The Puffer Forum

Okay, I know a 120 is recommended over a 125 more for the front to back length (to allow a fahaka to turn around), and I *think* RTR said something about he's kept them in smaller volumes as long as they had the 24"+ room front to back (splitting a tank for more than one)?

So I was browsing the tanks on the website of a local, warehouse type fish store that has crappy stock and unknowedgable employees, but great tank prices. Just getting an idea of what was going to cost me what, etc.

They have an economy line of tanks that has some "different" sizes than usual. Cubes for example. I have a 60 cube made by this line and I don't see any problems with it at all, its a great, well made tank.

So I just happend to see they have a 110 WIDE tank. Its 48x24x22. A 120 is 48x24x25, so the only difference is its 3 inches shorter in height, the footprint is the same. Would this still be acceptable for a fahaka puffer? I'm thinking it is, and I'd really like to hear that it is because the price of the 110 wide tank is $177 and the 120 is $300. That's $120 I can spend on filtration, etc that I wouldn't have otherwise...

That sounds great!

The height differential does not make that great a difference. It is, as you know, more about the footprint. If you are worried about increasing the water volume, you might add a sump somewhere down the line.

Yes, that is something I was considering as well. I'm planning on getting a larger tank for my rainbows, which would free up my scratched up 40 long tank, so that could go underneath or behind as a sump/veggie filter type thing... Obviously this won't be happening immediately, as we don't even close on the house until mid August and the plans for the Fahaka tank are probably aiming for in the basement rec room which isn't going to be a priority to set up. Though I would prefer to have it somewhere with more activity, not have to run downstairs to see/feed it...

To me the footprint is what counts. The only disadvantage to the shorter tank is that I would not give much substrate depth. Fahakas normally only bury when young, so I would omit that "benefit".

Yay! Sounds good, sounds very good! Thanks a bunch!

Some local hobbyists are looking to bring Fahakas to town. I'm VERY interested, obviously.

Is a 125 gallon tank really all it takes to house one of these puffers permanently? That seems small for an 18" fish, unless they are far less active once they get really big.

If it can be done, I won't complain. Ha ha.

Mine seems pretty happy in my 125g. He's around 11" & doesn't swim around much.

Myaj wrote:Yes, that is something I was considering as well. I'm planning on getting a larger tank for my rainbows, which would free up my scratched up 40 long tank, so that could go underneath or behind as a sump/veggie filter type thing... Obviously this won't be happening immediately, as we don't even close on the house until mid August and the plans for the Fahaka tank are probably aiming for in the basement rec room which isn't going to be a priority to set up. Though I would prefer to have it somewhere with more activity, not have to run downstairs to see/feed it...

If you're considering a sump down the road, plan now and get your tank drilled for overflows before you buy / fill it. Much better than a siphon overflow, and you can add bulkheads and cap them off if you don't want to use them just yet. My biggest regret is not having done this when I bought my tank.

It is a personal choice on drilled tanks IMHO & IME. I got rid of all my drilled tanks years ago and use nothing but over-the-side or back connections. That even though a significant percentage of my tanks are linked. To me it provides greater flexibility long term to be able easily to link or not.

A tank which was marine a while back was likely later BW, maybe a terrarium for a period, likely FW now. Really "new" tanks are unusual for me, new setups are not uncommon, but they largely re-use existing equipment. I want the flexibility of basic exquipment that allows me to mix and match at will.

You use commercial-brand canister filters, right RTR?

Is there a way to link tanks without drilling the overflow if the filter doesn't have an impeller for sucking the water out of the tank?

My canisters pick up and return to source tank. Canisters are not really passive pick-up. The impeller is pushing water out of the top of the unit, so internal pressure is below ambient/atmospheric so the net is gravity feed plus a bit of added negative pressure to speed the flow. They have no effect either way on the water level in the tank in operation.

My tank-to-tank connections are either simple siphons (if both tanks are on the same level and are the same height, but most are DIY - larger than most commercial), or over-the-edge constant-level siphons if the tank's meniscuses (sp?) are different. I have a variety of over-the-edge types from SW-intended plastic boxes to DIY PVC. All of those are passive, relying on gravity feed. Returns to the topmost or highest tank in a set or series are of course pumped.

All passive systems have redundancy - if a given flow requires two 1" or 1 1/4" or 1 1/2' siphons, the setup has three or four.