# My 240 build thread in progress.



## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

So I have been asked a couple of times to make a build thread. Since tonight my wife and I decided to keep our 6 week old grand daughter, in order to give her parents some much needed sleep, I have plenty of time to try to get it worked out to show you all what I am working with. This all began with a craigslist add for a 240 gallon aquarium for $1200. It took me probably 2 weeks of talking my wife into it but after she agreed my son and I took a 2 hour drive in an old gas guzzling Ford to pick it up. The trip cost $150 in gas  . Anyway, after getting it home and unloaded, no easy task by the way, here is what I had.










It takes up one entire wall of my living room. =D>

Before adding anything I had to reinforce the floor just to be safe. I was told it would hold by the manufacturer of my home but I usually don't go by what people say. This picture is of my helper under the house with me.










After about a days worth of cleaning it finally began to take shape.










Then came the plumbing. The sump is 70 gallon with a pondmaster 2400gph pump.


















I decided to go with pool filter sand for my substrate. I did not want complete white and my local pool place just happened to have two different kinds available. It took 200# to get it right but this is what I ended up with.

















kinda shows the texture.

So after a couple weeks working here and there this is where I am at.
















she had to be in the picture...she worked too 

In the next few days I will be making a background (stacking rocks) and finding some big rocks to put in there and just mainly scaping the whole thing. I also have to install the water change system, not sure if Ill get that done right away though. I have decided to go with lake malawi haps. I was going to do Mbuna but I really just like the size and metallic color of the haps. I will post more as I do more. Sorry bout getting a late start on a thread but sometimes I just get busy doing and forget.


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## Vidockq (Aug 9, 2011)

Keep it up kojak76, its looking better and better.


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

I will be following with great interest and jealousy!

Kevin


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

The plan for the background is to use something similar to what mueller did with his 240 (thanks for the idea btw) but less permanent. I am a pretty good rock stacker, blame that on a few years in the landscaping business, so I have decided to use smaller stack able rocks along the entire back of the tank. I am not sure If I will mortar the rocks or not though, mainly because I would have to fill and drain the tank a few times to wash the concrete, and I feel confident that I can get good results without doing so. I go today to look at rocks and will be posting pics along the way.


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## Steveboos (Dec 23, 2011)

That tank is awesome!! I want a 240 now after seeing just how long that tank is!! Great job on the pickup!

How bout a black background on there just for a little added contrast in the cracks of the rock background?


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## ryencok3 (Feb 25, 2012)

opcorn:


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

opcorn:


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well, rocks and glass do not mix well as it seems. I was placing rocks in the tank today and one which was still wet slipped out of my hand and caught just the edge of the center brace..well it cracked. This brace is one of 3 that cross the tank and is directly in the center. It has 2 pieces of glass a bottom piece and a thicker one on top of it.










Only the bottom piece is broken, but on a high note I got the rock in. It was a pretty big rock.

On the upside though the rock is in and its probably my favorite rock in the tank at this time. Ill get a picture of it later. Anyway I think that with only the bottom piece being broken I am going to just add another piece of glass or aluminum under the damaged section (I have the aluminum on hand right now so can do that now). I was just wondering if you think that will work.

Just a note though that I recently noticed. My tank has 3 braces, the ones shown everywhere I have looked only have 2 in the same places that the two unbroken ones are on my aquarium. So I might not even actually need that brace. Not that I am taking it out but just letting you all know.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

I would replace the brace....with glass. You can go to your local glass and window company and get a piece cut and polished for around $10. Silicone that sucker in and you will be good to go. I would not use aluminum.


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

most likely thats what I will end up doing I just am not really sure how to go about getting it out without breaking something else in the process. I could most likely just break it the rest of the way and try to pull it out a little at a time.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

kojak76 said:


> most likely thats what I will end up doing I just am not really sure how to go about getting it out without breaking something else in the process. I could most likely just break it the rest of the way and try to pull it out a little at a time.


Just be careful and wear gloves. I would also put something underneath to make sure you catch all the glass shards.


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## nudge (Aug 1, 2011)

awesome tank, lookin forward to more updates


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

nudge said:


> awesome tank, lookin forward to more updates


Thanks, I would be putting water in it this weekend had it not been for slippery fingers...  :lol:


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## Steveboos (Dec 23, 2011)

Yeah i'd just take exact dimensions to the glass shop and ask them what the best way to install would be. Silicone would work fine in most cases, especially considering how many center braces your tank has.


