# Your Ultimate Tank Setup...



## chinds78 (Jun 22, 2011)

What would it be if money and space were no object? Here's Mine...

300G Oscar/large CA cichlid tank
180G All Male Hap/Peacock tank
120G Mbuna tank
150G JD, FM, Cons tank
120G Discus tank
55G Saulosi species tank
45G Demasoni species tank (only because this is the size tank I already have)

As far as details go I think I would probably use a sump on at least the 2 larger tanks if not all 5 of the larger ones and I would probably use ehiem canisters on the rest. I would also use some sort moonlight on most of the tanks. The rest I will leave up to your imagination.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

10000g living room dining room divider. Mix of malawi. Biologist onsite 24/7 as well as cleaning crew to do my water changes and to dive in and arrange the rocks according to my OCD needs. I would have DE HQI metal halides for light and white LED moonlights all on timers and dimmers according to actual moon cycles(full, half, etc...)

You said if money were no object.....

Of course my staff would have their own sleeping quarters. :thumb:

Realistically though I would like to get back to a 225g like I had in the past with metal halide lights. It was not so big that I couldn't get my arms in and move things around and wasn't so small that I couldn't keep some larger fish.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

lol @ 13razorbackfan

:thumb: :thumb:


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

There is no ideal tank in my world as I am constantly changing. I would want it small enough to know my fish, if there were an ideal.


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## rtirado (Oct 25, 2011)

+1 on having a crew of people to do my water changes when I'm not around. So all I see is happy fish when I get home and not have to deal with any messes, lol.


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## Morpheen (Jul 21, 2010)

I've been planned my monster build for a while now. Even drew it up In AutoCAD to fine tune the design. This is truely my dream tank and I plan on working towards it in the next year or so!

Here's the current plan

Custom Glass 96"L x 30"W x 28"H (starfire front and side panels & eurobracing)
Custom Sump
Custom steel tube stand to be skinned with something
Extremely high flow (pair of Vortech MP40's for circulation + ~2500GPH return pumps)
Extemely quiet (bean animal external overflow design)
Automatic water change system (Litemeter III dosing pump)
Automatic water top-off system (Tunze Ozmolator)
Neptune Apex controller
LED lighting

Stock = Tanganykan Biotope with Tropheus colony

Front rendering









Back side rendering









Side Rendering


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## chinds78 (Jun 22, 2011)

f*Morpheen*,

I like how you think!


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## Morpheen (Jul 21, 2010)

chinds78 said:


> f*Morpheen*,
> 
> I like how you think!


Thanks! :thumb:


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## jackskellington101982 (May 16, 2011)

A 2384g Wall 16'x10'x2' LxTxD angel tank. with clown loach, black ghost knife, and angels. That would be my dream. All coustom built. Live plants. Real rock suround with an open back so I could see into my office. and vice versa.


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## livingroomdiver (Oct 10, 2011)

6x2x2 Uaru, Severum, Geophagus built into wall in between two rooms with 55 gallon sump with closets at either end to contain the internals.

I'll probably have to build a new house to make it happen, but hey...you said DREAM!!


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## Jarrods (Sep 11, 2011)

A reef wall that's about 3-4' deep, floor to ceiling and 10' long. With a big coral pile floor to ceiling and loads of swimming room around. I know it's not cichlids but reef tanks look amazing when you have the cash to do themright!! Oh and someone to maintain it for me!


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## dubghod (Oct 20, 2011)

A huge tank with multiple colonies of the Synodontis of Tanganyika with a few Giraffe catfish, with a shoal of 100s of Cyprichromis.

Would be awesome


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## chinds78 (Jun 22, 2011)

jackskellington101982 said:


> A 2384g Wall 16'x10'x2' LxTxD angel tank. with clown loach, black ghost knife, and angels. That would be my dream. All coustom built. Live plants. Real rock suround with an open back so I could see into my office. and vice versa.


