Setting Up A Tank

[millie1]

ive been researching setting up a tropical tank.... and a few things are unanswered - so i thought you guys would give me straight answers!!!

cycling.... this has to be done for tropical fish?? - this mean the 6 weeks of tesing etc... or with this do you just rung the filter/heater for a week??? (i assume you cycle it but asking anyhow) lol!

im liking the aggressive fish,,,, sharks etc....

can the silver shark and red tail black shark be kept together?
if not which sharks can be??

and from your experiences which are the best tank mates for those sharks?

im not on about how much room i have just what goes wth that??

thanks

 

[millie1]

*bump*

 

[spesh]

Alot depends on the size of tank.

If its smallish and you like aggressive/active fish then you cant go too far wrong with tiger barbs. I have some in my 125L that pretty much never stop chasing each other around. The only time they do is when either of the ropefish come out or the red tail stamps his authority on the tank

 

[millie1]

im thinking 4 foot +

and at least 2 foot high (can you get the higher ive not coem across the yet??)

and 18 inches depth (the unit ive got isnt to deep )

i went to the pet shop today to get some stuff for my now fish n he said it isnt too diff from tropical to colwater except the heater etc.... n he said that they would test the water etc for me..... gotta start somewhere

like i said to him - im researching now this will take months to do properly

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hi there, welcome to the forum

yup you need to cycle the tank for tropical fish, we recommend cycling without fish as it doesn't put any fish at risk, the traditional method is to cycle using fish.

If you read the two links in my sig 'whats cycling' and 'fishless cycling' this should explain more about the process, post back with any questions once you've read them.

The other links in my sig will also be of some use to you so as you're doing research have a good read through as many of them as you can, also hop over to the new to the hobby forum and pick up the pinned topics there to read through

There's a wealth of great info on this site so just nose around, read as much as you can and don't be afraid of asking questions.

if you get a tank that's 4 foot long, 18 inches deep and 2 foot tall then you'll be looking at around 90 gallons, that's a really decent sized tank and would mean you can certainly have some or the largeish agressive fish that you like.

Unfortunately it's a bit small for the silver sharks, they get to 16" and they need to be in a group of 6+ so you need a tank that's a bit bigger (depth and length, not height unfortunately!) to house them satisfactorily. But you could certainly get the RTBS.

I'd look into New World cichlids if I was you, I think you'd like their personalities, they're boisterous/agressive with each other but friendly with people (most of the time) and they get to a decent size.

 

[millie1]

thank you

iwould love abigger tank but i only have that unit -which i cant get rid off....


thanks for the info!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

can you describe the unit to us a bit, remember that every litre of water weighs 1 kg, so a tank that sort of size will weigh around 350 kilos, thats just the water not counting the glass, equipment, decor etc etc etc.

the unit will need to be very strong to hold that sort of weight.

 

[millie1]

well i wanted the tank in my room - so the unit is what is my draws - they can hold 2 of me (9 stone) easily - we have tried lol!
(me n friend)

i couldnt move the units on my own....

that any help?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

is that upstairs then?

if so i would advise you to consult a structural engineer before putting a big tank up there.

I work for an engineering consultancy and my other half is a builder so I know a little about the construction/engineering trade. Houses are not always designed to take solid loads of this sort in one place all the time, i know people say i have a bath or me and my friend can stand there and we weigh the same, but firstly floors under baths are re-inforced (so you shouldn't move them without checking it first) and secondly the effects on a building of a temporary load are different to a continuous load.

Then throw into the equation that unless you're qualified to do so then you can't guage the condition of the house, there could be a structural fault with the beams under where the tanks gonna go or soemthing like that which you just wouldn't spot.

This basically means that every house is different and no one can tell you for sure if that load would bring the house down or not. Now hiring a structural engineer may sound like a v expensive thing, but measure that against the cost of repairs if the tank did go through the ceiling and that's your correct perspective!!

I would certainly be dubious about putting a 90 gallon tank upstairs.

 

[millie1]

ok fair enough lol!!! i really hadnt though of the weight so thank you....

dont want to make the floor fall through lol!!!

i dont mind having a smaller/tank/fish - for starters - everyone has to start somewhere right???

having given you the info that i have - what sort of tank would be safe???

for now - i cant put one downstairs unless i get rid of my mums unit which to be honest isnt worth the trouble(she'd kill me!)

so the fish have to stay upstairs...... smaller tanks is fine - i was just thinking of giving them the best size tank i could

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah i appreciate that you want to provide the optimum environment, and bigger is usually better!

I was just wondering at what point we can say it's safe to put it upstairs without getting a professional in to ask about it, I honestly don't know where you would draw the line.

Luckily we have a discussion forum at my work so I've posted a question up to that effect, I'll let you know what some qualified structural engineers say on the subject shortly

 

[BigIan]

a 4`x18 x 1 foot would obviously half the weight.....
and should be acceptable upstairs (againt don`t know the exact layout of your house so can`t say for sure.....

when placing your tank you want to make sure its on as many joists as possible, so its worth pulling you carpet up and having a look at where the joists run and placing the tank on as many as possible.
also put a decent bit of ply under your unit as that would spread the weight rather than being on 4 or 5 small points.

 

[millie1]

my god my mother would murder me if i pulled the carpet up!!!!!

im 20- still live at home so sorta still have to respect her belongings haha!!!!

miss wiggle - thanks for that!!!

i dont even mind a 2 foot one which is half soo i assume wouldnt be a problem.....

might work on her to keep it in the living room.... just sitting here thinking now i have 3 places i can put one -

 

[Miss Wiggle]

first answer from a structural engineer - he would feel comfortable putting anything up to 250 litres upstairs without worrying.

 

[millie1]

thanks for that

so a four foot tank would need someone out to check it out??

what a bout a 3 foot tank?