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## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

opcorn: this is going to look amazing


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Steveboos said:


> Silicone would work fine in most cases, especially considering how many center braces your tank has.


Yeah that's what I was thinking as well, it seems like a lot considering that most I see only have 2. I called the manufacturer to see what they said and I actually have a couple options. Replace it, remove it and get a bigger center cover (it turns out there is 3 there to make it have 4 smaller covers than 3 large ones, all their new tanks only have two so that people can put larger decorations in....like rocks maybe lol. Anyway ill probably just replace it.


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## JAyliffe (Feb 29, 2012)

That tank looks fantastic :drooling: I can hardly wait to see it with the fish in! opcorn:


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well the silicone is drying on the repair and I have had a change of heart about my proposed background. I am now buying one. I am going to get an aquaterra foam background probably in the next couple of months. I am still going to get stuff ready and just put it in later. I have all the rocks for stacking and will be doing that this week, after my 12 hour weekend shifts that is. I will upload pictures as I go to keep you all updated. Keep in mind though, since I am getting a complete background that I am not painting the back since the background will be going in soon. I will probably have water in it the first part of the week and start cycling. Fish should be in about a month hopefully.


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## JAyliffe (Feb 29, 2012)

kojak76 said:


> Well the silicone is drying on the repair and I have had a change of heart about my proposed background. I am now buying one. I am going to get an aquaterra foam background probably in the next couple of months. I am still going to get stuff ready and just put it in later. I have all the rocks for stacking and will be doing that this week, after my 12 hour weekend shifts that is. I will upload pictures as I go to keep you all updated. Keep in mind though, since I am getting a complete background that I am not painting the back since the background will be going in soon. I will probably have water in it the first part of the week and start cycling. Fish should be in about a month hopefully.


OMG I just checked out their site :drooling: Looks like I might have to start saving too... Those backgrounds look phenomenal!! 60" x 32" is not going to be a cheap one though.. I wouldn't want to have to pay for yours either :lol:


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

Great tank, and I guess you agree with me, there is nothing that compares to a 240g....they look awesome, you have to put all that work, but at the end, in everybody's mouth there is a WOW!!!, and yours is looking awesome.....I want to see more pictures...


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

IYeah, it is alot of work..especially when someone is pushing you to get water in it already. For me i am one that takes my time and just kinda do it as i feel like, the wife not so much. But oh well its my project it will get done as i do it. And yeah, i am now glad i didnt settle on a 125 when I actually should have. I love having so many options on decorations and fish. Oh an the background for my tank will be just at $500 but, they are awesome looking and you just can not stack rocks and get the same effect imo.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Great choice on the 280 my friend.


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## Shahlvah (Dec 28, 2011)

I just did mine, though I am doing it to set discus there so the setting is very different to what you will do. it has been quite a project and I am setting this tank for my husband that is in Afghanistan serving for 15 months, This is a project so he will have something to look forward to entertain his mind after the war, so I was looking for a very peaceful setting, something very soothing.
My smaller tank upstairs (100g) is a Mbuna tank, and is full of action. In the 240 we will have discus, cardinal tetras, glowlight tetras, diamond tetras, some fancy plecos and corys.
In this link are some picture of the big tank. I just finish cycling it and I am just starting to stock it.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=241950


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Ok so after a loooonnng weekend at work I finally got to work on my tank when I got off work this morning........I ran out of rocks. I did go ahead and put water in it though so that I can begin cycling it. I can always add rocks...so this is what it looks like so far. I hope you guys/girls like it as well. One side note though, I never knew how much stress could be relieved stacking rocks and, the feeling I got when it was full and I turned on the pump and saw everything that I had been doing finally go into action.




























Can you pick out the rock that caused a setback?

Sorry the pics are hazy. The water hasn't settled yet but, I had to get all of you some pics out there before I headed to bed for the DAY :roll: . Anyway thanks for everyone's input like the title says it is a work in progress.


