Any aquarists here?

@nehaladsul:

Hi buddy! I have seen the Hikari Cichlid Biogold Plus (57 gms pack) being sold for Rs.220/- online from India Petstore.

Here's the link:

http://indiapetstore...products_id=347

^^ Thanx a lot hawk... I got the Hikari Cichlid Gold from my LFS for 175/- He didn't have the Biogold in stock.

BTW, I am in a bit of a fix and have PMed you my saddening story. Please help me out...
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Friend is thinking of keeping mono angelfish...[Monodactylus]

Only think i am worried about mono angelfish are brackish water fish...

LFS guys say that they survive pure freshwater....[They say anything to sell]

I did search on Monodactylus on freshwater got mixed views

people saying they can kept in fresh water too

http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/250261-advice-regarding-my-monodactylus-argenteus/

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_mono.php

Don't want to keep fish in survive edge.....

Any info ?

Tank size 3 feet by 4 feet height....
 
^^ Mono's do well in brackish water and should be kept in such. As they mature they will necessarily require alkaline water for better survival.
 
Hello folks,

I thought of starting this thread of keeping track of sorts for my new Goldfish tank which I'm building at home. I will post photographs as the build progresses in the coming months to come. Since this is a decently big project and there will me multiple components which will be added to the tank it will take time and also a whole lot of patience from my end which I hope I can tackle. Good things take time to shape up!

The tank has a little story attached to it. About a couple of years ago, I walked into my local aquarium fish shop and noticed 4 Goldfish being housed in a small tank. The quality of water in that small tank was anything but pristine. The fish looked underfed and one of them had a nasty cut on it's fins. I could tell the fish were extremely unhappy being stuck in such poor conditions. At that point I knew I had to do something. I needed to rescue them.

I ended up getting all of them, brought them home, and have had them with me in a 120 gallon [4' (L) X 2' (W) X 2' (H)] tank ever since. Over the last two years they have grown to become lovely beauties and become an integral part of my fish keeping hobby. Watching them become such colorful splendors have given me immense joy. Their structural growth has improved, their cuts and wounds have healed (with a few scars from the past) and their long flowing fins are now much healthier.

Thus, I finally decided to give them an even bigger home. A ground they could call their own home and also allow other friends to join them in the future.

Ladies and Gentlemen this is a journey of making a 210 Gallon tank for the Goldies I truly cherish...

Fish Tank Details:

Dimensions: 84" (L) X 24" (W) X 24" (H)
Tank Capacity: 210 Gallons (800 Liters approximately)
Substarte: None, Minimalist Bare Bottom.
Stand: Iron with wood top.


Photographs:

As the glass arrived last week:

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The glass was sent to me last week, early in the morning. I was fast asleep when my house guards informed me that a truck had arrived with aquarium glass. 3 men from the glass store has accompanied the driver of the truck and they huffed and puffed their way to the 4th floor of my house where this tank will be housed with all of the glass panels.

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Filtration: 2 X SunSun HW 304A + 1 X SunSun 302A + 1 SunSun 603B (For Water Polishing Only)

I also have ordered an Eheim 2217, which I should receive soon and will be used on the tank as well. One of the SunSun HW 304A's will be kept for backup.

Miscellaneous stuff I needed:

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I will be using 2 power-heads for water movement inside the tank. One I already had which is rated at 2000 L/H and the above one I bought.

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Seachem Ammonia Alert.

Although I will be cycling the tank for a good month I have already set the filters up on my old tank so that they will be cycled and help with establishing the new tank once it's been all set. Speeding up the cycling process if you will. I might add in a few Zebra Danio's post 2 weeks but that's still undecided. My Goldfish will only get added after two months from the day I start the cycling process. This should help the tank and the filtration system handle the bio-load once I put the fish in.

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To keep track of water temperatures.

The tank was ordered to be made by Mr. Swapan Nath from Kolkata (aka "Buro Da" in the Fishkeeping Hobbyist Community). He is undoubtedly one of the finest makers of aquariums and fish tanks and till date I have always trusted him with making all my tanks.

I will be posting the tank making photographs soon...

Thanks for watching and as always Happy Fishkeeping to everyone! :)
 
What are your thoughts on transferring some substrate from your 120G into the new tank for accelerated cycling?

Also, please do post the pics of your 120G. Really interested in seeing those thriving goldfishes :D
 
What are your thoughts on transferring some substrate from your 120G into the new tank for accelerated cycling?

The 120 Gallon tank is bare bottom. I usually don't put gravel or sand in any of my large tanks for ease of maintenance and also because I for one like the all glass minimalist look. That's just me.

