Upgrading the tank - what to do

[Gill Passman]

Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community tank
in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do anyway
as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so the budget
will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away with it)....oh
, and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang on to it or put
it into the office as hubbie suggests.

In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4
plus that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office tank
the 304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go down
that line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much more
filter wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and within
budget I will do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read on this
newsgroup so that is probably out.

The options at the moment are:-

A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet, four
lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which I have
no knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but hey, ho).
The cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but is liveable with.

The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm good
at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall for
around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.

The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the
bare tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be
the much the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it
being a roll in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get
discount on what I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the
cabinets are far more sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get
more say on the exact specs....

Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do

BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all this
- might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to pay -
sigh....

Gill

[Steve]

Gill Passman wrote:
>
> Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community tank
> in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do anyway
> as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so the budget
> will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away with it)....oh
> , and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang on to it or put
> it into the office as hubbie suggests.
>
> In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4
> plus that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office tank
> the 304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go down
> that line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much more
> filter wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and within
> budget I will do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read on this
> newsgroup so that is probably out.
>
> The options at the moment are:-
>
> A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
> around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet, four
> lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which I have
> no knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but hey, ho).
> The cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but is liveable
> with.
>
> The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm good
> at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall for
> around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.
>
> The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the
> bare tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be
> the much the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it
> being a roll in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get
> discount on what I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the
> cabinets are far more sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get
> more say on the exact specs....
>
> Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
>
> BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all this
> - might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to pay -
> sigh....
>
> Gill

It sounds like you have lots of options, and I'm envious :) .

If it were me, I'd make sure that the wooden (?) canopy allowed plenty
of lighting to be installed, because I like plants. I'd also see if the
canopy could be in two parts somehow, for easier lifting. Perhaps the
lights could be in separate panel(s) that fit losely into the top of a
canopy "frame"?

Because you're in a "conservatory" do you have lots of daylight? That
would be interesting for plants. Should you have an open aquarium top
and suspended lights, for best use of natural and artificial light?
Perhaps just cover glass under the suspended lights, to reduce
evaporation and control temperature and fish jumping?

From reading this group, I've recently learned about the "Hamburg mat"
home-made filters operated by powerheads (try a google search). A couple
of those might handle your aquarium.

I've no experience with Hamburg mats or giant aquariums, and am just
dreaming. My "big" tank is a "90 gallon", 4 ft long, 2 ft high and 1.5
ft deep (wide). It has two large Fluval canister filters, two heaters
and five 40-watt fluorescent tubes. The stand and canopy are home-made.
This aquarium has been quite stable and a source of much enjoyment for
14 years.

Again if it were me, I wouldn't worry about fish right away, but would
order lots of easy-to-grow plants, then add some fish from existing
aquariums to start.

As to substrate, last year I switched over to "eco-complete" commercial
plant substrate and it seems very good. It's also extremely expensive,
and previously I used free substrates. I went to a gravel pit and asked
to fill up some buckets with fine gravel/ course sand. I had fair
success with that substrate, and experimented with a very moderate
addition of clay garden soil. Using peat in the substrate resulted in a
big mess 6 months later, when it all decomposed and floated into the
water as dirty, fine particulate. I did the peat thing twice - slow
learner :) .

Enjoy your new project!

Steve

[NetMax]

