125G experiment.

[Scrup]

So, got a 125 on CL for $100. Not too bad considering it came with lights, lids, and a stand.

Tank is 62Lx18Wx26H so there are a lot of possibilities here. Not set on anything going in except for a common pleco so far. (55G is getting too small for him)

Will be setting it up as soon as I get moved into my new place (hopefully next week!!!!) but until them I have just been prepping everything.

I built a concrete background (the fourth and hopefully last coat is drying right now) and integrated a wet/dry into the background, as well as a few planters and a fair bit of hidey holes.

Plan on using a 650GPH pump and returning the water via UGJ, the jets will be used strictly to keep some flow in the cave areas that are not easy to reach.


Pics and updates to come!

[tetra]

Cant wait to see it setup. i would love to have a large tank like that but i have no where to put it.

Are you going to put some of the larger agressive fish in it?

[rich311k]

Nice pickup. What sort of fish are you interested in?

[Scrup]

Well I am considering two things. Moving some of my nice Africans into the tank and stocking around that (maybe a haps/peacock tank), or going with an oddball tank. Thinking a BGK, a few ropefish, peacock eel, maybe my bala's, and considering a leporinus as well as a few others.


Haven't checked too much into the compatibility of them, still working on the tank itself. Not wanting to go with anything too agressive though.

[tori.lock]

I personally think an oddball tank would be great, but I'm really biased on that. Not a huge fan of the cichlids and I think an oddball tank would be a lot more fun to stock. More options and would make a great conversation piece.

[William]

I would go withtCichlids if that are you two options. 125 still is on the small side for oddbals like the ones you mention

[Oscar_freak12321]

An oddball tank would be a little bit harder with a 125, seeing as it is on the small side for a bigger tank. Still, it's very doable and that might be a good tank. I personally would go for the oddball tank, but that's just me.

[Rue]

Good deal! Looking forward to seeing pics of it all stocked and set up!

[Northernguy]

It would make a great tank for two oscars and pleco.:19:
You got a great deal on it.

[Scrup]

Dont think it will have room with the rockwork now for an oscar or two, will have to see. Just figured the numbers and it has, counting concrete and sand, about 100lb worth just on the background. Might not need as much silicone to tack it down as I thought.

Plus I plan on getting an oscar tank eventually, and I want that one to be more than 18" wide.

BGK may be a bit too big for it, and the bala's will not fit full grown (just another reason for a bigger tank down the road...might even be a plywood tank...darn :)....)

[Scrup]

some pics of the background-

Pre-cement-
17832

close up of the wet/dry intake. Water comes up through the 2 swuare holes and over the waterfall into the wet/dry section.
17833

Overview after the fourth layer of cement. Need to get a brighter lamp in the garage, I am pretty pleased with the way the blending worked out, but I think I want it spread out over most of it, and not so splotchy. Also I didn't even notice till I took these pics the spots I outright missed.
17834


Closeup of the wet/dry return pipe to the UGF.
17835

[Scrup]

a closeup shot of the left section. Can really see the spots I missed with the colored concrete.
17836

Closeup of the middle section. Can kind of make out the planters.
17837

Closeup of the right side, again with a couple planters, and again some missed spots. The planters were missed on purpose, as I felt they were going to be covered with substrate, so I didn't want to take up space putting stuff down no one will see. You can see the pleco cave in the bottom left. the stalagmite was my attempt at trying to mask the seam between the two peices...hope it works.-
17838


Please feel free to critique, looking to get some feedback/ideas on this before it gets done, and since I still have to add some more concrete, there is still time to change a few things.

Still upset that I couldn't find a blue or green concrete coloring, as that is what I originally planned on- a grayish/blue/green mix, but the red doesn't look too bad actually, just need to blend it a bit more in some spots. Will look a bit better with some plants to contrast it I think.


Thanks for reading. More to come soon!

[domjd05]

wow that looks really cool! Great deal on the tank too!

[Scrup]

Well after last night (lost a red jewel and my Acei) I decided I will be going with cichlids. Need to give those guys a better home, they have been through enough.

Got the pump last night, it is much smaller than I expected. Will check to make sure it has adequate flow tonight. Will be finishing the concrete and the UGJ this weekend if all goes as planned.

