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John
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Friday,
February 08, 2002 - 02:10 pm
I am thinking of getting a new tank apprx. 40 gals. I am
a newcomer and currently have a 20. These tanks look nice
to me. Any opinions?
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jeff s
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Friday,
February 08, 2002 - 05:40 pm
wow haven't heard acrylic brought up for a while...humm
if you are into unique or aestheticaly pleasing show or
custum size stuff and you don't car about $$$ then ok..go
acrylic..it's stronger and lighter.. if you live in
an earthquake zone...but they do scratch easier and if algea
gets in the scatches good luck!...kids and acrylic are a
bad combo..also acrylic tanks also tend to be heavely braced
and your access to the top of your tank can be limited...IMO
glass for me!....It's up to you..
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John
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Friday,
February 08, 2002 - 05:50 pm
Jeff, could you elaborate on the heavily braced part? I
am a newbie and wouldn't be using the combo filter-
lighting from Eclipse. Maybe that's the piece that causes
access problems.
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jeff s
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Friday,
February 08, 2002 - 06:39 pm
ok john what I am talking about is.. a thick rimmed brace
surrounds the top of many of these tanks..some have only
large port holes to access the tank...again depends weither
you need that sort of access..for me it's important.
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John
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Friday,
February 08, 2002 - 06:53 pm
Thanks Jeff. I'm just paranoid about a tank cracking.
I like the light weight part too, but don't know how
much that will mean when looking at a filled tank. Thanks
again.
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jeff s
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Friday,
February 08, 2002 - 08:33 pm
john..I have had glass tanks all my born days with never
a crack...if you have a good stand it makes a big difference..now
yes acrylic certainly is stronger as I said.. if you live
in california I guess it my be a concern...I am sure others
out there can maybe speak of their expierences with acrylic...
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joycedonley
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Friday,
February 08, 2002 - 09:21 pm
Sorry to disagree with ya on this one Jeff. I have three
acrylic tanks and really like them. In fact all my large
tanks(40,50,75) are acrylic! I have two 29 gallon
tanks that are glass. I have a special acrylic type brush
cleaner that I bought and haven't noticed any scratches.
In fact if you have certain fish ie Oscars acrylic tanks
are really a good idea as I have heard of an Oscar cracking
a glass tank! Also if you have a 100+ gallon tank you
have so much added weight that moving it becomes a real
feat. I know a couple of people with very large tanks per
the web over 200 gallons and they would not consider a glass
with that big of a tank.I had the cutouts on my acrylic
75 gallon made to order at no extra cost! You just have
to really be specific on the dimensions of your cutouts.
I have two cutouts on the 75 gallon, so I could run two
filters! I guess IMO if you are going with a small tank
stick to glass. If you are going with a large tank consider
the acrylic ones. John you can probably go either way with
the 40 gallon as it's really not that large! Ps also
a 100 gallon glass will add a lot more weight to your floorboards
than a 100 gallon acrylic tank.
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joycedonley
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Friday,
February 08, 2002 - 09:26 pm
Wow forgot to add the fact that my African Rift Lake 75
gallon is full of rock towers. I didn't have to worry
about the rocks in the acrylic, but if I had a glass one
I would have had to glue them all together and build styrofoam
platforms. Rocks scratching on the bottom of a tank can
cause serious stress fractures! I know you don't have
that problem with your planted tanks Jeff!
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jeff s
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Saturday,
February 09, 2002 - 12:59 pm
ok..cool joyce..this is what john needs to hear..I was just
giving my humble opinion..you like acrylic great!..I was
just giving him some stuff to think about..thanks for your
imput..
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joycedonley
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Saturday,
February 09, 2002 - 01:50 pm
Thanks for your ideas too Jeff! By the way what type of
brace are you talking about anyways? My acrylic tanks are
just molded on the corners so no sharp edges, but I don't
have any braces on them? Maybe they make them different
in the stores where you are located? The only real problem
I had with acrylic is that many stores really overprice
them because the molded ones come in varities of shapes(and
I agree fish really do better in the traditional rectangle
as not sacrificing water volume to art/design). Anyone
who considers please think about the fact that you can probably
get a traditional rectangular acrylic tank with cutouts
to your specs for less money than that fancy Hex or Bow-
front!