"Steve" > wrote in message
.. .
> Gill Passman wrote:
>>
>> Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community
>> tank in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do
>> anyway as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so
>> the budget will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away
>> with it)....oh , and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang
>> on to it or put it into the office as hubbie suggests.
>>
>> In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4
>> plus that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office
>> tank the 304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go
>> down that line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much
>> more filter wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and
>> within budget I will do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read
>> on this newsgroup so that is probably out.
>>
>> The options at the moment are:-
>>
>> A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
>> around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet,
>> four lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which
>> I have no knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but
>> hey, ho). The cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but
>> is liveable with.
>>
>> The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm
>> good at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall
>> for around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still
>> manageable.
>>
>> The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the
>> bare tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be
>> the much the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it
>> being a roll in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get
>> discount on what I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the
>> cabinets are far more sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get
>> more say on the exact specs....
>>
>> Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
>>
>> BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all
>> this - might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to
>> pay - sigh....
>>
>> Gill
>
> It sounds like you have lots of options, and I'm envious :) .
>
> If it were me, I'd make sure that the wooden (?) canopy allowed plenty
> of lighting to be installed, because I like plants. I'd also see if the
> canopy could be in two parts somehow, for easier lifting. Perhaps the
> lights could be in separate panel(s) that fit losely into the top of a
> canopy "frame"?
>
> Because you're in a "conservatory" do you have lots of daylight? That
> would be interesting for plants. Should you have an open aquarium top
> and suspended lights, for best use of natural and artificial light?
> Perhaps just cover glass under the suspended lights, to reduce
> evaporation and control temperature and fish jumping?
>
> From reading this group, I've recently learned about the "Hamburg mat"
> home-made filters operated by powerheads (try a google search). A
> couple of those might handle your aquarium.
>
> I've no experience with Hamburg mats or giant aquariums, and am just
> dreaming. My "big" tank is a "90 gallon", 4 ft long, 2 ft high and 1.5
> ft deep (wide). It has two large Fluval canister filters, two heaters
> and five 40-watt fluorescent tubes. The stand and canopy are home-made.
> This aquarium has been quite stable and a source of much enjoyment for
> 14 years.
>
> Again if it were me, I wouldn't worry about fish right away, but would
> order lots of easy-to-grow plants, then add some fish from existing
> aquariums to start.
>
> As to substrate, last year I switched over to "eco-complete" commercial
> plant substrate and it seems very good. It's also extremely expensive,
> and previously I used free substrates. I went to a gravel pit and asked
> to fill up some buckets with fine gravel/ course sand. I had fair
> success with that substrate, and experimented with a very moderate
> addition of clay garden soil. Using peat in the substrate resulted in a
> big mess 6 months later, when it all decomposed and floated into the
> water as dirty, fine particulate. I did the peat thing twice - slow
> learner :) .
>
> Enjoy your new project!
>
> Steve

I really like the principle of the Hamburg mats (though I use them in a
cone shape), and I have two I'm planning to use in my 120g under
construction. We used them exclusively in the high fish-load tanks, two
per 60g or 100g. With my normal fish-load, one would be sufficient for a
120g, but I like redundancy and not worrying when I service the filters
on alternating schedules. I expect to clean one every 12 months (left
side on even years, the right side on odd years ;~).
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Elaine T]

Gill Passman wrote:
>
> Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community tank
> in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do anyway
> as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so the budget
> will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away with it)....oh
> , and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang on to it or put
> it into the office as hubbie suggests.
>
> In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4
> plus that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office tank
> the 304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go down
> that line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much more
> filter wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and within
> budget I will do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read on this
> newsgroup so that is probably out.
>
> The options at the moment are:-
>
> A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
> around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet, four
> lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which I have
> no knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but hey, ho).
> The cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but is liveable
> with.
>
> The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm good
> at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall for
> around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.
>
> The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the
> bare tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be
> the much the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it
> being a roll in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get
> discount on what I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the
> cabinets are far more sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get
> more say on the exact specs....
>
> Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
>
> BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all this
> - might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to pay -
> sigh....
>
> Gill

Lucky you! Are you going to plant it? You may want to check out the
cost of metal halide lighting and a CO2 system before you blow your
whole budget on a six foot tank. Metal halides are great for plants and
give the tank that sunlit rippled effect. If you're going to keep
African cichlids, you might consider a wet/dry filter rather than a
canister. It's less cleaning and will handle a heavier fish load.

Given a large tank with someone else's fish and a larger tank that's
empty, I'd take the larger, empty tank every time. For all of my FW
setups, the fish have been a relatively small part of the expense. You
also add fish gradually, and you can often trade spare plants for fish.
If you have a good stand of hygrophila and C02, you can harvest
cuttings every few weeks. If you're doing cichlids, they'll make more
fish for you!

You'll have to keep us posted, and I'm curious as to what you're
thinking about doing with the tank.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[2pods]

"Gill Passman" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community tank
> in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do anyway
> as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so the budget
> will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away with it)....oh ,
> and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang on to it or put it
> into the office as hubbie suggests.
>
> In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4 plus
> that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office tank the
> 304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go down that
> line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much more filter
> wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and within budget I will
> do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read on this newsgroup so that
> is probably out.
>
> The options at the moment are:-
>
> A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
> around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet, four
> lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which I have no
> knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but hey, ho). The
> cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but is liveable with.
>
> The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm good
> at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall for
> around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.
>
> The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the bare
> tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be the much
> the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it being a roll
> in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get discount on what
> I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the cabinets are far more
> sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get more say on the exact
> specs....
>
> Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
>
> BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all this -
> might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to pay -
> sigh....
>
> Gill

If it was me (and I wish it was), I'd go for the six foot Rena.
I use their XP3 and a XP2 and find them a lot better than the Fluvals.

