# 110 gallon DIY Background build



## mightyevil

After I built my first DIY background which incorporated caves, I felt very confident that I could make another.

Here is my first 




I got this great deal on this tank for $100.00 and it included stand, tank and a half @$$ canopy.









Sanded the stand and canopy and painted it black, then water tested the tank. Sorry stand is backwards but you get the idea...









So after that was done, I started building the background, inspired by Morfeus007's first background build, I wanted to create something like his for my second build, but the wifey wanted something different so I went with his design but at the same time I also made it my own at the wifeys request...









Tested the fit...









Filled gaps with "Great Stuff"...









Added a couple more pieces of styro for depth...









I started to carve the rocks out of the styro...

Left side...









Middle...









Right side...









Full shot but not done yet...









Okay so then I was done carving and I did the "Fit Test", everything looked good...









Here is a picture without the flash as to show the detail in the styrofoam...









This is where I am at right now and I plan to start the cement today or tomorrow. Stay tuned for the finished product! :thumb:


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## morfeus077

What's going behind the middle section? It's looking good man! :thumb: 2 things I would offer; first, make your cracks and crevices deeper than you think they should be as they are going to fill up quickly and not look as deep as you thought they would. Second, not sure of how many pieces you cut it up into, but make sure you can be careful when you go to put them in after coated with cement - I have nicks in my first one from that very thing.

...and another thing, be sure to put plenty of coats on it!

Keep up the good work and I'm glad that I could inspire you!


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## mightyevil

morfeus077 said:


> What's going behind the middle section? It's looking good man! :thumb: 2 things I would offer; first, make your cracks and crevices deeper than you think they should be as they are going to fill up quickly and not look as deep as you thought they would. Second, not sure of how many pieces you cut it up into, but make sure you can be careful when you go to put them in after coated with cement - I have nicks in my first one from that very thing.
> 
> ...and another thing, be sure to put plenty of coats on it!
> 
> Keep up the good work and I'm glad that I could inspire you!


Oh, behind the middle section is the overflow, it had a hole in it that the previous owner cut out for some reason...









So I fixed it up with some acrylic and actually made the overflow bigger. I know its ugly but its gonna be covered by the background anyway...









The cracks and such are deep, I too learned that from my first build. Some are deep enough and some are not but some are expected to be covered, I found that even though some get covered they still give a nice look because you can still tell that there is a crease there.

I also cut the background in 8 or 9 pieces, I dont recall, but I will be able to put them in with no problem.

How many coats did you put on your first one? I put either 4 or 5, cant remember.


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## mightyevil

Well I started the cementing, first I put two coats with no pigment, third coat went on thick and I added "buff" pigment color with some charcoal. At this point I am just experimenting with the colors so I will change the color on the next coat. I am only working on half of the background, the other half is sitting in the aquarium.


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## mightyevil

So I finished the next coat, the color is interesting because its a dark gray but when the light hits it you can see it as a dark brown in some areas...I would keep it if I was sure that the effect will remain the same in the aquarium but I doubt it.

Here are the pictures...

Here is how it will look in the aquarium...









In the above picture it seems that the pieces dont fit snugly but its because of the anlges for the overflow...once it the tank they will fit nicely...


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## dreday

wow very nice. i like that you made 8-9 pieces. how are you going to seal them together or are you going to just seal them to the back of the tank???


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> wow very nice. i like that you made 8-9 pieces. how are you going to seal them together or are you going to just seal them to the back of the tank???


I think that I will just use magnets to hold them against the aquarium, that way I can take it off after a while if I get bored of it.


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## mightyevil

So I played with the colors and Voila! I got some nice shades and picked up a technique.

Here are the pictures:

With Flash









No Flash









The picture does not do it much justice but even the wifey liked it...so cant complain!


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## dreday

looks good. like the colors.

and you and your magnets...... you need to get like 50 for this beast. :dancing:


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## mightyevil

The pictures dont do it justice  . Thanks Dreday


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## tripn

looking good cant wait to see what it looks like with fish in front of it! :fish: :fish:


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## mightyevil

tripn said:


> looking good cant wait to see what it looks like with fish in front of it! :fish: :fish:


Thanks Tripn, I cant wait either  .

Here is an update...not very interesting as it is the other half of the background that is being coated, the suspense is not there anymore since you guys know what its going to look like already  ...


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## mightyevil

Okay, so after a few days of standby, here is the update.

I have been a little busy so I didn't get too much accomplished but I did coat the whole background again. I knew I was not going to be able to get the same color for the last coat, so I decided to save myself some time and grief...

Here it is re-coated with black cement and some black spray paint for the deep shadows.

Left side








Right side








Full angle shot









Here is the last coat, well, it was supposed to be the last coat until my son came along and destroyed some portions of the background so I will be fixing those parts.

Left Side








Right side








Full angle shot


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## morfeus077

Looks good man! Can't wait to see it under water... still not oing to be as cool as mine though! :lol:


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## mightyevil

morfeus077 said:


> Looks good man! Can't wait to see it under water... still not oing to be as cool as mine though! :lol:


Thanks!

