crack in acrylic...need new tank...what to get?

[lauraj]

Came home from a weeks vacation to find a 1.5 inch crack in my the front of my tank. Have no idea how this could have happened....no one was home or in the house while we were away. Was hoping to go bigger anyway, but this definitely puts a rush on things. I've got my platies in my 2.5G quarantine tank.....it's a little crowded!

Was thinking about going with a Marineland 29G kit (glass tank this time *thumbsups ) and will need a stand.

Any suggestions from anyone?

 

[homebunnyj]

Get the biggest one you can afford. Thicker glass is better, I feel. Be sure to get enough filtration too.

 

[Lotus]

If you're going planted, try to get a longer tank rather than a taller one. Lighting is much easier! For example, get a 20 long instead of a 20 high, if you can (or a 30g long instead of a 29g)

 

[tropicalfish]

Longer tanks allow you to plant more, and you also have more "floor" space...

When the tank is higher, you will need stronger lighting to penetrate the deeper waters, so some plants get more light than others,... and with the stronger lighting, you can always have algae problems and you waste energy.

 

[Seleya]

I'd also send a letter to Marineland or go to the store you bought the 6 from -- those tanks should not break..... Have you moved your filter media over to the quarantine tank?

 

[lauraj]

I was actually looking at a 20 long today. Hadn't thought about the lighting advantage before though. Knew I'd get great suggestions from you guys I need to check around for a stand that sits a little higher than the one I saw though.

I was also thinking about the Marineland 20 or 29 because the lighting and filtration is included. That's a big money saver.

If I go with a tank and hood set up instead of a kit, what filter would you suggest? Don't want to spend too much, but want something that works well though.

I did move the filter media to the 2.5, and packed up the Eclipse 6 to send to Marineland. They may end up saying I caused the crack, and I can't prove that I didn't. It's worth a try though. It was only 3 months old.

I thought it was odd that the platies didn't seem starved when we got home. Well, when I cleaned out the Eclipse, I found out why.........there were 3 fry hiding in the gravel. Who knows how many they ate!

 

[VirgoWolf]

I'd avoid the ready made kits. They save you money, yes, but they also restrict you way too much. The lighting they come with is 90% of the time not good enough for plants, the filters are bare minmum suggested for the tanksize, etc...

Get the size tank you want, try for a 24" or 48" tank if you can, since lighting (expecially plant acceptable lighting) is much easier to find in 2' lengths.

For the filter, most HOB filters rated for the size tank (or preferrably a little more) are fine. I have to make a suggestion though... I usually am not big on internal filters, but I have a Cascade 300 that I bought because it was super cheap and I liked the fact that it had a spraybar option. If you go with anything under 30gal, I'd look into one. I tossed pretty much any of the media it came with and tossed in a AC sponge in the bottom (mostly to keep it from slurping up baby shrimp since this is in my cherry shrimp tank) and some ceramic rings to fill the rest of the canister. Works great!

Whatever you choose, good luck and I hope it turns out well for you!

 

[PlecoCollector]

Lol Vigro Wolf- I'm like the biggest anti-Cascade person xD I think they're horrid, but then, I've never tried them for smaller tanks

Anyways, if you have a long tank, you can do a few things with filtration IMO.
1- Use one filter (I love Whisper's Intanks, but I think any Whisper or Aquaclear works great). I would recommend one for 30g, just so you have some overfiltration.
2- Get two "smaller" filters and spread them out so all your filtration isn't on one side. Either two 20g filters or a 20 and 10. I usually tell people who want to buy a 55g to do this with two 30g filters.
3- Or the one I want to do- get a small canister filter and put the intake part at one end of the tank and the outtake on the other so you create a river like flow. You could add a powerhead too if you wanted to really move the water. (That's my dream Zebra plec setup )

Obviously there are other choices, but those are my recommendations. (Emphasis on option 2 and 3)

Good luck

 

[VirgoWolf]

LOL I've never had a problem with cascade, but I have only had internal filters. I just bought this one because I needed something low cost that woulden't slurp up my baby shrimpies and the cascade was the only thing at Petco that fit the bill. (had a giftcard, so didn't really feel like blowing my money anywhere else).

 

[lauraj]

Thanks for all your suggestions, although I was anxious to get this started and went shopping today before I got some of your suggestions.

Went with a 20 long. Had planned on 2 smaller whisper filters, but the store was out, so went with an Aquaclear 50 that was on sale. Hopefully it'll move the water enough. I'll definitely have to upgrade the lighting *SUNSMILE* at some point though. Only getting 1 WPG....that's even less than I had on my Eclipse 6.

What fun it was to fill and decorate this tank!! No middle bar getting in the way and much more room.....YAHOO! I'll move over the filter media from the other tank, and I also still have some Biospiro that I haven't used yet.

Can't wait to get a group of Cories in there....maybe 4 or 5. Not sure what else I will get.

 

[Big Vine]

Cool...an AC 50 will be more than sufficient for your 20 gal. long.
I've got one on my 55 gal. at the moment, and it's circulating the water around just fine. A little under-filtered, mind you, but that's why I'll be adding a second one shortly.

Have fun with the new setup, and keep us posted on what you put in there!

BV

 

[lauraj]

Well so far I've got 8 neon tetras in my quarantine tank. Now I'll have weeks to figure out what comes next. Maybe panda cories?