RRasco
Fish Fanatic
I had started several threads over the last 6 months which of course were all in DIY section which is why I am posting this here. I wanted to share with you guys everything in a single thread and say, I'M DONE!
Tank Details
Filtration: XP2, Maxi-Jet 900 w/pre-filter, Maxi-Jet 400 Powered Surface Skimmer
Air Pump: None
Heater: None
Lighting: 2x55 CFL, 6700K
Substrate: 50lbs Pool Filter Sand
Rocks: DIY Concrete
Background: DIY Concrete
Plants: 4x Anubias Hastifolia, 2x Cryptocoryne Lutea, 3x Amazon Swords
Feeding: 2x Daily Spirulina
Other: 2x Malaysian Driftwood, Coralife Digital Power Center
Water Parameters
Temperature: 78°
pH: 7.0 (injecting co2)
gH: 13
kH: 18
This is my first cichlid tank ever! My friend got me into them back in August and ever since I have been planning and building this project bit by bit. I have built pretty much everything except the tank itself. Stand, hood, concrete background and rocks, CFL retrokit, inline reactor for co2, and unique UGJs. Over this time I have had several threads which I will now stitch together.
First off, here are pictures of the entire setup. Four pieces, stand, hood, and 2 side panels that hide the equipment from the side of the tank and double as support for the hood as seen in second picture.
Stand tutorial:
55 Gallon Stand w/10 Gallon Internal:
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=160047
I have not completed a tutorial for the hood. Although, the thread pertaining to it can be found here:
Matching Hood for Stand:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=170865&hl=
I decided long ago that this tank would have to have a concrete background. I did a practice one on my 20 gallon which was based off of BinaryWhisper's (cichlid-forum.com) 55 gallon BG. This background had a different design. It was inspired by throw_this_away's (cichlid-forum.com) 15 gallon BGs. Needless to say, I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I can't wait to do a bigger badder one when I get a 125G! For all the details of the background, visit the thread on it.
55 Gallon DIY Concrete Background:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=167663&hl=
I have planted this tank despite the herbivorous appetite of Malawi. I attached one Anubias to the Malaysian driftwood. I am injecting co2 at the rate of about 2bpm. I have a 5lb tank that is on the timer with the lights and runs only when the CFLs are on. Here is a picture of under my stand with the reactor, filter, tank, and timer. The first picture is kind of dated, but all it is missing is the moonlight DC adapter which I will get to later and can be seen in the second picture.
One set of UGJ is not really under gravel, rather is behind the left side of the background aiming down at the sand. There are 3 jets here powered by a Maxi-Jet 900. The other is powered by my XP2, also with 3 jets they are located amidst the clutter of rocks on the right side of the tank.
Here is are pictures of the jets before the project was completed. (while you can still see them)
I also decided that I wanted to add moonlights to this tank. I have used cold cathodes on computers before and they seemed like the cheapest easiest way to achieve this. $10 and 4 days later I had 2 sets of cold cathodes (blue). I then went to Radio Shack and got a multi-output DC adapter (which I spoke of earlier) and spliced them together. Running them at 12v was too bright for the fish, great for my viewing, but I have to think about the fishies too! So I think 7.5V or 9V is what I have it set to right now and it is perfect. Pictures follow.
Other things I have done is add a surface skimmer powered by a Maxi-Jet 400 to prevent the protein from building up. There is little to no surface agitation in my tank since I am injecting co2 I don't want to lose it all. In the first stages of setting up my tank theres was a ton of protein buildup on the surface and it was just plain nasty. The skimmer does an excellent job of removing it and not creating much surface agitation, hence keeping the co2 in the water. Here is a picture of the filter intake/out and the surface skimmer. This was before is was on the MJ400, it is shown on my XP2 in the picture.
I am also dosing the tank with Seachem Flourish; Comprehensive Supplement and Organic Carbon.
So in conclusion after months and months of planning and building and bleeding and yelling and indecisive decisions and waiting....I have finally completed my 55 gallon mbuna project. I must have changed stock lists 10 times on this tank, but I am very satisfied with my stock now. All of the fish are beautiful and I cant wait for them to grow up! Especially the Blue Reefs, I already have one that is bigger and coloring very nicely. All in all I couldn't be happier. After all my long hard work, its is finally DONE! Now I can finally enjoy the fruits of my labor!
I will leave you with a few pictures of the fish right before I put them in the tank followed by a short video that was shot about 10-20 minutes after they were released in their new home.
This is my favorite Blue Reef already:
And the video...
AVI - 26MB
http/s170193323.onlinehome.us/Aquatic%20Pics/MOV00510.avi
WMV - 1.2MB
http/s170193323.onlinehome.us/Aquatic%20Pics/MOV00510.wmv
Thanks for looking!
