Pondering going from 4 smaller tanks to 1 large tank

[MattyM]

Hi all - I'm pondering taking my 20L, 20H, 10 and 9 gallon tanks into 1 larger tank - using the same space: 

Why? Primarily because the lower tanks don't get much attention (well, except from my cat). They are just harder to see unless you are on the floor.

Also, having the 4 tanks has allowed me to try different substrates, plants, rocks, etc and I know what I like and what works best for me. So I'm ready to try something bigger with a little more confidence, and this is the space I have to use. I of course plan on re-using the plants and much of the hardscape. 

My main concern: The dang floor. I have no idea what's under it, but you can see all the leveling work I had to put into these stands. At least I know the floor can support this weight. I'm not sure what kind of stand would be best for a 75, 90 or even 125 (it's a tight 6 feet from the file cabinet to the wall's end). I know a good wood worker who has built our outdoor stairs (heck the guy has built houses), so would consider seeing if he would make me a stand and help level it.

A 125 would be great, but would be a tight fit - and maybe a bit of a gamble on the weight and leveling. I suppose I can move the smaller file cabinet, that might be the way to go as that would still leave me access to my wall mounted power strips hiding behind it - but the weight, should I be concerned? 

A 75 might make more sense, as that's just a bit more gallons/weight than I have now - and maybe with the center brace I can use my two 24" fluval plant lights? But I would sure like to fill as much of the wall with tank space as I can - that's the dream at least.

Anyways, would love to hear any thoughts on this!

Edited June 23, 2023 by MattyM

[nabokovfan87]

2 hours ago, MattyM said:

Hi all - I'm pondering taking my 20L, 20H, 10 and 9 gallon tanks into 1 larger tank - using the same space: 

I don't know the dimensions, but I did the exact same thing. The casualty of my moves was my beloved Bolivian ram because I had no idea he needed a warmer tank. I miss that dude!

So... I'll just mention, double check that you have compatible fish.

I think you can go one of two ways, both work well and I recommend either one.

A. Keep two tanks.

In my case I had a passion project of my own and it was one single 29G tank off to the side with my black corydoras. I already had pandas en masse for the big tank and so I opted to just keep that species only tank. Ultimately I rehomed the pandas and it's all in one tank now, but I do love that option of having an emergency setup or just this other tank if a fish needs a break from the group for recovery, for fry, etc.

If this sounds like the route you like, I would recommend a single 20L pushed to the side of either a 40B or 60B/75G tank.

B. Keep one family tank.

I moved 5-6 tanks all into a single 55G tank. This was also my first real attempt at a planted tank and doing some sort of a "design" for the sake of visual beauty. Ultimately a big tank gives you a ridiculous amount of options and it's this perfect canvas to work on. Everything is easier and it's something I can't express enough. The work you put into a single 10G tank is pretty much the same as a big tank. The only real change is plant care and the amount of chemicals, food, etc. that you use.

If you go this route, I would recommend a single 40B, 60B, or 75G.  This is mainly because of the way the lids are for aqueon. The 40B and 75G have seriously nice lids available. The 60B uses the same as the 75G.

I can't wait to see what you decide and how it all goes.

2 hours ago, MattyM said:

My main concern: The dang floor.

Simply Betta had a similar issue. There's a video of her being gollum (from LOTR) and bracing the floor under the house.

[MattyM]

5 minutes ago, nabokovfan87 said:

So... I'll just mention, double check that you have compatible fish.

Actually you may be the perfect person to ask about my cories! I have 6 pandas in one tank, and 3 larger pepper cories in another. From my research, I think they should all get along? 

The only other 2 that I'm sure about are my betta and male honey gourami. The gourami is def an alpha when in breeding mode. 

Tx for the input! I do have space for tanks in another room, which is where I have another 10g quarantine tank always running. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I think about stuff like this all the time. After I decommission my 9 gallon Flex shortly I will have 5 tanks. 3 of those tanks I cannot consolidate since they are Betta tanks (2 are community Betta tanks but of course I would not be able to combine the Bettas). I have two 20 gallon tanks that I sometimes wish I would have combined to a 40 and recently found a "fish elevator/bridge" on Etsy I'm SUPER tempted to buy but for the issue of making a lid for both tanks that would accomodate it. 

