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Here's the deal.

I was going to set up a saltwater tank when we moved in the new house. We moved in last month, and I haven't even bought a tank yet. I've procrastinated, paid off all my debt, and I still haven't splurged on a set up. Tomorrow I'm getting my first profit bonus check as manager, so I have decided it's time to put a nice big tank on my credit card.

I'm just still torn between fresh water and salt water. I love fresh water fish, I know how to use all the equipment with one, I know how they work. You can also keep more fish per gallon than salt water.

Salt water would be something new for me, a little bit of a challenge. I love salt water fish. They're beautiful, the tank set up would completely match the beach theme in my living room (tacky, I know, but I live in Florida I'm allowed to do it at least once.)

I also never liked gold fish in the past, but I keep looking at them too. I know they really need a huge tank or pond though.

I'm looking at getting at LEAST a 75g tank. Suggestions? Substrate color? Plants? Fish? No plants? Salt water? Fresh water? Little fish? Big fish?

Fresh water fish: I love neons. I would like nothing more than to have a huge tank filled with nothing but Neons... or Glofish. Little bright colored schooling fish.

Salt water fish: I like them all... except for angelfish.

Basically, my question is:

If you had a spare 75g, 100g, or 150-180g tank just lying around. What would YOU do with it? I'm interested in leeching your creative juices. What would be the ideal tank for you? What fish do you like, stocking combos, plants, decorations? Basically, what do you feel is worth spending $1000 or more on?

I see that you live in Florida, like myself. I will tell you my thoughts and you may agree or may not.

We live next to the Ocean, almost anywhere in Florida you can to get it easily. We have a SW tank and we don't buy a thing, No worries about feeding, cleaning, algae. I just get my mask and snorkel and go for a swim in our tank. I have several FW tanks at home I enjoy the little time that is spent cleaning them, food is never problem and a nicely design tank with plants and rocks and nice tropical fish is very relaxing and I'd say most people keep aquariums is for relaxation. You live were almost 90% of all American tropical fish are raised, so getting FW tropicals is very easy if you do your research there is a large selection and with info you can have a FW peace of art in your home.

By the way congratulation on your job promotion.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

True enough. I never made it through scubu classes though, lol. I remember once when I was little right after a hurricane, my dad got a lion fish and several other small salt water fish that where hanging around in large clumps of seaweed right out past where the waves were breaking. He dug a big hole and let it fill with salt water and went and collected some of the fish and put in there. We watched them for a while, and eventually the waves took them back out.

For freshwater, I like neons, cardinals, rasboras, danios. I had a snake fish when I was in middle school, and I didn't know they're as social as they are. I kept one by himself. I'd love to have a tank devoted to them, dim lighting, filled with little feeder guppies and ghost shrimp. I can't decide between the snake fish and small schooling fish. I'll probably go to the pet store today and pick out something completely different.

Thanks!

If you were to set up a new one [180 gallon] then Here's what i would do for freshwater

-30 neons or cardinal tetras
-12 zebra danios
-2 gold gouramis
-12 female bettas
-12 assorted riries
-12 cherry barbs
-30 cories
-fill the rest with tetras


OR


Mock a salt water with chiclids

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

My philosophy is if your going to get a bigger tank get some bigger fish. At least sometimes. What snake fish are you talking about? Maybe a bichir? polypterus sp. If so you could get one of those and more. If I had a 75g tank I would put in fish like...

senegal bichir
black ghost knife
tiger barbs
severum cichlid

I don't like the bichir. The only fish of that type I would keep would be http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_reed.php. I've had one before, and if I have a 180g tank, I'd like to keep 3-5 of them, with a few other fish and then have a tank with nothing but endlers or guppies and keep him with a supply of live food.

I found a 90g tank today, but it was set up for salt water, had built in filtration and everything. I like to use HOB filters. I don't get a big one for a big tank, but I'll get two small ones, one on each side of the tank, so if one goes out I can get another one. I wouldn't want to think about replacing a built in system if one piece was to go bad I'd have to gut the whole thing.

I'm going to shop around a bit before I make up my mind. My husband is already stating his opinion about a 180g tank in the living room. I keep telling him it's a big living room, lol.

He was ok with a 180g tank until we went to the store and he actually saw it. I should have just bought it and brought it home. I'll have to wait for a little while anyway because I have city water, so I'm going to order an RO/DI unit online to make water changes easier. I don't want to have to treat water in bucket after bucket after bucket whenever I do a water change. So I have to wait until it comes in anyway. I have time.

