pinkfloydpuffer

I got my 80 gallon tall tank today! I'm very excited about it. I'm going to move my puffers over there, since the tank they're in will be way too small once they get big. I got a great deal on the tank. It has 1/2" thick glass, so it's way heavy, I'm not sure how we're going to get it all the way downstairs to my room... But we'll figure something out. Anyways, here's what's going to happen with my tanks.

First, the 80g.
It'll be home for my puffers, but I'll have to start the cycle completely from scratch because of the cyanobacteria problem in their current tank. I think I'll take the opportunity to raise the salinity to about 1.013 (It's at 1.009 currently). Eventually it will be saltwater, and I'm thinking of maybe adding an eel when I get to that point, at least that's what I'm hoping for, I'll see how aggressive my puffers get as they age.

Now, the problem is, it came with an undergravel filter. I know nothing about these at all. Do you guys think I should keep it and add a small HOB filter, or ditch it altogether and just get a good HOB? And since it will be saltwater soon and I'll get live rock, I can get away with underfiltering a bit since my puffs are still so small.

Next, the 20g.
Current home of my puffers, I really wanted to put a figure 8 puffer in there after my puffs move out, but my dad is making me get rid of one tank so that I can get this big one. So, it looks like no figure 8 puffy . At least for now.... I'm working on it, don't you worry. So instead I'll have to ditch the complete setup, remove the aragonite substrate, and convert it to freshwater. *sigh* But then, my two bettas, my two cories, and my pleco will get the whole tank to themselves, so a 10g partition for each! I'm sure they'll appreciate all the immense space.

The 10g.
That's the one I'll have to sell. Right now it's the current residence of my bettas and catfishes. I really wish I didn't have to sell it though.

The 5g.
This one I get to keep, luckily. It has my 3 guppies, along with tons of little ramshorn and MTS snails, and about 6 (for now) ghost shrimp. I need this tank so I can raise my puffer food in there, and the guppies are cause my little sister loves them.

So yep, there's my plan. I'll use this thread to track my progress of getting the tank set up and whatnot.
I'm way excited!

angelfish220

So you finally got your 80. Good for you! I would suggest no UGF. I've heard nothing good about them. Just a good HOB will suffice.

Just wondering, why get rid of the ten and keep the 5? That would be bigger for growing food/ guppy. just a thought.

pinkfloydpuffer

Yeah, I've been reading up on them, and I'm pretty darn sure it's going bye-bye.

The reason I have to get rid of a tank is because my dad is concerned about the evaporating water causing high humidity and mold in my room. It took me excessive bargaining to get him to let me even keep the 20g, so I'm taking what I can get.

Lucy

Niccccce PFP. Can't wait to see your set up.

pinkfloydpuffer

Thanks

I'm thinking of going to a nearby lake to find some rocks and stuff for the tank.

pinkfloydpuffer

Lol, I'm going through all the extras... there's lotsa old school stuff in here! Like this heater that has springs in it? Never seen one like that. It has a powerhead for the UGF, I'm hoping I can use that on its own...
And EVERYTHING smells like dead trout! Not very pleasant, lol.

CHoffman

My 125 smelt like that..AWFUL..Its horriable...I scrubbed forever just to get the smell off...It also came with a UGF..I took it out because it was NASTY under there..But I've heard where you can turn them upside down and have it actually push thing up instead of sucking down on the gunk..I didn't do that because I put sand in the tank and I still think that crud would get under the plates..Good luck PFP.

Mike19

awesome tank, cant wait for pics im thinking of getting either a 80G tall or 180G.

Nick G

Congrats on the new tank! Don't use the UGF if you can help it. I had one in my 20gal and that was a nightmare! Dread to think what it'd be like doing maintenence in a 80gal tall! Pockets o0f REAL toxic ammonia can get trapped in the gravel using a UGF, and if they get disturbed..................Bye,Bye Fishes!

pinkfloydpuffer

Yeah, I'm going to throw out the UGF as soon as I get it out. Everything I've been hearing and reading is "this is garbage" lol.

Here's the pic of it from the classifieds listing... Obviously I'm going to make it look WAY different... but you can see the basic tank and stand shape. He offered to let me take the cichlid too (the bigger one had died since the pic was taken), but of course I didn't want it. I took the treasure chest decor but not the rock one cause the holes are too small. He gave me all the gravel, even though I don't want it... I think my dad is going to throw it out back to cover where our dog kennel used to be.

Attached Images

tank.jpg (79.3 KB, 74 views)

CHoffman

What did he do with the fish??

pinkfloydpuffer

He had like 4 other aquariums, one of which just had a Jack Dempsey in it, so he put the cichlid in there. I don't know what kind that one was though.

Peterpiper

Hi PFP,
Nice tank!
Did the lights come with it?
Are they T5 or T8?
Only 1 way to get it down the stairs... slowly very slowly

pinkfloydpuffer

Lol
Yes, the lights came with it. I haven't gotten a good look at them yet, so all I can tell you is there's 2 fluorescent bulbs.

Martinismommy

That is a beautiful tank Pink!

pinkfloydpuffer

Thanks

My brother keeps nagging me saying that my tanks aren't pretty enough (which amazes me really) and he said "this one we're gonna make so beautiful that it'll win tank of the month" lol

KyWildFish

I doubt the humidity would be a problem. There is a thing called partial pressure of water vapors that will only allow so much humidity into the air. Its very complicated and involves lots of fun calculations and a really big chart to figure out, but the humidity shouldn't be an issue, unless it already is some. You could get a dehumidifier and your dad wouldn't be able to tell you a limit on tanks, but that might be enabling....hehehe.