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jeff s
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Saturday,
February 09, 2002 - 02:07 pm
geez joyce the ones I looked at at one time came with this
big think brace surrounding the top of the tank and had
big cut-out holes to get at your tank through the top...I
didn't like that much..I do know Tenecor puts out some
pretty fancy models and have improved over the years..and
my god the arcylics were darn expensive too..but yes you
are right so are the glass bows and hex...it all seems to
kinda depend on what you like that's for sure...
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John
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Tuesday,
February 12, 2002 - 10:16 am
Joyce, are you familiar with SeaClear and Tenecor? Does
a conventional hood fit these? I'm not interested in
their combo filter-lighting tops. Would an Emperor 280 be
okay on a 40?
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joycedonley
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Tuesday,
February 12, 2002 - 04:54 pm
I have heard of Tenecor as they are all over the web in
many different locations. I honestly don't know who
made mine. I have a 40H with a blue background that has
a 12" cutout for filter and another large 19 inch cutout
for my glass tank lid through which I change water and feed
the fish. The 55Hex is a similar setup black background
also with a small glass tank lid over the cutout.These were
'artsy tanks' that I paid quite a bit for and were
already precut and had aquaclear HOB filters included. Now
my 75 gallon has two square cutouts for changing water and
has acrylic covers for these cutouts. Also I had them cut
two cutuouts for filtration as I planned on running filters
on either end of the tank. I think the filter cutouts are
about 16" length as I used the Emperor and Magnum filters
to judge my sizes so I could run biowheels if I wanted.
You have to be very careful with the acrylic that you have
enough room on the cutouts to run a biowheel as sometimes
they don't make the cut long enough unless you request.
Just be very specific on your measurements (also make
sure they are wide enough)and if you are ordering a
large tank most of the LPS stores will be happy to have
them custom cut for you. No you cannot use a conventional
hood on one! I just run strip lights on the glass lids.
Yes a 280 should work okay on the 40 gallon.
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John
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Tuesday,
February 12, 2002 - 06:55 pm
Thank you Joyce. Could you look at PetSmart.com and their
SeaClear section to see if you think these have those cutouts.
Sorry to impose, but I thought they were like glass, but
only a different material. Thank you for your patience,
but I'm only in 1st grade here.
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joycedonley
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Tuesday,
February 12, 2002 - 08:45 pm
I would locate a Pet Smart store and check the tank out
first. Many of the ones the show are Eclipse systems and
these are commonly sold in many LPS stores and even sometimes
at Walmarts. The 40 gallon tank has a built in system, but
they don't give you a clue What it is! Also they say
something about running an air pump with it..I would definately
require more info before I even looked at one! Pet Smart
is a pretty big chain, so maybe your parents could give
you a ride to one. Many big cities have Pet Smarts and jopefullly
you can make sure it's what you want for that kind of
money! I actually think the prices are pretty high for their
acrylic tanks. My 75 gallon acrylic with my specifications
only cost me a around 200 dollars, you can also save a lot
by shopping around and getting your own filters and extras!
I buy all my heater, filters and miscellaneous items from
petwarehouse.com. I only buy aquariums, aquarium stands
and the fish from the pet stores. If you are going to get
a new tank and spend your money make sure it's what
you really want!!!
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joycedonley
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Tuesday,
February 12, 2002 - 08:50 pm
Another option to keep in mind is checking your newspaper
for used tanks. Sometimes you can find people that are trying
to get out of fishkeeping and you can get a real bargain.
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John
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Tuesday,
February 12, 2002 - 09:02 pm
Thank you Joyce. You gave me a chuckle. I meant I'm
in first grade in fishkeeping school. I wish my parents
could give me a ride, but for over twenty years they have
been sleeping with the..... Seriously, thank you for all
your help.
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joycedonley
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Wednesday,
February 13, 2002 - 06:59 am
I thought you were pretty educated for a first grader, but
my kid is a little brainy so I figured maybe you were a
prodigy.
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Pandora
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Thursday,
February 14, 2002 - 07:16 pm
Hi guys! I know it's late in this whole thread, but
I just wanted to bring up some stuff about acrylic tanks
that I didn't really see mentioned.
I too have that old bias against acrylic, because when I
think acrylic, I think the old kind which is like cheap
plastic (and still used on many smaller tanks),
scratches easily, gets cracks if jarred, and turns yellow
over time.
