Building an Mbu Tank

[zombiefetus]

(I think I may have posted about this before, but it's getting closer to that time, and I have a ton of questions)
This summer I'll be buying a house (yay!) and one of the main things I'll be looking for is a house with a finished or finish-able basement so I can build a 1500+ gallon Mbu tank. I've fallen completely in love with these puffers and it's my dream to have one.

I'm still debating on what I want to build it out of. I like this (http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/d ... tank_1.php) idea, because if I ever wanted to move it'd be easier to tear down than cement.

I have no idea how to go about maintaining a tank that big, the biggest tank I've ever owned is a 29gallon.

How would I even go about doing water changes, and how often? What kind of filtration would I use?

I'm not sure if I want anything other than the Mbu in the tank, but any suggestions of tank mates?

And lastly, where's a good place to get a Mbu from? I'd prefer to rescue one, or take one that's gotten too large for someone to handle.

[yunachin]

I know that Manutius used to have a mbu and will probably be lots of help.

[groovitudedude]

Moving from a 29 Gallon to a 1500 Gallon? Maybe a LITTLE overkill, but hey, whatever will make you happy.

[mikeosoft]

I've often thought of doing the same thing.

Read this entire thread (at least the posts by TheFishGuy). It's an awesome step-by-step of his monster tank build, complete with filtration and everything. I don't know if I would trust the drylock to seal the tank though. I probably would have went with a few layers of fiberglass and a good epoxy coating.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... c&&start=0

I don't know where you're from, but a LFS by me has a large Mbu in their store that has been there over a year. In the Detroit area.

Just make sure you take your time, seek as much advice as possible, and do things right the first time. Cutting corners on a project like this is likely to leave 1000+ gallons of water on your floor.

Btw... I plan on building my own monster tank some day... some day...

[zombiefetus]

I've been reading several articles on MonsterFishkeepers.com about large tanks, and I think I can handle it with not too much trouble. My dad is pretty handy with this stuff, and he's been whining about wanting to come visit, so I guess I could just put him to work for a while, lol.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... php?t=1777
I really like this whole set up. I didn't really want to go the cement route, but I think I might be better off doing it this way.

And I'm about an hour from Chicago, IL. So Detroit might be a little far, lol.

[Pufferpunk]

Did you read the story about keeping a mbu in the FW Puffer forum? It mentions veggie filters.

[zombiefetus]

Do you know any good articles on building veggie filters?

[Pufferpunk]

Check links for RTR's article in the Links forum.

[Hilly]

If I was going for that size tank, i'd be modifying a pond filter for the job in hand, gravity fed down, flowing into a sump then pumped back up for the return.

[spoot]

You may want to reinforce the floor if you plan to do that. Even though it's a concrete floor in the basement, it may not be thick enough to bear that much weight.

MFK is the place to go for more help on maintenance and equipment.

[manutius]

I have to say that as appealing as it sounds I'm not sure I could commit to building the tank. My reason is that I would want to make it look completely natural with a river bank, huge rocks and lots of driftwood, the price of this alone as well as the correct deep sand substrate would be astronomical. I dont think I could have the tank and leave it bare or looking half fininshed if you get what I mean, I would want it to look like something in a public aqaurium.

the best thing to do would be to line half a basement with marine plyboard and approach the build as though you were building a very big wetroom and seal the front with glass with an acces panel in the floor in the room above. I would be tempted to landscape the river bank by sculpting a foam background and then covering it with pond liner and plenty of it. As for filtering I agree with Hilly a pond filter would be ideal, however due to the incrediblt large surface areas which will be covered in bacteria I would wonder whether the filter would need to be as big as you might first think? You would have to light it with high powered bulbs otherwise you may never see the Mbu in it.

I personally think I would need about £2000+ to pull it off properly

[my name is mike]

i have nothing constructive to say, other than awesome! -- good luck

[mikeosoft]

If I were to build something like this I would probably use wood rather than concrete. That way if I ever sold the house it wouldn't be as hard to pull everything apart.

[zombiefetus]

I was planning on the high costs, so I'm not worried about it. I found some pond filters that do 500gallons a min. So a few of them should do the trick?

Would play sand work okay in the tank? I'd need some fish that dig in sand to keep everything clean right?

I have no idea what I'm going to do for lighting yet.

I still really like the 1800gallon tank from MFK. Although I like the idea of building it out of wood, cement seems a lot more cost friendly.

[CoreyK]

I wonder if FW stingrays would work with an Mbu?