now that i'm settled in my new house it's time to start building a new home for my Oscars.....currently 3 tigers and one albino, 2 are 12" and 2 are 8", so they need more room. the 2 big oscars i bought when they were only 2" long, got to 12" in less than 2 years and they both have individual personalities........oscars are like dogs
1.5 years ago they got a new 75 gallon....they were only about 3-4 inches long.....but took to eating live food well and were proud of their work.
now that they are 12" long and probably around 5lbs they NEED more space, they get into territory fights in the 75 gallon, they get separated frequently when they get too aggressive, but get along at times.
here they are recently.....
their new tank will be right around 700 gallons which will simulate a slow moving river (they're natural environment is the amazon).
the tank will be constructed of wood (ply and lots of support), then coated with fiberglass matting/resin, for added protection i'll probably use a potable 2 part epoxy, this stuff hardens like the garage floor epoxy.
the tank is going to wrap around 3 walls, with the viewing windows on the inside of the U. outer dimensions are 8ftx10.5ftx8ft, it will be 2 feet deep and 3 ft wide with about 6-8" above the water level.
the filtration will be hidden behind the middle part of the U in the utility room behind the wall, we are installing separate electrical tomorrow, it will also be plumbed so water changes/maintainance will be a breeze.
once the tank is done and leak-free i will be using a fish safe expandable foam on the rear walls/floor to carve out their environment, make caves etc.
it'll also be used to narrow up the center section so a faster current will occur, i'll be using 2 pumps rated at 3500gph, removing the water from one end and returning it to the other will give me my current.
this will probably take about 3-4 months before it'll have water in it (my 911 is apart too right now
), but it's one of those things i have to do......gotta keep the fishies happy
i'm starting monday with 16 2x4's and 6 2x6's for the framing
