steve0 Posted September 23, 2012 Report Share Posted September 23, 2012 Hey guys After watching dwarf puffer fishes on youtube, i cant stop thinking of them! At the moment Im in the process of setting up a 250 Litre tank but I am taking that extremly slow and doing it right the first time, but i have also been giving a 50L Tank. If it was you, what setup would you go for to house these fish in this little tank (As in what filter, heater, sand etc etc). I don't want to spend a fortune on this one, but I dont want to take shortcuts that could affect the fish in anyway either. Sorry for the in-experienced questions but I really am a learner at all of this. I seem to read alot on line but with everyone having there different thoughts on what works and what doesnt I get a little confused. Kind regards, Steven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 23, 2012 Report Share Posted September 23, 2012 If it was me this is what I would do. Filter - Hang on the back filter, 500lph roughly. Heater - Jager 50W, aquaones are good too but Jagers are the best. Lighting - Depending on your budget and length of the tank, perhaps compact fluorescent/energy savers 6500k so you can grow a most basic plants. Substrate and decor - Sand is a cheap option, can get 25L for around $7 from most hardware stores, it needs a good rinse and you'll want about 1-2cm at the front sloped up to 5cm deep at the rear of the aquarium. Natural rocks or wood look good. I kept puffers for a bit in a planted tank, they loved plants and got on well with each other due to the plant cover I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve0 Posted September 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2012 Cool thanks SamH thats the info I was looking for. Im going to make a list up tonight and show the bank manager (My partner..). I have to say I was surpised she is letting me do both tanks, she couldn't say no when she watched the vids as well :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 definately invest in a good heater, especially with a small tank. undergravels work really well with puffers especially with cone snails inhabiting it. HOB's are very good too. lighting if you can get a good 15000K they rock, make your fish shine, well the reder ones anyways., unless your trying for a planted tank then don't worry too much, one in a more yellow spectrum might make the puffer colours show better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve0 Posted September 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 Do you reckon to go to a jager 100 watt over the 50? I know 50 would work but down here it can get very cold in winter, so im guessing 100 watt would give me a little more head room? So would you recommend an under gravel over A HOB? I will have to have a look as I havnt come across any under gravel ones in my travels. Do you know A couple of good ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 My 100W Jager keeps my 192L tank heated to 26 degrees over Winter, 50W will be plenty for your tank. Up to you though. I would not recommend an under gravel over a HOB, they're an outdated filtration method I haven't seen for sale in ages. Personally I rank them worst to best: UG, Internal, HOB, canister. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 UG's are very underrated, try linking the unlift tube from an undergravel to a canister for ultimate effect. btw im running 70 odd tanks on UG filters atm, most would be called overstocked, no problems. agree with planting problems, but then again some plants like the flow past their roots. many people pass over old fashioned ideas but I can easily set up and run a tank for less than $30 (stock not included) and have no problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 I haven't seen for sale in ages There is some for sale at my local :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 if your local don't sell them I would be a bit wary that they don't offer cheaper options. hell I even have corner box filters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 if your local don't sell them I would be a bit wary that they don't offer cheaper options. hell I even have corner box filters Yeah my local has corner box filters, maybe I ignore inferior products Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 I find that a lot of stores fail to offer, or even know about how to keep fish on the cheap. best way to test them though is ask them about the activated carbon in most HOB's / all in one tanks. inferior is not the best word for it, if it does the job, does it well then it isn't inferior. why have a canister filter on a tank when a sponge filter would do just the same (except for aesthetic reasons) seems like a lot of people waste a heap of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 why have a canister filter on a tank when a sponge filter would do just the same You have a sponge filter with 5L capacity with 1000lph turnover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 why would you need that much??? most of that filtration is wasted anyways. btw a larger sized sponge filter with a small/medium sized powerhead will do a lot more than 1000LPH and with about the same amount of mechanical and biological filtration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 why would you need that much??? Oh we're still talking about this tank? I thought we were just discussing filters in general. I think I call your "sponge filter" an internal filter. They do about the same mechanical filtration as a canister but nowhere near as much bio capacity. In this case, I think an external filter will leave as much of the tank free as possible, it is just a 50L tank after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 Sponge filters: Good Biological filtration. Internal Filters: Good water flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Internal Filters: Good water flow. But very Noisy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 shouldn't be noisy, mine are pretty much silent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 I mean the particular brand that is pictured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 ahhhh yes, I had one of those (present from a rep) it had a small gap by the outlet pipe that had such strong suction it kept sucking in danios and killing them, took me a few days to work out where they were going. the cheap Aqua one ones are one of the better ones (although I cut the sponges in half and add some ceramic noodles) still too much flow for too little filtration in my mind (good for hillstreams and mechanical for big cichlids though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 My puffer setup is a 64l cube, 100w AquaOne heater, Fluval 104 canister, 70w MH light, C02 (not going at the moment as it needs a refill), 3 puffs and four Otocinclus. Plants are (and these are essential to stop them beating the snot out of each other when they see someone out of the corner of their eye) Valisneria, Hemianthus micranthemoides, Echinodorus leopard, Anubias and hairgrass that is missing the C02 and not growing particularly well. Now before you hit the floor at what is on this tank it was previously set up as a more highly stocked planted tank. And if you choose your plants carefully you will not need this level of light, a twin 15w fluro fitting will allow you to grow quite a few things that will provide cover for your fish. They will only eat live food, so they get blackworms, grindal worms, snails that are too silly to hide from them, daphnia and mozzie larvae. I have tried wingless fruit flies but they sit on the surface and puffs are sneak around looking at the bottom of the tank for critters rather than look for things that fall on the surface hunters. I would go for a HOB filter as you cannot plant with a good substrate with an undergravel filter. AquaClear is my HOB of choice because you can load it up with ceramic noodles over the sponge whereas the other one has slide in cartridges that do not allow this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.