[Scrup]

undergravel jets are setup and tested. the rio 10HF is amazing. 650gph powers 4 jets in the bathtub, each of them going about 18" in the air. Could easily add a few more, but for now I think 4 should do the job.

Used 3/4" cpvc as the main line, then branched off into 1/2" cpvc for the jets, and using a heat gun, pliers and a chisel I molded the jets. Put the chisel in the jet, hit it with the heat gun, and crimped it around. Worked like a charm.

The last coat of cement I put on must have gotten a smidge of brown coloring in it, because all the spots I missed are a very different color. The fiance actually likes it better this way, so I think i will be sticking with it.

While moving one of them, I grabbed a part I shouldn't have and snapped off a 7" portion of the bottom :scry: .

Fortunately it is behind some rockwork and out of sight, so I am not really concerned.

will try and upload some pics tonight.


Oh, and the move/setup date has been postponed. RGGG.

[lowlight]

That is really cool. Can't wait to see it when it is all set up.thumbs2:

[Scrup]

Bah just found out I wont be moving until january 1st, so I can't even start setting it up until then.

[Rue]

...enjoy the anticipation?:14:

Seriously...relax...enjoy the holidays...you'll still have a blast setting up the tank early in the new year!

[Dagamoth]

That background looks great! What are you using to make it (is there a thread with the DIY info for something like?) Would love to make something like that for my cichlids.

[KingFisher]

I can't wait to see how it looks all set up! thumbs2:

[Scrup]

The background is just styrofoam blocks and spray foam molded into the shapes I wanted, then coated with concrete.

Will be writing a DIY after I get done with the project.


A great inspiration for me was Jaspers article-
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=40215&highlight=concrete+background

as well as this one (same principle, but on a larger scale-covers the entire back of the tank. I liked that look a bit more)
http://westerncichlids.com.au/diy-aquarium-background-part-1/

http://westerncichlids.com.au/diy-aquarium-background-part-2/


Honestly it is not as difficult as it may seem. Hardest part is going to be getting it into the tank without breaking either of them.


Pic of the UGJ in action-I love the head height on the last jets.
18027

Got the terra cotta pots all broken up and sitting in a bucket (ended up filling up a 5G bucket). Not going to rinse them until I can put them in the tank. Don't want any gunk building up on them while they sit in the garage.

thanks for all the support guys!

[Scrup]

ok, moved all the furniture in, setup the tank, and it rocks.

not the good way. If you bump it, it will tip over. sits fine on tile, but I think with the way the base is made, the carpet makes it all screwy. Going to try and put some plywood on the bottom to help it stay level, and in the mean time look for a new stand(we figured out it is actually an incredibly beat up/ugly credenza. Good lighting makes a huge difference!)

[Scrup]

well, a day before I was going to put the background in, the cats decided to do some fall tests on it and it failed horribly (they knocked it over into the wall, shattered into 3 peices. On the bright side, it was easier to get in. I plan on just patching cracks, since it is all siliconed in and sealed, and holding just fine. got some other little spots, mostly where I used the spray foam that the concrete just flaked off, but now that it is in, I can just patch it and since its not going to be moved, it should stay just fine.

After all this I WILL MAKE IT WORK!

At least the big part with the wet/dry is still in one peice!
overview
18249
the bad shattered peice
18250
this one is not as obvious, but the whole front self broke off
18251
lots of little spots like this that need to by touched up from moving it.
18252

[Scrup]

some shots of the filter chamber

18254

the hose going to the UGJ
18253

[Dagamoth]

looks good but i'm just curious as to if you have had the tank on that table when filled up. That wood looks a little thin to have another 1000 pounds sitting on it. Might consider throwing some 4x4 or something underneath as some extra support. Would really hate to see all that hard work come crashing down. Actually it would prolly look pretty sweet to see that but it would suck pretty hard core.:mop:

[Scrup]

Just finished the patch job, now just gotta wait 48 hours for the quick set concrete to cure.

