# Setting up a new 260g



## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

I was planning for ages to upgrade my 85g to a larger tank.
Moving into a new apartment gave me the oportunity to achive this goal.
Of courese, having an understanding wife was a critical part in taking over the living room for my beloved hoby.
The tank is 79'/28'/28'
Here's a short photo log of my new 260 gal I set up together with some good friends from Aquazone. 
first pics were taking with an old cellular so sorry about the quality.

The PLAN:









Tank stand before paint:









Tank finally inside the apartment (wasn't easy to get through the door):









Tank on the stand:

















Bulkheads and overflow:









Filtaration and water replacement in place:









Filling 'er up:









Finally set up:
Entrance view









Living room view









Side view









Ocupants:
Gibb. Kapampa









Red Fin Comp (was sold to me as fire fin) and Black Calvus









Filtaration:
Eheim Pro III
Heating:
Jager 300W (for now)
First ocupants:
10 Gibberosa Kapampa
3 Red Fin Comp.
3 Black Calvus
1 Brichardi
Lights:
4*36W T5
2*36W T8 actinic

Ofir


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## Addicted_2_Africans (May 19, 2005)

Very nice tank and set-up! Congrats! :thumb:


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## cole (Oct 25, 2006)

Maybe you can build me a wooden bucket to catch the drool as it falls from my mouth. 

Very very nice dude!


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## fishboy11 (Jul 13, 2005)

Very nice setup. The only thing i would do is get some Syno's in there, either multipunctatus or lucipinnis!


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## sawboy (Sep 18, 2006)

Major jealousy here.......................


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## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

Thanks for the nice comments..
I am thinking on adding some synos but they get very pricey here 

Ofir


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## weed_hopper (Apr 15, 2007)

You cant see this but my face is showing insane jealousy envy.....lol Congrats on convincing the wife to allow you to set that beauty up.


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## saber2th (Aug 2, 2005)

Very nice job on the stand and set up!


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## redzebra24 (Sep 28, 2005)

WOW that tank looks like a piece of art GREAT


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## icechimpee (Feb 7, 2007)

Just out of curiosity...what floor in your apt are you on?


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## mikmaze (Feb 6, 2006)

very nice looking setup, but forgive my ignorance, just one filter? WOW, I heard eheims were good but able to keep a 260 clean ? I am impressed.


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## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

Thanks!
I was going for more of an artistic look thank a natural look, since my wife should love this tank too (otherwise it is out... :wink: ).
The building is concrete, and the tank stands close to a big concrete beam.
The filter is enough for now, but I may need to add filteration power when I add more fish.

Ofir


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## stangr6 (Jul 20, 2006)

tyr ordering the synos online i did at rivercityaquatics they where much cheaper


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## DavidTK (Jul 10, 2006)

Very nice! Talk about a great room divider.


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## fishjeep (Nov 11, 2005)

Wow :thumb: ,could you tell me where/who made your tank,thanks


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## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

fishjeep- my tank was made by someone in Israel, so I'm not sure it can help you... 

Ofir


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## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

Thought to update this old thread after more than a year of the tank running.
You can see that some fish were added  , and the filtaration was upgraded and now contain Eheim proI in addition to the proIII.

Night to day shift lightning (2 actinic blue 36W T8 bulbs):


















Same light, only with flash:









Full light (4 54W T5 bulbs):

































Ofir


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## Guest (Aug 4, 2008)

I love how you had the overflows put in the center of the tank and then hid them in the rocks...

Where do you live? Your location said "IL" and originally I thought you meant the state of Illinois but then I saw in another post that the tank was made by someone in Israel... So now I'm assuming you are in Israel but wanted to make sure...

Beautiful tank though...

~Ed


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## Guest (Aug 4, 2008)

Are those yellow labs in there? If so, they'll be snacks for the Gibberosa soon... I've seen pics and heard of Frontosa/Gibberosa biting labs in half...

And nice Monodactylus argenteus! I always love to see tanks with those (or Monodactylus sebae) in there. I originally thought of putting them in my new tank but decided against it when I heard how rambunctious they can be when they become full grown.

How does your wife like the tank now? I think it makes a great room divider... If I had space in my house I'd set up a tank like that...

~Ed


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

So are those your filter intakes coming through the bottom of the tank?


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## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

Marduk - thanks for the comments. Fixed the location as you can see :wink: 
Tha labs are large, and not afraid of the fronts for now. I hope it will go well, as all my fish are peacfull and have a large space to manuver in. I am more afraid for the realy small ones (Lelupis, Pulchers etc) but still keep my hopes up for them.