The tank looks cool, wish I had the room to go that big.

pinkfloydpuffer

Thing is, my dad talked to my neighbor who used to have a 250g SW in his house, and he said that they got a bit of mold from it... the tank is at his business now, lol.

Dehumidifier, eh? Never heard of one...

KyWildFish

Lol, yes they take water out of the air and condense it into liquid again. I first saw one at a friend of my parent's house in their basement. Here in Kentucky it gets really humid in the summers and they were having problems with moisture and mold in the basement. All they had to do was empty the thing occasionally and it solved all the problems.

I am not sure how much it takes out or how much you would need to remove. You could start measuring the water that evaporates from your existing tanks, say by gallons per week, and then get back to me with the figures. I could run a few calculations and let you know what pans out, a dehumidifier might be a possible fix. It will add to the energy use in the house though, which Dad might use against you.

(Now I need to dig up those notes and charts from college....)

pinkfloydpuffer

Lol
Luckily I live in a desert out here in Utah
I was googling it, and there's some mini ones that run around $50 that seem manageable...

Fish Addict

Yeah we have one in my basement and it works pretty well, keeps the basement from smelling moldy and gross. I am not sure how often we have to empty it, but it has a thing that says when it's full.

cerianthus

Dehumidifier aren't that cheap. Try to have minimal opening on hood/top so all the evaporqtion will occur w/i tank and condensation takes place underneath the hood, thus humidity of the room wuld not be effected by much Try running tank w/ tight top and open top. Big difference in amount of water loss due to evaporation.

Nick G

Try and get a good brand like Mitsubushi 2nd hand if you can. I've got a great one here that I'd let you have but unfortunatly I'm in NZ!

pinkfloydpuffer

We'll see what we can do about the humidity.
I do keep the lids tight, as my puffers are jumpers, and I want to get an eel for that tank eventually.

Last night my dad and I cleaned out the tank, it took 2 hours, buckets full of water, cups of bleach, and lots of random items like razorblades, wet-dry vaccuum, and gravel vacuum, but we got it done! And it looks great! Yesterday I ordered a Aquaclear filter, the biggest one they make, and a whole bunch of other stuff I needed for the tank. I'm going to try pearl sand and rocks from the local lake. (pH buffers ) Of course everything is covered in feet of snow right now, so figuring out how to get the sand and rocks will be quite the adventure.
I have a question, I was bleaching a piece of decor and forgot about it and left it in too long, and, well... now it looks bleached, lol. Is it still safe?
And I had a brilliant idea. Setup my quarantine tank at the same salinity as I want the tank and start it cycling. That way I can get a jump start on my cycle, since the tank is still out in the garage, and the filter for it won't get here for at least a week.
I'm just full of ideas...

Jess

Hey Pink, great tank! Good thing you're a tall girl you almost have to climb into one so tall for cleaning. I would love to have a nice big tank like that and so would my fish friends.

pinkfloydpuffer

Thanks Jess

Oh, forgot to mention that I'll also be putting nerite snails in there. If I'm lucky, the puffers will leave them alone and let them do their thing, if not... well, we'll just call it a gourmet meal, lol.

pinkfloydpuffer

My shipment came in today! Thank you Drs Foster and Smith!
I got my Aquaclear 110, Garlic Guard, SW Vitachem, 48" flexible bubble wand, tubing, drip acclimation system, SW API master test kit, and a few other little things that I needed. And all for a great price too! The heater I ordered is on backorder, however, so they'll be shipping it to me when it gets back in stock. But it's no big deal, I have the heater that came with the tank, I just don't trust it with my puffs But to start a cycle it'll be fine.
My dad said we could probably get the tank down to my room tomorrow. It's killing me having to watch it sit out there in the cold lonely garage, lol.
And, great news, he said that he'll take the humidity readings again once my tank is running, and if it's ok then I can keep all the tanks. Which would be wonderful, because then I could get a figure 8 puffer for my GSPs' old tank. I already have a name picked out for him and everything too
But for the cycle, I still haven't been able to find any ammonia! I went to walmart, target, home depot... I am just not finding any So we'll see what we can find, but things aren't looking good. Might have to use food. Which I really don't want to do...

pinkfloydpuffer

The tank is set up in my room!
Now I'm busy hauling so many 5 gallon buckets back and forth. And man is it tiring! Not to mention that the tank is so tall that when I reach in I can barely touch the bottom. So... it's hard to get a bucket full of water up to that height. I'd take pics, but my camera is out of batteries, and I can't seem to find the cord anywhere... So I guess I will post some when I can find it. I love how it looks though, and my wall makes a perfect background for it

pinkfloydpuffer

I got to go in to work an hour and a half later today, so I used that time to get some shopping done. I got more salt mix and ammonia
Thanks for suggesting Ace Hardware. I had no idea that there even was any around here anymore, but I looked and sure enough there was one in the next town.
I finished filling up the tank, got the salt in, filter running, dechlorinator in, heater on, and then the ammonia in! Wha-lah!
Now all I have left to do is get the sand/decor and wait for the cycle to finish.
My puffies are so excited they can hardly contain their joy

KyWildFish

Why not seed it with one of your other tanks, it works faster in my experience.