Looking forward to getting back into the hobby

[Nate B]

Hello..

I haven't had any fish tanks for 15+ years, but I'd like to again.

I started back in high school with a 20 gallon long community tank, but that wasn't enough and I ended up with a few more tanks 38-55 gallons. I'm pretty sure it helped me be a better student in High School. School came fairly easily and I new what to do to just get by, but the aquarium hobby increased my interest in biology and chemistry, which I think helped me stay a more motivated in everything. My 55 was initially saltwater, but I eventually found Cichlids more interesting for what I could do for my budget, so eventually all my tanks had some kind of a group of Cichlids in them. I kept a couple of the tanks going through my College years, but that was harder because of little moves at the beginning and end of each school year. The moves were bigger after college -- I moved from the Mid-Atlantic to Montana and eventually the Pacific-Northwest. I ended up giving away or selling my tanks along the way.

Years have passed, I'm married now, have kids, and a home of my own. Same city (Portland OR) for a decade, same home for 4 years and as far as we'd like to stay here for many more years. Now that I'm not moving so much I want our family's next pets to be some fish. I'm looking to setup a single larger tank now with some South American Cichlids. Well, large compared to what I had before but compared to some of the setups I've read here much smaller -- I'm thinking something in the 125-180 gallon range.

As I've searched for fish and setup ideas a lot of the links have come back to this site. I figured it is about time I stopped lurking and posted something.

Nate

 

[tlindsey]

Welcome aboard Nate B

 

[kno4te]

Welcome and start posting.

 

[chopsteeks]

Nice that you are coming back to the hobby. Totally agree that fish keeping is a great educational tool too. I likewise find this hobby to be a great exercise for my noggin. In my never ending quest to be a good, decent fish keeper, learning a lot about biology, chemistry, electrical basics, plumbing and of course 'back' exercises...etc.

Looking forward to stories, logs and pics of your road back to this fascinating hobby.

 

[Nate B]

Very belated thank you to you all above and sorry to not respond at the time. When posting above I was in the early planning stages but plans changed. Other home remodelling and yard projects got in the way and did not end up having a space for a tank until last fall.

However, that is for the better because the space I ended up having available is MUCH better for a surface and structure that can take a tons of weight and moisture. I got a used 125 last fall that I built a sump for to go along with an FX6. I started reading / looking for answers on this site when I was getting that 125 setup better. I just bought something much larger to phase in and replace the 125 that I'll have questions about plumbing / circulation. I went to go make a introductory post and happen to check my post history and found this post I had forgotten I had made years ago. This time I'll be around for good I've got my hands full with this next tank.

 

[tlindsey]

Very belated thank you to you all above and sorry to not respond at the time. When posting above I was in the early planning stages but plans changed. Other home remodelling and yard projects got in the way and did not end up having a space for a tank until last fall.

However, that is for the better because the space I ended up having available is MUCH better for a surface and structure that can take a tons of weight and moisture. I got a used 125 last fall that I built a sump for to go along with an FX6. I started reading / looking for answers on this site when I was getting that 125 setup better. I just bought something much larger to phase in and replace the 125 that I'll have questions about plumbing / circulation. I went to go make a introductory post and happen to check my post history and found this post I had forgotten I had made years ago. This time I'll be around for good I've got my hands full with this next tank.

Welcome back!

 

[Nate B]

Thanks tlindsey good to see the same friendly folks around years later haha.

 

[TyKornblue]

what are you planning on stocking it with?

 

[Nate B]

what are you planning on stocking it with?

I'll stock with the same fish that came with the used 125 gallon I got last fall, which ended up being a change in plans from what I originally intended (a group of medium sized S. American Cichlids). Turns out, the used 125 came with a MBU puffer and about 20-30 mosquitofish that are about 1/2 - 1 inch long. I didn't even realize the tank would come with any fish, let alone this giant puffer, until I went to go buy it. The MBU puffer is about 15 inches long, and yep I know it will get bigger. Since getting it I learned much more (and more accurate) info than what the previous owner described and know it will be much better off in this new tank that I'll phase in which will be aprox a 350 system between tank & sump.

I know some folks would recommend a tank closer to 1000 gallons tank for MBU's. I respect their opinion and think it is good advice for people thinking in advance about getting one. I also think there are more factors than just total gallons. Footprint is important, and their could be tanks longer and taller than my new one, but not as wide, and even though the total volume is bigger the width for turning around would not be as good. Filtration and water maitenance practices are important too as a 1000 gallon tank won't take care of itself. I also think the gallon recommendation may take into account that it is likely people will have a few more similarly sized fish like this one, but personally I think mine is very happy with a group of small dither fish and I'd be worried to re home or give to a pet store if it ended up in a tank where they decided to try out housing it with other large fish - if they were fish formidable enough to defend itself it seems like a risk to either it or its tank mates that assumes they would get along. It totally ignores the mosquito fish, but I'm not so sure it would for fish 5" or bigger espcially if they tried to get to its food that it looks forward so much to me dropping in.

Before buying the new tank that's replacing the smaller one, my wife and I were thinking about the pro's and con's of re-homing or selling the puffer to a fish store. We'd basically only want to do that to someone we knew so we'd be confident they'd keep both the tank mate & water quality situation top notch. No one we know has, or is interested in, a tank in the size range I'm setting (let alone bigger). Maybe that will change if I start posting more and getting to know people around here, so if it starts to look like our puffer could use another step up in tank a year or 2 down the road maybe it would be in our home or maybe to someone we get to know here.

 

[TyKornblue]

I'll stock with the same fish that came with the used 125 gallon I got last fall, which ended up being a change in plans from what I originally intended (a group of medium sized S. American Cichlids). Turns out, the used 125 came with a MBU puffer and about 20-30 mosquitofish that are about 1/2 - 1 inch long. I didn't even realize the tank would come with any fish, let alone this giant puffer, until I went to go buy it. The MBU puffer is about 15 inches long, and yep I know it will get bigger. Since getting it I learned much more (and more accurate) info than what the previous owner described and know it will be much better off in this new tank that I'll phase in which will be aprox a 350 system between tank & sump.

I know some folks would recommend a tank closer to 1000 gallons tank for MBU's. I respect their opinion and think it is good advice for people thinking in advance about getting one. I also think there are more factors than just total gallons. Footprint is important, and their could be tanks longer and taller than my new one, but not as wide, and even though the total volume is bigger the width for turning around would not be as good. Filtration and water maitenance practices are important too as a 1000 gallon tank won't take care of itself. I also think the gallon recommendation may take into account that it is likely people will have a few more similarly sized fish like this one, but personally I think mine is very happy with a group of small dither fish and I'd be worried to re home or give to a pet store if it ended up in a tank where they decided to try out housing it with other large fish - if they were fish formidable enough to defend itself it seems like a risk to either it or its tank mates that assumes they would get along. It totally ignores the mosquito fish, but I'm not so sure it would for fish 5" or bigger espcially if they tried to get to its food that it looks forward so much to me dropping in.

Before buying the new tank that's replacing the smaller one, my wife and I were thinking about the pro's and con's of re-homing or selling the puffer to a fish store. We'd basically only want to do that to someone we knew so we'd be confident they'd keep both the tank mate & water quality situation top notch. No one we know has, or is interested in, a tank in the size range I'm setting (let alone bigger). Maybe that will change if I start posting more and getting to know people around here, so if it starts to look like our puffer could use another step up in tank a year or 2 down the road maybe it would be in our home or maybe to someone we get to know here.

sounds pretty cool