90 gal... Best bang for the buck?

Set up Questions please:

Q: How many Clown Loaches can I put into this tank so as not to be over
corwded when they fully grow? I was hoping to put total of about 11...
I may throw a few botias (close cousin to our friend the Clown Loach)
in with them but it's really just about the Clowns... There SO cute
and silly!!!! ('Hope I don't sound like a fruit cake caying that!)

Q: If i get 5 more very small CL's to go with my 6 med CL's, will they
form two clans in the "big tank" or will they all get together for one
huge school? That would be so cool!!

Q: How big do CL's REALLY get in captivity? I've heard stories from
6"-12" with 8"ish being the most common estimate..

Q: How's my filtration? I ordered an Eheim 2217 and have two AC110 as
well... No UG filter... Sound like plenty on paper... Yes?

Q: What's this about styrofoam? How thick? How far does it stick out
under the tank? Where to buy it, home improvement (home depot) store?
I've never heard about this before...

Notes: I don't do live plants so I don't care about lamps, the CL's
hate the lights anyway and when I turn them on I never see them anymore
... I'll try the ideas for paint removal, I'd much rather leave it
but it looks a bit nasty from wear, tear, and poor repair...

Progress report: Last night I cut most of the 2X4's for the 3 cabinet
stand, 2217 filter is on order now, one AC110 is well established, the
other AC110 is running on a 55 tank now with seasoned Aqua-Chargers and
sponge. I've got three days off and enough coffee to power a small
city! To the garage I go!

Thanks all, Karl.

Karl,

I would suggest leaving the paint. Clown loaches can tend to be rather
secretive at times, hiding in caves and other nooks and crannies. By
leaving the back painted, you create a visual wall that will make them
feel more secure.

One of my clown loaches which is 10 years old now is about 7 inches
long..
wrote:
Set up Questions please:

Q: How many Clown Loaches can I put into this tank so as not to be over
corwded when they fully grow? I was hoping to put total of about 11...
I may throw a few botias (close cousin to our friend the Clown Loach)
in with them but it's really just about the Clowns... There SO cute
and silly!!!! ('Hope I don't sound like a fruit cake caying that!)

Q: If i get 5 more very small CL's to go with my 6 med CL's, will they
form two clans in the "big tank" or will they all get together for one
huge school? That would be so cool!!

Q: How big do CL's REALLY get in captivity? I've heard stories from
6"-12" with 8"ish being the most common estimate..

Q: How's my filtration? I ordered an Eheim 2217 and have two AC110 as
well... No UG filter... Sound like plenty on paper... Yes?

Q: What's this about styrofoam? How thick? How far does it stick out
under the tank? Where to buy it, home improvement (home depot) store?
I've never heard about this before...

Notes: I don't do live plants so I don't care about lamps, the CL's
hate the lights anyway and when I turn them on I never see them anymore
... I'll try the ideas for paint removal, I'd much rather leave it
but it looks a bit nasty from wear, tear, and poor repair...

Progress report: Last night I cut most of the 2X4's for the 3 cabinet
stand, 2217 filter is on order now, one AC110 is well established, the
other AC110 is running on a 55 tank now with seasoned Aqua-Chargers and
sponge. I've got three days off and enough coffee to power a small
city! To the garage I go!

Thanks all, Karl.

Progress report... Stand is done and primed, soon it will get the 4
color splatter coat and later a clear "deck sealer". The tank has been
stripped of the nasty blue paint and the bottom frame will soon be
re-glued.

wrote:
Karl,

I would suggest leaving the paint.

The paint is (was) very nasty looking, if it was nice I would have left
it on, it was two different colors from sections that came off and were
re-painted by some one pouring paint on. There was air under the paint
in some spots which also looked very bad.

I will use a back ground that curves around each rear corner to provide
solitude for the Loaches from my kitties.

The one bit of glass you don't wanna crack is the bottem bit therefor a
layer of styrofoam is needed.
tank bases may expand, have a bit of gravel/sand on them or just not be
level (stand or tank)
a styro sheet prevents any of these things being a problem
it needs to be big enough to fit on you stand, tank goes onto stand and any
excess styro faom can be trimmed away.
do it tho, it saves massive drama later on
massive drama!!!
:-)

Since I am not a big fan of drama I did in fact use styrofoam under the
tank. I look at it as an ounce of prevention is worth 3/4 ton of cure,
thanks to the many fine folks here in the group.

Update:
#A- The stand was clearcoated with a clear "polycrylic" water based
liquid that I sprayed on in two coats. I found on my other stands that
if I scrubbed the paint the splatter color would start to wear off. Now
I clear them with water proof stuff. (The deck clear was not good
because "natural clear" was not clear at all! It was brownish color
clear)
#B- The tank has styrofoam and is filled for a 24 hour leak test, hour
three and all is well.

swarvegorilla wrote:
The one bit of glass you don't wanna crack is the bottem bit therefor a
layer of styrofoam is needed.
it saves massive drama later on
massive drama!!!
:-)

I'm not a big fan of "massive drama".
Thanks, Karl.

P.s. One daunting thought I have been evading.... How does one do a 25%
water change on one of these monsters? That's like what, six+ 5 gallon
water juggs? Plus my other (55, 55, 29gal) tanks!
;\

wrote in message
oups.com...
Since I am not a big fan of drama I did in fact use styrofoam under the
tank. I look at it as an ounce of prevention is worth 3/4 ton of cure,
thanks to the many fine folks here in the group.

Update:
#A- The stand was clearcoated with a clear "polycrylic" water based
liquid that I sprayed on in two coats. I found on my other stands that
if I scrubbed the paint the splatter color would start to wear off. Now
I clear them with water proof stuff. (The deck clear was not good
because "natural clear" was not clear at all! It was brownish color
clear)
#B- The tank has styrofoam and is filled for a 24 hour leak test, hour
three and all is well.

swarvegorilla wrote:
The one bit of glass you don't wanna crack is the bottem bit therefor a
layer of styrofoam is needed.
it saves massive drama later on
massive drama!!!
:-)

I'm not a big fan of "massive drama".
Thanks, Karl.

P.s. One daunting thought I have been evading.... How does one do a 25%
water change on one of these monsters? That's like what, six+ 5 gallon
water juggs? Plus my other (55, 55, 29gal) tanks!
;\


Ok so maybe this isn't for you.
But I use a powerhead pump connected to a bit of hose.
At first I gravel vacc (or just skim over surface for sand with a hose) into
a bucket.
Then I clean filter stuff in the bucket.
Then I chuck pump/hose into bucket and pump water onto garden.
I then put pump/hose into tank and pump it where ever.
Next I put the pump into a new plastic garbage bin that has decholinated
water with an airstone and heater in it. When the temp in bin is same as the
tank (or a degree cooler to trigger spawns) I pump/hose it to the tank.
Theres the curved 'U' bits that come with cannisters, usually for the intake
pipe.
Anyway one of them on the end of ya hose means you can hook it over the side
of a tank rather than hold it there.

Anyway I hate carrieing water.
If gravity can't do it for me than I use a pump.
If I need to drain a pond I hire a fire fighting pump.
time is money
But a broken back is.......
well just as lame as anything else that ruins sex.