The Puffer Forum

Ok peeps,
I have set up this topic as a walk through for our (my) set up. I have op'd for this because 1) I did a quick search for breeding and came up with 200+ pages, 2) I know some of you are experts and I will be relying on your help, and even more people will be having the same issues and maybe would like to read the day-to-day operations. 3) This is my FIRST non-fresh water set up.

I value you input and think of this as a diary of what I am doing, at what time, and how I'm doing it with YOUR guidance.

Currently I have 6 Green Spotted Puffers in a 30 gallon tank. They are fingerlings at less than 1" each. I have populated the tank with plants and other articles to keep them occupied for a while.

Their tank mates are: 2x2.5" exotic gold fish and 1 x 6" loach. They are eating healthy and swimming around but, are out-classed by the other fish for food.

On October 24th I am receiving delivery of a USED tank from a fish shop. This is a MASSIVE tank! It is in total 500 gallons with 250 on the top and 250 on the bottom. Pumps and lights included, base / cabinet is not included (I have ordered the wood to make my own base ... yea, yea all said and done is going to weigh aprox. 6000lbs.)

Ok.. Topic #1 Day 1
The tank has arrived; it is a used tank. How do I scrub it down so that no viruses, bugs or harmful elements are present?

Thanks
J-P

P.S. These are the seller's pics and not my own...

Only thing I can say is, "Holy Crap! You overkilled Kenny!" (hopefully you're a South Park person)
That's what I call a nice size tank! It looks to me that the bottom tanks are glass, what is the top section made of? Glass or acrylic?

I would seriously bleach the tank, rinse extremely well, then actually rinse with a dechlorinator and rinse again. Another thing you can use is OxyClean and then rinse real well.

Oxyclean

Dadof4 wrote:Only thing I can say is, "Holy Crap! You overkilled Kenny!" (hopefully you're a South Park person)
That's what I call a nice size tank! It looks to me that the bottom tanks are glass, what is the top section made of? Glass or acrylic?

I would seriously bleach the tank, rinse extremely well, then actually rinse with a dechlorinator and rinse again. Another thing you can use is OxyClean and then rinse real well.

LOL!!! Yes I'm a south park guy! And my wife has already given my crap for buying a 12' tank for a $6 fish.......

The entire tank (top and bottom) is glass with a steel stand / structure. I've bought some wood to make a base to house the pumps and accessories but that will be a while in the process....

Are the tanks on the bottom separate or are they hooked together some how?

Pufferpunk wrote:Oxyclean

I have oxyclean!! woo hoo!! After it is applied how do I know if it has been rinsed off properly? Is there a test I could do or just let it sit and dissipate?

Thanks
J-P

Dadof4 wrote:Are the tanks on the bottom separate or are they hooked together some how?

They are separate, but linked through the plumbing so that the top tanks can filter down into the bottom tank. I can manage the bottom tank separately if I wanted to.

J-P

Thanks guys and gals

I brew my own beer and wine at home and what I usually do is:
1) rinse, scrub, rinse
2) bleach
3) rinse
4) sanitize

The bleach has an effective life of 24h
The sanitizer has an effective life of 30 mins

Oxy clean ????? unknown.

If I did what I do for my beer and wine, and let it dry out for 24 hours, A) would it be ok? B) would I be risking cross contamination or air borne fungus that contaminate the water or chemical reside?

Or am I just overly paranoid??

Thanks
J-P

Those pictures blew me away. I love when people put their fish first

Jivenjune wrote:Those pictures blew me away. I love when people put their fish first

Thanks,
It's going to take A LOT of work, and I'm hoping that I can get the help I need... Like I said My wife wasn't impressed, but I believe it's a long term investment.

J-P

Hey, I noticed that you're keeping goldfish and loaches with the puffers. I didn't see anyone else point this out - goldfish are coldwater fish, and should not be kept with tropicals like loaches (and of course not in brackish water, but you know that).

LilGreenPuffer wrote:Hey, I noticed that you're keeping goldfish and loaches with the puffers. I didn't see anyone else point this out - goldfish are coldwater fish, and should not be kept with tropicals like loaches (and of course not in brackish water, but you know that).

The gold fish are an exotic Japanese type that my wife (who is Japanese) picked out... the loach and the gold fish are compatible, but the puffer's aren't .
..
This is a different topic, but we HAD koi in the same tank that died during a power failure (over crowding), all died except the loach when the temps reached over 25 degrees C. The goldfish she bought are called Ryukin, and should be ok in warmer temps. But I only care about the puffers :B

Oxyclean is hydrogen peroxide & breaks down to Hydrogen & Oxygen when it hits water. All you have to do is rinse--no residue, unlike bleach.

And my wife has already given my crap for buying a 12' tank for a $6 fish.......

LOL, sounds like someone's hooked! Puffers Anonymous meetings for you!

OMG! That is SOME tank! What do you plan to stock it with? And where will you put it? I'd love to see update pix as you get it set up.

Once you get the puffer set-up going, the goldfish should be fine in the 30g tank together. What kind of loach is it? Kuhli? Whatever kind it is, loaches need company much like corydoras or schooling fish (while loaches are not technically schoolers). Since you only have one, I would rehome it or take it back to the LFS. Otherwise, you will need to get a larger tank if you want to keep it with the goldfish.

Besides that, I am super jealous of that tank set-up! Once you get it cleaned out, if you still have some mineral spotting/deposits, you can clean it with vinegar. I like to soak a towel and lay it over the spot for about 20 minutes and then they usually come off like a dream. Vinegar is also pretty safe and should only need a rinse.