Mbu Tank

[scarletchopper]

Guys,

I've been a lurker for a while, and to an extent a sceptic on some of the posts here (my 6 mature Irrubesco love being together). Indeed it's quite scary if you want a mbu as it seems you get seven shades of s**t beaten out of you if you ask a question here without owning an internal pond. I get it, as I am an absolute pet lover, but curious as to where I go.

I want a Mbu. I have a 6'x2'x2'. It is too small.

I have a space in my kitchen that is 12'x3'.

I want to put a tank in that space.

Where do I start thinking about filtration, externals or sump? THIS IS THE MAIN QUESTION

My GF is dreading Xmas as I'm relatilvely new to fishkeeping but her old man does not know and has a "pond" with 1000 koi. Filration chats ahoy!!!

[groovitudedude]

Indeed it's quite scary if you want a mbu as it seems you get seven shades of s**t beaten out of you if you ask a question here without owning an internal pond.

I'd like to start off that I hope that The Puffer Forum doesn't give off that impression. We are a community of concerned puffer owners, and we worry when somebody wants a huge fish such as a Mbu. That said, I personally don't think a Mbu would be a good choice for you, as you say you are

relatilvely new to fishkeeping

. Also, Mbus need heated ponds, a Koi pond will not suffice since koi are coldwater species. Keeping a Mbu or any large fish is a huge dedication, and requires much long term planning. What I can suggest to you if you truly desire a Mbu is research, research, preperation, more research, more preperation, and THEN go for it. Building a tank with a 36 square foot footprint is a big deal, and I would focus on funding the tank before working on the Mbu. There are plenty of great DIY articles on the Web, I will try to direct you to some if you want. I hope it goes well!

[Pufferpunk]

I have a space in my kitchen that is 12'x3'.

I want to put a tank in that space.

Sounds like enough room for a mbu to me. Check out the 2 articles we have on them, one stickied in this forum & the other in the Library. RTR mentions a bit about veggie filters in the one stickied here.

[scarletchopper]

Agree with both - this is a bit of a research hit more than anything else. \i'm not going to rush out and buy a Mbu at any point in the near future. Sorry if I came off as a bit of an arse, a post tinted with a few beers at a Christmas dinner yesterday

Funding is not a problem, but logistics mean it's 18 months out - there's a vacant wall in the kitchen but I'm going to need to redo the kitchen first as once a 12 x 3 is in there's no chance of anything happening.

I'm really curious about the filtration options etc, as I've never really thought more than externals. Will look for the article on veggie filters.

Sorry if I came accross as a bit of a bufoon - won't do it again

[flash.dan]

Hello welcome to the forum. Veggie filters wont cut it im afraid. There great for SW + BW but FW fish are much more tolerant to nitrates etc. For my 6x2 + 8x2 I use 2x externals 2080s + 2999s but for a 12x3 I would recommend a sump with 3-4 intakes usually I would just use a siphon system here with shut off valves – about £20 for hosing etc. and 2x sprey bar returns linked to 2x 3,000lph pumps for a return system. Best option would be a 5x2 sump if you have the room sections off to house the following, 1) course filter foam, 2)fine filter floss, 3)substratpro 4) ephimech 5) return compartment. I would advise putting heating in here also. Another amazing thing to use if you can is Mangrove roots with a light as the leaves will flower above water line and they absorb nitrates. Its important to note if you have mangrove roots that if leaves fall off into the water there taken out immediately as they will spike nitrates very very quickly. But they are amazing for water control and natural filtration.

If you need plans or pics let me know my arrow has a simlar sump

[The Bruce]

my only advice is read read read, plan plan plan, and don't buy the puffer untill the tank/pond is up and running, i can't say i've always followed these rules but it's definitely the best way to go

and about the whole getting beat up for asking thing, sometimes it does seem that way, but a lot of people here look at their puffers not as fish but as a part of the family, so when people come here and say they have an mbu in a 20 gallon you might as well go to a baby's r us store and say you keep your baby in a dog crate

[Myaj]

Yeah, its not like we're picking on people, just telling them the facts

Curious, are your irrubescos all one sex or do you have mixed sexes? They can be so dang hard to find that not many people have had a ton of experience with them, other than learning the hard way they can be really aggressive. It would make sense that a larger group would have less aggression though, it works that way with many fish, if the set up is right.

As far as the Mbu tank.. well, if you haven't looked at your home's structure yet, you'd better start now. The big question, will your floor hold that much weight? Figure 10 pounds per gallon. You may have to reinforce beams and add in some support jacks. Do you have a basement or no? If you do, maybe reconsider having the tank in the basement instead and turn it into a fish/rec room. That way if something were to break/leak, you don't flood out your main floor of the house.

Also, a custom tank like that is a huge step. Will it need to be built on site (can't fit it through doorways prebuilt, measure, don't assume, remember, a tank won't bend around corners)? If so, is this your forever home? Are you willing to go through all the hassle and expense just to move away in a few years and leave it behind (and potentially have trouble selling the house do to the tank)?

If you are ready for this commitment, and you have a basement, and don't want the tank in the basement, another option is to put a huge holding tank/sump downstairs and just do some massive plumbing through the floor.

And of course, I just have to ask.. have you considered a Fahaka instead? Smaller size (12-18"), but still a huge, impressive puffer...

[apachepufferman]

Flash.dan I didn't understand a word that you typed. haha It sounded really impressive and expensive though

Scarletchopper-how deep of a tank were you looking at? A 12'x3'x30" is roughly 673gallons of water. Two fluval fx5's would be enough for 1000gallons. That would give you the proper over filtration that you would need for a puffer. Also that would get you enough turn around and swim length that a MBU would appreciate.

I am starting the demo in my wall for my custom tank and it is a large undertaking. Support would be uppermost in my mind with a tank as large as yours. If you floor joists run parallel with the tank you would most definately have to look at additional support. If they run perpendicular then I believe you would be ok as that would spread the weight across 6 or so floor joists. I'm not a house framer by any means but that makes sense. If you make a wood/glass tank then you would save on glass cost by only needing one piece as well. It soungs like a great idea and I hope you are able to follow through on it.

[flash.dan]

Just was how my sump is setup on my 10x3 externals wouldnt really touch this volume of water.

[apachepufferman]

The fluvals wouldn't be able to handle that? They are rated for 500g tanks each. So I would assume that if you had 2 that would be enough for a 1000g tank. You could put the intakes in the corners and the return in the center next to each other and that would get the water to flow through the tank.

[flash.dan]

the fx5 is 1200L about 200gallon. there no good imo. for a large tank a sump is the only option