Also I'd go for a 42" LCD so you can give me your old one ;-)

Peter

[Mary Burns]

"2pods" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Gill Passman" > wrote in message
> .. .
>>
>> Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community tank
>> in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do anyway
>> as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so the budget
>> will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away with it)....oh
>> , and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang on to it or put it
>> into the office as hubbie suggests.
>>
>> In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4 plus
>> that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office tank the
>> 304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go down that
>> line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much more filter
>> wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and within budget I
>> will do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read on this newsgroup
>> so that is probably out.
>>
>> The options at the moment are:-
>>
>> A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
>> around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet, four
>> lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which I have
>> no knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but hey, ho).
>> The cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but is liveable
>> with.
>>
>> The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm good
>> at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall for
>> around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.
>>
>> The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the bare
>> tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be the
>> much the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it being
>> a roll in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get discount
>> on what I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the cabinets are
>> far more sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get more say on the
>> exact specs....
>>
>> Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
>>
>> BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all
>> this - might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to pay -
>> sigh....
>>
>> Gill
>
> If it was me (and I wish it was), I'd go for the six foot Rena.
> I use their XP3 and a XP2 and find them a lot better than the Fluvals.
>
> Also I'd go for a 42" LCD so you can give me your old one ;-)
>
> Peter
>

Go with the 6', because the clowns will love it now and need 6' in the
future. I've been looking at the same tanks as I need a 6' too for my clowns
soon. I'm thinking of getting just the tank from an online store, around
£250 for 6x2x2' and add everything else. http://www.wharfaquatics.co.uk/
have a good selection Mary

[Gill Passman]

Mary Burns wrote:
> "2pods" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>"Gill Passman" > wrote in message
.. .
>>
>>>Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community tank
>>>in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do anyway
>>>as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so the budget
>>>will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away with it)....oh
>>>, and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang on to it or put it
>>>into the office as hubbie suggests.
>>>
>>>In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4 plus
>>>that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office tank the
>>>304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go down that
>>>line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much more filter
>>>wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and within budget I
>>>will do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read on this newsgroup
>>>so that is probably out.
>>>
>>>The options at the moment are:-
>>>
>>>A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
>>>around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet, four
>>>lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which I have
>>>no knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but hey, ho).
>>>The cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but is liveable
>>>with.
>>>
>>>The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm good
>>>at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall for
>>>around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.
>>>
>>>The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the bare
>>>tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be the
>>>much the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it being
>>>a roll in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get discount
>>>on what I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the cabinets are
>>>far more sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get more say on the
>>>exact specs....
>>>
>>>Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
>>>
>>>BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all
>>>this - might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to pay -
>>>sigh....
>>>
>>>Gill
>>
>>If it was me (and I wish it was), I'd go for the six foot Rena.
>>I use their XP3 and a XP2 and find them a lot better than the Fluvals.
>>
>>Also I'd go for a 42" LCD so you can give me your old one ;-)
>>
>>Peter
>>
>
>
> Go with the 6', because the clowns will love it now and need 6' in the
> future. I've been looking at the same tanks as I need a 6' too for my clowns
> soon. I'm thinking of getting just the tank from an online store, around
> £250 for 6x2x2' and add everything else. http://www.wharfaquatics.co.uk/
> have a good selection Mary
>
>
I'm inclining towards the 6 foot - mainly for the Clowns. Took a look at
the link - thanks. One LFS will also order a custom built tank for me
from a company called Seashell Aquariums - they have some samples in
stock that look a good quality. I'm going to have to drag hubbie up
there so he can take a look too.

[Gill Passman]

2pods wrote:
> "Gill Passman" > wrote in message
> .. .
>
>>Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community tank
>>in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do anyway
>>as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so the budget
>>will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away with it)....oh ,
>>and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang on to it or put it
>>into the office as hubbie suggests.
>>
>>In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4 plus
>>that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office tank the
>>304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go down that
>>line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much more filter
>>wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and within budget I will
>>do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read on this newsgroup so that
>>is probably out.
>>
>>The options at the moment are:-
>>
>>A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
>>around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet, four
>>lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which I have no
>>knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but hey, ho). The
>>cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but is liveable with.
>>
>>The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm good
>>at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall for
>>around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.
>>
>>The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the bare
>>tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be the much
>>the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it being a roll
>>in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get discount on what
>>I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the cabinets are far more
>>sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get more say on the exact
>>specs....
>>
>>Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
>>
>>BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all this -
>>might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to pay -
>>sigh....
>>
>>Gill
>
>
> If it was me (and I wish it was), I'd go for the six foot Rena.
> I use their XP3 and a XP2 and find them a lot better than the Fluvals.
>
> Also I'd go for a 42" LCD so you can give me your old one ;-)
>
> Peter
>
>
They both come with one external XP3 filter - if I can wing the 6 foot I
think that would be the ideal choice size wise (I'd never get away with
upgrading it again) - think the mutterings were about 55" LCD - I tried
not to listen too hard - much the same way as hubbie was blocking out
the concept of a 6 foot tank - LOL

