Planning Out a 6' South American Bio-Tope

[MyleusAlex1993]

I am very excited to tell you guys about my latest and perhaps greatest fish room plans. I am getting a 6' aquarium which I am excited about, it will be the first big tank I will own. I did share a 6' 180 with my dad a number of years ago, but now I get to finally have my own.
I am going to do a some what South American Bio-Tope in it. I say some what though because there will be a few fish outside of South America that will be kept.
Here is what I am planning for this tank:
~ Driftwood, plastic plants floating at the top, pothos roots in the back of the aquarium to help with the filtration, some live plants at the bottom (provided they survive with the fish lol)
Stock: (keep in mind this is a planned stock so might not look like this)
Myleus Silverdollars: 4 x red hook silver dollars and 4 x black bar silver dollars
Chocolate Cichlid and Severum
Geophagus group (suri, altrifrons, etc)
Angelfish (wild)
Fancy Plecos (L191, L190,L027, L200, L160,L114 OR LDA07, ETC)
Small group of Red Tail Barracuda OR 1 Payara
3-4 Pink Tail Chalceus or 1 Flagtail
Lima Shovelnose
Bichir (albino and delhezi)
Some catfish
1 fire eel
I know the stock list seems HEAVY, but I will have OVERKILL filteration. The tank comes with filters already but I am adding more!!! Plus, I will have pothos and do 2-3 water changes a week.
I am very excited. This honestly is one of the most exciting times for me in the freshwater hobby.
How does this tank sound to you?

 

[myswtsins]

To me it sounds like you are trying to get every fish you ever wanted into one tank lol. That list is like 3 150g tanks worth of fish for me. This is a 150 right? Yes, with overflitering, plants and 3 big water changes a week you could keep up with the bio-load but what about territory? I'm sure you will work on this stock list more though just keep in mind to not overburden yourself with maintenance so you can still enjoy the tank and have some peace of mind if you for some reason can't keep up with it (illness, travel etc.).

Where are in the process of putting this tank together?

This is going into a fish room? What else do you have? Any pictures?

 

[MyleusAlex1993]

To me it sounds like you are trying to get every fish you ever wanted into one tank lol. That list is like 3 150g tanks worth of fish for me. This is a 150 right? Yes, with overflitering, plants and 3 big water changes a week you could keep up with the bio-load but what about territory? I'm sure you will work on this stock list more though just keep in mind to not overburden yourself with maintenance so you can still enjoy the tank and have some peace of mind if you for some reason can't keep up with it (illness, travel etc.).

Where are in the process of putting this tank together?

This is going into a fish room? What else do you have? Any pictures?

To me it sounds like you are trying to get every fish you ever wanted into one tank lol.
Yes, somewhat. I've always wanted geos, fancy plecos, and the fish that will be in there. But I am dedicated to maintaining their tank to look nice.
That list is like 3 150g tanks worth of fish for me. This is a 150 right?
Yes, as far as I know, the one tank I have interest from is Offer Up. One thing for sure is I will be getting a 6' tank from 150-180 gallons. The first picture below is the mentioned tank I will be getting.
Yes, with overflitering, plants and 3 big water changes a week you could keep up with the bio-load but what about territory?
There will be multiple hiding places with driftwood, plastic plants, and things like that.
I'm sure you will work on this stock list more though just keep in mind to not overburden yourself with maintenance so you can still enjoy the tank and have some peace of mind if you for some reason can't keep up with it (illness, travel etc.)
Yea, I will def work on the list. Lucky for me, I have my younger brother who is also a fish keeper so I know he will help me out. He will do water changes when I am sick and stuff like that.
Where are in the process of putting this tank together?
Well, the fun for me begins NOW! These next 2 weeks are going to be the most fun for me, I think. Because now I can begin buying all the driftwood and stuff for the aquarium and some live stock with left over money. It all is going to happen quickly, as I have paced myself out in the hobby over the years where I can actually buy a tank and have it set up and running the same day. So I save myself a lot of time by doing it this way and it only takes a day instead of a month.
I will be getting the tank on August 1 or 2, and it will be set up then and the live stock will be added.
Will def have pictures and videos of it as it is my baby. Heck, I am downsizing for it selling my saltwater tank.
This is going to be my Update and process thread.

This is going into a fish room? What else do you have? Any pictures?
Yes, technically.My bed room is my fish room. At the moment, I have a saltwater tank but it is being sold because I need the space for this giant tank. So once it's gone I will simply have the fish that I have now and the big tank. But I do plan on having one or two more tanks, maybe a smaller saltwater and 1 more freshwater with an oddball type fish or grow out tank.
As for fish I have now, I have 4x redhook silver dollars, 2 x black bar (widebar) silver dollars, a lima shovel nose, a chocolate, and a severum cichlid. All of them are in QT.
Pics and video posted below the 150 pic.
The pics aren't the best because they were shot with my Samsung Galaxy phone.
Here is video ( in 2 days I'll post video since it won't let me now).
Thanks for the awesome post, had fun responding.

 

[myswtsins]

Try turning the flash off next time you take pics and turn off any room lights, should help. For me if I am getting Xft long tank and my floor/house can support the weight I want to get the biggest tank possible. So I'd hold out and get the 180g personally, more room for fish and more water volume for not much more money. Plus the monsters will have so much more room front to back, like the shovelnose (16"+) gets about as big as the 150 (18") whereas the 180 would give you 24" for the monster to grow into.

 

[MyleusAlex1993]

Try turning the flash off next time you take pics and turn off any room lights, should help. For me if I am getting Xft long tank and my floor/house can support the weight I want to get the biggest tank possible. So I'd hold out and get the 180g personally, more room for fish and more water volume for not much more money. Plus the monsters will have so much more room front to back, like the shovelnose (16"+) gets about as big as the 150 (18") whereas the 180 would give you 24" for the monster to grow into.

Good to know. I will turn the flash and lights off for better pictures. Yea I am looking to see if I can find some good deals on 180.

 

[Tifftastic]

The tank sounds cool! Looking forward to seeing updates.

I just have to point out that the bichirs are African, so it won't really be a biotope

[subbing!]

 

[MyleusAlex1993]

The tank sounds cool! Looking forward to seeing updates.

I just have to point out that the bichirs are African, so it won't really be a biotope

[subbing!]

Yes that is true. There are going to be a few fish outside of South America, so it technically won't be a biotope but to me, it is hehe since it will mostly be South.American.

 

[MyleusAlex1993]

UPDATE:
Here are some new pictures of my fish since I've added a light and wavemaker to the qt aquarium. Gorgeous fish!