As far as the stand, it is supported by 4 1" pcs of particle board, with 2x4 cross bracing. Just looks shoddy because I pulled the drawers out of it. It was what the previous owner used as a stand for it, and I've given it a good lookover (added a few screws were the joins were a little loose, tightened up some stuff) so I'm not too worried.

[lowlight]

The anticipation is killin me.:waiting:

[Scrup]

your telling me. I have to look at this perfectly dry concrete background and say" still gotta let it dry another day...

RRG.

Going to move the future inhabitants today to the new house, hopefully it all goes smooth (its 3 outside and we got 6" of snow...hope no one jumps from the bucket)

[Scrup]

updated pic-crackes patched and ugj installed
18259

[domjd05]

aw man thats awesome! I like the underground jets, thats a really cool feature, you don't see those too often!

I'd say thats more like a 75g tank now though lol, jk.

[Scrup]

Filled and running Will drain it probably this weekend and refill, then repeat every few days. Doesn't look too bad with the lighting.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/100_1092.JPG

Future filter media-
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/100_1034.JPG

[Bristley]

This is an awesome setup!:19:

I have to agree with a previous statement that was made, I would absolutely love to see a DIY for a project like this.

Keep us posted on progress w/ pics if you can.

Can't wait to see it planted and stocked.

[lowlight]

Looks great so far.

[Scrup]

Still doing daily water changes, in 24 hours the PH is off the scale (super bright pink) Using Pool PH strips for this, as I would run out of the liquid stuff pretty fast. I use four strips at a time, three in the tank being tested and one in the main tank to make sure the strips are at least somewhat consistent.

Dropped in some duckweed for funzies and it was brown and crispy in a day.

I plan on switching to drops when the duckweed starts surviving.

Substrate has been added as well, but nothing to see aside from a super cloudy tank.

[bushwhacker]

aji is this leaching from the concrete thats raising the PH?

[Scrup]

yes, the concrete will eventually stop leaching as much, expecting it to slow down in about 2 weeks.

[Rue]

Looks really good! It will look awesome when it's stocked!

[Scrup]

ok little update, cut out all the parts for the filter. Duckweed it starting to live now, so I figured I would finish up the filter.

The filter media will be a 4 stage setup. I may change that if it becomes too problematic.
From right to left- coarse sponge, fine sponge, pillow batting, and felt.
18568



I will have an overflow running from the top of the filter chamber to the bottom, that way if the filters DO get too clogged up, the water will still flow down into the pump and not give me a flooded floor and a burned up pump.



View inside the filter chamber-
18570

Overall view of the filter. Water flows up through the eggcrate then over the waterfall into the chamber. ( eggcrate will keep the fish out, I will also put some gutter guard over it to make sure the smaller ones don't squeeze through.)
18569

The pug is not pleased that I would not let him eat the filters.
18567

[Kazenouta]

This is quite the project you've got going here. I've just read all the way through the journal up until this point and now I'm really looking forward to seeing it turn out for you. best of luckthumbs2:

[Scrup]

Thanks! So am I...lol

Hoping that the filter works as well as it theoretically should.

[Scrup]

:mad:

so more and more cracks are showing through, some of them exposing the styrofoam underneath.

I am now stuck as to whether I should patch them now or wait until the water levels out and the curing is complete, THEN patch them to make sure they don't just crack again.

Leaning towards the wait it out, but I am upset that it will take an extra month+ of curing...Switched to drops tonight, as the duckweed is living for a while, but its still off the scale.

[Scrup]

so reading some more I may be adding a few layers of drylok to this to patch/seal it, instead of just concrete. Still have some reading to do.

[lowlight]

Bummer. Why did it crack?

[Scrup]

no idea. The only thing I can think of is that because it is winter here the air is super dry and I did not compensate by overspraying them.

[lowlight]

I hope it will work thats going to be an awesome set up when it's done.

[Crispy]

Nice setup and background. DIY stuff is great with a little research. Have you thought of some exotic plecos? There are many of all sizes/colors/patterns to choose from. I love mine. You could probably choose a couple for that tank.

Best of luck repairing that background. :ssmile:

[lowlight]

Did you fix the cracks yet?

[Scrup]

Cracks are all patched, tank is just about ready. Setup the filter yesterday, charging my camera right now, batteries are dead after I went a little crazy taking videos of my loaches..lol

Will get some shots of the final setup and the filter. Working like a charm so far!

