# New tank (92 corner) getting me back into the hobby



## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

Hi everybody. I am getting back into the hobby after going to grad school and living in an apartment. I used to post here under the equally creative handle of "Walter" back when TheFishGuy was building his monster tank. That account couldn't get transferred when the forum upgraded, and the email associated with it is one that I haven't used in 8 or 9 years. Anyway, I have graduated, bought a house, and my wife wants another dog, so she let me buy a tank on the condition that It would be *ONE* tank. (I may have had problems with multiple tank syndrome in the past.) After scouring the local craigslist and OfferUp (new tanks are too expensive), I settled on a 92 Gallon corner tank. I like the footprint of it, and it is big enough to keep me interested.

I am not sure which direction I will go with it yet, but I have time to decide while I get it set up and cycled. I may not even put cichlids in it, but who knows. I like big tanks with many small fish in it, so maybe I will put a hundred neons in it. I would appreciate any suggestions anyone has on how to make a tank setup like this look good.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

One thing that is worrying me is the relatively small size limitation on the sump (20 gallons) due to the stand geometry. I have a wet-dry that came with it. I am also concerned about doing water changes where it is at. This is the general layout of where it will be in my lower level family room.









I am toying with the idea of putting the sump in the storage room located behind the wall that the tank will be on. I think that I could also put an overflow on the sump and run a drain line to the floor drain, and run a supply line to the storage room. My water is pretty chlorinated, so I wouldn't mind having a barrel or something in there to condition water as well. I will probably need to figure this out before I decide on fish/decor.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I don't see any pics but I personally like small sandsifters for these kind of tanks.
A group of Xenotilapia cherry princess and a doz or so Paracprichromis Brieni would be pretty nice. 
This of course how I spend other peoples money as these fish don't come cheap.


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## SantaMonicaHelp (Oct 1, 2012)

Hi Walter,

Welcome back to the forum and to the hobby :thumb: 
I hope that your wife will share your hobby and allow you to have more than one tank!

What plans do you have for the future tank?

Zhenya


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Welcome to Cichlid-forum!

The lack of length is limiting for some of the Lake Malawi cichlids...Tangs are a good option.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

noddy said:


> I don't see any pics but I personally like small sandsifters for these kind of tanks.
> A group of Xenotilapia cherry princess and a doz or so Paracprichromis Brieni would be pretty nice.
> This of course how I spend other peoples money as these fish don't come cheap.


I would don't know why the pics aren't showing. I see them.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

SantaMonicaHelp said:


> Hi Walter,
> 
> Welcome back to the forum and to the hobby :thumb:
> I hope that your wife will share your hobby and allow you to have more than one tank!
> ...


Not many plans yet. Have time to figure it out once I get it filled and cycling. I like plants and schools. Thought maybe some Shellie's could work.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Walt, you need to use a photo hosting website, follow the Posting Pics link in my signature.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

Walt said:


> Hi everybody. I am getting back into the hobby after going to grad school and living in an apartment. I used to post here under the equally creative handle of "Walter" back when TheFishGuy was building his monster tank. That account couldn't get transferred when the forum upgraded, and the email associated with it is one that I haven't used in 8 or 9 years. Anyway, I have graduated, bought a house, and my wife wants another dog, so she let me buy a tank on the condition that It would be *ONE* tank. (I may have had problems with multiple tank syndrome in the past.) After scouring the local craigslist and OfferUp (new tanks are too expensive), I settled on a 92 Gallon corner tank. I like the footprint of it, and it is big enough to keep me interested.
> 
> I am not sure which direction I will go with it yet, but I have time to decide while I get it set up and cycled. I may not even put cichlids in it, but who knows. I like big tanks with many small fish in it, so maybe I will put a hundred neons in it. I would appreciate any suggestions anyone has on how to make a tank setup like this look good.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

Walt said:


> Walt said:
> 
> 
> > One thing that is worrying me is the relatively small size limitation on the sump (20 gallons) due to the stand geometry. I have a wet-dry that came with it. I am also concerned about doing water changes where it is at. This is the general layout of where it will be in my lower level family room.
> ...


