new 240 g tank!

[spring007]

hey all,
I got a new 240 Gal tank for my Silver Arawana! I got it today..So can anybody tell me when I can put my Arawana in there? Or what I should do in order to make the tank water suitable for him.

 

[dskidmore]

You need to cycle the tank.

Get the tank all set up with the sand/gravel, decorations, filter, heater, etc. Because your Arawana is so large, he represents a rather large bioload, to get the bacteria in the tank ready to support him, you need to build up thier population. You can get a head start on this by transfering something from the old tank for your starter culture. Then you need to feed the bacteria. There are two popular methods: raw seafood, and normal fish food. I personally prefer the fish food method, because you already know how much your arawana eats, so you can put an equivilant amount of food into the empty tank, to represent the same bioload that the fish itself represents. (If you normally put in live food, you need to put in an equivilant in dead food.)

Next, get test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. After you start putting food in the tank, ammonia will spike first, then as it comes down, nitrite will spike. (If ammonia goes above 4.0, skip a feeding, it has more food than it can process.) When nitrite starts to come down, nitrate will go up. You need to keep feeding the tank until ammonia and nitrite are 0, and nitrate has gone up. (5-40 ppm Nitrate is normal after a cycle.) At this point the tank should be ready to support your arawana.

Test kits: Some people will tell you to get the more expensive, more precise test kits, but I think that for the purpose of cycling when you need to test every day, but don't care too much about the exact numbers, the quick dip test strips are great.

 

[Zagz]

Congratulations! What size tank is your arrowana currently housed in? What I would do is run your new filter on your old tank if possible for a coupld of weeks to get it ready and then install on your new tank and your cycle will be close to done if not done. If not possible to do this, doing the above method works just as well, you can also use pure ammonia as a source for starting the cycle, just make sure it has no additives. IMO you will need a precise kit sooner or later so makes no difference when you buy it. Good luck and post pics when you can.

 

[spring007]

Thanks for ur advice friends...
My other aquarium is only 55Gal.. I have kept my arowana in there so far.... I guess in I can shift him to his new home in a month!!!!

And I already have a precise test kit since I have a lot of other chiclids with the arowana...

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yes, if you can run the new filter on the old tank for 2-3 weeks, that should work. If you are using the same type of substrate, you can even sprinkle some of the gravel from the old tank over the gravel in the new tank. That will help give it a kick as well. That would be my preferred way of doing it.

If using ammonia or a food source, will work too, but it'll be a longer process. The average fishless cycle is 6-8 weeks, compared to 2-3 weeks for the cycling of a new filter on an existing cycled tank.

 

[spring007]

How about adding some of the pre made bacteria starter in the tank? Will it help?

 

[spring007]

How about adding some of the pre made bacteria starter in the tank? Will it help?

 

[dskidmore]

Diffrent people have expressed opposite opinions on that.

Using a dirty filter pad or substrate from an established aquarium should be as effective at starting your bacterial culture. I personally wouldn't waste the money. On the other hand, some of the people who have tried it think it helped.

 

[spring007]

Oh ok then... I think Ill just use a dirty filter pad.......
thanks....

 

[Lonewolfblue]

How about adding some of the pre made bacteria starter in the tank? Will it help?

Sometimes it does, most of the time, no difference. About the only thing I've seen people have success with is bio-spira.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

When I upgraded from a 20Gal to a 75, I added water w/ dechlor to the new tank (includign 50% water from the 20 gal) , moved the old and new filter to the 75. Then I moved the fish over w/ decorations (except gravel), then the rest of the water to a level of about 2" left. All within 1.5 hours. I didn't get any spikes at all since the old filter was dirty.. (hadn't been changed for a couple weeks prior). Just don't increase the Bioload and the size difference (~4.5x bigger) will keep the water stable, added that the old filter can already handle 50%+ of the bioload I would think it's more then safe to move it over with your old hardware.

Adding some media from your old filter to the new will get it cycled very quickly. I would be surprised if you had any bacterial bloom.

