T.V. tank "Now with puffervision!"

[ascott410]

Hello!
I'm not new to puffers, or aquariums, I have into aquariums for about 15 years.
Right now I am low (for me) on tanks/critters
I have
1 Dwarf puffer-about a year old in a ten gallon by himself, he was a rescue
a breeding colony of gambusia
fire bellied toads
4 year old leopard gecko "geico"
29 gallon biocube reef-various coral, black and white clowns, pistol shrimp/goby pair, sexy shrimp
5 year old golden greek tortoise
10 month old shih tzu "teddy" (really the wife's)

anywho I'm planning on setting up a 29 gallon (the only thing that will fit on stand pics to follow) Fowlr built as a DIY all in one
I want to do a Fowlr because I have 20 Lbs of live rock sitting in a bucket with a powerhead and a heater. I figure I might as well use it!

my questions are...
How long can can a gsp live in a 29?
Or what size would the puffer be when I have to upgrade? I'm guessing around the 4-5 inch range
Can a 1-2 inch puffer be acclimated to marine in 8-12 hours with a high chance of survival?
Should I just put a smaller toby species in there?

I have attached a pic of the "stand"

[xrayjeeper83]

You should turn that into the tank, instead of just the stand.

[ascott410]

I would have but to build a tank out of it would have been a ton of extra work and money. I'd have to build it out of plywood/epoxy resin and get glass cut for the front. Besides a 29 aga fit perfectly with 3 inches to spare on the side

here's a pic
blue tape is where false wall will be

[Ohyouknow]

that is fabulous

[J-P]

too bad you can't change the channels to any fish you want haha

That is going to look really good once it is all said and done. Keep us updated!

[Flutter]

Welcome

I'd stick with a smaller marine species A GSP will get too large for that tank and putting them in a smaller tank to begin with may cause stunting.

[ascott410]

Welcome

I'd stick with a smaller marine species A GSP will get too large for that tank and putting them in a smaller tank to begin with may cause stunting.

Yeah that's what I feared. I guess I'll have to get this thread moved when I figure out what species I'm gonna get. I could do f8's but then i'd have to find another use for that live rock. besides f8s are hard to find around here-and I don't like to order fish without being able to see them first.

Thanks for all of the positive feedback thus far!

I can't decide what I'm gonna do for lighting. I really like the new LED fixtures that marineland is coming out with http://www.marineland.com/sites/Marinel ... 9&mid=3228 but they are pretty expensive and would not support any photosynthetic plants or algae-if I ever wanted to


Should I paint the back of the tank black or blue?

[ascott410]

too bad you can't change the channels to any fish you want haha

That is going to look really good once it is all said and done. Keep us updated!

My uncle asked if I was going to be watching sponge bob. haha

[purplecandle]

In a marine tank you could do

The top six on this page
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Marine/?g2_page=2

Ebay frequently has one of these listed...just be careful, I think some of them are picky eaters and some may have problems with corals

In my area I most frequently see Canthigaster papua, Canthigaster solandri, and Canthigaster valentini in specialty shops.

However, I am sure it will be the easiest for you to find a gsp.

I think you could do a GSP in a tank of that size. Stay Away from Sabahenisis looking GSPs, and go for a classic looking GSP because of the growth rate. If you do decide on a GSP yes you can acclimate to marine in a couple of hours.

[ascott410]

update!

after some thought I've decided to go with a Toby of some kind. I put in a false wall and took the swimming space to about 27 gallons. I couldn't put a gsp in there with good conscience. I really dig me some Papuan Tobies.

I ended up painting the background a primer gray, I figured it would fit more with the TV cabinet-besides it'll probably get covered in coralline algae.
I am doing a water test right now to make sure the TV cabinet doesn't have any bowing problems.
Here are a few pics (camera phone sorry)

[J-P]

when that is finished it is going to look very cool!

[xrayjeeper83]

Ok this has to be one of my favorite tanks of all time. That is such an awesome idea. I cant wait to see it completely(haha i know) done

[ascott410]

update,
Trying not to spend money on a tank is hard. I have finally ghetto'd some led Xmas lights into a chloroplast sign to make a light. I have been slowly filling this tank with old water from my reef tank. I imagine the nitrites are really high haha. I'm trying to stay cheap as possible with this tank, using leftover equipment and live rock. I'm planning on adding more rock-I thought I had quite a bit, but it hasn't gone far. The lights turned out pretty good, in person there isn't a spotlight effect, I guess I'll blame my phone. Thanks for all the positive feedback!

[xrayjeeper83]

dude that is awesome

[J-P]

that does look great! I hope you used outdoor lights

What is that line across the back of the tank?