180 gallon in wall tank

[Kd67]

Hi everyone. I've been working on this tank for about 8 months now and finally have it heading in the right direction. It is a 180 gallon set into the wall of my living room and actually housed in a separate room I built in the garage.
Lighting is a pair of 4' fluval freshwater LEDs. Filtration is a 90 gallon sump.

[bekateen]

Looks great! I love the big hollowed out piece of wood. What kind of wood is it? What kind of plecos are in there?

Thanks for sharing,
Eric

[Kd67]

Thanks. The split open logs are silver maple the hollow ones on the bottom are Apple and the root ball is from an evergreen bush I ripped out.

Currently I have an albino common pleco, two rubbernose, and a mustard spot in there. Also I have a flash pleco and blue panaque in my quarantine tank doing their time. Plan is for it to be a panqulous/panaque tank as these are my favorite but I am having some issues finding them in stock around town lately.

[Deb]

Nice wood! What Panaqolus were you thinking of?

[bekateen]

Currently I have an albino common pleco, two rubbernose, and a mustard spot in there. Also I have a flash pleco and blue panaque in my quarantine tank doing their time. Plan is for it to be a panqulous/panaque tank as these are my favorite but I am having some issues finding them in stock around town lately.

You've got a nice group of plecos (both current and planned).

What temperature is your tank? I ask because I have a concern about the rubbernoses - Rubbernoses tend to prefer cooler temperatures (below 75F) and stress out at higher temperatures over time. By contrast, your Panaqolus will do much better at 78-83F, even a bit higher. Panaqolus are my favorites - I have albomaculatus (mustard spots), maccus (clowns), L397, and I'm temporarily foster-caring for some albivermis (flash plecos) for a friend, all of which all are doing well around 78-81F.

For your developing plans, I think everything you want fits well except the rubbernose plecos. If your tank is currently cool, the other plecos will hold on, but they'd be much happier at a warmer temp. If your tank is already warm (near 80F) and the rubbernoses have been in there all 8 months and are thriving, then maybe they'll be okay. But if they are a more recent addition, and if you have the option, I'd recommend moving them to a separate cooler tank. Just something to consider.

Best of luck.
Cheers, Eric

[Kd67]

Thanks Deb. Definitely like the mustard spots and flash Plecos might get a couple clown Plecos as well. I would love to find some of those l397 you have they are very attractive fish, but I never even heard of them before this week. Would also like to get one larger panaque, maybe one of the Royal Plecos if I can find no one.

Eric, thanks for the info on the rubbernose. I didn't realize the temperature difference between them and the others. Currently the temp is at 78 and they appear to be doing fine. I will try to get another tank setup for them in the near future, although I don't know how I will get them out short of dismantling the entire tank.

[Kd67]

Here are some pics from inside the fish room if anyone is interested.

[Deb]

Of course we're interested! That is a nice job you've done there, I love it. It's always good to see how things are done behind the scenes.

I kept a large group of P. maccus with many other small catfish species, including Chaetostoma, in a 75 gallon for years. Initially, the temp was set to 80dF for the Panaqolus (my favorites) but after a couple of years, lowered it to 78dF. In that much water, 78 was the better choice for all. The Chaetostoma came in at 78dF. I set them up with a few flat rocks near the filter intake, which they loved. IMO, if yours is not a species tank or a breeding set-up, 78-80 in that much water will be very nice for both Panaqolus and Chaetostoma.

[TheFishGuy1]

Currently I have an albino common pleco, two rubbernose, and a mustard spot in there. Also I have a flash pleco and blue panaque in my quarantine tank doing their time. Plan is for it to be a panqulous/panaque tank as these are my favorite but I am having some issues finding them in stock around town lately.

You've got a nice group of plecos (both current and planned).

What temperature is your tank? I ask because I have a concern about the rubbernoses - Rubbernoses tend to prefer cooler temperatures (below 75F) and stress out at higher temperatures over time. By contrast, your Panaqolus will do much better at 78-83F, even a bit higher. Panaqolus are my favorites - I have albomaculatus (mustard spots), maccus (clowns), L397, and I'm temporarily foster-caring for some albivermis (flash plecos) for a friend, all of which all are doing well around 78-81F.

For your developing plans, I think everything you want fits well except the rubbernose plecos. If your tank is currently cool, the other plecos will hold on, but they'd be much happier at a warmer temp. If your tank is already warm (near 80F) and the rubbernoses have been in there all 8 months and are thriving, then maybe they'll be okay. But if they are a more recent addition, and if you have the option, I'd recommend moving them to a separate cooler tank. Just something to consider.

Best of luck.
Cheers, Eric

It says on Fishkeeping World that the range can be quite large with regards to plecos. Like you said, some prefer colder waters, as low as 75 (they say even 72), but, I've found the best range to be as close to 80F. Hope this helps!