a 55 gallon tank. We have been doing lots of research and we still have some questions and since sales people suck thought i come to u Okay we want to get this 55 gallon tank that comes with stand and hood for 210 dollars(is that a good deal, if not pls give me some ideas, o yea we are broke college kids)
Next we planned on getting monos and scats, do u think that would work out well and what is a good number of each to get. We really want to use sand instead of rocks as a substrate. We dont plan on having and live plants or anything. Penguine 400 as our filter. (do u think we need a power head). Thank you very much for all your help. Pls feel free to comment on anything esp stuff that i may have left out. Thank you fellow fish keeps

 

[Mr Miagi]

Congrats! Im a uni student too, and broke of course!

As for your tank, $210 sounds good! Tank+Hood+Cabinet=BARGAIN Lol.

I dont think you will need a power head in a 55. The filter should be fine alone.

As for the fish, not my area exactly, so ill leave that one up too someone else.

to the fishforums, and i hope all your questions are answered! have fun!

EDIT oh yeah i almost forgot, sand is the bomb. Always use it!

 

[digital_run]

210 bucks for a 55gal tank/stand is a good deal where im from...You could go with either HOB ( hang on back ) filters or canister...your prefrence..Sand id definately the way to go...i have tanks with sand and gravel and the sand tank is by far much more natural looking and easier to clean IMO...Good luck with it!

 

[FishHottieWithaBody]

Thanks for the quick responses guys. My roomie and i are currently on our spring break and the tank is for sale at the lfs back at our college so we are gonna pick it up sunday when we return to school. We know that we really like the monos and scats and that they are brackish, but i also like the black ghost knife and after seeing a large fire eel at my lfs here i have become obsessed. Im not sure if these would be compatible or not, but seeing as how our plan would be to buy all of these fish in their younger smaller form and if they grow up together we were thinking it might work, any advice is again greatly appreciated. Thanks, and keep those tanks rockin out.

 

[Eelzor]

Just a comment on the purchases of the Mono's and Scat's - As you have already pointed out, although these are freshwater fish as juviniles, as they age they really should be in a brackish tank. I'd steer clear of them for now - just focus on freshwater, as you mentioned your broke (like me ), so best to just keep it simple.

Black ghost knives and fire eels are fine choices for freshwater tanks but the fire eel may unforuntaly grow too big as they can reach several feet in length. Perhaps you could buy it, but you would have to return it or trade it in for soething else at a later date when it gets too big. I have 2 black ghost knives of my own in my 50 gallon and I must say they are a nice fish indeed.

If you have any more questions on compatibility or tank stuff, just post here, I'm all ears.

 

[Blue Lobster]

I think you can find a better deal on a used "complete' setup. This way you don't need to buy all those expensive little extras like gravel, a heater, nets, plants, rocks etc.

If you comb the classifieds online and/or in your local newspaper you might find a setup in your area dirt cheap.

For example.

http/cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...4366089433&rd=1
http/cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...4366036490&rd=1

Road trips for cheap tanks are worth it. Got my 110 setup for $250.

 

[cometcattle]

I paid $99.00 for my 55g at Petsmart. I then paid $79.00 for a basic metal stand at a Fish store. I'm in Chicago. The next tank I buy, I'll buy used. You can get a great deal (especially at the end of the month when people are moving, and desperate).

Garage sales, craigslist.com are good places to start.

Personally, I'd ditch the brackish idea, and go with cichlids, but thats just me.


BTW - you're a Boiler, eh? Much cooler campus than Illinois. The bars close way too early in Champagne.
Go Ugly Early!