-RRasco
Tank Details
Filtration: XP2, Maxi-Jet 900 w/pre-filter, Maxi-Jet 400 Powered Surface Skimmer
Air Pump: None
Heater: None
Lighting: 2x55 CFL, 6700K
Substrate: 50lbs Pool Filter Sand
Rocks: DIY Concrete
Background: DIY Concrete
Plants: 4x Anubias Hastifolia, 2x Cryptocoryne Lutea, 3x Amazon Swords
Feeding: 2x Daily Spirulina
Other: 2x Malaysian Driftwood, Coralife Digital Power Center
Water Parameters
Temperature: 78°
pH: 7.0 (injecting co2)
gH: 13
kH: 18
This is my first cichlid tank ever! My friend got me into them back in August and ever since I have been planning and building this project bit by bit. I have built pretty much everything except the tank itself. Stand, hood, concrete background and rocks, CFL retrokit, inline reactor for co2, and unique UGJs. Over this time I have had several threads which I will now stitch together.
First off, here are pictures of the entire setup. Four pieces, stand, hood, and 2 side panels that hide the equipment from the side of the tank and double as support for the hood as seen in second picture.
Stand tutorial:
55 Gallon Stand w/10 Gallon Internal:
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=160047I have not completed a tutorial for the hood. Although, the thread pertaining to it can be found here:
Matching Hood for Stand:
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=170865&hl=I decided long ago that this tank would have to have a concrete background. I did a practice one on my 20 gallon which was based off of BinaryWhisper's (cichlid-forum.com) 55 gallon BG. This background had a different design. It was inspired by throw_this_away's (cichlid-forum.com) 15 gallon BGs. Needless to say, I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I can't wait to do a bigger badder one when I get a 125G! For all the details of the background, visit the thread on it.
55 Gallon DIY Concrete Background:
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=167663&hl=I have planted this tank despite the herbivorous appetite of Malawi. I attached one Anubias to the Malaysian driftwood. I am injecting co2 at the rate of about 2bpm. I have a 5lb tank that is on the timer with the lights and runs only when the CFLs are on. Here is a picture of under my stand with the reactor, filter, tank, and timer. The first picture is kind of dated, but all it is missing is the moonlight DC adapter which I will get to later and can be seen in the second picture.
One set of UGJ is not really under gravel, rather is behind the left side of the background aiming down at the sand. There are 3 jets here powered by a Maxi-Jet 900. The other is powered by my XP2, also with 3 jets they are located amidst the clutter of rocks on the right side of the tank.
Here is are pictures of the jets before the project was completed. (while you can still see them)
I also decided that I wanted to add moonlights to this tank. I have used cold cathodes on computers before and they seemed like the cheapest easiest way to achieve this. $10 and 4 days later I had 2 sets of cold cathodes (blue). I then went to Radio Shack and got a multi-output DC adapter (which I spoke of earlier) and spliced them together. Running them at 12v was too bright for the fish, great for my viewing, but I have to think about the fishies too! So I think 7.5V or 9V is what I have it set to right now and it is perfect. Pictures follow.
Other things I have done is add a surface skimmer powered by a Maxi-Jet 400 to prevent the protein from building up. There is little to no surface agitation in my tank since I am injecting co2 I don't want to lose it all. In the first stages of setting up my tank theres was a ton of protein buildup on the surface and it was just plain nasty. The skimmer does an excellent job of removing it and not creating much surface agitation, hence keeping the co2 in the water. Here is a picture of the filter intake/out and the surface skimmer. This was before is was on the MJ400, it is shown on my XP2 in the picture.
I am also dosing the tank with Seachem Flourish; Comprehensive Supplement and Organic Carbon.
So in conclusion after months and months of planning and building and bleeding and yelling and indecisive decisions and waiting....I have finally completed my 55 gallon mbuna project. I must have changed stock lists 10 times on this tank, but I am very satisfied with my stock now. All of the fish are beautiful and I cant wait for them to grow up! Especially the Blue Reefs, I already have one that is bigger and coloring very nicely. All in all I couldn't be happier. After all my long hard work, its is finally DONE! Now I can finally enjoy the fruits of my labor!
I will leave you with a few pictures of the fish right before I put them in the tank followed by a short video that was shot about 10-20 minutes after they were released in their new home.
This is my favorite Blue Reef already:
And the video...
AVI - 26MB
http
/s170193323.onlinehome.us/Aquatic%20Pics/MOV00510.aviWMV - 1.2MB
http
/s170193323.onlinehome.us/Aquatic%20Pics/MOV00510.wmvThanks for looking!
-RRasco
love the DIY background
