210 Gallon Tank

Here are some pictures of my new 210. It doesn't have the fish in it yet.

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I am soooo jeleous... This is a amazing setup! love the sumps, the plumbing, the sand.... I love it love it love it!!! you gotta put some amazing fish in this thing... some big expensive rare fish!!! a tank this nice deserves the best!

sandnuka wrote:I am soooo jeleous... This is a amazing setup! love the sumps, the plumbing, the sand.... I love it love it love it!!! you gotta put some amazing fish in this thing... some big expensive rare fish!!! a tank this nice deserves the best!

Thanks for the nice words. I already have some fish going in. They are big but not rare. I have one albino oscar, tiger oscar and a big pleco. The pleco is pretty aggressive so he might find a new home.

Nice to see the pics! Its looking good!

you need more than oscars in that bad boy... gotta toss in some texas cichlids, and some other big Central and South american cichlids to go with your oscars.

I do plan on adding a few more fish. It's looking like I'm going to rehome the pleco. He is being pretty aggressive. He goes after the oscars.

Lots of choices with a large tank. You might give the pleco a shot in the big tank, the aggression from a 12" common with two medium size Oscars is understandable in a 55g. It might just disappear in the 210. I had problems with my 11" midas and 9" pleco going at it in the 120g, but that stopped entirely when they went into the 210. More elbow room makes even the crankiest pleco happy.

DMD123 wrote:Lots of choices with a large tank. You might give the pleco a shot in the big tank, the aggression from a 12" common with two medium size Oscars is understandable in a 55g. It might just disappear in the 210. I had problems with my 11" midas and 9" pleco going at it in the 120g, but that stopped entirely when they went into the 210. More elbow room makes even the crankiest pleco happy.

Sounds like a good idea.

Since each oscar needs 55 gallons plus I have a giant pleco I don't really have the space for other fish. I've been looking at catfish. There are some cool ones out there. I really only have the pleco to clean up after the dirty oscar's.

Ive seen several SA/CA cichlids in a 210 before.... allot more than 2 oscars thats for sure..... especially with that filtration system. I attached a video of a 300 gallon with central american fish in it, look how many are in there.... sure you could put in 3/4 of that many in your tank.

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sandnuka wrote:Ive seen several SA/CA cichlids in a 210 before.... allot more than 2 oscars thats for sure..... especially with that filtration system. I attached a video of a 300 gallon with central american fish in it, look how many are in there.... sure you could put in 3/4 of that many in your tank.

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That was a cool video. There were alot of fish in that tank. I'm hoping for some 15 inch monster oscar's. I would love to have a jag or red devil but don't think that will work out.

I honestly dont know why it wouldnt... as long as you keep them well fed, i think a 210 is more than enough for a red devil, maybe midas, festae, convicts, Im sure there is a bunch of cool fish you always wanted. ..... but, thats just what I would do with it.....

being super good to your oscars and giving them a giant tank to play in is cool... just think you can get more wow out of it with more fish.

I agree. I just don't want fighting. The oscar's swim together and are always together. I don't want that to change. I went through alot of oscar's trying to find two that would get along.

like DMD said earlier... gettin along in a 55gal is allot harder than 210 gallon.... my midas killed every fish in a group of 6..... i couldnt keep him with anyone in a 55gal... its just too small.... but ive seen them have no problems in 150+ gallon....

So if thats all your worried about, you can try it out... get a few guys cheap of craigslist, see how they get along... if there is problems after a few days, take em out and give them up. : )

Before setting up my tank I wanted to add a canister filter to the mix then I changed my mind. Well now I want one but don't have any room next to the tank or under it. Also a hob filter won't work because the tank is two inches from the wall. Does anybody have any ideas? I don't think the wet/dry's will handle all the food the oscar's spit out. I need something to suck it up and keep the tank clean.

All the options I can think would be visible and distracting. A large sponge filter with a powerhead would pull the waste toward it, or some internal filters. When we had spoke before I mentioned I had left around 6" behind my tank. I did this in case I ever had an emergency and needed to put a HOB filter on the tank.

I wanted to but I started thinking about all the dog hair that would get behind it. If something happens I could throw a hob on the side or something. One guy I talked to uses the powerhead with the filters built in. It add's air bubbles to so I could take my stones out.

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That would work.

Also if you look at the last picture. The box on the right sits lower. What if I layed something across it on the left side of the return pump and set a canister on top?

I have 20 fish in my 300. I am about to go to a sump like yours. The sump is even smaller than yours. Then I will get rid of the canister filters. If my sump can handle 20 fish, your sump can definitely handle a couple oscars. I think you are overthinking this. If I were you and I am not, I would purchase one of those power heads, or attach your air line to a large sponge filter and hide it in a back corner. Your sump will do just fine.

Sounds like a plan.

wow that is legit! I really dig the simplicity of it. May need to study your wet/dry setup as I plan to drop a HOB and add another wet/dry. that system looks simple yet highly effective. Well done!

Looks good! [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Makes me want to get some Oscars!

DMD123 wrote:Looks good! [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Makes me want to get some Oscars!

