# Got my new tank, 80gal.



## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Went to the local pet fish store today and came across a good deal for an 80gal glass with oak stand, light, and hood for $400 so I decided to get it. A little larger than I would like, but it will work. Takes up half my damn room almost (wall)! Excuse the tank for being dirty, I used goof off on the outside of the tank to take off the stickers since I didnt have any rubbing alcohol.

I also bought 80lbs of black sand to go along with it, I got them to give me buy 1 bag, get one bag free, so I got four 20lb bags in total. Hopefully it is enough to fill up the bottom a decent amount.

Should I buy egg crate for the bottom of the tank so that the weight of everything is distributed evenly? Im worried with 80lbs of sand, who knows how much weight in rockand drift wood, plus all the water that it might be enough to crack the bottom. The glass is pretty thick but the concern is still there... Can you glue sand to the eggcrates just in case the P's dig it up it wont show its nasty face?

I plan to do a background inside the tank from http://aquarium-background.com/ , pretty pricey but look awesome.

The only other thing im kind of hesitant on putting together is the filtration system. I was thinking of maybe putting two powerheads on one side to make a current for them to swim in, a wet/dry (not too expensive as in $200 plus), and maybe a hang on the side one ?? What would you guys recommend.

Also one last question, how many cariba could I have in the 80 gal?

Thanks guys, ill update all along with pictures..
David


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## mats13 (Dec 22, 2003)

great first tank guy !!! dont put anything underneath it will be fine,i have a 90 gallon on a 3rd floor apartment and its an old building , the thickness of that tank will hold it fine all your gravel , i had black and it looks good but i had gravel i think the sand looks better i now have regular sand , i had like 5 bags of that thick gravel too , 1 powerhead would be fine in there an aq 802 should do , an hang on the back and a fluval 404 or 304 would suffice . the 4 20 lb bags might be a little shy i have 100 lbs in my 90 and it has an even inch and a half to 2 inches , i would put 3-4 fish in there its tempting to put more but they grow fast man !!! now im craving to get a 240 gallon but thats down the road , hope this helps dude !!! your gonna love theses fish man !!!


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## killfishygo (Jan 13, 2004)

, and WELCOME to P-FURY. You should be fine with no more than 4 caribes in that tank. I have 3 in my 50 gal and they are doing fine.


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## micus (Jan 7, 2004)

well i wouldnt worry about the galss craking since its taking up the place were water would usually be, and water is very heavy, more so than sand or drift wood, dont worry about it


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Sweet, thanks for the replies guys! Can't wait to get some P's in there, ill probably throw some fish in there to help cycle the tank next week after I get everything ordered and in the tank, then I can order some real fish









The tank is in a house, on concrete foundation so I hope it would be alright









I'll do some research on your suggestions, thanks!


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## Noe (Aug 22, 2003)

:welcome:

nice tank congrat..


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## rufus (Jan 6, 2004)

post some pics once you get it stocked and running :nod:


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Went online today and got some internet pricing off of petsmart.com, took it into a local petsmart store, and they honored the prices no questions asked. I just said that I called the headquarters and they said most of their stores honor online pricing and they went for it.

I got it all for around $100. Major savings over the stores cost.

I decided to go with a emperor 400 which is freaking massive! I had no idea it was going to be this big. What kind of filter media should I get for it? Also should the inlet from which it sucks up all the water in the tank, should I have it close to the sand, mid way up the tank or near the top? I also got a aquaclear 802 powerhead to form a current in the tank, and a proquatics 300 watt heater (doubt I will even need that much, got another tank in here that is hovering mid 70s to 80 degree without a heater. I only have one more piece to purchase for the system, and that is going to be a filstar XP3. I think with all of these put together it will keep the tank pretty damn clean I hope!

Sorry for bad quality picture, lighting in my room sucks at night!

I'm gonna order the XP3 tonight along with my background, once those come in i'll get more pictures.

Should I throw the emperor 400 on my other tank to get the bacteria colonies started or no?


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Here's some more pics. I set the emp400 and ac802 ph in the tank just for the hell of it.

Notice how low the inlet for the emp400 sits in the tank. Should I cut the tube to fit higher up in the tank, if so how high? ALSO, see the clear hose hanging off the aquaclear 802 powerhead, I assume I run that above the water so it can shoot air out of the powerhead along with water.. Let me know.


