10 gallon tanks?

[Jorge_]

I want to create a small shelf with some tanks, preferred to have 10 gallon tanks, which I believe would be better for shrimp. I just wanted to know where I can get lets say, about 12 tanks. Where could I get alot of 10 gallon tanks for cheap? I have seen fish rooms, and am amazed at the number of tanks they have. The cheapest I can find is at petco gallon per dollar sales. This will be one of the many posts about a shrimp shelf, I really want to start one and just want to start by seeing how much it will cost. Thanks for any responces, anything helps.

[Kikojaharo]

I always get my tanks off of craigslist; I never pay more than 8 per and I've always had good luck with quality. A good scrub with vinegar makes them brand new!! Check with any reptile groups around you as well; snakes are always growing out of tanks

[Jorge_]

2 minutes ago, Kikojaharo said:

I always get my tanks off of craigslist; I never pay more than 8 per and I've always had good luck with quality. A good scrub with vinegar makes them brand new!! Check with any reptile groups around you as well; snakes are always growing out of tanks

I have a few reptile tanks, but im not sure if I can use those. I have always heard to not trust them, as they are not meant to hold water. Whats your experience with them?

[Aennedry]

I hunt thrift stores, and once pulled a 10 gallon out of a dumpster. It was made in '96, was dry for years, and currently homes my RCS. On your reptile tanks, I would test them. Fill them with water in the bathtub and see if they leak. If you are still worried, maybe run a bit of silicone around the seams.

=^._.^=

[Jorge_]

7 minutes ago, Aennedry said:

I hunt thrift stores, and once pulled a 10 gallon out of a dumpster. It was made in '96, was dry for years, and currently homes my RCS. On your reptile tanks, I would test them. Fill them with water in the bathtub and see if they leak. If you are still worried, maybe run a bit of silicone around the seams.

=^._.^=

Mh, alright. They are 40 gallon tanks. How would I clean them, and would size change the whole situation? Also, would 4 40 gallon breeders be better or 12 10 gallon tanks be better? I already have 1 10 gallon (My normal tank) and 2 40 gallons, which are the reptile tanks. I will for sure go check my local thrift stores

[Aennedry]

40 gallons, nice. You would still clean them with vinegar just like Kikojaharo said. Possibly test them with a vinegar/water mix. Just would need stronger racks for them and larger filters. And you would have very happy shrimp. I dream of having a 40 breeder, but I would probably want to put zebra plecos in it first, then get a second for my Taiwan Fire Reds and TT's...

 

It really depends on what all you want in the way of shrimp. I like Neos. They crossbreed so each variety needs its on tank. Caridinas can breed with each other but can produce cool looking offspring instead of reverting to the wild like the neos are wont to do. Some neos and caridinas can be kept in the same water prams so they can share. I am using my betta tank as my cull tank for my neos. Once you know what you want to keep, then you can figure out just how many and what size tanks you will need.

 

I would first set up the 10 and get experience with some shrimp. Most start with neos because they are a bit hardier and can generally be found at most fish stores or from an on line breeder or from someone on this very forum. For caridinas good starters are regular tigers or tangerine tigers if you can find them.

 

Good luck

=^._.^=

[Jorge_]

28 minutes ago, Aennedry said:

40 gallons, nice. You would still clean them with vinegar just like Kikojaharo said. Possibly test them with a vinegar/water mix. Just would need stronger racks for them and larger filters. And you would have very happy shrimp. I dream of having a 40 breeder, but I would probably want to put zebra plecos in it first, then get a second for my Taiwan Fire Reds and TT's...

 

It really depends on what all you want in the way of shrimp. I like Neos. They crossbreed so each variety needs its on tank. Caridinas can breed with each other but can produce cool looking offspring instead of reverting to the wild like the neos are wont to do. Some neos and caridinas can be kept in the same water prams so they can share. I am using my betta tank as my cull tank for my neos. Once you know what you want to keep, then you can figure out just how many and what size tanks you will need.

 

I would first set up the 10 and get experience with some shrimp. Most start with neos because they are a bit hardier and can generally be found at most fish stores or from an on line breeder or from someone on this very forum. For caridinas good starters are regular tigers or tangerine tigers if you can find them.

 

Good luck

=^._.^=

Thanks for the advice, but I already have a tank with some cherry shrimp

They have already bred and I have had them for a while now, so I must be doing it right

So, I just wanted to know about the tanks, my 10 gallon right now has cherries, a few galaxy rasboras, and a trio of otos. They have all been doing fine, but it would be cool to have a large rack with them. What would be better, alot of 10 gallons or a few 40 gallon tanks?

