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T.V. tank "Now with puffervision!"

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:27 am
by 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"

Re: new gsp set up, new member

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 12:06 pm
by xrayjeeper83
You should turn that into the tank, instead of just the stand.

Re: new gsp set up, new member

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:05 pm
by 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

Re: new gsp set up, new member

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:13 pm
by Ohyouknow
that is fabulous :D

Re: new gsp set up, new member

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:31 pm
by 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!

Re: new gsp set up, new member

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:35 pm
by 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.

Re: new gsp set up, new member

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:37 pm
by ascott410
Flutter wrote: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?

Re: new gsp set up, new member

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 5:44 pm
by ascott410
J-P wrote: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

Re: new gsp set up, new member

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:09 pm
by 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.

Re: gonna go with a toby mods please move!

Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 5:47 pm
by 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)

Re: gonna go with a toby

Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:00 pm
by J-P
when that is finished it is going to look very cool!

Re: gonna go with a toby

Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:01 pm
by 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

Re: gonna go with a toby

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 4:37 pm
by 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!

Re: gonna go with a toby

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 5:09 pm
by xrayjeeper83
dude that is awesome

Re: gonna go with a toby

Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 5:28 pm
by J-P
that does look great! I hope you used outdoor lights :)

What is that line across the back of the tank?