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Here's a pic of the biowheel in the emp400. Behind the bio wheel it has a place to add your own media, and a space for carbon filters, pretty cool.


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## blackpirhana (Jan 24, 2004)

Looks good! I have a pebguin 330 and I prefer the emperors way better. Good luck!

-Weston-


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

I put my emp400 on my other tank to jump start the bacteria colony on it that I will need for the new tank. I also bought some lavarock and stuck it in the extra media baskets that come with the emp400, hopefully it works good! My background for the aquarium is coming Tuesday from Atlanta and hopefully the XP3 will arrive before Tuesday as well so I can get it all setup.

Once those come I will clean the black moon sand, apply the background with silicone to the inside of the tank, fill the puppy up with water, and begin my search for some driftwood







Is everyone out of bio-spira still?


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

yea if you can id raise the inlet of your emp400 other wise i would probably suck

sand into the filter. just make sure you cycle the tank long enough sounds like you

got a good ideal on what to do though. good luck and if you have any more

questions dont hesitate to ask man

EDIT : yea id start culturing your filter now that way the cycle doesnt take as long

do you have another tank set up? when you do a water change just put the water

you take out in the new one with some feeders in there or even run the emp400

on the other tank too.


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Thanks for the advice.

MY other tank is a 50gal hexagon full of cichlids, pretty well established. I'll try what you said with the water, thanks!


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## gourami-master (Apr 1, 2004)

man you are so lucky my dad is to cheap and my teachers keep bothering me and i cant get it im tellin ya the american justice system sucks


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

^ huh? lol

I went out to a wash today and found a piece of driftwood, not great but it will do. I will continue my search for a root/stump


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## 00nothing (Mar 26, 2004)

those backgrounds have me seriously interested but in the how to install it says u take water from behind the background now if read it correctly that means ure gonna set it up as a wall that will have space behind it and i dont like the sounds of that might be kinda hard to clean and stuff will get back there and mostly ure losing tank space


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## gourami-master (Apr 1, 2004)

well i have a huge 40 lb. piece of bog wood anybody want it?im gonna use it for a royal and vampire pleco


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

gourami, that is onlg with the rock backgrounds. The flatrock backrounds are flat and fit right up against the glass. Youll lose about a inch of tank space, well worth it for the texture and look if you ask me


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Got some pics, piranha going in soon. Got five cariba.

Gonna put one or two more amazon sword in, what lights do you suggest for the plants?

Sorry for blur, I took it with no flash to TRY and get what it really looks like b ut didnt quite work, looks way better in person. It's only been filled for an hour or so, I cleaned that black sand damn good!!


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Pic two


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## 8Jaws (Mar 23, 2004)

where did you buy that background, it f*cking rocks









oh yeah and that a beauty of a tank, congrats









I am jealous


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## hedgehog (Apr 14, 2004)

real nice, but cycle that tank before adding your p's


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

My emp400 is already cycled from my other tank, or at least has a good amount of bacteria on it. I dont want to keep them in the tiny all glass 30 gallon, they get all scared and hit the glass like crazy. I get my XP3 Monday, and probably another good filter this weekend from a buddy who left for the military. I promise to keep a good watch on the water conditions to make sure the Ps wont get hurt.

I am getting a stump/root piece of driftwood in soon, it will go in the corner of the tank, will look awesome, I promise









I got my fish from Pedro at aquascape online, recieved them in perfect condition. THey have already eat 5 fish in one day, devoured them whole.

I got the background from www.aquarium-background.com . Expensive SOB and took like an hour to cut off all the extra spray foam on the back, but makes the tank look more lively with having texture on the back of it.


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## micus (Jan 7, 2004)

dude u did it right with buyin the nice filters / powerheads first , better to do it right the first time , than play catchup where u slacked off (i.e me lol) , i love the sand and amazon swords, very beautiful setup, im jealous, casue my lfs, i selling xp3's for 500 bucks , and im sure your probly like payin 150 american or something for em over there, keep up the good work , and keep up with the pics also


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Xp3, $97 american









The Powerhead 802 creates a pretty good current, the goldfish are battling against it right now.

Thanks for the comments!


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Got a problem with the tank...

