Tank/Filtration for Porcupine Puffer

[Baffels]

I'm going to bite the bullet and get a tank for a porcupine puffer. It's been a dream of mine and my spouses for a bit and I now have the means to do it. Couple questions for anyone who has experience:

1. 150 Gallon tank. The tank I have my eyes on (second hand) isn't drilled. If the tank has a puffer and maybe 1 or 2 other fish (FOWLR), do you think a sump will be necessary or would a high quality filter be ok? Maybe a hang on? I could plumb in into my current setup (136 gallon tank w/36 gallon sump one floor down), would that be too much for that sump?

2. Other tank mates for a porcupine? Would plan on getting them all fairly young/small.

3. Weird question now, lol. I have a special needs kiddo who can get... mad. He stomps a lot. The tank would be against a wall and on the other side is the hallway where he has a tendency to melt down. How much noise/vibration would get through and would it bother or stress the fish? For context, my reef tank is in the same room and nobody in that tank cares, lol.

 

[i cant think]

I don’t know the answer to the first question however I can try answer the second and third.
So, first off in terms of tank mates the first that comes to mind is the Dwarf Lions (or even any lion that will fit in that tank). So this includes the Zebra Dwarf, Fu’Manchu, antennata ect… I believe Eels will also work however don’t quote me on that as I don’t quite know. You wouldn’t want anything small that you’d find in the normal reef as the porcupine may snack on them.
As for the second, I have dropped some rather large objects (one being a metal step ladder) around my tank and the fish don’t seem TOO phased by it. There may be the odd time they go into hiding but it seems that the majority of the time they’re alright. My neighbours have also been hitting the wall behind my tank every so often and the fish don’t seem to notice it.

 

[anthonygf]

Oase canister would be great, maybe 2 of them. You have many options like some have built in heaters. You can change the primary or pre-filters (sponge) without disassembly. I have one on my 75 gallon fresh water cichlid tank and clean the pre filters as often as necessary to keep detritus and food from spoiling. I have extra sponge filters to use when swapping out the pre filters. The other compartments have sponge filters but you can use anything you like or nothing, I have bio media in mine. I clean the main cannister every 3 months or until the nitrate starts climbing. I love it, been running mine for 2 years now. Worth checking out.
You can use a sump if you plan on getting other items like a skimmer, heaters etc.

 

[Baffels]

I don’t know the answer to the first question however I can try answer the second and third.
So, first off in terms of tank mates the first that comes to mind is the Dwarf Lions (or even any lion that will fit in that tank). So this includes the Zebra Dwarf, Fu’Manchu, antennata ect… I believe Eels will also work however don’t quote me on that as I don’t quite know. You wouldn’t want anything small that you’d find in the normal reef as the porcupine may snack on them.
As for the second, I have dropped some rather large objects (one being a metal step ladder) around my tank and the fish don’t seem TOO phased by it. There may be the odd time they go into hiding but it seems that the majority of the time they’re alright. My neighbours have also been hitting the wall behind my tank every so often and the fish don’t seem to notice it.

Awesome, thank you!

 

[Baffels]

Oase canister would be great, maybe 2 of them. You have many options like some have built in heaters. You can change the primary or pre-filters (sponge) without disassembly. I have one on my 75 gallon fresh water cichlid tank and clean the pre filters as often as necessary to keep detritus and food from spoiling. I have extra sponge filters to use when swapping out the pre filters. The other compartments have sponge filters but you can use anything you like or nothing, I have bio media in mine. I clean the main cannister every 3 months or until the nitrate starts climbing. I love it, been running mine for 2 years now. Worth checking out.
You can use a sump if you plan on getting other items like a skimmer, heaters etc.

Good info, thank you. Leaning this way and if it just isnt enough, I can almost move to a sump.

 

[ReefHog]

Canister filters can work great in FOWLR tanks. You’d want to clean or change the pre filters weekly though.

I’d avoid lion fish with puffers. Puffers tend to be clumsy swimmers, especially at feeding time, and could easily bump into a lion fish. With a 150 you have a lot of choices.

 

[Baffels]

Canister filters can work great in FOWLR tanks. You’d want to clean or change the pre filters weekly though.

I’d avoid lion fish with puffers. Puffers tend to be clumsy swimmers, especially at feeding time, and could easily bump into a lion fish. With a 150 you have a lot of choices.

Ended up with a 250, found a great deal Don't have a lot of interests in lions, thankfully. Going to go with a couple angels and an eel i think.

 

[anthonygf]

Good info, thank you. Leaning this way and if it just isnt enough, I can almost move to a sump.

I have two cannisters (also for redundancy) on my 75 gallon cichlid tank, currently have an Oscar. They are very messy eaters with lots of waste. It is a little overkill but in order to keep the bio filtration from being wiped out from (deep) cleaning, I will do a deep cleaning on one cannister at a time, wait 2 months and do the other. Every 2 months one will get cleaned while the other will maintain it's bio filter. So each filter will go 4 months between deep cleanings depending on the amount of waste and when the nitrate starts to climb. The primary filters are so easy to replace for cleaning I will do that every week or so. I believe this method will also work for marine fish. My cannisters are the Oase 600 and a Fluval G6, both great canisters.

 

[ReefHog]

Ended up with a 250, found a great deal Don't have a lot of interests in lions, thankfully. Going to go with a couple angels and an eel i think.

I’d go with a zebra eel or another one of the non fish eating ones. Puffers will lay/sleep on the bottom of the tank which could be enticing to an aggressive eel.

 

[Baffels]

I’d go with a zebra eel or another one of the non fish eating ones. Puffers will lay/sleep on the bottom of the tank which could be enticing to an aggressive eel.

I thinking a zebra. My LFS has two that are about 2 feet each.

 

[ReefHog]

Just make sure you have a tight fitting lid/screen.