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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Cichlids / February 2006Bottom 55 gal tank with fish?
Hi Folks: I have a 55 gal planted show tank with some discus, cordy cats and various neon and a pair of German Blue Rams. The bottom of the stand looks inviting for another 55 gal and since I have an extra hood and heater I'd though I'd put another 55 gal one below the top one. My main concern is the low placement of the tank. It would be of course at knee high, and while that's fine for sitting and watching the fish I worry about 'spooking' them when I get up to arrange thing in the top tank. I'm not particularly 'set' on any one type of fish in the bottom tank, but I think discus would be a problem as I understand they 'spook' easy and like to see you at eye level. Any suggestions for some fish? My water is blessed at 6.2 pH and 3 KH straight from the tap. I'm kind of new to the hobby but love South African Dwarf cichlids and cardinals and such. Of course I can treat the bottom tank as a quarantine tank but I'd like to make it a thing of beauty too! My other concern would be weight. 2 full 55 gallon tanks are quite a load! Any suggestions/comments or advisement appreciated. Thanks for holding my hand! Jim C. P.S. I bought my above discus two weeks ago and am now IN LOVE with the species. I have them eating out of my hand! I have two and just bought 4 more through an online breeder. What great fish! > Hi Folks: > > I have a 55 gal planted show tank with some discus, cordy cats and > various neon and a pair of German Blue Rams. The bottom of the stand > looks inviting for another 55 gal and since I have an extra hood and > heater I'd though I'd put another 55 gal one below the top one. Make sure you have a comfortable clearance for working. I used to keep a tall 30g on a stand with a 20g underneath. I could reverse them, but maintenance would be difficult on the lower tank. > My main concern is the low placement of the tank. It would be of > course at knee high, and while that's fine for sitting and watching the > fish I worry about 'spooking' them when I get up to arrange thing in > the top tank. I'm not particularly 'set' on any one type of fish in > the bottom tank, but I think discus would be a problem as I understand > they 'spook' easy and like to see you at eye level. Larger cichlids prefer to look down or be at eye-level to us. Smaller fish don't spook the same way. > Any suggestions for some fish? My water is blessed at 6.2 pH and > 3 KH straight from the tap. I'm kind of new to the hobby but love > South African Dwarf cichlids and cardinals and such. Of course I can > treat the bottom tank as a quarantine tank but I'd like to make it a > thing of beauty too! Any of the Apistos would be in paradise, for a planted 55g for themselves. Also if a Discus needs a time-out, you have a place. > My other concern would be weight. 2 full 55 gallon tanks are quite > a load! Any suggestions/comments or advisement appreciated. Thanks > for holding my hand! If it was designed for it :o). Adding another 600 lbs should not make any difference except to the floor. The 600 lbs is stressing the previously unstressed steel horizontal sections (if it's the all-metal stand that I'm thinking of), so that should be ok (are they the same size as the horizontal sections above?), and it adds 600 lbs to the vertical section below the bottom tank (again, insignificant to vertical steel legs). The weight on the floor should be considered (will the floor bounce causing the tank to sway forwards?), and the tank stand to floor contact area is a consideration. For small contact areas, I would sometimes put a metal plate under each post to spread the load (but either way, 1200 lbs is going to leave a dent in a carpet ;~). > Jim C. > P.S. > I bought my above discus two weeks ago and am now IN LOVE with the > species. I have them eating out of my hand! I have two and just > bought 4 more through an online breeder. What great fish! lol, and so it begins ;~).  Signaturewww.NetMax.tk Thanks for the help! >> Hi Folks: >> [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > lol, and so it begins ;~). If you want to have a tank on the lower level, you might want to consider a 40 long. It's the same footprint as a 55 so your hood will work, but shorter. > Thanks for the help! > [quoted text clipped - 53 lines] >> >> lol, and so it begins ;~). |
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