Gill

[Gill Passman]

Elaine T wrote:
> Gill Passman wrote:
>
>>
>> Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community
>> tank in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do
>> anyway as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so
>> the budget will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away
>> with it)....oh , and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang
>> on to it or put it into the office as hubbie suggests.
>>
>> In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4
>> plus that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office
>> tank the 304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go
>> down that line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much
>> more filter wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and
>> within budget I will do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read
>> on this newsgroup so that is probably out.
>>
>> The options at the moment are:-
>>
>> A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
>> around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet,
>> four lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which
>> I have no knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but
>> hey, ho). The cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but
>> is liveable with.
>>
>> The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm
>> good at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall
>> for around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.
>>
>> The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the
>> bare tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be
>> the much the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it
>> being a roll in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get
>> discount on what I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the
>> cabinets are far more sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get
>> more say on the exact specs....
>>
>> Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
>>
>> BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all
>> this - might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to
>> pay - sigh....
>>
>> Gill
>
>
> Lucky you! Are you going to plant it? You may want to check out the
> cost of metal halide lighting and a CO2 system before you blow your
> whole budget on a six foot tank. Metal halides are great for plants and
> give the tank that sunlit rippled effect. If you're going to keep
> African cichlids, you might consider a wet/dry filter rather than a
> canister. It's less cleaning and will handle a heavier fish load.
>
> Given a large tank with someone else's fish and a larger tank that's
> empty, I'd take the larger, empty tank every time. For all of my FW
> setups, the fish have been a relatively small part of the expense. You
> also add fish gradually, and you can often trade spare plants for fish.
> If you have a good stand of hygrophila and C02, you can harvest
> cuttings every few weeks. If you're doing cichlids, they'll make more
> fish for you!
>
> You'll have to keep us posted, and I'm curious as to what you're
> thinking about doing with the tank.
>

In terms of fish it will be a straight swop out with the 4 foot in the
Conservatory - so clowns, gourami, rainbows, neons, guppies, platies
etc....It is unlikely that I will add many more, if any for a while. The
africans will have to stay put for a while in their 4 foot tank and I
know exactly what you mean about them making more fish for me :-) - must
get the net out soon and trade some in.

It will definitely be planted - The Renas come with 4 lights fitted -
wattage depends on tank size - the 6 foot tank comes with 58W and the 5
foot with 36 W. I'll take a look at the lights you are suggesting as
well - the tank will be in a very bright room anyway - the existing 4
footer is a jungle with just gravel as substrate and a single
flourescent light (no CO2 but added plant food). I've got enough
overgrowth in various tanks to fill it rather quickly but also want to
spend some time trying to get some sort of design rather than the
haphazard jungle I currently have (down to me buying what I like at the
time rather than research).

Today, I'm leaning towards the Rena, as although the custom built ones
are great I think the expense (especially when taking into account the
stand) might be too much.

I'm wondering about substrate though....whether to keep with fine-ish
gravel or go for a plant growing substrate (which again will be
expensive in a tank that size)

Gill

[Elaine T]

Gill Passman wrote:
>
> In terms of fish it will be a straight swop out with the 4 foot in the
> Conservatory - so clowns, gourami, rainbows, neons, guppies, platies
> etc....It is unlikely that I will add many more, if any for a while. The
> africans will have to stay put for a while in their 4 foot tank and I
> know exactly what you mean about them making more fish for me :-) - must
> get the net out soon and trade some in.
>
> It will definitely be planted - The Renas come with 4 lights fitted -
> wattage depends on tank size - the 6 foot tank comes with 58W and the 5
> foot with 36 W. I'll take a look at the lights you are suggesting as
> well - the tank will be in a very bright room anyway - the existing 4
> footer is a jungle with just gravel as substrate and a single
> flourescent light (no CO2 but added plant food). I've got enough
> overgrowth in various tanks to fill it rather quickly but also want to
> spend some time trying to get some sort of design rather than the
> haphazard jungle I currently have (down to me buying what I like at the
> time rather than research).

58W?!? That's a nice moonlight. ;-) I forgot you're using natural
light. Metal halides are expensive and very bright. They light about
four square feet so I think it would take three over a six foot tank to
light it without needing natural light. However, just one pendant
hanging over the tank would give the ripple effect and let you grow
something really beautiful and challenging like Rotala macranda directly
under it.