 

[FishHottieWithaBody]

Goodmorning everyone and thanks again for the ideas. Some of the items we would require for our tank we have already found online cheaper such as heaters, and filters. It is partially convinance at this point because we have been using ebay and local adds and have not found a tank close enough to us to make it any cheaper. Also we already have some fish tanks in the apartment so things like nets. We plan to continue our search on ebay and any classifieds we can get our hands on, but the problem then is the tank at our lfs is only on sale till the end of the month. Again thanks for telling me i could have the fire eel with the monos or scats and it would be ok, that made my day. We will perhaps rethink the whole brackish idea, although i did have a tank as a kid that i know i had to add salt to because the pet store lady told me to so i kinda have some experience with it. We have looked at ciclids but perhaps we need to one more. Thanks Again.

 

[CTS]

$210 for a 55Gal.....You must live in the states. Here in Canada that setup would cost $500 at least. Also gotta say that i love the profile Pic

 

[Blue Lobster]

$210 for a 55Gal.....You must live in the states. Here in Canada that setup would cost $500 at least. Also gotta say that i love the profile Pic

Yeah but that's that funny Canadian money, it all evens out.

 

[CTS]

$210 for a 55Gal.....You must live in the states. Here in Canada that setup would cost $500 at least. Also gotta say that i love the profile Pic

Yeah but that's that funny Canadian money, it all evens out.

hahahaaha

 

[FishHottieWithaBody]

Hey everyone thanks for advice, today me and some friends went to shedd aquarium in Chicago, it was an awesome time. So many new ideas now. Although they did have a huge tank there of monos and scats which was awesome. Also they had some really really sweet fire eels, i saw them like three times.

Another question: Does anyone know where we could perhaps locate cheap lava rock, or other good rock for decorating aquariums?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

actually, i'm pretty positive that fire eels would not be compatible with any brackish fish because fire eels are scale-less fish. very few scaleless fish can be kept in water with any salt.

it isn't required to put salt in your aquarium water and there are many fish that cannot handle it. most catfish are salt intolerant and the aforementioned scale-less fish.

i suggest that if you have your hearts set on a brackish set-up, you go look in the Brackish forum at the pinned list of common brackish fish. if you really want a ghost knife or fire eel, go take a look in oddballs. there's been quite a lot of discussion on how to best keep BGK lately; you're bound to find the info you're looking for.

best of luck and welcome!

 

[vantgE]

Hey everyone thanks for advice, today me and some friends went to shedd aquarium in Chicago, it was an awesome time. So many new ideas now. Although they did have a huge tank there of monos and scats which was awesome. Also they had some really really sweet fire eels, i saw them like three times.

Another question: Does anyone know where we could perhaps locate cheap lava rock, or other good rock for decorating aquariums?

On the ground, peoples gardens , construction sites where a basement has been dug out, near a lake or river, then just brinng them home rinse them of scrub them with a potato scrubber soak them for a few days change the watter soak them for another day, scrub them with a wire brush soak them in bleach for a couple hours, rinse them good let them dry for a few days rinse them let em dry completey and then boil them and stick em in the tank.
That's what I did except with the garden I never do anything bad

ps it's more fun than it sounds and that's the long way you could jus do half of that,
and IMO sands hard to clean and get's everywhere only get it if your ging for mbuna or something that likes to dig, you should check out mbuna before decideing on a brackish tank for sure, and that's a good deal the most expensive part of setting up a tank is the hood and stand if that's included at competitive cost youv'e got a good deal,


have a sexy screenname and you'l get lot's of replies

 

[FishHottieWithaBody]

I was browsing the brackish forum and i realized that fire eels are actually listed on the brackish fish list as a common one, how i missed this i do not know. If anyone else could confirm this that would be great. Also i still believe that it is possible for the monos and scats to live in total freshwater. I have been reading tons of different forums and scientific websites and to me it seems they are basically capable of adapting to whatever you put them in at a young age. After we get the tank set up next week and cycled we will have to see what we decide but i think maybe im just a stubborn ass it seems to me they will be ok in frest water. I hope a fire eel foes well with them and a black ghost knife, either way one day i will have those two fish in a tank, i cant get over how beautiful they are. Again any help or advice that can be offered is appreciated. Thanks.