Large Native Tank

So, I've been talking with a family friend and he's been thinking about getting a fairly large tank. He's been thinking about 10'Lx3'Wx4-5'H! However, the problem we've ran into is what to do with a tank that size. We have 3 options in mind; Firstly a river tank with sunfish, pickerel, perch, bass, and the like. Another option is a trout stream style tank. He has well water so temp. won't be a problem. The third option would be a tank full of the smaller stream fish like darters and shiners. He's leaning towards the trout stream because he has trout ponds just outside so he can switch fish back and forth. I'm mostly wondering about personal opinions on the possible setups, what we could stock in each, and approximate cost. What about a combination of the river and trout tanks? I'm not sure, but I'm sure you guys will have some ideas! Thanks in advance!

A thousand gallon tank? Are you going to build it or buy it? Details on the construction, like are you using liquid rubber or epoxy on wood, or skipping that route and going with acrylic?

I'm sure everybody will have lots of suggestions. It's fun thinking of what to do with big tanks
For me, if I had a tank that large, I'd pick a species and breed it. I like it when a fish is capable of living out its full life cycle in your little home for it, even though it's not in the wild. And really the fish are much prettier when they're all fired up and in breeding colors. Also, you can sell the fry. It's win win. With a thousand gallons, you could breed even one of the larger species of fish. Are you interested in dollar sunfish? Because I just saw a picture of them in breeding colors and wow they're so pretty. http://i194.photobuc...oldWSneegas.jpg And it seems like a thousand gallon tank would be sufficient to breed them, because some people report success in the home aquarium ( http://aquafind.com/...les/sunfish.php ). I read a really interesting article once about someone selectively breeding firemouth cichlids for color, and I think if that was done with the dollar sunfish it would be super awesome. Selective breeding link: http://www.cichlid.o...s/blog.php?b=49

I guess you'd have to avoid large predators if you were going with a breeding tank, though. Some species of shiners are really pretty when spawning, and if you breed them up enough you'd have your desired tank of high density stream fish. Imagine high density this all spawning at the same time: http://images0.dhd24.com/41454260.jpg So colorful.

What are you thinking for the substrate? Lighting? Are you going to have live plants? If it was me, I'd put a nutritious substrate in the tank, even if it had to be hidden underneath your preferred substrate for aethetic purposes. Soil or kitty litter work well. Some people say they don't like the look of kitty litter ( http://gallery.nanfa...llsize.jpg.html and http://gallery.nanfa...er/008.JPG.html ) so you could cap it with gravel or something. And soil always has to be capped. So it wouldn't change the look of your tank to make the bottom-most layer of substrate plant-friendly
Then your growing plants could filter your water for you and make you money when you sell the trimmings. It would be nice to have more trimmings of native plants in the hobby. The tropicals dominate the aquarium trade and it's hard to buy some nice species like Myriophyllum pinnatum, which is threatened in some of its range.

Edited by EricaWieser, 08 December 2011 - 10:37 PM.

The tank will be built by a local glass company my family knows. We want to do species which are found locally or are found in the bordering states, which the Dollar Sunfish is not. He's really leaning towards the trout tank, but he also wants some sunfish and maybe pickerel and other lake fish, so I was thinking maybe a divider of some sort or just slowing down the flow as it progresses if they are compatible attitude wise. As for substrate, we'd really like to use the sand and gravel found just outside his house in the trout ponds and the feeder creek if possible!

PS. Don't ever expect to get a tank from those people that have the show Tanked! They wanted 30,000 for this, not even including the install!

Edited by Yeahson421, 08 December 2011 - 10:39 PM.

With that sized tank, I vote for a tank of brook trout. Or pickerel & yellow perch.

With that sized tank, I vote for a tank of brook trout. Or pickerel & yellow perch.

Is it at all possible that those both of those ideas could be in the same tank?

Is there any particular reason he's thinking of going with one that is 4'-5' deep? My 150 is 31" deep and its a pain to clean the bottom. I realize that there are things that can be done to compensate for this, but it seems to me that the gallons might be put to better use with a wider tank instead of taller. This would also help get light to plants if he's planning on putting plants in it. I'm not saying that I think it's a bad idea, there may be more to it than I know.

Steve.
P.S. You mentioned shiners. Wow! The number of shiners you could fit in that thing is absolutely mind numbing.

Edited by frogwhacker, 08 December 2011 - 10:55 PM.

Is there any particular reason he's thinking of going with one that is 4'-5' deep? My 150 is 31" deep and its a pain to clean the bottom. I realize that there are things that can be done to compensate for this, but it seems to me that the gallons might be put to better use with a wider tank instead of taller. This would also help get light to plants if he's planning on putting plants in it. I'm not saying that I think it's a bad idea, there may be more to it than I know.

Steve.
P.S. You mentioned shiners. Wow! The number of shiners you could fit in that thing is absolutely mind numbing.

UGJ's would help with the bottom problem. They keep the mulm up longer so your filter can catch it.

UGJ info-
under gravel jets

ugi pt 2

Building a large tank info- diy tanks

Edited by exasperatus2002, 08 December 2011 - 10:59 PM.