"They" always say a bigger tank is easier to maintain. I'm going to find that out next year. Intrepid Partner wants to get a tank from Custom Aquariums - the dimensions he wants would make the tank an 8 ft room divider peninsula tank. 190 gallons-ish. This is super intimidating and super exciting at the same time. We are thinking of the same things- since it won't be on a load bearing wall and not on a cement slab- reinforcement is going to be necessary. That will be a SUPER heavy tank, with 5/8" glass and the water in the main tank with a 60 gallon sump. 😱 

I think in comparison for your situation an 75 or even a 125 will be more doable without a lot of modification, but of course, I would take every precaution to make sure. Also, I would talk to your home insurance company to see if you need to add a rider on the policy to cover any damage done by the tank. Not everyone thinks of these things and often regular policies specifically exclude things like that. 

I know my post doesn't do much to help, but just wanted to acknowledge that there are so many things to consider when someone says to you "just get a bigger tank". 

Edited June 23, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[MattyM]

2 minutes ago, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Also, I would talk to your home insurance company to see if you need to add a rider on the policy to cover any damage done by the tank.

Brilliant! And thanks for the reply, and I'd be excited/nervous too about your new tank, that will look amazing! If I had a larger home that would be tempting. 

[nabokovfan87]

9 minutes ago, MattyM said:

Actually you may be the perfect person to ask about my cories! I have 6 pandas in one tank, and 3 larger pepper cories in another. From my research, I think they should all get along? 

They would get along just fine.  They may not school together but they won't bother each other. I keep one corydoras per tank though. I just don't want them to crossbreed. We discussed that aspect in this thread and in sure others who do mix corydoras can chime in with their experiences.

 

6 minutes ago, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I think about stuff like this all the time. After I decommission my 9 gallon Flex shortly I will have 5 tanks. 3 of those tanks I cannot consolidate since they are Betta tanks (2 are community Betta tanks but of course I would not be able to combine the Bettas). I have two 20 gallon tanks that I sometimes wish I would have combined to a 40 and recently found a "fish elevator" on Etsy I'm SUPER tempted to buy but for the issue of making a lid for both tanks that would accomodate it

One big tank and a divider in a 20L for the Bettas?

Your big tank plans definitely sound exciting and like there's a bit of setup, as you mentioned. Talk about a big tank! 

9 minutes ago, MattyM said:

The only other 2 that I'm sure about are my betta and male honey gourami. The gourami is def an alpha when in breeding mode. 

Bigger space, lots of plants, the gourami might be a bit calm because it'll have its own "territory" so to speak.

You might see a bit different behavior from the fish too, which is cool and interesting.

Bettas for me would always have their own tank just from a flow and care perspective.

Best of luck figuring it all out, excited to see it!

Edited June 23, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[MattyM]

1 minute ago, nabokovfan87 said:

Bettas for me would always have their own tank just from a flow and care perspective.

Best of luck figuring it all out, excited to see it!

Thanks for the input! And yeah, I'm going to monitor the betta situation. I might keep him in his 9 gal and just move it 🤔 - but yeah, i'm so curious about how the fish would react in a larger home - as well as plant growth! Another reason I'm contemplating the upsize is some of my crypts are getting HUGE. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

11 minutes ago, nabokovfan87 said:

One big tank and a divider in a 20L for the Bettas?

Your big tank plans definitely sound exciting and like there's a bit a setup, as you mentioned. Talk about a big tank! 

We've actually decided that I will keep the 3 Betta tanks until the Betta resident passes and decomission the tanks as they go. HOWEVER Intrepid Partner loves the Medieval tank and wants to keep that one going (read: I maintain as the fish keeper, he admires) even if Valere passes. So looks like I will always have 1 Betta tank in the future. 

Yes it will take some time before everything is in place for that large a tank. He will also be building the stand as he doesn't like theirs and believes he can build better (metal worker with lumbermill experience). Then of course the tank takes 4-6 months to build from what I remember. Plans can always change but that's what it is for now! 

Edited June 23, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[MattyM]

30 minutes ago, nabokovfan87 said:

I moved 5-6 tanks all into a single 55G tank.

When you did this, were the tanks in the same location? Another thing I'm pondering is the process. I'd have to break down the 4 tanks into buckets and move them aside, setup the new tank/stand, scape it, and then fill - would have to really plan that so the fish aren't sitting in buckets too long. I'd save as much water as I could, but I'd still be adding quite a bit of fresh water. Fritzyme will be my friend here I think, tho I plan on tossing all my sponge and HOBs on the bigger tank to help the cycle along (or at least the media, need to think about filtration still) along with all my plants. 

