Aquarium Suggestions

This is wrong. The only law about any aquatic turtles (not only RES) is that you are not to sell them if they are below four inches in shell length unless you are using them for research purposes, which is a loophole. So you were right about that.

Kids used to buy the little ones, suck on them, and get salmonella. The risk of getting it is extremely low unless you put them in your mouth, hence my earlier post.

And yes, all reptiles can carry salmonella.

 

Same here. I'm not sure when I'll get another tank (I've always had large ones, at least a 75 and mostly about 50 gallons bigger than that, since I got serious about the hobby), because I'm waiting for my 17 year old son to go off to college and give me the room. Probably another year, unless, for some bizarre reason, he goes to UT, in which case, I'm doomed! Keep us informed, R2K.

 

I always had a large, semi-agressive planted tank. One where the fish mostly got along, except for the occasional murder, usually due to someone(s) getting interested in mating. I had congo tetras, cardinal tetras, Central and South American dwarf cichlids, and clown loaches. All were several years old and mature schools (except for the cichlids) of 20 or more, added to when I found a great deal or someone was, well, murdered or just croaked. Some of my clown loaches were 8-10" long and fish I'd had for over 20 years. Wonderful in a school and they eat any snail that gets into your tank. Suck the snails right out of their shells. The male congos were 4" plus and incredible. When they were thinking of mating, sometimes one would eat a cardinal tetra, which was a trip. The whole school of cardinals (I had over 30 mature ones for a long time and the same number of congos) would slide over from whatever side of the tank the congos were interested in.

I digress! I had undergravel filtration with power heads, sometimes with some peat mixed into the gravel, which turned the water a nice amber color (some people might not like that, but soft water fish love it... so do plants), and an Eheim outside cannister filter. Air stones and that was about it. Once a month I'd do a water change with the setup I mentioned, which made it very easy and quick. The water it fantastic for plants, BTW. I used to have 3 or 4 ten gallon tanks for my dwarf cichlids, when a pair wanted to mate. Those were a hell of a lot harder to maintain. The bigger the tank, the less work there is, believe it or not. Far less fluctuation in water conditions and a much more forgiving environment.

Hope that's helpful. I know I've posted this stuff before, so forgive me!

 

I have two Emporer 400 hang on back. I also have an eheim but it is not hooked up ATM, I get all my aquarium stuff here, they have good prices.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/

 

Power heads come in different sizes in terms of their output. I don't think two on a forty gallon would be a problem. Just cap off any other tube outlets, which is what you do with power heads, anyway. Also, you can adjust the water flow if you think it's too strong. I had very good luck with them.

 

You know, you might be able to get by with one power head in a tank that size. If it was a breeder type of 40, one 18" from front to back and not tall at all, I'd say two. I think the size you have could slide with one. It makes a huge difference in water flow through the UG filter. Also, my tetras always enjoyed swimming against the current.

 

Poker Stars is the largest fish tank around...you should try there sometime.


Just kidding...great thread...for someone that is not an aquarium keeper I find this discussion fascinating.

Carry on.

DD

 

Wow cool, Im 18 and Ive had a 30 gallon Aquarium for 2 years, I havent really done anything special other than have the betas but now that Ive read, Ill read more on these oscars and maybe Ill get my own someday

 

Pun, Im not gonan be able to help you much when it comes to planting, but might I recommend you join a discussion forum that specializes in fish\plant keeping?

http://houstonfishbox.com/modules.php?name=Forums

you dont have to be from Houston to participate, and you should be able to get lots of great advice from there.

Ive been spending a TON of my spare time at marshreef.com and reefcentral lately as I have been researching current reefkeeping technology. It is quite overwhelming.


for the filter, I have gotten away from using a HOB(hangon back) filter on my one remaining freshwater tank, I have a Rena canister filter (XP2 I believe) that is very good. It is so easy to get going as it has a capped line that you use to prime the lines and a quick disconnect at the top of the filter body for the lines so you dont lose your prime when shutting it down for cleaning.

Highly recommended

I do know one thing about undergravels and plants...most will tell you they are not compatible as the plants really prefer a better substrate to grow in.

