madmark285
Fishaholic
My LFS is still selling 75 gallon tanks for $100, time to start planning my next system, a Mbuna tank.
My primary focus when aquascaping a Mbuna tank will be to create as many 'caves' as possible. This is a highly territorial rock dwelling fish that wants a place to call home. In my previous tank, the Mbuna were quite happy on doing the work of digging out the gravel/sand to make a home, nothing else to do in a tank. So I want to create an environment where the Mbunas have many areas they can dig out the sand/gravel and create a home. How do this is quite simple, first I will place a piece of PVC pipe with a section cut off:
Then place a large rock on top as shown below:
Now the Mbunas can literal dig out under the rock creating a nice little home they can call their own. This design may require some walls to prevent the gravel/sand from pouring in, you can do this by using the pipe sections cut off:
another option is some screen material:
Here are a couple quick prototype (I used an old drawer), the first shows the rocks sloping upward.
Filled with some crush coral (most likely I will use sand).
Here is one with no sloop:
And finally, filled with crush coral:
Now this is still a work in progress but to build a wall, add pipes of increasing height:
Now add some rocks:
Filtration
My Mbuna aquarium will be a peninsula design with a sump trickle filter. Approximately 20 inches (50cm) of the tank will be in a corner. My current plans is to put the overflow on the right side of the tank (in the corner) with rock structure rises to the top of the tank. For the return lines, these need to run along the bottom of the tank, my current thought is to create a type of reverse flow undergravel filter. This is a work in progress.
This makes sense, polyurethane glues will cure by a chemical reaction, once complete the atoms are bonded together. My first interest in Gorilla glue for this project, cover your rocks with a substrate material such as sand to give your aquascape a consistent look. My original source for rocks was landscaping rocks at my former employer. Unfortunately they removed all the rocks. I will not pay $2/lb for rocks at my local fish store, that just too expensive. One rock source near me is a drainage culvert near my house. These are standard boring construction rocks with a dull gray color.
To create a rock, put on some disposable glove, spray some water on the rock and cover it with the Gorilla glue. Toss the rock into a bucket of substrate and fully cover it, wait a few hours before removing. Gorilla will foam up while curing; the thicker application will foam up more. It will also remove any sharp jagged edges on the rocks.
Below are some examples:
The one on the left is a drainage culvert rock, the middle one is covered with pool filter sand, the one on the right used pool sand and a PetCo fine black gravel. With this method, you can make all your rocks look similar.
A closeup of the middle rock:
The darker area were created by not apply the any Gorilla glue, it's the gray from the rock. Lots of potential using this idea, more work to be done. Finally, the piece of pipe support the rocks covered with pool filter sand:
Hopefully the pipes will blend it when the Mbuna dig up the sand.
Well that's it for now, all opinions are welcomed.
My primary focus when aquascaping a Mbuna tank will be to create as many 'caves' as possible. This is a highly territorial rock dwelling fish that wants a place to call home. In my previous tank, the Mbuna were quite happy on doing the work of digging out the gravel/sand to make a home, nothing else to do in a tank. So I want to create an environment where the Mbunas have many areas they can dig out the sand/gravel and create a home. How do this is quite simple, first I will place a piece of PVC pipe with a section cut off:
Then place a large rock on top as shown below:
Now the Mbunas can literal dig out under the rock creating a nice little home they can call their own. This design may require some walls to prevent the gravel/sand from pouring in, you can do this by using the pipe sections cut off:
another option is some screen material:
Here are a couple quick prototype (I used an old drawer), the first shows the rocks sloping upward.
Filled with some crush coral (most likely I will use sand).
Here is one with no sloop:
And finally, filled with crush coral:
Now this is still a work in progress but to build a wall, add pipes of increasing height:
Now add some rocks:
Filtration
Gorilla (polyurethane) glue
From PlantedTank forum, I found this quote from a company rep:This makes sense, polyurethane glues will cure by a chemical reaction, once complete the atoms are bonded together. My first interest in Gorilla glue for this project, cover your rocks with a substrate material such as sand to give your aquascape a consistent look. My original source for rocks was landscaping rocks at my former employer. Unfortunately they removed all the rocks. I will not pay $2/lb for rocks at my local fish store, that just too expensive. One rock source near me is a drainage culvert near my house. These are standard boring construction rocks with a dull gray color.
To create a rock, put on some disposable glove, spray some water on the rock and cover it with the Gorilla glue. Toss the rock into a bucket of substrate and fully cover it, wait a few hours before removing. Gorilla will foam up while curing; the thicker application will foam up more. It will also remove any sharp jagged edges on the rocks.
Below are some examples:
The one on the left is a drainage culvert rock, the middle one is covered with pool filter sand, the one on the right used pool sand and a PetCo fine black gravel. With this method, you can make all your rocks look similar.
A closeup of the middle rock:
The darker area were created by not apply the any Gorilla glue, it's the gray from the rock. Lots of potential using this idea, more work to be done. Finally, the piece of pipe support the rocks covered with pool filter sand:
Hopefully the pipes will blend it when the Mbuna dig up the sand.
Well that's it for now, all opinions are welcomed.
I like the idea of building your own light. For my tank, 2/3 of it will be a peninsula, having a single shimmer light source over it would be cool looking.