My background is probably about an inch thick, attached to the inside of the tank. This isnt enough room for my emp400 to clear. It is but just barely. It puts the inlet tube at a funky angle and the filter doesnt flow near the amount it does if its straight. What the heck should I do???

Will heating the tube up allow me to bend it to clear?


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## 00nothing (Mar 26, 2004)

Guerillah said:


> Got a problem with the tank...
> 
> My background is probably about an inch thick, attached to the inside of the tank. This isnt enough room for my emp400 to clear. It is but just barely. It puts the inlet tube at a funky angle and the filter doesnt flow near the amount it does if its straight. What the heck should I do???
> 
> Will heating the tube up allow me to bend it to clear?


ooooops shoulda checked that one that was my thought when i was checking out the backgrounds

is it to late to shave back the background where the filter is sitting other wise slowly heat the tube it should bend without much trouble

and if i didnt say this before man is that a gorgeous tank







i want it


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Thanks 00 nothing, Ill try that out pretty soon here and let you know how it goes. Once the tank clears up i'll take new pics, im getting a tripod so they will be clear. The caribe already eat 10 goldfish in one day, suckers have a pretty good appetite.


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Put the inlet tube in boiling water and bent it, works perfect now, flowing like it should!


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## 00nothing (Mar 26, 2004)

perfect and that way u get no scorch marks from heating on flame or anything


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

My P's are on a feeding frenzy and ive only had them 3 days. The five of them will eat about 10+ gold fish a day and their belly doesnt look abnormally large at all. I went to Frys down the road from me and got them a Tilapia for $1.50. I put it in the tank and they all shoaled together and looked like they were trying to get the courage up to eat it, but didnt touch it for about 30 minutes. I turned off the light and about a minute later I saw the tilapia getting pushed around in the tank and there was a big chunk missing out of the tail end of the body. After this they didnt touch it so I took it out, wrapped it up and put it in the freezer for maybe tomorrow. I'm sure they will be hungry enough by then.

Other than that, I have one P that was bitten pretty bad near the stomach when I had them waiting in the 30 gallon tank waiting to be transfered, he has been alive since Wednesday with this condition, he hides by my powerhead and heater so the other fish will leave him alone, I hope he makes it.

I did a 20% water change today and all is well, tank isnt very cloudy at all and the Ps love the current from the 802 powerhead. I have it and my lights on a timer, so the Ps dont have to fight the current while they are trying to sleep


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

I bought another emp400, seachem bio matrix media, coralife 50/50 110w light (for damn plants), and some plant food. So my current setup as of when all my filtering equipments arrives will be two emp 400s on each side, and a filstar XP3. All of these together push about 1150GPH. Overkill? LOL


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## 00nothing (Mar 26, 2004)

nice ure setup makes me drool ure p's are gonna be super happy i had one emp 400 on my 90 and just added a magnum 350 and now my p's are super aggresive and swimming like mad hardly hiding at all anymore


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## DirtyJersey (Apr 28, 2004)

wow that tank is amazing. really nice.


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Here's a new picture, I cant wait till I get a tripod so I can stop using flash and get the aqaurium to show up in pictures as it does in real life. I have a 5 megapixel camera so it should be no problem getting awesome shots once I get a tripod, my arm is too shakey! I have a stump coming for the corner and I am going to get another amazon sword. Once my new light appears I hope it makes the color of the tank look a bit better. I now have the XP3 installed, will install the second emp400 when it comes in this week.


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Cold cathode moonlight I made for the tank, it dimly lights the tank a blue color at night. Looks cool.


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Here is a picture of the tank lit up, it doesnt really represent what it looks like since the shot is taken at night, it is keeping the shutter open for a considerable amount of time to absorb as much light for the shot as it can. In reality, it is a really dim blue, with the two corners of the tank almost being completely dark.


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## Doug (Feb 10, 2004)

That is a pretty sweet tank if i do say so myself..


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## gourami-master (Apr 1, 2004)

wow....that...is...so...KEWL


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

Pic of one of my cariba


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## Methuzela (Apr 27, 2004)

damn man im sucked in. more pics NOW i demand it!

GEORGOUS TANK!
















:bobme:







:bobme:


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## Guerillah (Apr 11, 2004)

I just bought another tall amazon sword and some ghost shrimp. My baby cichlids are trying to eat them i nthe tank with the P's, ahah. Where should I put the new amazon sword?


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