Picked up a 125 gallon for a 125 dollars. Tank was used for a snake before and has no scratches and silicone is perfect. I am wondering if i can keep a large mouth bass in a 125 gallon. I would prefer to keep some cool cichlids or planted, but the tank is in the basement and my parents don't want to me kill their electric bill with heating a big tank in a cold area. I'm thinking of keeping one fish that i can feed it other fish and inverts. Filtration will be a FX5. What are your thoughts on this?
VadimShevchuk
i have seen large mouth bass in 125g tanks, and to be honest I have never seen one looking healthy, I would suggest a pair of sunfish to be the best bet, or maybe some perch and sunfish, but the bass tend to fall apart
This is the reason why i want one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdapkqJP2SY Owner has 2 bass in a 200 gallon. I think I can get away with one in a 125.
Reminds me of a snakehead I kept years back. That fish would literally eat until it couldn't swim anymore. It would sink with its bloated stomach to the bottom of the tank and just lay on the substrate. My problem with those bass is that even in a 200g tank it's clearly too small for them. That bump on the bottom of his lip is actually from the fish repeatedly banging it off the glass and/or decorations. It can become easily infected and cause the fish to die. You see that a lot in piranha tanks that are too small. If you want a fish that will eat like a beast then you have plenty of options. You could easily house a shoal of piranha in a 120g tank. Don't have to just get the standard red bellies as there are many different species of shoaling piranha (ternetzi, cariba, piraya, etc) pretty much all pygocentrus will shoal. You could get one bad a$$ solitary fish like a black rhombues piranha or one of the serrasalmus species. They'll put that bass to shame during feeding time. SA catfish will literally eat until they can't move but most also get really large. An arrowana would grow large in a 120g and be a ferocious eater. If you like the natural look of the bass look into Gar. They're found in rivers in the southern states, look mean as hell, and are amazing to watch during feeding time. Nothing like watching them sink their teeth into a goldfish as the guts pop out of the eye sockets from the pressure. Good times.
I don't get the point of keeping a single fish in a huge aquarium. There are so many possibility's with a tank that large and when you keep a single fish in it... I can understand if you can cuddle with the animal (like a dog) but fish? All I am saying is why not just a bunch of silver goldfish? They look like a native fish.
It's definitely not for everybody. That 1 single fish would live for years on end and most will learn what your role in their life is. They'll get excited when they see you because they'll expect food and such. Not to mention a few of the fish I mentioned to get big. A single black diamond rhombeus will only get to 10-12" in the aquarium but it'll dominate every square inch of that aquarium. Really really really cool fish. All kinds of different variations. If I had a tank big enough to hold one for life I'd buy a baby rhom in a heartbeat and watch it grow. They have great personalities. That's just me though.
Why not just leave the Natives in the big water until you can afford a big enough tank for them?
Just a note about the tank. If it was a reptile tank then it may not be OK to use as an aquarium. Reptile tanks use thinner glass and don't usually have a top brace.
Q
Q
125 with 1/4 inch is very very very thin, but it could be tempered glass. I would put the thing outside and fill'r up and then measure the bow of the front/back glass. More than 1/2 inch on that tank is NO GOOD. Also reptile tanks are almost NEVER water tight, so you'll know as you fill it if the seams are any good.
That said, if the basement is nearly constant temp, say 65 degrees, you can put a 500W heater (or two 300s) and once the water is up to temp the mass of the water will prevent a good deal of thermal loss. Basically it takes more cold to cool a large body of water (think a can of soda in the freezer will explode within an hour or two, a 2 liter will take quite a while longer). You would be shocked at how little the heater runs (probably no more than 4-5 hours per day if you add it all up, which if you figure that at 500W is 2-3 kWH per day, in my area electric is like 12 c/kWH so that would run you in the vacinity of 30-40 cents per day, or about 10-12 bux a month. Way worth it in my opinion to go tropical
That said, if the basement is nearly constant temp, say 65 degrees, you can put a 500W heater (or two 300s) and once the water is up to temp the mass of the water will prevent a good deal of thermal loss. Basically it takes more cold to cool a large body of water (think a can of soda in the freezer will explode within an hour or two, a 2 liter will take quite a while longer). You would be shocked at how little the heater runs (probably no more than 4-5 hours per day if you add it all up, which if you figure that at 500W is 2-3 kWH per day, in my area electric is like 12 c/kWH so that would run you in the vacinity of 30-40 cents per day, or about 10-12 bux a month. Way worth it in my opinion to go tropical
3/8
If the tank was used for a reptile for years I strongly reccomend resealing it before you put water in it. just because the silicone looks good doesnt mean its going to hold for more than a week. (like my buddy larry who just had to tear down a 75g because the tank suddenly started leaking). it had sat empty for a short time before he used it..... all the silicone looked good, and the seals held for 2 months before letting go.
If the tank was used for a reptile for years I strongly reccomend resealing it before you put water in it. just because the silicone looks good doesnt mean its going to hold for more than a week. (like my buddy larry who just had to tear down a 75g because the tank suddenly started leaking). it had sat empty for a short time before he used it..... all the silicone looked good, and the seals held for 2 months before letting go.
Have you thought about insulating the tank. 3 sides and the top? Use 1" foam board from HD. I bet you could get the energy use from heating down alot! And if you put some i.sulation on the front when you are not in the room or away then you could get the heating cost way way down!
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