[Scrup]

Tested the PH, sitting at 7.8. Gonna throw some guppies in to test it first, as I have about 300 of them and counting. Want to make sure they live for at least a week before I try the cichlids. Putting cycled media in with the new filter setup to help in the cycling.

Here is hoping!

[lowlight]

Alright, I can't wait to finally see it.

[Scrup]

pfft no good pics yet, the lighting plays havoc with my camera. got a shot with flash and without, without the flash its always blurry, with it the coloring is WAY off from what it actually looks like.

With flash-
18967

Without flash-
18968

Close up of the filter, sorry its like 8" from the wall and not easy to get a pic of
18969

At the bottom of the terra cotta is the pump. I put an airstone in all the corners to help alleviate dead spots.
18970

And yes, I did a terrible job on the silicone, but its the filter, not too worried about it.

[Scrup]

and the first fish resident, testing the water. 3 hours and nothing unusual.18971


how my fiance's hair got into the tank, I have no idea.

Just need to let it sit for another week, make sure the guppy lives just fine, clean it up real good, then I am good to go!

[lowlight]

Tank looks great. Better to over silicone than not enough.

[xasuma]

Its looking good!!
Good luck with it! thumbs2:

[Scrup]

Thanks guys. The resident made it overnight, still looking good. it is taking all my willpower to not throw all the Mbuna into the tank right now.

Not only do I wanna see it done, but I have so many plans for the 55G they are in now!

[lowlight]

Patience grass hopper, all in good time. I to am anxious to see the tank all set up and stocked.

[Scrup]

omg, so..new problem.

Well, kinda.

It dawned on me today, and I just confirmed it in a test with the guppy. It is REALLY hard to catch fish in that tank...

Guess if mr guppy gives me too much hassle he will be ending up a snack.

Think one juvy guppy would be too bad for some full grown Mbuna? Dont imagine one serving of guppy would cause bloat.

[Scrup]

Ok added some plants and tried to take some pics. Also got a video.

[Scrup]

adding them helps...

excuse the glare the 225G is right across the room.

19015

19016

19017


here is the video, came out darker than the actual tank is.
aNBsgmoPMzQ

[lowlight]

Thats an awsome tank. Wait until the plants fill in and it is stocked, wow.

[Scrup]

Quick update, got the fish in, everyone is well settled, Ph is a steady 8ish. Its a terrible mishmash of fish, but its working. Should work better once I get a few more in the tank though. I did order a new pump (1200GPH vs 660) it just wasn't pushing what I was hoping for. also threw in two koralia 2's and man, they are GREAT at keeping debris moving, without blowing things all over the place. Really impressed by these.

The live plant idea was dumb, I know.

They were all shredded within 3 hours...of course, except for the hornwort. Because nothing likes hornwort.

Hard to get good pictures of this tank, will play with it this weekend a bit.

Almost a FTS, I just liked the glowy eyes all over the place.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/952/DSC017812.JPG


Syno being creepy...
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/952/syon.JPG

Some new jewels. They fit in really well.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/952/DSC01655.JPG

[Scrup]

AND I just learned how to post pictures so they can be clicked on and enlarged! Yay learning!

[Scrup]

Note to self, a rio 20HF is not only twice as powerful as the rio 10HF, but it makes a whole lot more noise if its not padded. And if while adjusting said pump to shut it the #$%^ up, it pops off of the hose and points straight up, you get a face full of water.

good times.

[lowlight]

Looks like it is all coming together nicely. Great job.

[Scrup]

Well, M. Johanni became the new terror of the tank. Both my redtops and my auratus ended up in peices over the week. I managed to get the red zebra out of the tank before he was finished off and am now nursing him back to health.

Bummer. At least things have settled down a bit now. Little johanni was half the size of all the males he killed. All the little guys were getting in on the action too, taking swipes at them when they could. Gotta love Mbuna.

[Scrup]

Well, as an update, the experiment which was the built in filter, was an amazing success. Easy to maintain, worked like a charm, no noise aside from the pump hum, and the UGJ's worked perfectly.

