Decisions made.

[FINWIN]

Okay. The plan is to have yet another tank. But a Chocolate will be the centerpiece in this one! No more competition with an Oscar, I've learned my lesson. The Oscar of course will go in the 225. More on that later.

It will be a QUIET and PEACEFUL setup with some colorful barbs, a gold rainbow and maybe one acara and one bristlenose. Or some danios.

Looking at a custom build after measuring a free wall in my office (after moving everything around). Gallons, looking at the 90-120ish range. Now comes the tough part. I've been toying with different configurations. Max tank length is 5 feet. Can go as wide as 24 but not at 5 feet. A tall skinny tank would give the most room for me to maneuver my desk chair along the whole wall. A squarish tank could go on one end of the wall with no issue.

So these are the footprints I'm toying with:

L x W x H

46 x 23 x 28 (boxy) 128 gal

60 x 15 x 26 (long) 101 gal

48 x 15 x 28 (standard) 87 gal
48 x 18 x 28 (standard) 104 gal


I have some unique vintage silk plants I got from ebay to use. Will be getting burgundy type sand color to simulate a clay bottom. Blocks will be used for a stand. Tank will be acrylic. Due to other things on my plate this project is pushed back to Sept-Oct.

Despite their size Chocolates need volume but less running room than an Oscar and are rather sedentary in comparison. My Bobo never used all of the 225 and stayed in her favorite areas even when free swimming. So I'm really toying with an idea of a sexy "box" aquarium. What y'all think?

 

[phreeflow]

Well, with everything you’re saying about chocolates, the boxy 128 gallons, seems like it would be the best of all worlds.

 

[DawnMichele]

Can't wait to see it.

 

[RD.]

Boxy 128

 

[troublesum]

I dunno if these dims will fit what your looking but a standard 110 might work.

48" x 18" x 30
Or maybe those dims would be better for Angels or Discus but you can buy 110s off the floor with out making a custom one save a few dollars

 

[esoxlucius]

I don't recall Bobo being with anything small enough to eat, so you probably didn't have any experience of him snacking on tank mates. But make no mistake, if the opportunity arises, and the fish are morsel size, then you may find your numbers dwindle as time goes by.

My choc, back in her younger 180g days, was with a lot of smaller fish back then, mainly an assortment of rainbowfish, which she never touched, too big, too fast, I dunno. But the smallest were a group of young odessa barbs, and she snacked on a few of those.

It was quite a heavily planted tank and I don't know whether she chased them down, doubt it given their sedentary nature, or, more likely, she ambushed them in the undergrowth. Whatever, be sure to chose tank mates wisely.

Below is mine in her younger days at about 6". Note the greenery which may have aided her whilst stalking.

 

[jjohnwm]

I'm looking forward to seeing this develop. I'm getting burnt out from reading all the pie-in-the-sky I-have-a-goofy-plan threads on here sometimes; I know you will think it through and then actually do something...while keeping an eye towards practical future considerations like fish growth, maintenance, etc. No nonsense about exactly how big and how fast this fish will grow and who it will eat and who will eat it; no discussions about the smallest possible tank size or the largest possible fish or the highest possible stocking density. What a relief!

I vote for the boxy 128; the added bit of front-to-back depth adds a whole new dimension to decorating which you will appreciate much more than an extra foot in length but very little depth.

I have come to think of a certain type of tank as a "FINWIN-style" aquarium; lots of whacking and smacking and bopping and popping and...well, you get the idea. I think this new set-up will be good for your blood pressure; I'm already enjoying it.

Just one suggestion, if I may: You mentioned the "vintage" silk plants. If these things are significantly old, I would keep in mind the possibility that at some point during their long life they may have come in contact with some kind of insecticide or other pesticide. If so, the fabric may still be contaminated; the older they are, the greater the chance that it's happened at some point. I think that a careful regimen of soaking/washing/rinsing might be prudent.

 

[FINWIN]

I dunno if these dims will fit what your looking but a standard 110 might work.

48" x 18" x 30
Or maybe those dims would be better for Angels or Discus but you can buy 110s off the floor with out making a custom one save a few dollars

I was looking at that size initially, the 110 tall. There's a nice price for a SeaClear available.

 

[FINWIN]

I'm looking forward to seeing this develop. I'm getting burnt out from reading all the pie-in-the-sky I-have-a-goofy-plan threads on here sometimes; I know you will think it through and then actually do something...while keeping an eye towards practical future considerations like fish growth, maintenance, etc. No nonsense about exactly how big and how fast this fish will grow and who it will eat and who will eat it; no discussions about the smallest possible tank size or the largest possible fish or the highest possible stocking density. What a relief!

I vote for the boxy 128; the added bit of front-to-back depth adds a whole new dimension to decorating which you will appreciate much more than an extra foot in length but very little depth.

I have come to think of a certain type of tank as a "FINWIN-style" aquarium; lots of whacking and smacking and bopping and popping and...well, you get the idea. I think this new set-up will be good for your blood pressure; I'm already enjoying it.

Just one suggestion, if I may: You mentioned the "vintage" silk plants. If these things are significantly old, I would keep in mind the possibility that at some point during their long life they may have come in contact with some kind of insecticide or other pesticide. If so, the fabric may still be contaminated; the older they are, the greater the chance that it's happened at some point. I think that a careful regimen of soaking/washing/rinsing might be prudent.

I definitely can message the seller about those silk plants, and the idea did occur to me what they may have been exposed to. One looks like a mum bush. Another looks like droopy daffodils. A third one almost looks like mini sunflowers. But I'm definitely gonna soak those bad boys.

Sand bed will be 2" depth, a first for me. I'll need it to cover the huge bottom stems (plants are 28" tall). I do have some other plants on order to use just in case. I will be posting up the block configuration in a bit.

I'm really excited about working with a boxy tank instead of the standard footprint. Viewing wise it will be perfect towards the corner wall.

 

[FINWIN]

I don't recall Bobo being with anything small enough to eat, so you probably didn't have any experience of him snacking on tank mates. But make no mistake, if the opportunity arises, and the fish are morsel size, then you may find your numbers dwindle as time goes by.

My choc, back in her younger 180g days, was with a lot of smaller fish back then, mainly an assortment of rainbowfish, which she never touched, too big, too fast, I dunno. But the smallest were a group of young odessa barbs, and she snacked on a few of those.

It was quite a heavily planted tank and I don't know whether she chased them down, doubt it given their sedentary nature, or, more likely, she ambushed them in the undergrowth. Whatever, be sure to chose tank mates wisely.

Below is mine in her younger days at about 6". Note the greenery which may have aided her whilst stalking.

View attachment 1547001

Good point. I guess I felt reasonably ok with say fish 3-6 ish size. Bobo never showed interest in chasing/eating but then again none of the fish were small enough for her to get down. She loved dried insects though. My golden rainbow Pepper was her best buddy, they would swim, sleep and hang together. Bobo got really big (~11") but still showed no interest in smaller fish to eat.