let's see those fish tanks

[bell]

i just put together a 20 gallon freshwater tank.
in it are 2 fish (have no idea what they are) that lived for the past 5+ years at our store, they were never really taken care of and had no color at all (they looked chrome) the little one has started showing it's spots again.
i also picked up a baby oscar and an algea eater.......gonna add 1 more baby oscar and who knows what else
here are some average pics, i'll have a new lid out of plexi this week.

on a side note.......i know very little of fishtanks but i know the basics, so this is sort of a learning experience........

[vash]

nice, those are pacu's. ( i dont know the plural of PACU) very nice tank. i would show mine, but since my pcar adventures, i have been borderline slumlord on my 20 gallon. bell, since you have a 20, look into those eclipse filter hoods. they have bright lights and filter incorporated into the lid. very nice. you are going to run out of aquarium space very fast, you have some fast growing critters in there.

[Ronbo]

I've been out of the fish hobby since the Northridge 'quake destroyed my tanks so I'm working from old memories, but 20 gal. is quickly going to be too small for 1 Oscar, let alone 2. That size tank is really only good for a few small fish, and Oscars get large fast. One rule of thumb is the larger the tank the easier it is to care for. With a populated 20 gal tank you are going to have to do frequent partial water changes and monitoring for toxins. The small size of the tank means disease spreads quickly. A 60+ gal tank is a breeze to care for compared with a 20. Good luck, and get a bigger tank for those Oscars!

[joehahn]

in college we had an oscar that got so big and ferocious that we could put a few of his food pellets in the end of a toothbrush and hold it a few inches out of the water and he would fly out and snap it right out of the air (and take pieces of brush with it!). it was like sea world. chicks loved it (except when he flew out of tank onto floor then flopped down the hallway).

Those guys are big, strong and ferocious. They will eat your other fish so don't spend a whole lotta dough on other fish! We also had a garr (sp?) that got so long he couldn't turn in the tank (50 gal) and simply went back and forth over and over. actually, retrospectively it is sad to think about.

also, bell, i was the guy walking along the curb in front of your car when you were locking your passenger door at stoddard's saturday. wish i knew it was you, i would have showed you my blaupunkt install using zip-ties and duck tape.

joe 68 L

[cstreit]

I used to have a 35 gallon Octo-Reef tank and a 55 salt tank.... Not too many great pictures of it on-line but here are a few...

[}{arlequin]

the saltwater tanks are the "high end" types, right? I know the fish selection is much better and more exotic but how much more skill does it take to care for a saltwater tank? How much more $$? I've been debating getting something for myself. I used to have one when I was a kid and just loved staring at it. Very relaxing and it makes a great mood light, too. What are some of the more interesting fish that are good for freshwater tanks? I'd like them to be approximately the size of a small cellphone. What size of tank would be necessary for those?

[vash]

when i used to manage a pet store, the best rule i used to tell folks, is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. that is rough, but it wont kill any fish due to overcrowding.
saltwater stuff has come A LONG way. it used to be, the lighting and filter would kill you. way expensive. now the technology is coming up, and the prices are coming down. saltwater is not all about the fish. it is more of a live rock thing. you pay $$per pound for rocks that will support your sea life. clams, anenome (spelling?). live coral, that type of thing. the fish actually bring the system down. so forget the one inch rule for saltwater. get a few clown fish, a shrimp and a bunch of bada$$ coral, clams, stuff like that and you will have a jewel.

freshwater is damn easy compared to salt. hell you can fill a tank with the garden hose, treat for chlorine and you are done. get a freshwater tank, get some african cichlids, which rival some saltwater fish in terms of color and be happy. live plants are better than fake, they use up precious phosphorous in the water, so you will not have an algea problem.

[cstreit]

Satlwater is probably at least 10x the cost of fresh... Even if you don't do the "live rock thing". Live coral prices have skyrocketed since I did it....

[Jay Auskin]

I've had fish since I was in 5th grade. I now have a saltwater (20 gal) tank since my 125 gallon tank became a nuisance with all my moving. I like the saltwater alot. It's a good substitute for a big freshwater tank. It's not harder to keep, and not much more expensive if you don't go too exotic. I highly recommend it.

[B D]

Jeff's Exotic Fish

Anyone with salt water should visit this site and shop. You can get 9 corrals for $99 and they are quality. They are a salt water only shop. Salt water is also only $3.50 for 10 gallons not the $1 a gallon at your local pet store. Make sure to subscribe to the email for insane weekly specials.

If anyone in So Cal needs a tank I have 50 gallon plexigalss corner tank wasting space in my garage. Just me PM me, I only want $20.

[bell]

thanks for the replys

joehahn.......we need some pelican plate rings.....this would make finding each other easier, i'd gladly put a white one on my 911
we'll get something together for us ohio guys soon.......there are enough of us to have at least 10-12 p-cars which MEANS a good time

i plan on moving within the year so i didn't want to go too big, i would like a 60 gallon min with the next tank.
i'm a cheap bastard sometimes........didn't see any tank lids that i want.....so i'm making my own tomorrow at work, it'll be plexi with a hinged door, slots for the flouresent light, and cutouts for the filter system. i'll post pics tomorrow night

[pbs911]

Here are some of my reef tank I started last December.



And here is the sump, refugium, auto kalk top off for evaporation, and chiller below the tank in the garage.

[joehahn]

bell: yes!
paul: AWESOME!

[cstreit]

Hardcore Paul, very nicely maintained.

[vash]

paul, that is amazing. damn, no way i post a pic of my freshwater 20. i got aquarium envy.

[campbellcj]

Salt tanks are awesome; my roomates and I had quite a few, and also freshwater ones, thru college and the few "single years" after that.

Lately...my son (or his nanny) have managed to do-in 3 goldfish (one by one) recently, so the tank is in storage for a while...

[bell]

ok here are some pics.....
the lid is done, used velcro instead of a hinge for the door, this will let me "flip" it if i want to change the layout.
my flourescent is backwards right now.....i need a longer hose for the filter so the light can sit farther back and turned around.
the tanks above are awesome, inspirational

[Eric Coffey]

Cool tanks guys.

Here is a 150 gal. saltwater tank and stand I built a few years ago (built both from scratch). The tank was Acrylic put together via capillary epoxy, and the stand was 3/4" and 1" mdf with book-matched Zebrawood veneer. I built a matching canopy later on as well. It was definately a heavy SOB.

[Doug Zielke]

That's very nice work, Eric.
Would you consider donating one as a Round-Up draw prize?

[Eric Coffey]

Originally posted by Doug Zielke
That's very nice work, Eric.
Would you consider donating one as a Round-Up draw prize?

Sure! Just as long as you make a donation in the amount of $2,000 to my "G50 M491 Coupe Location" fund.