re: Lets discuss home Fish Aquariums

chad, my uncle had a 75 gallon saltwater tank a year or so ago.. i helped him make the 'scenery' on the inside, we used rocks at the bottom, with a few pieces of coral on the bottom.. after that, we rode his boat around the marsh around lake hermitage and found a few pieces of driftwood and put some of that in the tank... needless to say, it looked like something you'd see at the aquarium... we tested the salinity of the water by our camp and got the tank to the same levels.. the best part about it was the fish were always free... we had all the 'small' fish of south louisiana in this tank... everything from small baby trout, redfish, blue crabs(small ones, and we'd take the claws off of them because they tore everything apart), shrimp, etc... it was a lot of work to keep the tank clean, but in a big living room, the aquarium was a really nice conversation piece... you could literally watch the tank for 30 minutes at a time and not get bored


i have some pics somewheres i'll try to find them for you



ETA: he usually had to clean once every two weeks, but he wound up getting 2 bad arse filters off the internet and he only had to clean it once every month or so... i think they were called biowheels??

I've been keeping s/w and f/w tanks for about 20 years now...I only have a 90 gallon cichlid setup now, but when I move into our house, will probably do a fish only saltwater setup.

There are lots of options out there now that were not available even 5 years ago concerning types of aquariums and species of fish you can successfully keep.

Check out this website, it will give you an idea about different types of setups and products available.

LINK

If you have any specific questions, email me deaconjonesob@gmail.com

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There are lots of options out there now that were not available even 5 years ago concerning types of aquariums and species of fish you can successfully keep.

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This is so true. I kept fish as a kid in the 80's and then got out of the hobby when I went off to school. Undergravel filters were the thing then. "Lucked" into a couple of breeding angel fish and ended up having to get another tank because they raised holy hell protecting their eggs and fry.

Got back into it about 6-7 years ago and could not believe the changes in the hobby. I sold my tanks when we moved to the new house three years ago but I keep finding myself trolling the fish sections of pet stores. I just know that I will have to learn a whole new way of keeping fish.

The new thing in saltwater tanks is LED lighting. Some use Cree bulbs. Right up the OB's alley.

yeah dude,try that ourt for a little bit then if you want to step up just get a Nanocube. Can't beat those for a smallish saltwater aquarium.
JBJ Makes it.Has LED's,filter and protein skimmer all built in to the lid.Pretty bad arse.

We have 5 tanks, the largest is only 55gallon Freshwater with a mated pair of Jack Dempsey's (Cichlid)

Monster Fish Keepers Anything and everything from Species info to designing and building your own tank.

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canister filter

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bad

I always used a sump system.

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Problem is I'm using a canister filter and I've been reading they're a PITA for salt. Any experience with canisters?

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Canister Filters for S/W Tanks

You can use them...but sumps are the best way to go IMO. If you have a lot of live rock in your system with plenty of water movement, you can actually do without a filter, but keep up with your water changes.

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African Leaf fish.

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Those were thought to be extinct..
But i thought they were brown.

I used to have a 30 gallon tank full of smaller fish (about 50)
That was the best therapy I could ask for.
Stared at those fish for hours.

Would never do saltwater..too much trouble/expense

We have a 55 gallon fresh water tank. People who say its a ton of work are listening to PETCO employees, as we did years ago. We have gotten smarter... As has been mentioned do some research and find a local mom and pop shop. They will try to up-sale you, hence research, but are much much better sources of information.

We are moving up to a 90 - 150 gal when we move. If this is something you really want to do, start in that range. Get a canister filter. It warrants repeating, get a canister filter to start, it will save you work and time in the long run. With our current setup we do a 20% water change every 3 - 4 weeks and feed them daily... I wouldn't say that's too much work. I also recommend upgrading your lighting, it makes all the difference.
Our filtering system turns over the water ever 20 minutes so we have more fish then whats recommended but with time you can learn whats safe... We have 3 full size angles, 3 full size silver dollars, 5 hatch fish, 16 neon tetras, 2 full size congo tetras, 5 red barb tetras, 2 cory cats, 3 algae eaters, and some ghost shrimp and have not had a loss of a single fish in over a year.

Getting started is what is tough. I have found tank starters range in quality but Seachem products like Prime, stabilizers, buffers, and clarifiers work the best. Actually they are the bomb. Start your tank with fish you dont mind losing and that are cheap, as its going to happen. Doing some research and leaning on others with experience will help increase your success.

Keeping a tank is a ton of fun. We choose tropical community for the variety and we avoid cannibalism of cichlid's tanks.