[nabokovfan87]

2 minutes ago, MattyM said:

When you did this, were the tanks in the same location? Another thing I'm pondering is the process. I'd have to break down the 4 tanks into buckets and move them aside, setup the new tank/stand, scape it, and then fill - would have to really plan that so the fish aren't sitting in buckets too long. I'd save as much water as I could, but I'd still be adding quite a bit of fresh water. Fritzyme will be my friend here I think, tho I plan on tossing all my sponge and HOBs on the bigger tank to help the cycle along (or at least the media, need to think about filtration still) along with all my plants. 

I was trying to find out where I posted it.... I think your situation and method is probably pretty easy as far as moving the tanks.

A. Drain all the tanks to about 80% to reduce weight.

B. See if you can move the stands out of the way at once.

C. If it's too much, then move one of the tank to somewhere else and move all of the fish with an air stone into that tank. All the plants go into a bucket of water. All the hardscape moves to where it needs to. Towel, trashbag, whatever it is.

D. Then you have the two stands out of the way and you slide in the new stand with the new tank.

E. Remove and clean the substrate. Keep it wet and it'll have whatever need be in terms of biological after rinsing. If you go the route of new substrate, a bit less stressful and you can take your time cleaning out the old tanks.

F. Add in the hardscape, add in the plants, fill it up, run it for a few hours.

G. All your filtration biological media was kept wet right!!!! Add it to the new tank, make sure what you have fits or just toss the ceramics to the bottom of the tank near the flow of the new filtration. Let that run for as long as you'd like and add back in the fish. Optionally add in some bottled bacteria starter, definitely not required if you keep things wet. It is a jump in bioload that's the only reason I mention it.

You're combining, so that gives you some leeway. Plan out the fine details, have everything set to go, and give yourself a good 3-4 hours. It might take longer but that's just up to you and your process.

The first time I moved the tanks I setup the big tank first, added stuff in.

The most recent time I did it again, I had to move 3 tanks an annoyingly amount of times to make room, move a dresser (with a tank on it) and I had stuff running to the open space in the room while I worked on the big tank setup. One electrical issue later, got the tank setup and now I've got the main tank, QT/plants only, and my shrimp colony. 

[lefty o]

as long as your chosen fish are all compatible, i myself prefer a larger tank. feeding 1 tank is easier, a larger tank truly requires less frequent maintenance, and the big one is i tend to pay more attention to 1 or 2 larger tanks vs a bunch of smaller ones.

[madmark285]

19 hours ago, MattyM said:

My main concern: The dang floor. I have no idea what's under it, but you can see all the leveling work I had to put into these stands. At least I know the floor can support this weight. I'm not sure what kind of stand would be best for a 75, 90 or even 125 (it's a tight 6 feet from the file cabinet to the wall's end). I know a good wood worker who has built our outdoor stairs (heck the guy has built houses), so would consider seeing if he would make me a stand and help level it.

My floor had a major slope, 1 inch over 4 feet. I built my stand to compensate for the slope, came out great. But if you move, your stand may be un level in it's new location.

What to ask for? Buy a sheet of veneered plywood (oak, maple, etc ) and build the stand with just plywood ie: no 2x4". Your wood working friend can cut strips of plywood and glue them together which will give you a 1 1/2" thick plywood board which will be much stronger than a 2x4 and will not warp. Stain and polyurethane the plywood and you will have a nice stand. below is my tank (I had the cabinet doors from another project). Look at the bottom board under the tank in the middle, you can see how much the floor sloped. 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by madmark285

[MattyM]

47 minutes ago, madmark285 said:

floor had a major slope, 1 inch over 4 feet.

That is crazy! My situation is more that the floor is bumpy. I’ve been perusing some metal stands that have adjustable feet on each corner and in the middle, and considering an acrylic tank bc they are lighter than glass. 

Lots to think about. 

[Tanked]

 

I have a 75 and love it.  I also have a 65 tall which offers an additional 216 inches of viewing area on a smaller footprint.  A larger tank on a pedestal base will probably be cheaper to operate, easier to maintain, and spread the weight evenly over a larger area. The top rim of my 75 is 60" off the floor.  This makes for easy viewing from the sitting or standing positions.  Most maintenance can  still be accomplished without a short step ladder or stool..  Your carpenter friend could build a very nice cabinet, and hide everything inside.

Two separate tanks would allow you to change things up occasionally.  I know symmetry is sometimes a bad thing, but if you go with two tanks, I would suggest making them the same size.  They could also sit on the same stand.  

