Okay - I've been trying to find a 55g to upgrade two of my tanks to. Because of my tetra's shyness I thought it best if they stay in the 10g (besides, I really do like how they go with the decor heh). But...I've found a 75g set up and I've been talking with the owner. Its a complete set up, has all the equipment I need (I was looking for a 55g since I have filters for 50g and 20g) and a little extra. Perfect for combine the three tanks while allowing me to add to the groupings and make feedings, cleaning, water changes, etc a bit easier.
I've been talking to my father, he says he'd love to have a big tank but its not "logically". For one the house wasn't built all that great, and it took a lot of talking into letting me have two 10g tanks in the same room. My 22g is in our "fireplace" room, it has the least temperature fluxation due to being in the middle of the house and because it isn't over the basement but a closed in continuation of the garage the concert flooring can actually support a tank of that size. As of right now I have four tanks in three seperate rooms, one is all the way upstairs in my room (my
betta - staying there else I'll feel like something is missing every time I wake up) and the others are on either side of the house. My 22g takes up less room than my 10g, well, length wise and my parents liked that. The 75g is only 2 inches wider, 1 inch taller and well, 32 inches longer - not exactly that much larger than my tanks combined (the 10g are ontop of each other so only one counts) and if I recall correctly a standard 55g and 75g have the same length (about 4ft, right?).
Like I said, my father said he'd love to have a big tank but it isn't "logically". The only room we have is the fireplace room and there isn't room for a tank that big. Once I explained the size of the tank compared to what I have, he sighed and said "Talk to your mother." Now my father said when I was little he use to have a tank with neon tetras and angelfish (I had to promise no angelfish, he said the one he had ate all the neons and was only a baby heh) and had he not started a 10g back a few years I never would of gotten into fishkeeping. But it isn't just enough to talk my mother into a larger tank. I got my father by explaining the size differance isn't all that much and its much easier to keep the tanks clean. My zebra 10g has been having some trouble with algae but I can't really do anything about it unless I move my otos over for a little bit, overstocking the tank and putting stress on my little guys (an example I used that he understood clearly).
But it isn't enough to get my father into thinking it might work. Like most married people, everything is 50/50 and unfortunately I have to talk both into it. My mother has been harder on everything since the beginning but I believe she enjoys watching my tanks the most. When I brought home Baby (panda cory - he isn't such a baby anymore) my mother loved watching him interact with Peppy (my monster peppered cory) and Pandy (as the name suggests, another panda cory). The two did hang together from time to time and there was some minor aggression going on but Baby kind of mad the picture complete - the three are always together and playing. Poor Peppy will be trying to eat and Baby comes over and sits on the food or Baby will just stay so close to Pandy you'd think he was a child trying to get his mother to hold him. Explaining that a larger tank will allow me to get some more cories and otos isn't going to be enough for her. The problem is - there's no room in the fireplace room.
Well there is room, something just has to go. The fireplace room is basically our "family room". It has our old furniture, a few storage shelves, tv hooked up for our console
games (so there's no fighting if someone wants to watch) and thats pretty much it since their are three doorways and of course that fireplace. But like I said, the room has a pretty steady temperature, is never bright but isn't used as just a walk way. I know there is room in there for the tank - one of the shelves just has to go and a little rearranging has to take place but I know it will work.
I know if given the change I can prove there is room in there and everything still look nice. But what can I say to help improve my chances? I don't want to waste the sellers time anymore than I already have but they seem patient enough and the small talk has been helping. Its a bit more than what I was looking to spend for a 55g but considering it has more than what I was looking for and is larger I think $250 is a pretty nice deal. A new 55g set up is $300 alone.
EDIT: I don't know what it was but they told me I can look into it. Should of known as soon as I seek some help they turn me on and do something rather unpredictable. Not that its a bad thing, its a very good thing, a very good thing indeed.
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