> Today, I'm leaning towards the Rena, as although the custom built ones
> are great I think the expense (especially when taking into account the
> stand) might be too much.
>
> I'm wondering about substrate though....whether to keep with fine-ish
> gravel or go for a plant growing substrate (which again will be
> expensive in a tank that size)
>
> Gill

What about powdered laterite in the bottom half of the 2-3 mm gravel?
It's what we used before Eco Complete and Flourite. It should be quite
a bit less expensive. People have moved away from it because it tends
to cloud the water when you plant or if you gravel-vac deeply in the
gravel bed, but the clouding goes away fairly quickly. It works very
well for swordplants, crypts, and other iron-loving plants.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Daniel Morrow]

Bottom posted.


"2pods" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Gill Passman" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >
> > Ok,,Yippee....it's a done deal that I can upgrade my 47.5 community tank
> > in the conservatory...as long as I sell my car which I have to do anyway
> > as we seem to have a surplus of vehicles at the moment....so the budget
> > will be around £1000 all told (but less if I can get away with it)....oh
,
> > and a surplus 4 ft 47.5UK gall tank but I might hang on to it or put it
> > into the office as hubbie suggests.
> >
> > In terms of filters I already possess a fluval 404, 304 and Fluval 4
plus
> > that I can put in the tank - if I go for setting up the office tank the
> > 304 would be used....but I can always buy something if we go down that
> > line....I'm reluctant to spend out on buying anything much more filter
> > wise if I can use what I've got, but if necessary and within budget I
will
> > do so....I'm not keen on UGF from what I've read on this newsgroup so
that
> > is probably out.
> >
> > The options at the moment are:-
> >
> > A Rena Aqualife Classic 150x50 which would give me 132UK galls and be
> > around 5 foot in length.....The deal on this is the tank, cabinet, four
> > lights, 2 300 watt heaters, a rena xp3 external filter (of which I have
no
> > knowledge) and £100 worth of fish (not sure I want them but hey, ho).
The
> > cabinet isn't the most asthetic thing in the world but is liveable with.
> >
> > The next option is the same deal, probably without the fish but I'm good
> > at blagging which is a Rena Aqualife 200x50 which is 176 UK gall for
> > around the budget price, which is around 6 foot and still manageable.
> >
> > The next option is to get something built custom, which would be the
bare
> > tank but I can use existing kit plus some additons. Cost would be the
much
> > the same but of course I'm using what I've got rather than it being a
roll
> > in deal....and of course from experience I can opt to get discount on
what
> > I don't want from the bundled deals....certainly the cabinets are far
more
> > sexier than the all in one tanks and I would get more say on the exact
> > specs....
> >
> > Any thoughts as to what anyone else would do
> >
> > BTW I think I might be in for yet again a larger LCD screen for all
this -
> > might be a fair trade off - the price we fish lovers have to pay -
> > sigh....
> >
> > Gill
>
> If it was me (and I wish it was), I'd go for the six foot Rena.
> I use their XP3 and a XP2 and find them a lot better than the Fluvals.
>
> Also I'd go for a 42" LCD so you can give me your old one ;-)
>
> Peter
>
>

Hey peter - just curious, is it possible to operate a rena xp3 on it's side
without problems? If I ever need a canister filter and if I decide on using
an xp3 I will need it to operate properly (thinking about the air evacuation
feature needing the filter to be upright to work properly) on it's side as
the tank I am thinking of is low enough to the ground to require that out of
a canister filter. I am way more open to me getting xp filters now that I
have my custom easy priming device I made out of a hand squeeze siphon
starter/pump and some hose. I can prime any canister filter easily with my
method and that opens up a new world of canister filters for me. I LOVE my
method. Check out one of my older posts to find the details of how to prime
like me (try doing a google search of all of usenet for it), easy priming!

[2pods]

> Hey peter - just curious, is it possible to operate a rena xp3 on it's
> side
> without problems? If I ever need a canister filter and if I decide on
> using
> an xp3 I will need it to operate properly (thinking about the air
> evacuation
> feature needing the filter to be upright to work properly) on it's side as
> the tank I am thinking of is low enough to the ground to require that out
> of
> a canister filter. I am way more open to me getting xp filters now that I
> have my custom easy priming device I made out of a hand squeeze siphon
> starter/pump and some hose. I can prime any canister filter easily with my
> method and that opens up a new world of canister filters for me. I LOVE my
> method. Check out one of my older posts to find the details of how to
> prime
> like me (try doing a google search of all of usenet for it), easy priming!
>
>

Hi Daniel

I don't think I'd trust ANY cannister filter used on it's side indoors,
though I do have to use my 15w UV's that way.

Peter