However, I will be adding cycled media (from other filters that I have running currently) in the canister filters so that the cycling process of the 210 Gallon tank is speeded up. I will be following this process:

Fill tank and attach 3 canister filters with cycled media. Cycled media will include ceramic rings, filter sponge and pot scrubbies. I'll let the tank run for 2 weeks straight. Of course all filters will be on 24/7 and always will be, except for when they are plugged out for filter maintenance. After 2 weeks I will be introducing only 2 Goldfish juveniles in the tank and then let the tank run for the next 1 month. No more fish additions in that month. Water changes will be done weekly @ 40% (400 liters).

Post one month, I'll be introducing my 6 Goldfish from my currently running 120 Gallon tank into the 210 Gallon tank. By that time the beneficial bacteria will have colonized and the tank and filters will be able to handle the bio-load of all the fish. At this point I'll also be adding my third canister and 4 large sponge filters (powered by Hagen Marina air-pumps) to the 210 Gallon tank. The 120 Gallon tank will be shutdown after I transfer the fish. It's given me a solid 10 years of service and it will be retired.

If I do decide to add more fish, which I will, it will be in October mostly. I intend to give the tank adequate time to mature and stabilize.

The filtration system finally will stand as follows:
4 X Canister Filters [2 X SunSun HW-304A + 1 X SunSun 603 (For Water Polishing Only) + 1 X Eheim 2217 + 4 X Large Sponge Filters with Hagen Marina Air-Pumps].
Back-up Filters: 1 X Eheim Pro 3 + 1 X SunSun 302 + 1 X Eheim 2217.

And now... the tank making photographs (Main builder with 2 helpers):

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As it starts... bottom glass leveling. The most important part before structural progress.

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With the leveling complete, the build proceeds...

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Back glass mounting.

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Basic Structure completed with all glasses siliconed and mounted. The mammoth tank finally takes shape!

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Interior bracing being done.

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A little grinding was needed one some of the braces. One of my house guards looks on :)

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Euro bracing being done for added structural integrity.

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Fixing the braces with silicon... precise pasting.

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And it's all done!

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Build Complete!! :D

Dimensions: 7' (L) X 2' (H) X 2 (W) / 84" (L) X 24" (H) x 24"(W)
Capacity: 210 US Gallons / 800 Liters (approximately).
Tank Type: All Glass - Rimless with Euro Bracing.
Glass Used: 12mm (For tank and braces).
Tank Maker: Mr. Swapan Nath (the man in the striped t-shirt).

Tank placement and more photographs to follow... :)
 
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^^ that is a big ass tank. Are you planning on keeping just goldfish? Is is going to be planted?
Getting back into this after a long break. Just a couple of bettas for now but I also have a 30 gallon tank to populate. Probably going to do Pearl Gouramis with German Rams which was a lively combination to say the least, and fairly low maintenance. Video from my tank from a few years back;
 
Got the tank up on the stand and filled it up. Also, got the filters running and started the Nitrogen cycling process...

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Tank Stand
Dimensions: 84" (L) X 24" (W) X 36" (H)
Material: Iron (braced) with Wooden Plank Top over which 1" Thermocol is placed.
Stand Weight: 80kg's.
Stand's Weight Bearing Capacity: 3.3 Tons (3000 kg's)

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Lifting this behemoth of a tank was no ordinary task. It took 6 people and the thing weighs north of 200 kg's empty!

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Water Level Check. One of the most intricate procedures for sure. This has to be meticulously done for maximum structural stability.


Filling the tank up in stages:

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Day 1: About 40%.

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Day 2: About 70%

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Day 3: 100% filled!! :D

More photographs to follow...
 
I'll be honest, i didn't google the answer but i'd like a real world explanation. Isn't silicone primarily a sealant? So how good are its adhesive properties that it can be used to hold not just the glass together but all the pressure from the weight of the water ?
 
I'll be honest, i didn't google the answer but i'd like a real world explanation. Isn't silicone primarily a sealant? So how good are its adhesive properties that it can be used to hold not just the glass together but all the pressure from the weight of the water ?

Its pretty good. Usage of silicone sealants in aquarium making is common. If you see the tank, there are bottom and top bracings for more strength. IMO, a good build.
 
^^ the bracings are just extra strips of glass, again stuck with silicon right?

also, how is regular (chlorinated) water made usable for fish? can we use bisleri types purified water otherwise? and what about for saltwater / freshwater fish?
 
^^ the bracings are just extra strips of glass, again stuck with silicon right?

also, how is regular (chlorinated) water made usable for fish? can we use bisleri types purified water otherwise? and what about for saltwater / freshwater fish?

Yes, as i said earlier, silicone sealants are pretty good for the job. Much larger tanks are built using it.