Is there any particular reason he's thinking of going with one that is 4'-5' deep? My 150 is 31" deep and its a pain to clean the bottom. I realize that there are things that can be done to compensate for this, but it seems to me that the gallons might be put to better use with a wider tank instead of taller. This would also help get light to plants if he's planning on putting plants in it. I'm not saying that I think it's a bad idea, there may be more to it than I know.

Steve.
P.S. You mentioned shiners. Wow! The number of shiners you could fit in that thing is absolutely mind numbing.

Yeah, I keep trying to convince him to go shorter. Tonight he has decided to probably go down to 4' tall. as for the shiners, that's exactly what I was thinking! It would be awesome!

Yeah, I keep trying to convince him to go shorter. Tonight he has decided to probably go down to 4' tall. as for the shiners, that's exactly what I was thinking! It would be awesome!

Yeah, I'm getting excited just trying to picture a school of 100-150 shiners turning all at once at eye level. That would just be really cool.

Steve.

Yeah, I'm getting excited just trying to picture a school of 100-150 shiners turning all at once at eye level. That would just be really cool.

Steve.

I know! I was even thinking about having the top foot or so of the tank be the land portion of a paludarium! It would be like you were snorkeling!

We want to do species which are found locally or are found in the bordering states, which the Dollar Sunfish is not.

Pumpkinseeds are, though http://www.tnfish.or...hBartCarter.jpg as are orangespotteds http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

Do you mind if I ask how much a thousand gallon glass tank costs?

Pumpkinseeds are, though http://www.tnfish.or...hBartCarter.jpg as are orangespotteds http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

Do you mind if I ask how much a thousand gallon glass tank costs?

I really like those orange spots.

That's a lot of room to work with. I would think that you could do a combination of species if you choose the right ones. First, you must consider the feeding requirements for trout vs sunfish vs perch vs pickerel. Are some more easy than others? Also, if you include minnows, you must realize that there will be some trout and perch eating these minnows. Sunfish will eat minnows too, but if you go with a medium size Lepomis and the larger species of minnows (Luxilus, Nocomis, or larger Cyprinella) you can likely get away with having a massive shoal of minnows with a small group of sunfish. Personally, I like the idea of having a huge "river" tank, but I'd be concerned with water quality and predation if there was trout present. If you ever snorkel in rivers, you'll notice that often times shoals of minnows will be in the current in the open, while the sunfish stay against the bank, near wood or vegetation in the slower currents. Personally, I'd choose this set up. Fast flowing water against the front of the glass with lots of structure in the back.. Big shoal of larger minnows and a small group of sunfish. But that's just me (plus I don't care that much for trout...).
A side note, the photos of the "dollar" and the "pumpkinseed" are both longears, btw.

A side note, the photos of the "dollar" and the "pumpkinseed" are both longears, btw.

Really? huh. Looks like I have a new favorite sunfish
They would do well in a thousand gallon tank.

Edited by EricaWieser, 09 December 2011 - 11:28 AM.

So, I've been talking with a family friend and he's been thinking about getting a fairly large tank. He's been thinking about 10'Lx3'Wx4-5'H! However, the problem we've ran into is what to do with a tank that size. We have 3 options in mind; Firstly a river tank with sunfish, pickerel, perch, bass, and the like. Another option is a trout stream style tank. He has well water so temp. won't be a problem. The third option would be a tank full of the smaller stream fish like darters and shiners. He's leaning towards the trout stream because he has trout ponds just outside so he can switch fish back and forth. I'm mostly wondering about personal opinions on the possible setups, what we could stock in each, and approximate cost. What about a combination of the river and trout tanks? I'm not sure, but I'm sure you guys will have some ideas! Thanks in advance!

Hope the weight of the tank is not a problem! 4 tons is a lot to support!

we had a tank similar sounding to this growing up in our basement. My father and his brother built it. It was truely amazing to watch. When we sold the house, the tank continued. I am still trying to get back into the house to see if the tank is there and in what condition as the people my parents sold the house to recently sold it and moved out of state.

Keep us posted (and with pictures) when he moves forward.

I do agree with the others. A huge tank with a decent size group of sunfish is AMAZING to see, and with a huge school of shiners, it could be breathtaking (to us fish nuts, to others they may just say you're crazy!)

Wow! Thanks for the great responses! I'll have him read this and then maybe he can come to a decision. Also, weight shouldn't be a problem seeing as the tank will be in the basement. I'll get back to you guys soon with more information!

Ever since I was a kid I always wondered what it would be like in a house rather than having a wall between two rooms having a floor to ceiling Aquarium. Always wanted to see that. I never thought about the logistics of cleaning and maintenance. I bet it would be a bugger.

Usil

Ever since I was a kid I always wondered what it would be like in a house rather than having a wall between two rooms having a floor to ceiling Aquarium. Always wanted to see that. I never thought about the logistics of cleaning and maintenance. I bet it would be a bugger.

Usil

You would definitely have to take a dip to clean the glass occasionally!

I have some fish friends in europe that have tanks that require them to climb in to lean them. They are pleco guys. It is very neat. here is a link to one large tank.

http://www.planetcat...php?f=5&t=32680