He even thought the 90g was too big. I'm going to try to get him sold on a 75g. Which, since I like small fish anyway, filling that won't be so diffcult.

I forgot about Rosy barbs, I LOVE these guys. I had a group of them in my last tank.

"I never made it through scubu classes though"

Arggg well do it silly ! Even if you're not fully certified (insane ) you can still go diving. Many places will take people down after a quick tutorial, or just go skin diving. Yes it's a bit expensive but like DJR mentioned it's a little less hassle than keeping the tank! (at least that's what I tell myself ).

As for the tank ....I love rosies too, very active fish, quite hardy and (IMO) quite colorful. If you're looking at a 75 I think they'd do great. Add a few rasboras and pick your bottom feeder. Some easy hardy plants, some driftwood, and you're set .

^_^

-a very large school of rummynoses, glowlights, or harlequin rasboras
-group of loaches
-BN
-some sort of centerpiece fish

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Hi,
I'm a bit concerned about your comment:
"...I have city water, so I'm going to order an RO/DI unit online to make water changes easier. I don't want to have to treat water in bucket after bucket after bucket whenever I do a water change."

Unless you have a "Nano" tank where dipping a cup or two
of water out of the tank is a water change, I don't really
understand your comment. It sounds like you are going to
install an RO unit and either plumb it to the tank or carry
buckets of RO water to the tank and dump it in.

RO systems work on osmosis and require that you connect
the unit to a pressurized water source (the tap) and run
the water through the unit. As the water passes through
the filter the membrane will let some of the raw water
through it (filtered) and it will come out the filter
output. You can use different membranes (different size
pore openings) to filter out different compounds or
elements. Generally it takes several gallons of tap water
to produce ONE gallon of RO water. The membranes have to
be cleaned regularly (follow the directions that come with
the RO unit) and periodically replaced.

If you use a siphon such as the Python brand, you simply
connect it to the sink in place of the aerator screen,
and siphon the water out of the tank while cleaning the
gravel, and then set the temperature, and reverse the
valve to fill the tank. No fuss, no mess, no aching back
from lugging bunches of buckets of water, and no water
on the floor in the living room.
A 10% water change in a 180G tank (come on...you know you
want it!) is 18 gallons. Thats a lot of lifting and
hauling. With 10-20% water changes you can draw water
directly from the tap for the tank. It's a "drop in the
bucket" so to speak and will not make any large change to
the pH,GH,KH to the overall tank that would stress the
fish.
You would simply drain out what you want to change,
pour in the correct amount of chlorine/chloramine
remover, and reverse the valve. The running filters and
the influx of freshwater from the siphon would mix the
it all together and its as easy as that. No need for
all that work.

Before you go to the expense of the RO unit, Deionized,
or Distilled water, ask your LFS what the pH of his
tanks are and how he maintains them at that level.
Chances are you won't have to make any
special accommodations for 90% of the fish you would
want to add to that tank.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

There are a ton of things you could do with such a large tank. I would prefer freashwater, since the maintenence is so much easier compared to a SW. If you like colorful fishes you could do a great Mbuna setup with that size tank, which would boast a varity of color and size:

75 gal setup:
2 Male Colbolt Blue Zebra Mbuna
4 Female Blue Zebra Mbuna (Or Albino)
4 Female Red/Orenge Zebra Mbuna
4 Snow White Mbuna
4 Rubberlipped Plecos or a Rapheal Catfish

A large rocky background with little plants, A lot of caves on the sides (so you can see in them, which is neat) and a few small scattered pieces of cave about the tank


Another option you could consider would be doing a fancy goldfish setup in an 150 gallon tank (which would leave you lots of stocking room)

If you want to splurdge, you could get a really good power filter too ^^

150 + Gal Stocking (SPLURGE )

2 - 5 Blue Moors
2 - 5 Panda Moors
2 - 5 Gold Fancytails
2 - 5 White/Silver Fancytails
1 Common Pleco


It all depends on your taste Also, if you have the funds, you could do a 75 gal tank with 75 Galaxy Rosaboras and a nice, large school of panda cories ^^

Inky

You may want to check out brackish water too. Its a good transition, and offers a wide variety of awesome fish. If I had a tank like that at my disposal, I may choose to load it with a sting ray or two, or maybe even a school of puffers, some eels, and a flounder.