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well progress on the tank is going well. I put a black background on it and got all the filter media in place. I am having some trouble finding the scrubbie pads atm. The problem I am having in my area is that none of the LFS around here carry much more than gold fish and betas...seriously. When I go in and start talking about what I am doing or building they get this far away look and have no clue at all...especially when I mentioned fishless cycling. But with all the minor setbacks the tank is now cycling and hopefully I will be able to get through it with no hitches in the road. :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well, I like the tank right now the way it is but I will be going on vacation and traveling right through the middle of the US on the way to Las Vegas for vacation and to finally get married to the woman I have been with for the last 10 yrs....I see this as an opportunity to get decorations lol. I will be traveling through Texas on the way there so I plan on looking at some Holey rocks at some landscaping places if I cannot find some laying around in a timely manner. Also on the way back we will be traveling through Colorado. So I can just pick up rocks everywhere lol. I will probably only go with similar rocks but having the choice and being able to just pick and choose makes the trip that much funner...oh yeah and Im getting married..priorities right? I just wonder what my wife will think when I finally tell her that I really want to make a trip to Salt Lake City to visit a fish farm.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

You know you are suppose to pay attention to your new bride not rocks and landscaping places along the side of the road :lol:


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

JimA said:


> You know you are suppose to pay attention to your new bride not rocks and landscaping places along the side of the road :lol:


Is that written somewhere? Im sure there is a loophole if it is. We have been together 10 yrs so...well ill probly still get in a little trouble but hey you only get a rock hunt like that once in a while :lol: :dancing:


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

My wife told me I touch the tank more than I touch her. I said thank god I can't sleep with the fish then :lol:

The only thing I will say about your tank and it's prolly why you will be rock hunting, but the flat slate type rocks don't work well with the big one. If you can find some more rocks like that it would be much better.. Hard to tell but is it a psc of some kind of holey rock?

Overall I like the look though.


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Not sure what kind of rock it is, I just found it at the landscaping yard in one of those huge bins. It was the only one with a hole in it though. I like the flat rock look also but yeah its going to take alot of those to finish it off. It looked like I had alot until I got them into the tank. The original plan was to kinda lay them against the back and cover it but I liked it better to stack them. I am going to be getting a slimline background I think so that will make it a little easier in the long run. However, I still am undecided on my background at this point. Right now its just going to be black.


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## Jayse (Feb 15, 2012)

kojak76 said:


> Well, I like the tank right now the way it is but I will be going on vacation and traveling right through the middle of the US on the way to Las Vegas for vacation and to finally get married to the woman I have been with for the last 10 yrs....I see this as an opportunity to get decorations lol. I will be traveling through Texas on the way there so I plan on looking at some Holey rocks at some landscaping places if I cannot find some laying around in a timely manner. Also on the way back we will be traveling through Colorado. So I can just pick up rocks everywhere lol. I will probably only go with similar rocks but having the choice and being able to just pick and choose makes the trip that much funner...oh yeah and Im getting married..priorities right? I just wonder what my wife will think when I finally tell her that I really want to make a trip to Salt Lake City to visit a fish farm.


Well here's some holey rock info for you if you happen to go near San Antonio. I was just recently out there and took my son to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch ( drive through and have the animals come up to your vehicle, feed em, etc)... Anyhow all along the sides of the roads for about 5-10 minutes before the entrance was laying to my amazement, big ole chuncks of holey rock!! Not on anyone's property just country rural roads. In the Ranch there was TONS of it just lying around, I wanted to get out and grab a bunch, and probably would have braved the animals if not for me getting to Texas by commercial airline. So drive through, stop for a couple hours at that place if your into that stuff and pick up some free holey rock off the side of the highway.


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well I am still in the process of working slowly on the aquarium. I sold my pontoon boat...last boat I had, in order to soften the blow of being off work for at least 3 months in the near future and to help fund more things on the tank. Since I will be waiting till after my vacation to stock it that allows more time to play around with a few things before fish go in. Then while I am off work Ill have all the time in the world to do stuff, once the pain from surgery goes away. Anyway just wanted to let you all know that its half steam ahead lol.


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

:dancing: :dancing: :dancing: My ammonia finally dropped :dancing: :dancing: :dancing: I thought that was never gonna happen...not zero yet but only at .25 but at least it dropped. I would say itl be 0 by tomorrow...man thats a long wait.


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well I had some time without my 3 yr old helper today so I decided to work on my sump setup...Seems when she helps we usually both end up far wetter than when we start. Anyway, I purchased 6 pounds of ceramic tubes and 4 liters Seachem Pond Matrix, I really am liking the pond matrix btw. I did not want both of these just sitting in the refugium so I decided on a way to make it a little neater. I purchased 2 8x8 crates from the hobby store they look similar to miniature milk crates and the work great, you can stack them and the holes are huge for water circulation. I also wanted sort of a wet dry system so I placed 8" air stones x2 in each one. Yes..I have pictures 










This is the air stones inside the mini crate.



