 

[madmark285]

2 hours ago, MattyM said:

That is crazy! 

The crazy part, my tank is in a 3rd floor finished attic 🙂 For a metal stand with adjustable legs, I would put the adjustable legs on a small piece of 3/4" plywood with a piece of carpeting attached to it. That would help distribute the weight. 

 

[Galabar]

 First, I'll say that your tanks look really nice.  Starting from such a solid place, you should be careful when considering an "upgrade." 🙂

Having said that, I think a 55 would look nice in that space. I've found, for smaller fish, I look the narrower tanks (12") so that the fish tend to stay a bit more forward (not hiding in the back of a 75 gallon (18")).  Also, the 55 (or 75) will be a similar (taller) height to your top tank on the right, which I also like.

Of course, if the stand for the new tank has room on the bottom, you might as well put a couple of those tanks down there... 😁

Edited June 24, 2023 by Galabar

[Lennie]

I think your tanks are pretty. And if you ask me as a third eye, I personally believe you don’t mention any actual reason that is worth to take them down. It just sounds you are being adventurous which is surely fine. But is it worth taking 4 perfectly working pretty tanks down? That part is very questionable 😄 Yes, fish do love big swimming space much more. Totally agreed. But also, fish don’t like changing environments and stress is never good. So upgrading a tank also comes with negatives for fish. like maybe one tank shows no sign of disease but once combined, fish on another one will show some. And so on. Also extra costs come with it ofcourse. Plants don’t like changing environment as well even under same water stats in my experience.

 

I took my 29g bcoz well at that point it was a 15yo tank, I used it to return to hobby in the cheapest way by utilising what I had sitting in the basement, but at that point it was worrying me, and the stand sucked. It was giving me anxiety everyday. Yours seem pretty as it is. Moreover, the new setup comes with a stress factor on you regarding the floor support. Living with anxiety of is my tank still holding well was really killing my enjoyment in the hobby. Be careful with that one.

In addition, we as fishkeepers tend to try new setups a lot. In this current 4 tank setup, you are allowed to have different setups for 4 tanks and you can play around the options in the future freely. Yes the size is limiting for big size fish due to tanks being nano, but again, you seem to want to keep the combination of them in a big tank anyway. And it will be hard to add a big fish with what you have on hand probably anyway, as big fish usually slurp the small fish.

 

I hope I don’t sound dis encouraging . Even if you decide to go for the big one after having enough research for the floor support, pretty sure you will end up having a beautiful tank. Easy to tell when I look at what you currently have.

 

Update is in the future! 🙂

 

 

[MattyM]

On 6/24/2023 at 1:17 PM, Lennie said:

you don’t mention any actual reason that is worth to take them down

Thanks for the kind words! The bottom tanks just don't get much attention, except from my cat. The bottom right one has a beautiful Betta, and I want to see him more - so since I wrote this post I decided I'm going to move that tank to a better spot, probably next to my desk. 

The initial reasoning behind these 4 tanks was to try different things and learn - if you go way back in my posts you can see how horrid things started out 😅. But I still enjoyed it. Then sometime in a year or so, I was going to put a big tank upstairs. After discussing with the wife, we decided it would be much cooler down here, and I would love a tank that fills most of that wall space - that would look super cool, and since this is my home office/studio - I spend most of my hours down there. 

[Lennie]

On 6/24/2023 at 9:43 PM, MattyM said:

Thanks for the kind words! The bottom tanks just don't get much attention, except from my cat. The bottom right one has a beautiful Betta, and I want to see him more - so since I wrote this post I decided I'm going to move that tank to a better spot, probably next to my desk. 

Ah, the betta makes it even better not to combine the tanks. You never know who these guys won't like and decide to kill 😄 

 

I have 8 bettas, 5-girl sorority, and 3 seperate male tanks. The common point mine ALL hate is male guppies. But also, they hated clown kilis too.

If you have anything flashy by any chance, then likely he won't like them. And believe me I tried my bettas with honey gourami, sparkling gouramis, angels and even rams. All went amazingly peacefully.

 

That being sad, you can make betta tank a desk one and combine other 3 in a bigger tank. See whatever floats your boat! 

[MattyM]

On 6/24/2023 at 1:53 PM, Lennie said:

Ah, the betta makes it even better not to combine the tanks.

Nah - the betta is staying in his tank, just moving to a different location where he'll get more attention 🙂