 

R2K, I never had a problem using an UG filter and having plants. I had a pretty deep layer of gravel and the power heads insured good water flow. I know you don't want a UG with a saltwater tank, but I've always used them for my freshwater beauties. I know there's mixed opinions about it, though. I found that using an undergravel filter helped keep the tank clean and conditions stable. Just did the usual monthly water change and vacuum of the gravel. Maybe once a year I would do a really major gravel cleaning job. I tried not to, unless it had become really gross (usually I had become lax with the regular maintenence), because you can over do it and mess up the health of the bacteria.

You know, reading what I just wrote makes me think it looks more complicated than it really is. I had a system down that made cleaning my 135 gallon tank as quick and easy as cleaning the old 40 I used to have. I still need to give saltwater a stab, though. The fish and all the rest of it are simply psychedelic! A complete trip.

 

OffTopic-Haha Im going to UT in a few months

 

Hey... we live in Austin! I've been waiting for him to go off to a university somewhere. Oh, I don't know... anywhere! My significant other and I bought our house thinking he was going to be it as far as having kids was concerned, then my daughter, bless her, decided we should be a family of four. The house shrunk incredibly. Sort of like putting a pair of 8" Oscars in a 40 gallon tank that used to have a few tetras in it. Boom! Instant chaos.

I've been married for 30 years and have that 17 year old son and a 12 year old daughter. I'm tired. I want some room. I want room for a fish tank!!!

Help!!!! God, I hope he gets into Rice.
(think of the excuses I'll have to go to H-town and see the Rockets and the Astros! )

 

I do know about using undergravels(UG), I have had one on every freshie tank I have ever had. I also have never had any real success with plants so all I can comment on is the common (mis)conceptions that one normally hears.

Im not saying it can't be done, surely by now someone has developed a mini-pot thing that could hold the rootbase in nutrient-rich soil that can be used with a UG. Of course there are many species that do well in a big gravel substrate, but the more beautiful plants really need better substrate than the gravel size commonly used with UG filters.

My 42 hex has a RUG(reverse UG), two powerheads set to reverse(shooting water down the uplifts) to help reduce the crap that gets embedded in the gravel. Works pretty well actually.

For sure, there wont be a UG anywhere near my reef tank, they are so sensitive to nitrates and phosphates(which UG gravel beds are great at holding on to). You can get away with >20ppm of nitrate in a freshie, but the numbers in a reef tank must be less than .03 at the most. More than that and your corals will be choked out by the algea.

It is gonna take quite a long time to get this tank the way that you commonly expect a big reef to look, the most important thing in this hobby is patience.

check this out.... http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-06/totm/index.php

read the story behind the tank and scroll down to see the absolutely STUNNING pictures of the corals...and see why I really think every last amount of hard work to achieve that is worth it.

 

Holy crap!! Man, those images are stunning!

I've got to try a saltwater tank, if I can ever pry one of my kids out of the house. I have several hundred books on several bookshelves, several hundred LPs, a bunch of art on the walls and literally no place to put the kind of tank I'm used to having. I admit being spoiled by big tanks. Heck, I wanted a larger one than my 135, which was my main tank for many years. I don't know what to tell you about the plants and UG filters. Are you sure your problems weren't more related to the kind of fish you love? Africans and big South American cichlids?

I've never had a RUG. That sounds pretty interesting! You must have great outside filtration to keep the water clean, since you're keeping the gravel in such great shape.

 

FYI : oscars grow up to around a foot and anything less than a 50g for 1 oscar is asking for trouble. Putting 2 in a 40g and it will more than likely eventually end up "survival of the fittest".

The size of the aquarium most often will dictate how fast and how big the oscars will grow, but the general rule of thumb is that for 2 full-grown oscars, you don't want anything less than a 75g tank. They also poop biscuits. I mean really... they can make a mess of smaller aquariums - pulling up plants and decorations... blech.

 

If you're looking for cichlids (like oscars) that don't get huge, look for something like malawi or tanganyikan cichlids from Africa. Oscars are South American cichlids. Just don't overstock them in the tank. They can be fun to watch, but they all have a tendency to re-arrange everything in the aquarium.