I should point out that the newer acrylics are supposed
to be very resistent to those problems, and stronger than
glass and definitely less shatter-proof. Acrylic also has
the advantage over glass in that it allows for better light
penetration. This is why many reef tanks are now made of
acrylic, besides the fact that they are just much, much
lighter. Doesn't change the fact that I must still hold
on to this old bias despite everything I'm saying, because
all of my tanks are still glass, LOL!
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John
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Friday,
February 15, 2002 - 09:42 am
I'm setting up the 40 acrylic on Sunday. I might want
to give fishless cycling a try on this one. It's homework
time again.
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Mandi
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Friday,
February 15, 2002 - 02:07 pm
I am constantly reminded just how ignorant I am.
(...and I am constantly reminding all of you...)
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John
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Saturday,
February 16, 2002 - 11:06 am
Do the stick on thermometers work on acrylic? I've read
they insulate better and wondered about the efficiency of
those thermometers.
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joycedonley
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Saturday,
February 16, 2002 - 01:54 pm
I'm still using them on all my tanks, glass and acylic.
I hope they are working, but haven't had any fishy complaints!
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John
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Saturday,
February 16, 2002 - 06:59 pm
Thank you Joyce. I still have some time, but what would
you recommend for fish. I know some people who have cichlids.
I don't want to get in over my head, however. Are any
dwarf cichlids possible in a 40? And if so, can I mix a
couple with any other species? I've been doing fine
with my 20. I do read books and the Badman site.
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joycedonley
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Sunday,
February 17, 2002 - 08:34 am
Yes you can do the dwarf cichlids in a 40 gallon. The best
way to go is with a pair. If you add fish to the mix go
with tetra or zebra danio that can stay out of their way
if they decide to breed.You don't want to add any slow
moving fish with fancy finnage. I always thought about trying
krib.Another option may be the ram, Bolivian rams are easier
to keep than the blue rams.If you try to mix cichlids in
a small tank you will end up with a lot of territory issues
and fighting. Also although not considered dwarf cichlids
you can keep a pair of angelfish in a 40 gallon tank. These
guys are pretty easy, but wait until the tank is about six
months old.
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John
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Sunday,
February 17, 2002 - 08:57 am
Thanks Joyce. What would be good tankmates for Angels? I
know Barbs are nippers.
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joycedonley
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Monday,
February 18, 2002 - 06:45 am
Cherry barbs are not nippers and I have 3 female and 1 male
cherry with angels in my 40 gallon. I have head & tail-light
and african redeye tetra in my 29 gallon with angels. Medium
sized tetra are a good choice for angels. I had some serpae
a few years back with them and even though they can be a
little nippy, they didn't seem to bother the angels.
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Pandora
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Tuesday,
February 19, 2002 - 10:27 pm
Yup, cherry barbs are great little fish, I have not known
them to be nippy at all either. In addition, I've only
really had problems with tiger barbs being nippy with angels...
rosy, checkerboard, banded and other species of barb usually
do not actively nip at angel fins, although it could be
debateable that some species are overly active and disturb
more placid angels.
I did not like my experience with serpaes and angels personally
and also found them to be nippy, but having talked to other
hobbyists about this, I've found many factors can influence
their behavior (among them being the size of the tank,
the age of the animals, how they are fed, how many are kept
in the group, and in general, just luck at what kind of
batch you get). There are many tetras and loaches which
go great with angelfish; in addition, other more unusual
species such as glass catfish, which make great additions
to the angelfish tank.
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John
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Friday,
February 22, 2002 - 02:01 pm
Thank you all for your help. I have the 40 gal acrylic running
for a couple of days now. I now know what the cutouts are.
It reminds me of where the Cowboys play. It is almost a
dome. You must remove the light fixture to get at the two
holes. My Emperor 280 just made it in the back cutout. But
it's nice. I would like to try the fishless cycle. That
last one on my 20 stressed the fish and me both. I tried
a local drug store, but they had ones with additives. I'm
going to a hardware store now. I would like to have Angels
when I'm ready, and greatly appreciate the wisdom I've
gotten here.
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joycedonley
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Friday,
February 22, 2002 - 02:16 pm
Go John. I just love my acrylics and have really been pleased
with them. Just be a little careful about scaping algae
and use the special brushes available for acrylic tanks.
They will scratch if you get to carried away with a glass
scraper.
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