Don't tell madness that lol. He hates them.

Oscars are just so common that a lot of people dont even give them a second look.

Did you take the time to measure your fish when you moved them?

That pleco is huge! And he is only going to get bigger....

Nope I didn't measure the fish but it's weird how they appear so much bigger when they are out of the water. I think the pleco is about 11 inches long. The albino oscar is the biggest at about 10.

Addicted2CAs wrote:wow that is legit! I really dig the simplicity of it. May need to study your wet/dry setup as I plan to drop a HOB and add another wet/dry. that system looks simple yet highly effective. Well done!

I wanted to add a canister filter but was told it wasn't needed. I would add a hob but the tank is about 2 inches from the wall. Each wet/dry I have are for tanks up to 300 gallons.

Does anybody have any ideas for tankmates? I don't want fighting. I was thinking maybe a convict. They might clean up the food that the oscar's spit out.

I'm thinking the pleco needs to go. The bio load is insane.

Jantilla wrote:I'm thinking the pleco needs to go. The bio load is insane.

Hes a big boy and it sound like you kind of made up your mind on him already. Even free he may be hard to get rid of.

As for tankmates... there are a ton of choices. A convict would work out fine, other cichlids, schooling fish, catfish. What are you interested in?

If I got rid of him I would take him to cayes. I'm not to sure yet. He's part of the family. I do like cichlids and plan on getting more. If I got rid of the pleco I would get a catfish or another smaller pleco like what you have.

My L014 that I got from Zerc is absolutely beautiful but a total hider, you never see it. They dont get too large in comparison to your common.

Get 5 Jaguars and see what happens !

Adonijah wrote:Get 5 Jaguars and see what happens !

I'm sure that would work out great.

I say dump the Oscars and get 5 to 8 fish around 2-3" and watch them grow. Then you can add a couple cool looking plecos, and some cool looking loaches. Even a Poly or 2.

madness wrote:I say dump the Oscars and get 5 to 8 fish around 2-3" and watch them grow. Then you can add a couple cool looking plecos, and some cool looking loaches. Even a Poly or 2.

Yes madness I know you hate oscars. They were babies when I got them and still are. They have grown up fast.

Jantilla wrote:

madness wrote:I say dump the Oscars and get 5 to 8 fish around 2-3" and watch them grow. Then you can add a couple cool looking plecos, and some cool looking loaches. Even a Poly or 2.

Yes madness I know you hate oscars. They were babies when I got them and still are. They have grown up fast.

I dont hate them, I just think that there are far better fish out there to look at. Far better fish out there for the personality, and a boat load of fish out there that arent so dirty.

Thats all.

madness wrote:

Jantilla wrote:

madness wrote:I say dump the Oscars and get 5 to 8 fish around 2-3" and watch them grow. Then you can add a couple cool looking plecos, and some cool looking loaches. Even a Poly or 2.

Yes madness I know you hate oscars. They were babies when I got them and still are. They have grown up fast.

I dont hate them, I just think that there are far better fish out there to look at. Far better fish out there for the personality, and a boat load of fish out there that arent so dirty.

Thats all.

They are common but still cool. I agree with you that there are alot of other rare fish out there that are cool.

Jantilla wrote:They are common but still cool. I [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] with you that there are alot of other rare fish out there that are (MORE) cool.

madness wrote:

Jantilla wrote:They are common but still cool. I [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] with you that there are alot of other rare fish out there that are (MORE) cool.

possible tankmates?

There are a few videos of on youtube of Oscars and Fire Eels in the same tank, personality is a lot alike, not really aggressive, but will eat w/e fits in their mouth. Clown loaches are pretty tame and they sift through gravel to eat stuff off the bottom as well. You would want to get a bigger loach though probably(to prevent becoming an oscar snack), and the bigger ones are pretty spendy. I did see some 3-4" loaches at the puyallup pet smart a few weeks ago for $12. That might be a bit far for you though.

Wet spot in portland has fire eels 10" long for $60 and 4" for $15

They also have 4" clown loaches, but they are $40 or 3/$100

Zerc wrote:possible tankmates?

There are a few videos of on youtube of Oscars and Fire Eels in the same tank, personality is a lot alike, not really aggressive, but will eat w/e fits in their mouth. Clown loaches are pretty tame and they sift through gravel to eat stuff off the bottom as well. You would want to get a bigger loach though probably(to prevent becoming an oscar snack), and the bigger ones are pretty spendy. I did see some 3-4" loaches at the puyallup pet smart a few weeks ago for $12. That might be a bit far for you though.

Wet spot in portland has fire eels 10" long for $60 and 4" for $15

They also have 4" clown loaches, but they are $40 or 3/$100

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How about that? Is that just the normal convict you can get at a fish shop?

wow! That would be a scary big convict. Thats an Archosargus probatocephalus though, saltwater

big teeth!

The only down side to clown loaches is that they are "social" fish and most people recommend a minimum of three. And... they get ~16" long. (that takes a long time though)

I want something big and gentle like an oscar.

fire eel, same personality, different shape!