Decided on a smaller tank

**godlikenastyboy** · 03-08-2010, 02:06 PM

Hi there... I posted in here about getting a 220 gallon tank for red bellied paranha's.. I went out to see the tank yesterday...
I settled on a smaller 108 Gallon... I almost had a heart attack when I seen the 220 gal tank... It is huge and weighs so much I would have needed a forklift or crane to get it out of there... 1 inch thick glass..
The 108 gal is nice.. It is 6 feet long. Guess I will need to reduce the number of paranha's to go into it.

One question.... The guy that sold it to me had lots of shale rocks and one big rock in the middle... It is a bit heavey of a rock.. Probably 25Lbs or around there... Would that not weaken the bottom glass once all the water is in the tank?

**Northernguy** · 03-08-2010, 02:16 PM

That will be fine!
Its amazing how much wieght that glass can safely hold!
There is a video of a guy stacking rocks in his tank.You should see it.lol
Its around here somewhere!
Nice tank!

**Wild Turkey** · 03-08-2010, 02:23 PM

Yea the rock should be fine, the water alone weighs a thousand pounds+, though not all of the pressure is on the bottom.

**rich311k** · 03-08-2010, 02:23 PM

Nice tank. You can put quite bit of rock in if you wish.

**tanks4thememories** · 03-08-2010, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by godlikenastyboy

One question.... The guy that sold it to me had lots of shale rocks and one big rock in the middle... It is a bit heavey of a rock.. Probably 25Lbs or around there... Would that not weaken the bottom glass once all the water is in the tank?

At 10# per gallon The bottom glass of your 108 gal tank is supporting 1080# of water...lol. Even 100# of rock is no big deal compared to that weight. Key is to always try to distribute weight as evenly as possible.

Also if you are putting the tank on concrete slab no worries but if its on wooden joists make sure you pay special attention to where you put it. IE: across the joists not parallel to them. Also with tank stands that have feet when placed on wooden joists many people opt to have a large piece of plywood under the whole tank - this also helps spread the load of each foot evenly instead of 270# pushing down on (1) 2 inch spot of your floor.

Congratz on tank BTW wow that is awesome!!

**godlikenastyboy** · 03-08-2010, 02:30 PM

Sounds good, I was worried but now im at rest...Thanks...
I measured the tank and I was wrong, It is not a 108 gal, it is 118.45 so I guess they must call that a 120 gal tank
72"x19"x20" = 118.45 Gal

You guys are very helpful and it is much apriciated

**tanks4thememories** · 03-08-2010, 03:13 PM

Originally Posted by godlikenastyboy

Sounds good, I was worried but now im at rest...Thanks...
I measured the tank and I was wrong, It is not a 108 gal, it is 118.45 so I guess they must call that a 120 gal tank
72"x19"x20" = 118.45 Gal

You guys are very helpful and it is much apriciated

YW, NP just read up on tank placement. I can not stress the importance of correct tank placement based on the type of flooring...lol

PS you making me want another big tank wife wont let me add any large tanks till we move...lol

**godlikenastyboy** · 03-08-2010, 07:34 PM

I am not too worried about the floor. I live in a basement apt and Have 3 inch steel plates wrapped with towel to help the weight.. I origionally posted this in this forum because I was going to put paranha's but now am reading alot of posts and might go with a tropical set up... paranah's are too dirty and will be too much work with the cleaning and feeders... Now all I have to do is find myself a nice variety of interesting fish that will live together.

**Rhaethe** · 03-08-2010, 07:51 PM

A tip on putting lots of rocks in the aquarium ...

Use a sheet of Plastic grid eggcrate to cover the bottom first.

**tanks4thememories** · 03-08-2010, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by godlikenastyboy

I am not too worried about the floor. I live in a basement apt and Have 3 inch steel plates wrapped with towel to help the weight.. I origionally posted this in this forum because I was going to put paranha's but now am reading alot of posts and might go with a tropical set up... paranah's are too dirty and will be too much work with the cleaning and feeders... Now all I have to do is find myself a nice variety of interesting fish that will live together.

Sweet!! GL. Personally I like "predators". most fish that fit that description are also "ODDBALLS" one of the reasons i like them is that it is a good use for a large tank since you cant have them without one. They also seem to relate to their owner more. If you put your face up to the glass my Gar will sit there and just look at you and you can see his eyes and gestures studying your facial features...lol Man id love to know what he is thinking. Or I had an silver arowanna that would only eat from my hand & he would actively seek a little petting when he saw someone at the tank...lol