# Is my 30 gal Hex tank worthless...



## gmoses (Dec 4, 2008)

After spending many hours in these forums researching. I have come to terms that my mbuna need to be moved out of my 30 gallon Hex tank and in the next week or two i wll be moving around all my tanks and giving them a 50 gallon. So i ask is there anything i can stock in my 30 gal hex tank. I love active fish and interesting unique looking ones...All advice is very welcome. I am open to any suggestions. I checked cookie cutter set ups and other forums but nobody really seems to discuss i guess because the footprint is not ideal for many fish... So hopefully the more knowledgablepeople can give me some options..
Thank you
I love this site, people have been so helpful.


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## Solchitlins (Jul 23, 2003)

A couple rams and tetras?

Not freshwater cichlid but,
A Seahorse would be cool.


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## gmoses (Dec 4, 2008)

sorry forgot to mention i really like the african cichlids but if not i am open to other ideas..


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

To: the experts: Could he use the 30 hex as a grow out tank?

To: author: what is the area of the footprint? If you do get a cichlid tank with males and females of the same species, I've been told they will have fry, so you will need a tank for the fry, although it might be hard to take care of the fry with the hood in the way all the time


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

What are the dimensions of the 30G?

What are the dimensions of the 50G?

What species do you have to move to the 50G?


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## frogguy1 (Jul 20, 2004)

The tank is not worthless. You could easily do shell dwelling africans in the 30g.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

No such thing as a worthless tank. 
True it isn't going to work for a community of cichlids but a peaceful species tank may work. 
Less aggressive species that stay relatively small give you that chance.
Who knows, if you get a few females and a male you could get some serious fry which would be cool.
A grow out is another possibility, I just couldn't call it worthless. Too strong of a word.


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## frogguy1 (Jul 20, 2004)

returned your pm with some examples

Both Lamp Similis and Lamp Mulitfasciatus are cool little fish.


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## CichlidLover2 (Jul 31, 2005)

I would use it as a grow out for the 50 gallon, in case you have any fry. And plus everyone needs a hospital/grow out tank. The 30 gallon would be perfect for that.


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## gmoses (Dec 4, 2008)

thank you all for the help... now that i know maybe i will keep it as a grow out tank... i like that idea. But now i have another question. Should i keep the tank running to have good bacteria stayin there or can i shut the tank down and save the media etc...until i have something to put into it...should i keep water in it or will that be bad if i let the water sit? what about gravel and all that?


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## CichlidLover2 (Jul 31, 2005)

If you keep the filter media in water that has fish in it (a source for the bacteria to continue breaking down ammonia and nitrite) then it should be fine. I would recommend keeping it set up with some smaller fish if you could though. It just seems like a shame/pain to have to set it up again. Just throw some hardy tropical fish in there for the time being and then return them to the LFS when you don't need them anymore.

You can't keep the filter media in sitting water, the whole idea of saving bacteria only works if the bacteria still has a food source (in this case our tank bacteria "eats up" ammonia and nitrites, therefore you need a supply of that in your tank (from fish food, poo, etc)).

What do you mean about the "gravel and all that"? If you mean what to do with the decorations or gravel you have IF you empty the tank then I would just keep them inside the tank and store the tank somewhere safe.

Hope this helps! :thumb:


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## gmoses (Dec 4, 2008)

it does indeed


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## Willy W0nka (Jun 2, 2008)

I believe Neolamprologus brichardi would work in that tank. Would someone like to confirm this?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Willy W0nka said:


> I believe Neolamprologus brichardi would work in that tank. Would someone like to confirm this?


A pair would probably work, but we still don't have the dimensions of the tank to make suggestions.


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## Willy W0nka (Jun 2, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> Willy W0nka said:
> 
> 
> > I believe Neolamprologus brichardi would work in that tank. Would someone like to confirm this?
> ...


True. Although, I've never seen a 30 gal that never appeared to have the dimensions of this type of tank...


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## Willy W0nka (Jun 2, 2008)

Ok, I take my last statement back...










Is this what your tank looks like, gmoses?


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## gmoses (Dec 4, 2008)

that is it i believe its about 23 inches at it longest point on the center...from front ot back its about 20 inches and about 22 or so high...
sorry for the late response


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

Quite frankly, I don't understand this type of long and thin hexagonal tanks. I have to say if your tank looks like that, it's not very useful for anything. It could be even worse than a goldfish bowl, which isn't even fit for goldfish. How can there be enough oxygen in such a tank? Even for one fish...but seriously, it's not that bad if its 20 inches front to back. I don't remember the formula for the area of a hexagon but a ten gallon is 20 inches at its longest side, so if you have a hexagon its close to about two 10 gallons footprints...so I think you can keep fry in there but possibly not useful as a grow out tank for very long...


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