Sadly, I will be tearing the whole thing down soon. While Mbuna were fun and quite entertaining, personally I am getting tired of having to separate them every few weeks and to keep restocking, as prices here just seem to keep going up on them. Taking my time finding them a good home though, as I do not want them suffering in someone elses tank. (the only offer to take them was someone wanting to put them in a 40G that had a peice of driftwood in the middle.:scry: ) The LFS said they would suffer the burden of taking them off of my hands (not offering store credit, but making it out like they are doing me a favor by letting me donate them and its a big inconvenience to them...), which also makes me sad as they keep them all in a 75G with no rockwork to speak of, and they are always looking torn apart and missing fins, usually have ich and fin rot as well.

Then, once all the concrete is removed, the fish rehomed, and a sump installed, I plan on making this a tanganikan tank. Will move my colonies of shellies into it, try and get some females for my one occi and my two brevis, and slowly stock it with other suitable fish. Stay tuned.

125G shelly tank. Awesome.

[SwordTaleLair]

Read through your adventure. It was a wonderful experiment. Good luck in the future....

STL.

[CassieLEO]

Awesome!! Good luck!!!

[boogernose]

The LFS said they would suffer the burden of taking them off of my hands (not offering store credit, but making it out like they are doing me a favor by letting me donate them and its a big inconvenience to them...), which also makes me sad as they keep them all in a 75G with no rockwork to speak of, and they are always looking torn apart and missing fins, usually have ich and fin rot as well.

That would be enough for me to never return to their store. And I would have taken the fish elsewhere. I'm sure there's plenty of people that would have paid shipping costs to get them.

[Scrup]

Alright, someone will be by on saturday to pick up the cichlids!

In the process of building a stand for this tank. The one it is on is starting to slowly sag on the edges, it is a dresser after all, not a stand.

Plus it gives me room to use a 55G as a sump, meaning this thing will have awesome filtration, and not have it take up part of the tank.

Bought all the pvc needed for making pvc overflows. Glass is tempered so I can't drill it. Just going to use some designs I found online for some easy and simple overflows without using a box.

Got all the cuts done for the stand last night and got two of the legs put together. The whole thing will be made of 2x4's, since they only cost $1.90 for 8', and I already have tons of scrap from a desk I built.

With any luck the stand will be done by saturday, and when I get the fish out, I can get it setup the same day. Then just have to buy some lace rock, scape the tank how I want it, and in go the shellies!

[Scrup]

This time around I plan on going with some multies, I will try the brevis I have, since they are males it should not be a huge problem unless the multies take over the entire tank, which should take a few months at least.

I have 65 shells freshly boiled and ready to go, I plan on ordering a few dozen more. Found a great supplier online of whales eye and shark eye shells. If anyone is interested let me know, I can get you the link.

Going to move the trets over for now, and look into getting a comp and some cyps. Still in the early planning stages. The only set things so far are the multies, brevis, and trets(which will probably be rehomed in the future.

I also have a friend who recently spawned her kribs offering me some, wondering how well they would mix in this bunch, being riverines and all.

[Scrup]

So, I now no longer have any Mbuna. A very polite gentleman just spent the past hour helping me catch them. One hour to catch thirteen fish. wtf.

Concrete backgrounds with caves were a TERRIBLE idea in this aspect.

almost done building the stand. Hoping to get it done today and setup this evening, buy some lace rock tommorow and get the tank cleaned out.

Of course, I still have yet to catch those skunk loaches. That will probably require draining the tank almost all the way and breaking the concrete apart, as they know every little nook and cranny, and are impossible to coax or force out.

[Scrup]

Ok, letting the glue dry on the stand. Sadly it looks like the wood warped a little. Hoping it will even out with the weight of the tank, as its just a little higher in one corner, and when I sit on it it goes back down.

Just looked around and realized I have all the parts I need to make a new canopy for this tank as well, so I just started building that too! Gonna have 8x 120W spiral cfls. About halfway done, taking a break to warm up a bit.

[Scrup]

Talk about a productive weekend. finished the stand, removed the background and most of the substrate, just need to skin the canopy and that is finished, and I cut all the pvc and dry fit it for the overflows.