Just IMO and IME.. I will be doing very similar within the next month moving to a 125Gal. new substrate, same filters (plus a home made fluidized bed).

 

[dskidmore]

My last tank upgrade:
Filled with new water, stuck lift tube with air supply in 2 gal bucket of old gravel submerged in tank. (Old filter was not compatible with new tank, new filter wasn't working out.) Transfered plants and fish over the course of a week. No ammonia spike.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

ok... i think people are starting to realize that I am going to jump in and ask these questions.

So... where do you have that 2400 to 2800 pound aquarium sitting at?

 

[dskidmore]

ok... i think people are starting to realize that I am going to jump in and ask these questions.

So... where do you have that 2400 to 2800 pound aquarium sitting at?

Did you have a disaster?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

The average Queen size water bed is 208 Gallon (about 2080 lbs without people), and those go on the second floor of a house, so where would you put it? (assumes 4'x7'x1')

Living room is a good start, basement is a bit more realistic just for size reasons.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

You are correct a queen size water bed is 208 gallons, however the foot print of one spreads the load across several structural members, i.e. it isn't a concentrated load.

No I didn't have a disaster, but I am an Architect, and alot of things about these large aquariums on this site scare me.

A 240 gallon aquarium has a much smaller foot print than a water bed, a concentrated load, and placed inappropriately, i.e. parallel with the floor joists could be disastrous. If the aquarium is only spanning across 2 joists, and you are expecting them to pick up 1200 pounds each for a long duration, you can expect damage and possibly a failure.

I agree, a basement slab is a much better alternative. It may just end up down there on its own.

 

[dskidmore]

What is the maxium size aquariums you would put paralell and perpendicular to the floor joists in a modern house? Any comments on older houses?

I have a 75 gallon tank, against a foundation wall, perpendicular to the beams, in a 100 year old house. In theory, 750 lbs is less than three of my largish friends standing next to each other, so I'm not worried about the tank itself, but not confident about the size of sump I could put in, or how much weight could go on my "top shelf".

I wish I could get a structural engineer to look at my house, no-one calls me back. That's what I get for living in the hood.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Its hard to say with out an actual calculation of loading. Typically most residential homes in the last decade have been designed to hold around 40 pounds per square foot. That is assuming a uniform load, thus a 200 sq. ft. room is designed to hold a uniform load of 8000 pounds. Typically the design loads in older houses are greater, due to better construction as much of what is built today is "throw away" designed, usually having a life of around 50-75 years. Many people in old houses know how much better they were built.

As far as your question, if you have a 75 gallon aquarium spanned perpendicular to the direction of your floor joists, on a foundation wall, I wouldn't worry about it. Especially if you have had it in that location for some time. As far as a sump goes, I don't even want to guesstimate if it would be able to handle it. If you currently dont see any deflection in your floor, and you have had it there for some time, I wouldn't be too worried about it. 75 is pretty small compared to the 240 which brought this subject up.

I have a 55 gallon in the corner of my apartment and the building was built around 1920. I am however seeing some deflection, or the stand is tipped slightly, as one side of my aquarium is filled to the top, and the other side is about 1/4" lower from the rim. The side that is lower is at the unsupported end. Fortunatley I work with a structural architect who did some calculations for me, and said that "I should be fine".

Sorry to hijack this thread, i just really want people to be aware if the issue.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Well said, you are right that running it parrallel with the joists could introduce too much weight to a 2x10 joist (or even 2). That was why I put my 75 in the basement.

Unfortunately there is no answer to what load they can take, too many variables, (span of joist, method of attachment (foundation wall and steel I Beam being the stronger 2 I'ld imagine), age of the wood, grade of the lumber, Joist spacing,etc.... )

However I will say, I wouldn't be bouncing on the floor infront of the tank... perhaps some emphasis is needed on the direction of the tank with relation to the joist direction and also the consideration of installing floor jacks under the tank before filling it to give some extra support.

Very good point BTW