Add Media to both










Goes inside sump



















and this is what I ended up with. I really think it will work out well for my situation. There is quite a bit of air and water circulating inside and around both media boxes. So still a work in progress. The thing I like most about this is that at any time I can add more boxes of different media if needed...until I run out of sump space that is. More to come as i do it..Hope your enjoying it.


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well I have done a few things here and there while waiting on the cycle to finish up, and since I have at least a month before I add fish to my tank anyway. I figured I would share my progress up to this point.










So this is my living room center piece. Everyone who comes to my house loves the look so far. I know that the plants kinda don't belong in a tank that is going to house a few large to medium haps but it was a trade off with the interior decorator,aka wife to be, have to keep her happy. As for the stock list I so far have decided on Haplochromis Fuscotaeniatus and dimidiochromis-compressiceps and Exochochromis Anagenys. There will be more to come but these three species I am sure of. Still not sure if I am going to do males and females or all male, for me it's been tough decision to make. I think I want to see these fish eventually become parents but, I also like the idea of having a very full of color all male setup as well,


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Looks very nice, I like that layout better than the last one!! The rocks to the right stand out a bi,t but the tank has some nice flow to it..


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Very NICE! :thumb:  :thumb:


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Thanks, I means alot getting some approval. The look will change again I am sure. I am looking into getting a back to nature slimline background, probably the canyon one to match the rocks I already have. As for the right side sticking out a bit, I know, I ran out of rocks. That is all together about 200# of flagstone fragments and the big rock weighs in at about 60#. I will be adding more rocks here and there so still a work in progress....is work ever really done on these things? I know mine will most likely always change so we will always have something new to look at.


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Just a small update. My filter with the matrix and ceramic tubes is working great. I convert 3ppm ammonia and nitrite in just under 24 hours. I am on my way to Vegas in a week so afterwards there will be a shopping frenzy for my fish. I cant wait....


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

kojak76 said:


> Just a small update. My filter with the matrix and ceramic tubes is working great. I convert 3ppm ammonia and nitrite in just under 24 hours. I am on my way to Vegas in a week so afterwards there will be a shopping frenzy for my fish. I cant wait....


 That probably depends on how much you win or lose in Vegas :wink:


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well I decided to go ahead and purchase new lights for my tank before I go on vacation just in case I don't have enough when I get back. I purchased 2 48" high output 216 watt light bars with 4 lights in each, gonna see if I can blind my fish lol. Also has the led moonlight for nighttime light, although I have read these LEDs don't usually do a whole lot for viewing at night. If all goes very well in Vegas maybe I'll win big enough to buy more.....or lose so much I have to sell the tank to make the house payment.....


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## ryencok3 (Feb 25, 2012)

Any updates on your stocking yet? Did the Vacation go well?


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Well vacation went great, almost got a very large fine from taking a few medium sized rocks but ended up with a slap on the hand and having to put the rocks back on the ground while a federal officer watched. We ended up going all the way to the west coast to Dana Point Cali. Anyway, I have began stocking and will get a stockllist and a few pics as soon as I get a little extra time. Oh, the wedding was awesome. Got married in the back of a pink caddy in vegas..had a blast.


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## bullzi (Mar 20, 2012)

Lovely lovely set up there. Cant wait to see fishes in it. Great going.


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## genecr (May 29, 2012)

very nice tank and aquascape. the fish will love it :wink:


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## kojak76 (Feb 13, 2012)

Ok so I finally got some time to post what I stocked my tank with. This is my initial stock and will change as time goes on. The fish I have now are getting along great but they are are relatively small right now about 3 inches or so.

Copadichromis Azureus 2 females 1 male
Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus 2 females 1 male
Otopharynx Lithobates (zimbawe rock) 4 (hoping to get a harem)
Chilotilapia Rhoadesii 1
Placidochromis Johnstoni 1
Placidochromis Electra 1 male
Protomelas sp. "Spilonotus Tanzania" 1
Placidochromis milomo 1
Nimbochromis Sp. Venustus 1 (female that was supposed to be a male...)
Nimbochromis livingstonii 1
bristlenosed pleco 4	
yellow lab 3

I will get pics this week of the tank sorry for not posting sooner, been really busy since I got back from vacation.


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