[Kikojaharo]

I have a few reptile tanks, but im not sure if I can use those. I have always heard to not trust them, as they are not meant to hold water. Whats your experience with them?

Beware tanks that held rodents before, they will make a tank not waterproof very quickly.

It depends on the "type" of reptile tank. If it's something like an exo terra, yeah that won't hold water because of the doors and ventilation, but if it looks like an aquarium, it probably was one that had a lid with clips added onto it. 10 gallons are pretty safe to assume it was an aquarium. You could always test it holding water overnight outside, and if it doesn't, you're not out anything!

And if you really want to get into it, you could always re-silicone it, but that's too much effort, imho

[Jorge_]

9 minutes ago, Kikojaharo said:

Beware tanks that held rodents before, they will make a tank not waterproof very quickly.

It depends on the "type" of reptile tank. If it's something like an exo terra, yeah that won't hold water because of the doors and ventilation, but if it looks like an aquarium, it probably was one that had a lid with clips added onto it. 10 gallons are pretty safe to assume it was an aquarium. You could always test it holding water overnight outside, and if it doesn't, you're not out anything!

And if you really want to get into it, you could always re-silicone it, but that's too much effort, imho

My tanks didnt hold rodents, so check.

It isnt a exo terra, so check.

It is a tank with clips on the top, with a sliding screen metal mesh lid. 

Sadly, the reptile tanks I have are only 40 gallon tanks :/ So, would I still be able to use it if it passed the test of sitting with water overnight and re-siliconing it?

[Aennedry]

How many different varieties of shrimp do you want? What are you going to do with them? I assume your cherries just made you want more. So each variety of neo needs it's own tank to keep the colors. If you want to do specialized breeding like Soothing you will need lots of small tanks. If caridinas you can toss a handfull together in a large tank and get some interesting color/pattern combos, or keep them in individual tanks to keep the colors pure. 

And you will also need to consider tank maintenance, filtration, lights, water source, hardscaping, substrate; all the fun stuff. How many tanks do you want to clean every week/two weeks? What kind of filters; will they have their own hob or canister, or will they have a sponge run by one central air pump. Plants, rock, wood; how are you 'scaping the tanks? What kind of water are you using? Will it suffice for the shrimp of the future? Will you be needing a RO unit or buying RO from the store? How many tanks depends on all of that.

=^._.^=

[Jorge_]

9 minutes ago, Aennedry said:

How many different varieties of shrimp do you want? What are you going to do with them? I assume your cherries just made you want more. So each variety of neo needs it's own tank to keep the colors. If you want to do specialized breeding like Soothing you will need lots of small tanks. If caridinas you can toss a handfull together in a large tank and get some interesting color/pattern combos, or keep them in individual tanks to keep the colors pure. 

And you will also need to consider tank maintenance, filtration, lights, water source, hardscaping, substrate; all the fun stuff. How many tanks do you want to clean every week/two weeks? What kind of filters; will they have their own hob or canister, or will they have a sponge run by one central air pump. Plants, rock, wood; how are you 'scaping the tanks? What kind of water are you using? Will it suffice for the shrimp of the future? Will you be needing a RO unit or buying RO from the store? How many tanks depends on all of that.

=^._.^=

I just want the shrimp as a hobby, and I think it would be really cool to have a wall full of tanks, somewhat like a downgraded fish/shrimp room. I started with cherries to get the basics of shrimp, as this is my first own tank. I would be fine cleaning for about an hour every week, preferred on the weekend. I would say its entirely worth it in the end to see all your happy colonies of shrimp and the hard work at the end of the day, and to just enjoy them. One main filter would be kinda nice, but at the same time im not too sure. I would use a black substrate, with some nice wood along with a few plants on them and planted. I am using distilled water, since my tap water is at a very high pH. I have been using this for a while now and have been able to lower pH to around 7.8 from 7.2, still working at it. I have a mineral supplement, equilibrium in which I talked about at my local fish store. I will move on into more complicated things later on the road but this was recommended to get started. I buy distilled from the store.

[newellcr]

It's hard to beat the utility and cost effectiveness of a 10 gallon tank.  You can easily buy or make a stand that lets you keep 16 or 20 ten gallon tanks skinny end out.  These racks are very common place for fish/shrimp enthusiasts. When folks have 40 gallon tanks, there is usually a reason such as a larger tenant, aquascaping goals, or maybe, mass production.  If you live anywhere near a local aquarium club, the ten gallon tanks are easy to find in the $6-7 range, but it is soooo easy to get them at the Petco sale and there is no cleaning or bother other than trusting Petco to have/order all of the tanks you want at once.  If it is in a living space, I recommend against the skinny end out.  Set them up as a normal display tank so you can better enjoy them from the couch. 

