Trying to decide...

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C

Codefox

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
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520
Location
Tampa, FL
Hey all, its been a while! I moved last year and decided not to set my aquarium back up until I was more settled in my house. I had a lot of furniture to buy and didn't want to find out that my tank was in the wrong spot. (It would have been ;) )

Anyway, trying to decide what to do with a new tank. I kinda want to set up an Amazon themed tank but I don't know if I should do live or plastic plants. Not sure I want to do the maintenance but it would look very pretty I think.

The other option would be an African rift lake setup...that would be easy to do since no plants would really be needed :D
 
Yeah...the rift lake set up would probably be a lot easier on me as far as maintenance goes. I have dreams of doing an amazon biotope setup but I think it would be a lot of work. :D
 
What size tank are we talking about here? If it's anything less than a 55g then you won't be able to do anything with African cichlids unless you want shellies or the softer water west river cichlids. I recommend a 75g at the minimum for an African setup since you will need many caves and rock formations which take up a great deal of space.

On the other hand, a 29g tank would be great for some angelfish, a pair of rams or a trio of apistos, a school of cardinal/neon tetras, a few cories, a BN pleco, and you could even throw in a handful of ottos as a cleanup crew for algae (good on plastic or live plants). You wouldn't need live plants but they are certainly helpful in removing wastes like nitrates from the water, which means you can get away with smaller and less frequent water changes. You will need to ensure that you have ample lighting, which will cost around $50 on a 29g tank.
 
@bs - I currently have a 55g sitting around but was actually thinking of upping the tank size to 60 - 90g. I agree on the rift lake setup needing more space...which would be completely worth it anyway :)
 
FishCrazyBenBOMB said:
Yeah biotopes take a lot more maintenance and need more time from you. I would suggest the Rift lake setup for you since it needs less attention from you.
Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately the single life is conducive to many things...but since I travel a lot for work and pleasure, anything that requires a lot of my supervision is tough. :(
 
I'd either go with a 75g or look for a used 100g (I'm not sure if they make them anymore). A 90g doesn't really have an advantage over a 75g IMO. It is taller but doesn't really allow any more swimming room for the fish. A 100g would be nice since it'd be 5 feet long but you may not be able to find one that size. I don't see any benefit of going with the 90g, I'd either go smaller (75g) and save some money, or most likely I'd go larger with a 100g or a 6ft long 125g.
 
I'll have to check to see that I have the space for something like a 125...would be cool but might not be feasible. Saving money on the 75 vs 90 sounds good but wouldn't the additional water volume be a good thing regardless?
 
Most 100's I've seen lately are the 48x24x24 ( i think) variety. The 90 gives you more water volume which when it comes to water quality, work and wiggle room is an advantage over a 75. The extra height would also let you aquascape in a way that would lend itself to soaring plants, terraces and still have plenty of upper level swim room for the top tankers. It also gives you more room to create high light and low light regions.

On the flip side, it's a pain to reach the back corners without a wetsuit
 
CaptainAhab said:
Most 100's I've seen lately are the 48x24x24 ( i think) variety. The 90 gives you more water volume which when it comes to water quality, work and wiggle room is an advantage over a 75. The extra height would also let you aquascape in a way that would lend itself to soaring plants, terraces and still have plenty of upper level swim room for the top tankers. It also gives you more room to create high light and low light regions.

On the flip side, it's a pain to reach the back corners without a wetsuit
Click to expand...


That is the size of a 120 (square or cube). It's true that you'd have more water volume but it's not much more "useable" than a 75g. You will have extra height which means if you decide to go with plants you will either need more lighting or better quality lighting to get the penetration to reach the plants. Either way you look at it you will have to spend more on the lighting and I wanted to point that out so it wasn't a surprise.

Also, as far as there being more swimming room for top level dwellers there aren't too many of those when it comes to Africans are there? IMO it'd be better to have a larger footprint which would allow more territories to be established. I don't think the 90g would be worth the extra couple hundred dollars over the 75g, but a 125 certainly would be.

It would also be harder to keep clean as already pointed out and you will constantly have wet sleeves LOL.

If you want a more "crowded" look you could go with a 90g but I like my tanks to have more room for the fish so there isn't so much visual distress when looking at the tank.
 
Make that 48x20x24. I haven't seen a 5ft tank in years. Would be interested though if you have a link. A 5ft would fit nice and might change my second 90g build to a 100/5. Either way, 'wouldn't the additional water volume be a good thing regardless?' Yes.

FWIW, used nondrilled 90's in my area go for about $70 , RR for 90-ish
 
I have a 100g that is 5 ft long ( I think it's about 18.5" wide and about 21" tall) and it's only 5 or so years old but I don't think they are made anymore (unless you want acrylic).

The additional water volume would be handy but I don't think it could be stocked any more than a 75g could vbe if he chooses to go with African cichlids, which is what I'm thinking he's leaning towards. It all comes down to territorial disputes between the fish but I suppose if there were many fish then it may not be an issue. I don't have much experience with African cichlids so I can't say for sure. SA fish on the other hand is a different story.

Also note that water volume isn't everything to consider when purchasing a tank. I could have a 20" x 20" x 57.25" tall tank (100g) but it wouldn't be useful to a stingray for example, which would be more at home in a 30" x 42" x 18" tall tank (still 100g). I think a 90g is on the border of it's usefulness and is only great in certain circumstances, such as the one you mentioned about having tall plants. I was trying to decide between a 75g and a 90g about a year ago. I mulled over the pros and cons of each and eventually I settled for a 5 ft 100g tank that is perfectly suited for my discus. It was the cost and the height of the 90g that turned me away. I was going to purchase a new 75g or 90g but found the 100g used for $350 or so. It also came with about $100 in extras that I sold so I can't complain about the price.
 
i have the 90.it was 175.00 new . that means you paid 200.00 more for 10 gallons.
 
yeah tank only not counting the stand.But canadian dollars. so prob 1/2 price there .
 
Mine was with tank, stand, glass tops, two lights, three canister filters, two 250w heaters, a thermometer, four african cichlids that I gave away, and a bunch of food.

With a stand figured into your purchase you'd be looking at an additional $125 or more for a cheap one and that puts you at $300.

You also need to factor in the glass thickness, the original purchase price of the tank and you also need to realize that there is more swimming room in a 5ft tank than there is in a 4 ft tank.
 
It wasn't a great deal as I saw a 150g for $175 used but it wasn't what I wanted at the time. I even knew that I overpaid by probably $50-75 for what they are going for in my area but I needed one ASAP and that's what was available at the time. I would have gone for a 6ft long 125g if one was available.
 
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