168 Usg 3Ft Cube - 'the Hidden Cove'

[england]

nelly, your right, it is missing something. It should be in my room is what its missing.

Sauce

 

[ChilliPepper]

Boris has finally got fed up of being bossed around, and actually fought back at the GT tonight. He is hanging around at the top as that's where the food comes from

No one is hurt, and I hope it doesn't prove to be a regular thing, but I am glad Boris has finally stood up to her.

Little Sev is wisely keeping out of it!

 

[ian]

Nelly's right, its also missing a small boy. So...if you can get the sauce and boy sorted we'd be a lot happier.

 

[ChilliPepper]

The mood Boris is in tonight, he'd eat the boy with HP sauce on top

 

[ChilliPepper]

Got some video stills, not very good pics, will have to get the DSLR sorted out I think.

Front view

Side view

 

[ChilliPepper]

I wasn't happy with the lighting at all, basically 2x24w just wasn't sufficient for a 3ft cube. Too much water to get through/cover, and too much depth at 2.5ft.
So I bought another controller yesterday, plus bulbs and reflectors, and my lovely OH fixed it all for me. A very difficult task as the hood is incredibly difficult to get off in the corner, and we had a challenge with the wiring. However we got it sorted and I now have 2x24w and 2x39w bulbs. When the 24w need replacing I will replace them with 39w as well as the controller is 39w, so can do 24w and 39w. We put the smaller bulbs at the back and the bright ones at the front.

I also got two more pieces of wood, that add the height I desired into the tank. I wanted to break up the area in the middle as it was just a battlefield for Bo and the GT. I always envisioned a centrepiece anyway, a real statement in this unusual tank.
So we arranged the bits, took out one of the old bits which we will try and fit in the 3ft, but if not then it will be put up for sale. The new bits look awesome, will get some photos later tonight
We also got two more plants, which really help to make it look more natural.

The tank looks really great now, very happy with it. The fish are enjoying it, the scrapping between Bo and GT is lessened as they are not always together now because of the layout of the tank. The new Sev looks even better under the new lights, really orange.

I also added an airstone, this is in the opposite corner to the output flow from the filter, so loads of flow and movement in the tank. Looks very much like the flow of a river from the top, which the fish are all enjoying a lot.

I am expecting a little leak of tannins as we didn't soak the wood for long, so the tank will only get better as the water gets crystal.

Off topic slightly, but I also got 6 Rainbow fish and a pair of A.agassizi for my 50g. The Keyhole and Ram were very shy since all the others were taken out, but this has livened the tank up no end and the Rainbows are wonderful. Look great even with the light off. The Apistos are teeny tiny still, but hopefully will be happy in there. All fish ate, which all my new fish do when I first get them, so I take this as a great sign of encouragement

 

[hamfist]

SOunds great ChilliP !!

Really looking forward to some new pics.

 

[walkers101]

wow what a nice set up

 

[ChilliPepper]

Photos, not very good I'm afraid!

(Excuse the fireplace reflection here )

It's a work in progress getting a decent photo The water is a little brown because of the wood, but this will go in due course.
As you can see we have aquascaped it so that it looks like the 'tree' is growing into the water. The top part reaches the water level almost We used a small plant to cover the divide between the pieces of wood, so it looks like one bit

 

[hamfist]

Looks brilliant !

A great improvement. Bet that wood wasn't cheap.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Looks brilliant !

A great improvement. Bet that wood wasn't cheap.

Thank you, and no, the wood wasn't cheap I have spent a small fortune on this tank

The other bit of wood is going up for sale now though as it would take too much volume up in the 50g.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Taking inspiration from hamfist's hood conversion, we decided to do something similar. Basically the hood is far too heavy to lift, and that needed to be sorted out.

As it so happens, the Arcadia controller I bought decided to break (after 3 weeks light use ) so we have to send it back for a refund. So we thought about ways to turn this to our advantage, and thought that some overhead T5's would be much better.

What we did was remove the actual hinged lid, but kept the original trim around the top of the tank. So the tank looks exactly the same from eye view as it did before, however with no heavy lid. This was much easier than we thought it would be.

We tried using the clips it comes with to mount on the sides, but felt that light was lost due to it being further away from the water. Also from where we sit the light would possibly be in our eyes a bit. So we removed these and mounted them inside.

We have now got 2 T5 canopies, so 4 x 39w of light.

The tank looks MUCH better now. Water still a little stained from the wood, but this is clearing, so it will look even better once cleared.

Here's the tank from above now:

 

[hamfist]

A good idea ! You can now do all your tank mainenance with that trim in place ! I'm guessing those light units just lift off ?

I actually did my first big gravel vacuum and water change yesterday, since changing the top of my tank. It was a breeze ! And so easy to get all the glass cover plates out to give them a good clean too.

 

[meguro]

i tihnk i have the exact same t5-ho unit. i dont know how hard it will be for u to find new tubes for it, but its almost impossible for me to find 3ft tubes. ive actually considered getting rid of the 3ft unit and replacing it with a 2ft as the tubes are just so much easier to source in that size.

i also think that for a tank with no live plants, 4x39w t5-ho is overkill. unless u have a small photoperiod of an hour or two lol. although im unsure how much light can penetrate 2.5ft depth, so perhaps its a decent amount of light for ur particular tank

 

[ChilliPepper]

i tihnk i have the exact same t5-ho unit. i dont know how hard it will be for u to find new tubes for it, but its almost impossible for me to find 3ft tubes. ive actually considered getting rid of the 3ft unit and replacing it with a 2ft as the tubes are just so much easier to source in that size.

i also think that for a tank with no live plants, 4x39w t5-ho is overkill. unless u have a small photoperiod of an hour or two lol. although im unsure how much light can penetrate 2.5ft depth, so perhaps its a decent amount of light for ur particular tank

Easy to find any bulbs I want. Either in local LFS or online. Not sure why you're having difficulty? Are you in the UK?

4X39w is not overkill for this tank. Plants are a waste of time with large cichlids, and with that level of light I'd need serious CO2 injection to keep the plants going anyway. It is a very deep tank, and it is only with this level of light that I am achieving my desired effect. Obviously I'm the one who owns the tank, so I can be trusted to know what light levels I need for it

A good idea ! You can now do all your tank mainenance with that trim in place ! I'm guessing those light units just lift off ?

I actually did my first big gravel vacuum and water change yesterday, since changing the top of my tank. It was a breeze ! And so easy to get all the glass cover plates out to give them a good clean too.

It looks so much better

Yeah they just lift off. My boyfriend has modified the ends again today so they are resting on the hood, but all of the light is below the trim, so no light is lost.

Very easy for maintenance. The coverglass can be moved without taking out the lights. We give it a good wash every couple of weeks, but don't find it gets that dirty, just water marks which are unavoidable really.

So glad to say goodbye to that heavy lid