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Re: tank sizes



> Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2000 17:57:55 -0700 (MST)
> From: Roger S. Miller

> I have a beautiful place to put a big, new tank...but after
> looking through the results from the aquascaping showcase
> I'm having second thoughts.  It seems very difficult to put
> together a cohesive aquascape in that size tank.  The
> aquascapes often (as Karen Randall commented a
> couple times) "lack focus".

I wouldn't necessarily tie cause and effect together on this point. It may
simply have been new ground for those who participated.

I normally find _smaller_ tanks harder to set up with any true cohesion
simply for the scale involved. A larger tank increases your options and
material selection considerably. It allows for some real _depth_ to your
display. And it allows you to create merging _or_ diverse points- of- view.

Perhaps it's the "kid- in- the- candy- store" syndrome - so many delicious
options. (Or to those who wish to remain strictly on- topic: The predator in
the middle of the Cardinal school.)

> ...A five-foot tank seems like a natural for two MH pendants,
> but I'm not sure I want an open top.  SAE's are incredibly
> expensive here (when I can find them) and I want them to
> stay *in* the tank.  I assume the PCs give me good options,
> but I'm not sure what those options are.

Here's an idea for you:
The only person I've ever met in a PetsMart that was halfway aware once
explained to me the purpose of the edging along the tops of their display
tanks. Apparently, most fish that end up as jumpers do so naturally enough
because they're spooked. But very few of them are sitting in the middle of
the tank when they decide to "just jump". They're either already forced to
the top of the tank (think of those cichlids, et al., forced up into the
corners in territorial disputes) and spooked from beneath, or take serious
flight until they reach the glass. Once that happens, they have nowhere to
go *but* up. And that's when they "suck air".

Lipping the tank allows for an open top while seriously restricting fish
loss...

-Y-

David A. Youngker
nestor10 at mindspring_com