165G Build

Splurged and got a 165 gallon I found on Craigslist the day after Christmas! Thought I'd start a build thread since feedback from AC may give me some ideas that I might not come up with on my own.

Tank is 72"L x 24"W x 22"H, glass with glass top pieces. It came with a manufactured pine stand that didn't quite seem sturdy enough for the size tank (more on that later). It came with a 72" light strip, 2 Aquaclear 110 HOB, and air pump, a heater and some other misc things.

My general plan is: I have to move the stock from my 55 into this tank. Current stock is 4 clown loaches (I have a 5th in QT - not sure if he'll make it), one bala shark, 4 rainbow bosemani and one zebra danio. The clowns are my primary interest so I'll be designing around them. I think I'm going canister filter so won't use the HOB's and the heater is an old Jager so may get a new one of those too.

While obviously manufactured for the tank, the stand just seemed under built to me. I figure since it is in my newly remodeled basement, reinforcing the stand for $50 worth of materials was worth the peace of mind. I basically built a second skeleton on the inside of the stand using 2x4's and 1x4's and a few corner braces. I alos added 2 1x4's across the top of the stand so the braces under the tank had a solid surface to sit on. Here are some pics:

My helper lending her opinion


Looking at the top of the stand after reinforcing




The building inspector


Tank set up


Filled it with water today and no leaks

theicequeen said:

Looks good. Keep us updated! What are you going to do with your 55 gal once you transfer the fish?

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Unfortunately, I'm getting rid of it.

The deal with the Mrs. was a big tank in the basement room and we get rid of the 55 in the living room. Our house isn't huge and we don't have anywhere else for it. I'll move the heater and some decorations into the new tank to save on the set-up costs. Figure if I can get a few $ for the 55 I can put those funds into the new tank too.

All is not lost though, I still have a planted 46G bow stocked with Angels and tetras in the living room that is staying put.

Not the end of the world. I wouldn't have the time to properly care for three tanks anyway. I'm trying to talk my buddy into buying the tank for his daughters - then I could set it up for them :grinyes:

Kengel said:

Looks nice, what are you planning on stocking it with?

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Clown loaches will be the center piece. I have 4 in my 55 that will be moved (I've another small clown in QT but I'm not sure he'll make it). I'd like to bring the clown population to 6 - 8.

I have 4 rainbow bosemanis and 1 zebra danio that will move too.

I also have a lone bala shark that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with. I may give him to a friend that has a small school of balas, or I may keep him if I decide to get more balas.

I'm open to ideas. It's a big tank and I have a habitat to build. Any suggestions?