Chlorine is quite volatile. You can store water for a day or two and aerate it to get rid of chlorine. I have a separate overhead tank for aquariums which has an aerator installed.

One can also use 'Hypo' (Sodium Thiosulphate) for quick removal
 
I remember when the marble threshold slab at the bottom of the front door of my old house just wouldn't stay put. The usual cement etc. kept failing and I even tried araldite. But after sometime it would just come loose even though the door wasn't even hitting it. Maybe a vibration thing etc. Finally tried silicon (window, not aquarium) and the thing stuck like crazy! Probably still there.
 
Just adding my intro. Didnt know such a thread existed till recently.

Have been a fish keeper since around a decade. Mostly interested in native fishes of India. Have had ~14tanks at peak. Still have them but most are dry :(. Struggling to maintain few tanks now.

Shameless plug - https://www.facebook.com/ichthyophile

Try to maintain my trip logs here (not very frequent)
 
I'll be honest, i didn't google the answer but i'd like a real world explanation. Isn't silicone primarily a sealant? So how good are its adhesive properties that it can be used to hold not just the glass together but all the pressure from the weight of the water ?

Good question. Silicon is a rather robust sealant. It has immense tensile strength and holds glass together even under varying weather conditions. The bracing used in my tank also helps with the general rigidity and structural integrity of the tank. I have purposely integrated large braces to prevent the tank from bowing due to the surmountable water pressure. The silicon was injected in thick contoured lines across the glass boundaries with rock steady hands. A few days of drying where the tank was kept untouched assured the proper curing of the silicon. The leveling of the tank once mounted on the stand and an even water level inside the tank, once it was filled also helped in overall stability and pressure handling. A structurally weak stand or an uneven tank will make it catastrophically crack in the long run. That can be a real nightmare! Also, the layer of thermocol I have provided underneath the tank adds to an uniform base which helps in weight distribution without creating minute pressure points. Those minute pressure points once created can act as rogue fulcrum points and make the glass of a large aquarium crack.

The tank is currently housed on the fourth floor of my house. It has been specifically placed on a floor under which runs a horizontal concrete beam which connects to the house columns. The weight distribution of the entire tank setup aids from this architectural dispersion. An aquarium holding 800 liters of water plus 250 kg's of glass along with an iron stand of 80 kg's is a decent amount of Live Load on a building's floor thus placement of the tank was instrumental to begin with. Once done, it needed to hold for the years to come.

I have kept brace-less tanks when I was in Milwaukee and those were from Aqueon but none were above 3 feet long. When I knew I was going beyond 6 feet I pretty much decided to go the Euro bracing way. Nevertheless, be it here in India or there in Milwaukee where the weather was remarkably cold, silicon has always worked well on the fish tanks I have kept... be it a rimless or a rimmed tank.
 
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@Black_Hawk Great work, mate! :)

Logged in after a long time only for this thread. Would love to see the progress.

I no longer have any fish... Sad story... But after the last one went off a year or so ago, I decided to take a break.

Please keep updating the thread... Would love to live the hobby through your lens! :)
 
@Black_Hawk Great work, mate! :)

Logged in after a long time only for this thread. Would love to see the progress.

I no longer have any fish... Sad story... But after the last one went off a year or so ago, I decided to take a break.

Please keep updating the thread... Would love to live the hobby through your lens! :)

Hi Nehal,

Hope your doing good brother! I'm sorry to hear that you lost your fish. Taking a break sometimes is a good plan. I hope you'll get back to the hobby with a fresh start again soon :)

I will post some updated photographs of my 210 Gallon tank in a couple of day's time along with some other equipment I got for the tank.

In the mean time, I thought to share some photographs from a Petco outlet I visited during my recent trip to the US. This was a rather large shop and housed a plethora of fish tanks along with loads of aquarium/ fish tank equipment to choose from. A paradise in all honesty for pet lovers! The shop is on Bluemound Road in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...

Aquarium Decorations/ Ornaments:
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I had been looking for this Red Asian Gazebo for ages... finally found it!

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Aquarium Filters and Filtration Media Section. Next trip I'm getting a Fluval FX6 from here!

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55 Gallon Racking System Display Tanks with fishes!

Enjoy! :)
 
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Yes, as i said earlier, silicone sealants are pretty good for the job. Much larger tanks are built using it.

Chlorine is quite volatile. You can store water for a day or two and aerate it to get rid of chlorine. I have a separate overhead tank for aquariums which has an aerator installed.

One can also use 'Hypo' (Sodium Thiosulphate) for quick removal

The water supply to the place I am in is highly chlorinated (as in it turns pink in the shower tub etc) and I just used one of those dechlorinating liquids from the pet store. Seems to be ok so far.
 
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