The wife loves the tank BTW, and the Monos are "her" fish (she loved the Sebaes I had in the previouse tank and insisted on monos in this one too) 

MidNightCowBoy - Yes, those are the ProIII intakes.

Ofir


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## Guest (Aug 4, 2008)

Ofir said:


> Marduk - thanks for the comments. Fixed the location as you can see :wink:
> Tha labs are large, and not afraid of the fronts for now. I hope it will go well, as all my fish are peacfull and have a large space to manuver in. I am more afraid for the realy small ones (Lelupis, Pulchers etc) but still keep my hopes up for them.
> 
> The wife loves the tank BTW, and the Monos are "her" fish (she loved the Sebaes I had in the previouse tank and insisted on monos in this one too)
> ...


Out of curiosity how efficient are those bottom intakes, especially with all the rocks around them, at sucking up debris? Just curious. Why didn't you just install a side overflow with a sump? That would've worked a lot more efficiently than any canister filter and a lot cheaper too...you could've made a standing pvc overflow or made a glass one (silicone panes of glass in the tank).

If you wanted to (and if the canisters aren't efficient enough at filtration...they must be though because your tank looks clean and your fish are still alive) you could still add side overflows for a sump you'd just need to break down the tank, plug up the canister bulk heads and on the side drill holes for the overflow and return pipes...

I'm sure you're fine with the canister filters, I was just wondering how efficient the filters are since their intakes are at the bottom of the tank hidden by rock piles...

~Ed


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## mbhw (Feb 10, 2003)

Mazel Tov on a gorgeous tank! Eventually the Leleupis will disappear to predation, but it really looks awesome.


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## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

Marduk - the tank is in my living room and I didn't want to take any chances with leaks/noises etc which may come with sumps.
The intakes are efficient enough, and are surrounded by rocks from one side only.
The tank is clean despite the fish load so I don't have any complaints for now.

mbhw - thanks. The lelupis are fine for now and I hope most will survive. They started breeding 1 week after the big male was introduced so I hope some fry will last.

Ofir


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## Oscar Madison (Mar 24, 2008)

**** that is a beautiful tank :thumb:


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## F8LBITEva (Nov 9, 2007)

great tank! I love room divider aquariums. Id be too busy watching that fish that I wouldnt even watch the TV!!


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

Don't those Monos require brackish water when they are mature?


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## F8LBITEva (Nov 9, 2007)

Just a suggestion, I think your tank would look cool with all the rocks on one side tapering down to an wide open side of the tank. This is what I did in my 75G:

http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/nn16 ... CF0025.flv


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## Guest (Aug 10, 2008)

MidNightCowBoy said:


> Don't those Monos require brackish water when they are mature?


I believe it is the reverse with them... I don't know if that's true, just for some reason that comes to mind that they like brackish water as juveniles.

Either way they can adapt to freshwater fine. Fish don't necessarily have to be kept the same way they are in the wild (water chemistry-wise)....for example Malawi cichlids can certainly survive and breed between a pH of 7-9, same thing with Tanganyika cichlids...

I'd be more concerned with how well the water quality is rather than the water chemistry when keeping fish...that's just my opinion though. If my tap water wasn't acidic (when I test it every so often it is between 5.8-6.5) I wouldn't be using Seachem lake malawi buffer to get it up to 8.4...

~Ed


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## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

MidNightCowBoy - the monos require brackish water when adults, but many hobbyists had a good success with them in fresh water with high PH for many years. Since they don't breed in captivity anyways (excluding someone who bred Sebaes) it is hard to judge, but they seem to be doing great.
F8LBITEva - thanks for the suggestion, but I like my design for now :thumb: 
Marduk - My tap water PH usually starts at 7.9 -8.0 so I am good in this part. I also have the automatic water changing system so water quality is good.

Ofir


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

glad i looked this far down the index page.your tank is a stunner :drooling:


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## ricardoghost (Sep 20, 2008)

belter of a tank :thumb:


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

yah a true beauty. Do you think those monos will be good in a freshwater tank?? Usually it shortens their life and health living in freshwater


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## Ofir (Sep 4, 2002)

Thanks for the nice replies!
As said before, the Monos are in by some kind of default.
I have plans to replace them with some other type of mid water column fish, but for now they add nice movement and shape to the tank.

Ofir


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