Inwall 430gl Plywood Tank Build
- Thread starter mosthated
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the sweetwater is supposed to be here today, i asked about the color for the resin when i bought it and they told me the only color they had was white... as far as i know that is the only real fiberglass shop around here.. they just do mostly boat hull repairs and whatnot..
no new pics so far, since all i have got done is install bulkheads, i have been working on my octopus tank which its new resident is suppose to be here thursday. anyways i do have several questions, because i have for time/money reasons made my mind up to keep this tank freshwater, i have several questions i am hoping to get some help on since i have never kept freshwater fish before, EVER!...
1) I want to have plants in the tank, maybe not to many but some, will they grow in a gravel substate? somthing similar to river rocks? or do i need small rocks like the small colored gravel substate stuff?
2) I want a arowana or 3. I really like the look of the blacks, but i have no idea where to purchase anything like that. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
3) This is from my experience with salt water but why do people not use protein skimmers on freshwater tanks? Why do people not use deep sand beds to convert nitrite into nitrates? Does anaerobic bacteria not grow in freshwater? If it does then why can it not be housed like in saltwater with rock and whatnot?
4) What should i put in this tank besides a couple of arowanas?
1) I want to have plants in the tank, maybe not to many but some, will they grow in a gravel substate? somthing similar to river rocks? or do i need small rocks like the small colored gravel substate stuff?
2) I want a arowana or 3. I really like the look of the blacks, but i have no idea where to purchase anything like that. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
3) This is from my experience with salt water but why do people not use protein skimmers on freshwater tanks? Why do people not use deep sand beds to convert nitrite into nitrates? Does anaerobic bacteria not grow in freshwater? If it does then why can it not be housed like in saltwater with rock and whatnot?
4) What should i put in this tank besides a couple of arowanas?
I would go with Carib-Sea Eco Complete Planted tank substrate. It's a bit expensive though, about $20 for a 20lb bag. You will need quite a few bags so that you'll have at least 3" of dirt. You can then add a thin layer of rocks if you like. I personally like the black look of it and the fish do too. You should avoid sand because it could cause problems in the future.
I would look on aquabid for the aros.
I don't know why we don't use PS, It's probably because it's bad for FW aquariums. What kind of filtration will you be using (wet/dry, canister)?
I've seen some people house them with these cool looking baby whale type fish. I'm not sure what they're called. I personally don't keep large fish so I wouldn't know.
I would look on aquabid for the aros.
I don't know why we don't use PS, It's probably because it's bad for FW aquariums. What kind of filtration will you be using (wet/dry, canister)?
I've seen some people house them with these cool looking baby whale type fish. I'm not sure what they're called. I personally don't keep large fish so I wouldn't know.
FW water is not dense enough to use a standard protein skimmer... I guess the water could be just as dense if you have enough waste in the water, but then you wouldn't be able to keep any fish alive. You could also have a freshwater skimmer if the column were bigger and you ran something a little more powerful then a venturi style skimmer. Something that could actually create enough bubbles in the lower density liquid, it wouldn't be cheap or portable/hideable.
You can still do a plenum style anaerobic setup for freshwater to convert nitrates to nitrogen. The only problem is that you still need something that will burrow in the sand to stir up the toxic gases before they get to a level that is high enough to cause a calamity in your tank. I don't know of how many freshwater substrate dwellers you can find. Maybe some digging clams. I got a couple in my tank to stir up the sand.
You can still do a plenum style anaerobic setup for freshwater to convert nitrates to nitrogen. The only problem is that you still need something that will burrow in the sand to stir up the toxic gases before they get to a level that is high enough to cause a calamity in your tank. I don't know of how many freshwater substrate dwellers you can find. Maybe some digging clams. I got a couple in my tank to stir up the sand.