Dude...that's not a tank, thats a small LAKE! I like!


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## Pablo T. (Oct 19, 2011)

I could just go with about a 500 or 600 gallon tank with a host of filtration devices (to keep me busy as I LOVE to be a part of the tank, getting my hands dirty, in changing things once in a while and not just siting and staring at the tank) and I would love to have so many of each type of fish. Unfortunately, I would most likely end up with colonies and breeding with a tank that big and with spaces that vast. I, for one, am not really in it for the breeding. I just like having different types of fish in the tank. I know......pretty hard to do, too, it seems. :roll:


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## jackskellington101982 (May 16, 2011)

chinds78 said:


> jackskellington101982 said:
> 
> 
> > A 2384g Wall 16'x10'x2' LxTxD angel tank. with clown loach, black ghost knife, and angels. That would be my dream. All coustom built. Live plants. Real rock suround with an open back so I could see into my office. and vice versa.
> ...


I know right. but it would be friging awesome wouldnt it. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

this one would be nice...

29' X 5' X 3' - 2600 gallons (Under Construction)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...16005-My-new-2600-gallon-plywood-tank-project


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

cantrell00 said:


> http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...16005-My-new-2600-gallon-plywood-tank-project


I just spent the better part of 2 hours on that forum, that guy just became my new hero! :lol:


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Well I'm a huge die hard Fly Fisherman so my ultimate tank would be a 10' x 3' x 3' in wall tank that had trout (brook, browns, bows) and a river theme to it with some sort of huge powerheads to make a river current and a way to keep the water cool for the trout to survive.

Although if I had that in my house I'd probably be wading in it fly casting half the time


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

The King Crabb said:


> cantrell00 said:
> 
> 
> > http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...16005-My-new-2600-gallon-plywood-tank-project
> ...


Let's just hope that he doesn't kill himself. Some things were not meant to be DIY.

I admire his effort & persistence though... :thumb:


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## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

But if money was no object... Why not just buy the thing pre-built?


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

dielikemoviestars said:


> But if money was no object... Why not just buy the thing pre-built?


For sure... pay the engineers, specialists whatever is necessary to build it right. And safe.


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## chinds78 (Jun 22, 2011)

jackskellington101982 said:


> chinds78 said:
> 
> 
> > Dude...that's not a tank said:
> ...


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Steve C said:


> Well I'm a huge die hard Fly Fisherman so my ultimate tank would be a 10' x 3' x 3' in wall tank that had trout (brook, browns, bows) and a river theme to it with some sort of huge powerheads to make a river current and a way to keep the water cool for the trout to survive.


That would be an awesome tank!


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## clekchau (Jul 24, 2011)

cantrell00 said:


> this one would be nice...
> 
> 29' X 5' X 3' - 2600 gallons (Under Construction)
> 
> http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...16005-My-new-2600-gallon-plywood-tank-project


wow 29' that is crazy


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## Daxx (Aug 29, 2011)

i would buy sea world, nough said


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## Vadimshevchuk (May 23, 2009)

My dream tank!

In wall in the dinning room 12'L 5'W 3'H with vortech pumps and radions for lighting and stocked with mbuna!


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## luvplantsnfish (Nov 21, 2011)

jackskellington101982 said:


> A 2384g Wall 16'x10'x2' LxTxD angel tank. with clown loach, black ghost knife, and angels. That would be my dream. All coustom built. Live plants. Real rock suround with an open back so I could see into my office. and vice versa.


I would do something like this but would do lots of big groups of schooling/shoaling fish and I would have it along one wall of my bedroom so I could watch the fish as I go to sleep, but would also have an automatic curtain that at the push of a button would close so you could not see into the bedroom. :wink:


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## jackskellington101982 (May 16, 2011)

luvplantsnfish said:


> jackskellington101982 said:
> 
> 
> > A 2384g Wall 16'x10'x2' LxTxD angel tank. with clown loach, black ghost knife, and angels. That would be my dream. All coustom built. Live plants. Real rock suround with an open back so I could see into my office. and vice versa.
> ...


i like the curtain idea :thumb:


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## luvplantsnfish (Nov 21, 2011)

Thank you.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

WOW, it;s been awhile since i looked at this thread, there are some crazy, amazing tank dreams on here.