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

Well, apparently the site doesn't like the Google services or .PNG files. ¯\_(ツ)_/ ¯


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

I am thinking that to make this more wife friendly, I won't hard plumb a supply or drain line. Instead, I will probably use a flexible hose to fill and drain, and put it up when not in use.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I see your pic now, it looks like you have a lot of cleaning up to do on the tank and possibly the stand as it looks a bit moldy on the inside.

Does the tank have dual corner overflows?

If you weren't set on using the sump or wet/dry, you could try a canister or two.

What is the height of the tank? Do you know the tank brand?


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

Deeda said:


> I see your pic now, it looks like you have a lot of cleaning up to do on the tank and possibly the stand as it looks a bit moldy on the inside.
> 
> Does the tank have dual corner overflows?
> 
> ...


Its not near as bad in person as it looks in the picture. The tank was just emptied, and most of what is on it wipes off with a wet paper towel. The stand is a black wood stand that has been painted with a sandy textured paint. The stuff that looks like mold in the picture is just the old black on the inside. The tank has just the one overflow in the back corner. It is 24" tall. Not sure on the brand.

I will probably try to hose it off and get it inside tonight so that I can get my car in the garage before this snowstorm that is coming. I need to get my water tested and pain the back black before I get anything else done on it.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

I also wanted to add that I prefer the sump to keep the tank looking cleaner (no heater in tank). I also need to put some locks on the stand to keep my (almost) 1 year old out of the plumbing.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I like in-line heaters for that.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

First round of pre-owned tank drama. Apparently a former owner decided to use thin wall PVC on the drain line, making it a little more difficult to plumb.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

OK, I have got the bulkheads checked and tightened down, plumbing fixed and the tank on the stand. I also gave the back two sides a couple coats of black paint. I am going to give it a good scrub down, add sand and water and get this baby cycling.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

Good looking tank. I actually kept a 65 gallon corner bow front tank for years with male haps and peacocks. I passed it on to my mom when I set up the 125, she has 4-5 fancy goldfish in it now.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

I have sand and water in it now. I even added a fancy light fixture to get some light in there until my lights arrive. I am trying to decide if I want to do a fishless cycle, or get some biospira and/or used media and add some corys.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Looking good!

I'm a fan of using the fishless cycling method for a couple reasons. It gives you a good start on understanding and monitoring your water parameters, it establishes a good bacterial load for stocking and it allows you a chance to figure out which fish you want to stock.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

Deeda said:


> Looking good!
> 
> I'm a fan of using the fishless cycling method for a couple reasons. It gives you a good start on understanding and monitoring your water parameters, it establishes a good bacterial load for stocking and it allows you a chance to figure out which fish you want to stock.


I agree, but that being said, I may just start cycling with fish instead. I am getting my lights tomorrow, and want to get it planted this week. After that I am going to get some used filter media from someone on my local FB group, and add some bio spira, and then maybe 6-12 corys. Maybe I will just try to speed up a fishless cycle with the media and BioSpira, I don't know.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

My lights have arrived, and look pretty good, if I do say so myself. I had dosed with ammonia, then added a bottle of Tetra StartSafe, and am seeing ammonia go down with nitrite going up, so that's encouraging. I also have bought a used 80 gallon acrylic frag tank that will be my remote sump, though I need to do some work before that gets installed.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

It looks like the SafeStart is working, at least on the front end. Ammonia undetectable, but still some nitrite. There is nitrate though, so it looks like it is moving along quickly.


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## My2butterflies (Jul 31, 2016)

Awesome looking tank


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

My2butterflies said:


> Awesome looking tank


Thanks, hopefully it looks good with the wood an plants in it.


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## Walt (Feb 21, 2017)

I finally have the wood in, just waiting for the dust to clear up. Wood didn't stay where i put it, but I think that I like it anyway. Cycle is going well. Added some of the Tetra SafeStart, and it got my ammonia down to zero, but still have high nitrites. Need to do a water change to reduce the nitrites and fine particles.


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