Now to finish getting the substrate out, clean the silicone remanants off of the glass, find someone to help me move it to the new stand, buy some rock, setup the sump, leak test, and add the fish.

Not sure I will get this all done on sunday...

[domjd05]

lol it's a lot of work isn't it? I torn down my 125 planted tank w/sump and had my 75 up and going (transfered fish plants and substrate) in 8 hrs.. didn't get done until 2am, then had to work at 7am lol.

[Scrup]

Just made a deal. My fried is on his way over to help me move the tank in exchange for borrowing my carpet cleaner and shop vac to clean out his very gross car.

I figure a shop vac filter is cheaper than a broken tank!

[Scrup]

Filling it now, seems to be about 1mm off level, pretty sure the styrofoam will compensate for that.

Right?

[Scrup]

out with the old-

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/aji12_17/DSC02500.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/aji12_17/DSC02499.jpg

In with the new!

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/aji12_17/DSC02501.jpg


And these guys patiently waiting for their new home.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/aji12_17/DSC02502.jpg

I will with any luck have this running next weekend!

[Sarkazmo]

I dunno... I think I'd have sold the tank after all that work. I'm sure there'd have been several people interested in it to keep Mbuna. Just seems a shame to see all that work go to naught.

That being said, I'm excited to see the Shellies! :) I love mine and find them to be very entertaining to watch.

Sark

[Scrup]

Then I would have had to replace the tank as well as everything else, and I don't have a truck, plus its snowing daily here, so that in itself would have been an insane hassle. Not to mention I can't post anything on craigslist.

Plus, I'm too stubborn to let a little thing like concrete get in my way.

[Scrup]

Got the eggcrate cut to size and put in, and the overflow tested, works great. Still have to make another though, since I screwed up one elbow and the part in the tank is at an angle and sticks like 4" off of the back:scry:
Oh well, PVC is cheap.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/DSC02516_Large_.JPG
A word to the wise, skunk loaches can do some damage. At first I thought he had just scraped me a little, but the bugger got me pretty good after all. Had to put some antibiotics on it, was starting to get infected. It is a lot deeper than it looks.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/DSC02513_Large_.JPG
Deceptively cute.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02504_Large_.JPG

If the weather holds out and I can get off of work at a reasonable time I will try and buy some lace rock tomorrow.

[Scrup]

Got it mostly finished this weekend. Taking the day off, I am spent. The spiral cfl fixture I made is working better than I had hoped.

Still have to plant the plants and fine tune the return line as its generating too much current and is a bit noisy. Probably gonna go with a spraybar. Other than that, this puppy is done for now.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02533_Large_.JPG

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02534_Large_.JPG


I highly suggest this type of overflow for non drillable tanks. Super cheap and they work great.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02518_Large_.JPG


Sneaky devil, looked just like a shelly from above the tank...Gonna be fun fishing that girl out.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02527_Large_.JPG

[Scrup]

Oddly enough, I picked up some sinking/floating cichlid pellets, and the shellies all love them, however the trets cant eat them. They end pup juggling it like a soccer player. Downside to a teeny mouth I suppose.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02520_Large_.JPG

Hoping to pick up some cyps possibly this weekend. Shopping around though, the LFs near me wanted $30 each. Ouch.

Brevis turf
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02529_Large_.JPG

My single occy already started building his soon to be harem, if I can find any more of them.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02523_Large_.JPG

[SwordTaleLair]

Looking real good scrup!

STL.

[hockeyhead019]

Looks good scrup! I like the plumbing job lol gets the job done and I guess that's all that matters... regardless the tank looks fantastic!

[Scrup]

Thanks!

The plumbing works great, passes power outage test without any problems.

Added in the jewels, the syno, and the skunk loaches. All of them are getting along pretty well, although the skunks keep picking fights with the multies.

One concern is that syno is just big enough to eat some of the juvy multies, anything under half an inch can fit in his mouth, though he does not seem really that interested in them, and they steer well clear of him. Might be moving him to the big tank though, as it is still making me pretty nervous.

Might be taking a field trip into a neighboring town to pick up some cyps next weekend. Stupid holidays getting in the way of fish.