It's funny how you change over time. My ultimate tanks would look a little different now.



chinds78 said:


> 300G Oscar/large CA cichlid tank
> 180G All Male Hap/Peacock tank
> 120G Mbuna tank
> 150G JD, FM, Cons tank
> ...


I would keep the following:
300G Oscar/large CA cichlid tank
180G All Male Hap/Peacock tank (with around 10 yellow labs)

I would change the following:
120G Mbuna tank to 125G mbuna tank
45G demasoni tank to 55G tank since I no longer have this 45G tank a dems would be better in a 48" tank anyway.

I would add the following:
90G Planted angel tank
40L Tang community with shell dwellers, calvus and julies


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Wait, nix the 180G hap/peacock tank for a 10'x3'x'4' room separating hap/peacock/mbuna tank with a rock pile that went from top to bottom length-wise as you came down a staircase.  Just dreamed that one up!


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## farmer (Apr 1, 2013)

I've already thought up the Trout tank idea. The best way to do it would be to live on a piece of property with a creek that flows year round, with sufficient elevation loss that you could intake above the house, flow into the tank, and overflow back into the creek (not likely to be approved by DEQ) or excavate a chunk of land and fill with gravel, plumb into it, and cover with topsoil / grass to have a drainage field. constant flow from the creek keeps water fresh and cool. No need for water changes or filtration, just occasional cleaning. Stock with golden, rainbow, and brookies. This would be a wall divider, with a few small logs, sticks, and other things to make it look like real habitat. Probably 10-12' long, 4' deep, 2.5-3' wide

#2 would be an in-wall blackwater tank for my red bellied piranhas. Somewhere around 500 gal. Do the same as I do now and have a few crawdads in there for food. Supplement with pellets.

#3 An in-wall like that 2600 gal linked to on MFK would be pretty cool. I've always been fascinated by sting rays. Maybe a salt water nurse shark / ray tank?

#4 I already have my cichlids in a 55 gal built into the bottom of my bar. I would just expand that into about a 240 gal 6' tank, and have more bar space


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

farmer said:


> I've already thought up the Trout tank idea. The best way to do it would be to live on a piece of property with a creek that flows year round, with sufficient elevation loss that you could intake above the house, flow into the tank, and overflow back into the creek (not likely to be approved by DEQ) or excavate a chunk of land and fill with gravel, plumb into it, and cover with topsoil / grass to have a drainage field. constant flow from the creek keeps water fresh and cool. No need for water changes or filtration, just occasional cleaning. Stock with golden, rainbow, and brookies. This would be a wall divider, with a few small logs, sticks, and other things to make it look like real habitat. Probably 10-12' long, 4' deep, 2.5-3' wide
> 
> #2 would be an in-wall blackwater tank for my red bellied piranhas. Somewhere around 500 gal. Do the same as I do now and have a few crawdads in there for food. Supplement with pellets.
> 
> ...


A tank built into a bar sounds pretty sweet! I love the look of built-in tanks, seen some pretty sweet ones on Tanked.


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## farmer (Apr 1, 2013)

Ya, I built the frame, and then found out I was moving so I wanted to stop adding weight. Now that I'm settled in I need to finish putting the sides on, and find a good tree to cut a slab out of.

I have the TV mounted on the wall above it, and it is sort of in a corner next to what used to be the chimney, so I am building floating shelves out of 2" slabs off a cedar log that was fallen over behind my house. I am going to be busy with work the next few weeks, but I hope to have it all finished by hunting season. I'll post a few pictures when I get it all done.


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