 

The nice part of the hardcore fishroom setup is the easy maintenance allowed by drill/drain/fill and central filtration or central air pump.  The hardcore setup can also be cheaper depending on your level of finish on the display type. 

 

Regards,

 

Chris

[Jorge_]

17 minutes ago, newellcr said:

It's hard to beat the utility and cost effectiveness of a 10 gallon tank.  You can easily buy or make a stand that lets you keep 16 or 20 ten gallon tanks skinny end out.  These racks are very common place for fish/shrimp enthusiasts. When folks have 40 gallon tanks, there is usually a reason such as a larger tenant, aquascaping goals, or maybe, mass production.  If you live anywhere near a local aquarium club, the ten gallon tanks are easy to find in the $6-7 range, but it is soooo easy to get them at the Petco sale and there is no cleaning or bother other than trusting Petco to have/order all of the tanks you want at once.  If it is in a living space, I recommend against the skinny end out.  Set them up as a normal display tank so you can better enjoy them from the couch. 

 

The nice part of the hardcore fishroom setup is the easy maintenance allowed by drill/drain/fill and central filtration or central air pump.  The hardcore setup can also be cheaper depending on your level of finish on the display type. 

 

Regards,

 

Chris

I guess I will go with the 10 gallon tanks then, and use the 40 gallon tanks for something else in the future. I have a decent wall, which I should be able to to put the tanks. I can put alot of shrimp and some fish  

Now I just need to get a yes to constructing this wall, thanks again for all the responses everyone

[jem_xxiii]

Also when Petco has their $1 a gallon sale you could look there.

[35ppt]

As far as used/CL tanks, it is a way to potentially save some $, but there are more risks involved (including the fact that what people think are 10G tanks are often not that size). Is it worth it?

[newellcr]

Jorge,

 

Good luck.  You can have a lot of fun with a rack of 10's. 

 

Regards,

 

Chris

[Jorge_]

Alright, quick update.

Kinda bad but good at the same time.

I wont be able to do my "dream" rack with alot of 10s

But I can buy three more, for a total of 4 10s.

I am sadly restricted to the amount of tanks due to my age, as I am pretty young and still in parental control. 

Or, I was offered one big tank, max 55 gal.

So, I just need an opinion on this. I have a reptile tank thats a 40 gal, so I can either have 2 40s, and 1 10 gal. Or 4 10s and 1 40 gal.  Or I can do the 1 10, 1 40, and 1 55. I am kinda leaning toward the 3 10s but at the same time ive always kinda wanted a community with an angel, or a tank filled with LOTS of nano fish like otos, lots of galaxy rasboras, alot of neon green rasboras, maybe a few more and possibly shrimp, and lastly a tank with puffers. Specifically dwarf puffers. But at the same time, I LOVE shrimp and think they are a very fun to keep and enjoy them. I just want to hear the opinions that everyone has and what they would do. Thanks

[Shrimple minded]

I vote for  4 10s and 1 40 gal

[Jorge_]

Quick question, would I be able to put dividers in a larger tank, so divide a 50 into 5 10s?

 

[newellcr]

Jorge,  I can't remember a time when I divided a tank and it worked the way I wanted.  One recent improvement is the HMF foam.  I've seen people successfully divide a tank with that.  In the end it would be cheaper to get 4 tens to replace the 40/50.  I vividly remember being limited to a goldfish bowl.  A couple of tens and a 40 is a pretty nice set up. 

[Shivaun]

I know that this is an older topic, but with your reptile tanks(Zilla critter cage) the glass is thinner and the tank weighs less than the same size aquatic tank.  I would be verry leary about using a 40 critter cage as an aquarium.

[Shrimp Life]

On 5/29/2016 at 7:28 PM, Jorge_ said:

The cheapest I can find is at petco gallon per dollar sales. 

This is where i would buy. New tank for $10 each? Can't go wrong there. This $1 per gallon sale is still on isn't it? I need to pick up a 20 long.

[chappy6107]

I have bought many aquariums used for reptiles and found that the heat lamps depending on placement have a bad affect on the silicone.  It drys it out and the silicone will start separating from the glass.  I normally replace the silicone, but it is not fun.