[Scrup]

Just tested the water and am happy to report 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and under 10 nitrates!

I am also starting to think some of the trets have deformed mouths. Seriously deformed. Comparing pics online to mine, there is a huge difference. one or two of them are also growing offcenter, a little to the side of the head, which is anything but normal in non flounders as far as I know.

I'll see if I can grab some pics real fast.

[Scrup]

No luck on the pics, can't get the focus to play ball and dont feel like hassling with it, but two of the smallest ones have some deformities, that is for sure. Noticed it a little when we got them, but it is becoming more pronounced now that they are growing. One of the poor guys has a weird gill plate issue too. Poor little guys. Hopefully they can still have long lives.


Just tested the PH- 8.0

Not as high as I was hoping with the cichlid substrate and the aragonite in the sump, but it will do for now.

Planning on setting up an aragonite reactor, slowly bringing it up a little and giving me a bit more of a buffer, plus when I do water changes It should help prevent PH swings. Gonna just use an UGF hooked up to a water pump, force the water up through the aragonite.

Was also tinkering with the idea of a FSB more today. I have a meeting tomorrow, plenty of time to sketch plans :P

With any luck this weekend I will get the sump planted with some fast growing nitrate munching stuff. Thinking anacharis, giant duckweed, and possibly hornwort, though there may be too much current for that.

[Scrup]

Bah. One of the brevis has popeye. My thought is its an injury as it looks like the other one stole his shell (actually moved it).

Now to figure out how to treat popeye in a shelly.

[CrazedMichael]

out with the old-

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/aji12_17/DSC02500.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/aji12_17/DSC02499.jpg

In with the new!

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/aji12_17/DSC02501.jpg


And these guys patiently waiting for their new home.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f111/aji12_17/DSC02502.jpg

I will with any luck have this running next weekend!

Love the algae on the budda's head. Just like real hair!

BTW, tank looks great. Only I'd sort out the stand a bit... It's kinda skeletal, but it's your tank, your choice.

[Scrup]

I plan on buying some black curtains and putting them up. My 225 looks the same. Another reason I built it so high, I can just buy the same size cloth for both of them.

[Scrup]

Well, almost got the swordtail out last night, had her in the net and she jumped out back into the tank. :s

Looks like the brevis's popeye is subsiding. He moved from a shell to the rockwork, so removing him without tearing apart all the rockwork would be next to impossible.

Everyone else seems to be settling in.

And an interesting note, two of my skunk loaches..I think they are gravid.

the color has changed to a very very dark and pronounced coloring and they are fattening up quite a bit...

Could just be one of those things though. I have been tossing in snails every few days for em...

[Scrup]

two quick shots, they seemed to be showing off this morning.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/DSC02572_Large_.JPG


This guy did not like the camera at all. Everytime it got close he would display like this.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/DSC02562_Large_.JPG

[Scrup]

Gotta say, it's so nice having cichlids that dont hurt when they bite. The little occy is a fiesty one, was not a fan of the water change at all, and is not afraid to let my hand know it.

Good times!

[Scrup]

Well...looks like I got my first real algae outbreak! Staghorn from the looks of it.

Not once when there were mbuna was there any signs of it, and now that I have carnivores....go figure. And it had to be the one I find the ugliest...any other kind is totally fine looking IMO, but now everything is just brown and hairy. Awesome.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/medium/DSC02720_Large_.JPG

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/DSC02715_Large_.JPG

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/DSC02713_Large_.JPG

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/DSC02717_Large_.JPG

[Scrup]

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/500/DSC02714_Large_.JPG

[SwordTaleLair]

Have you thought about a couple of SAE's to keep it in check? I found this info, may be redundant info, but just a suggestion:

http://www.aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/

Good luck Scrup.

STL

[Scrup]

Not gonna put SAE's in harms way. If I get attacked in the tank, not sure how a helpless guy like an SAE would fare. I did toss a few of my giant ramshorn and a handfull of normal ramshorn in the tank, cut down on the lighting times, and will be changing the spectrum on the lights later this week once I feel good enough to leave the house. That should help a bit.

[Scrup]

Well, I now have two separate swarms of multi fry!

YAY!

Pics to come!