Buying new tank--what to consider

[ticman]

Hi,

I am planning on buying a new tank and have made the trek to the Petcos, Petsmart and other LFS that sell tanks and tank setups.

Issues and/or considerations:

Space is somewhat limited
Don't want standard rectangular tank
Looking at All Glass 46 bowed and Oceanic 42 Hex
Want South/Central American cichlids--not Africans
Will buy tank, hood and stand locally but all other supplies from online sources

Ok--am I correct in assuming that I might be better off with the 46 bow configuration (36/15/20) as I have more surface area and also more "territories". The 42 Hex is nice looking but I think it will greatly limit # of fish.

comments appreciated re type and number of fish that are recommended and other tank size / shape issues that I haven't even thought of yet.

Mike

[Cichlid_Fan]

New tank! New tank!!:ok:

Well, you pretty much know your stuff, but I would get the bow over the hex. Obviously you wouldn't put pike in there since they need longer tanks. I don't see how you would be limited with africans. Maybe some on the lower end of the aggression scale, but I have seen aggresive ones in smaller tanks than 46g.

I saw some neat bows where they have a pile of lace rock in the center almost to the top. The fish swim at different levels in and out of the crevaces. Very cool stuff if yer a fish freak like me.:lol:

Good luck, let me know how you decide to set it up.

Matt

[Poet8102]

You are definitely better off with the bow tank, as far as what species you can put in there, you have a number of options. What is your preference?
If you want one or two larger cichlids you can go for maybe a pair of green terrors, or maybe you can get a severum or two. There are also some earth eater types that can fit in the tank comfortably.
You can also go a little smaller and have more than two cichlids such as Convicts or Firemouths. It depends on your preferences and what is available to you. I just gave some very common examples but I'm sure that Rex or one of the more experienced CA/SA guys can give you some better advice.

Good luck

[Cichlid_Fan]

At 36" long you could definitely have some severums.

[DR.J]

cichlid-fan, do you have a pic of your tank? i would like to see how your tank looks with all them rocks stacked up to the top.Sounds like a very creative tank.

[Cichlid_Fan]

Originally posted by DR.J
cichlid-fan, do you have a pic of your tank? i would like to see how your tank looks with all them rocks stacked up to the top.Sounds like a very creative tank.

They're none of mine, just some set ups I saw.

Matt

[crazyfishlady]

Why are you steering away from rectangular?
Is it a space issue or did you just want something that looks different?
Bow fronts & hexes seem to be tall, which is kind of wasted space.
If you wanted to so something that looks different you could do a DIY stand. Something really cool W/ metal... or I just built a stand & used 5" PVC for the legs so they look like columns instead of having just the standard cheesy wood box under the tank.