Oceanic tanks

[blizowman1]

What kind of substrate do you use in your tank I've heard a lot of people say to just use the organic miracle grow stuff. Do you wash dirt like you would gravel or do you just put it in and cap it

 

[manbeast]

my 90 and 150 have Eco-complete and my 26 bowfront and 20 xtra high both have @ a 50/50 mix of floramax and black diamond blasting sand, I wish I had known about the black diamond sand sooner I'd have it in all my tanks. although for a lower light tank I'm considering pool filter sand as it's lighter in color and will probably help brighten up a lower light situation

 

[blizowman1]

So what do recommend for a 90g substrate I've heard just a regular organic miracle grow capped with rock or Sand is good

 

[blizowman1]

I found a aquaclear 110 online brand new for 45.99

 

[manbeast]

sounds like a good score on the ac I've never used one but have heard good things, as far as using dirt in a tank I've never tried that but read here that it's better to cap with sand as the spaces between gravel tends to let enough of the dirt out to cloud the water easily and often

 

[blizowman1]

It seems like it would be easier to push plants threw the sand and dirt then try to dig a hole threw the gravel to plant the plant in the dirt

 

[blizowman1]

So I found a sunsun brand canister filter on eBay rated for up to 100 gallons it's only 75 bucks with free shipping they also have the one rated for 175g for 96 bucks or I found a website that carries aquaclear 110 for 45 bucks. I'll already have my aquaclear 70 from my 29g to put on the 90 too. Which filter would y'all choose

 

[manbeast]

I'm partial to canisters myself but one thing to remember is the flow rate is measured with no media in the filter, I think after you fill it with media you reduce the flow rate by 1/3-1/2 of the claimed GPH

 

[blizowman1]

So would the one rated for 100 gallons be enough or would I need the bigger one I think the 100g one said 375gph I'm kinda on a tight budget so I would like to get off as cheap as I can but I want it to be good enough for my tank too

 

[manbeast]

my xp3 is rated at 350 gph and up to 175gal and I have a whisper 350 just for more surface agitation, it's always better to have a little more than you need than not enough

 

[manbeast]

the extra $21 on the sunsun buys an awful lot of peace of mind

 

[blizowman1]

But you think the 75 dollar 100g 375gph rated one is enough for what I need

 

[manbeast]

I think you've reached the point where you have all the advice and opinion you're going to need, it's just up to you to make the decision that you and your fish can be happy with

 

[blizowman1]

Ok so I have a question about my tank the middle support on top is a thick piece of glass

Is this how these older tanks are built or is this a sign of a repair job or something

 

[Smitty]

That looks pretty wide for a brace. My guess is that it was a repair. A lot of really old tanks didn't have a center brace because they used thicker glass.

 

[blizowman1]

The question is should I be worried

 

[Smitty]

If it is secure then you shouldn't have a problem, but without looking at it I don't see anyone would be able to say yes or no. Fill it with water and let it sit for a week and see what it does. Do this outside so if it does break it doesn't flood your house.

 

[blizowman1]

Well the guy at the pet store said he had it sitting in his garage full of water for a week before he brought it to his shop to make sure he wasn't selling a leaking tank

 

[blizowman1]

And the way it's siliconed in it doesn't look like it isn't supposed to be there and there is no place where a existing brave had been broke

 

[Smitty]

What size tank and how wide is the brace? How thick is the glass?

The main purpose of the bracing, from what I understand, is to help with any bowing in the glass that would cause additional stress and form cracks or failure. It doesn't take much to hold it together, and silicone is strong once cured.

I would still want to test it myself to make sure it was safe, but that is me. The only time I didn't test that way was on the tank that I saw full for 6 months at the store, and then I was the one that came in and emptied it before moving to my house.