Maybe not as cool but you know...bigger is better! :lol:


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## mightyevil

So, I didn't love the way the background looked with the color so I decided to redo the whole thing over today. You know what they say! "Third time's a charm" so I finished and I don't think it could of come out better than this.

Right side









Left side









Full front shot









All I need to do now is wait. I am thinking about sealing it with something so the last layer does not fall apart and ruin the color but I don't know what to use. Anybody has any ideas or suggestions? :-?


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## dreday

cant help with a sealant but it looks bada$$$$$$. the color looks nice. should be great when wet and having a little algae on it.


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> cant help with a sealant but it looks bada$$$$$$. the color looks nice. should be great when wet and having a little algae on it.


Thanks Dreday...I cant wait to see it with some sand and plants.


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## mightyevil

So here is the finished product in the tank and with lights on.

Here it is with all lights on...









Here it is with actinics only...









Stay tuned to see how I apply the magnets and see if they work. Additionally, tune in later to see it under water and with sand and plants!


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## dreday

looks good. i like the depth it has being curved in the front.

also is that a180? and what lights do you have, t5s i am assuming.


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> looks good. i like the depth it has being curved in the front.
> 
> also is that a180? and what lights do you have, t5s i am assuming.


Thanks  and no, that is a 110 gallon but the tank right behind it is a 180, you can barely see it if you look carefully. The light fixture belongs to the 180 gallon and you are correct, they are T5s (Nova Extreme Pro 72").

Seems like you are my only fan :lol: . Thanks for tagging along! :thumb:


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## mightyevil

So here is the progress of today, while waiting for the magnets to arrive and the background to cure. I decided to sand and polish the outside of the tank. There were some very annoying scratches in the front that I just had to get rid of because like I said they were ANNOYING. There are also some bad scratches on one of the sides but I didn't bother too much with them since people don't usually stare at a tank through the side. Anyway, here are some pictures, not much but might as well. 

Angle shot, one more grit to go (at this stage it is sanded with 2000 wet/dry sand paper)









Full front shot, sanding all done (at least I thought, this is 2500 grit wet/dry) **EDIT**:Sorry this picture is worthless, I didn't realize it was the bottom...drrrrrrr :lol: 









Here is one of the scratches in the front that I had to go back and fix...









Here is the tank all done, sanded and buffed...









Here it is again all done with my little devil in front, he wanted me to take a picture of him so you guys are stuck with looking at it and that is why its posted  ...









The inside of the tank is scratched pretty bad but you cant tell when the water is in so I don't plan on breaking out the elbow grease for that, not worth the elbow grease...trust me!


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## madmax666

Your first bg is VERY interesting looking and it looks like the fish love it! I can wait to see the final product! :drooling: Is that euro bracing??


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## mightyevil

Thanks Madmax666! The fish do love the caves. The tank does have a Euro Brace, a very thick one at that, compensates for the not so thick acrylic.


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## dreday

yea i am following because soon i will start my own. i hope to make it a permanent addition to my 125 and not mess it up like my last one. well it was not really messed up just not sturdy enough to hold out.

the dry lock is new to me so i am going to do some reading on it to see whats up. my design is pretty similar to yours although i have to corner overflows that i will be covering up with the bg. that is new for me and should be a little tricky. other than that i just need to get going. every time i get the money to start i spend it.

like now, going to buy a 6 stage rodi unit. got a good deal but using up all my extra cash right now. gonna use it for my 55g sa planted but also want to hook it up to my 125 in the sump to use as an auto-top off. so i got lots that i am planning but have only begun a little bit.

anyway i like watching your project grow. cant wait to see the end product. :thumb:


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> yea i am following because soon i will start my own. i hope to make it a permanent addition to my 125 and not mess it up like my last one. well it was not really messed up just not sturdy enough to hold out.
> 
> the dry lock is new to me so i am going to do some reading on it to see whats up. my design is pretty similar to yours although i have to corner overflows that i will be covering up with the bg. that is new for me and should be a little tricky. other than that i just need to get going. every time i get the money to start i spend it.
> 
> like now, going to buy a 6 stage rodi unit. got a good deal but using up all my extra cash right now. gonna use it for my 55g sa planted but also want to hook it up to my 125 in the sump to use as an auto-top off. so i got lots that i am planning but have only begun a little bit.
> 
> anyway i like watching your project grow. cant wait to see the end product. :thumb:


Oh, that sounds interesting, I would do a sort of concave background for that type of tank. I think that will give its lots of depth :wink:

Let me know what you discover on the dry lock, I am still looking into the possibility of sealing my background.

*EDIT*: Oh, the magnets are supposed to arrive on the 25th so I will not do much of posting updates until then.


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## mightyevil

Well, here is an update...yet again I get a huge deal, this time on another light fixture. I got a 60" Brand New T5 fixture 4 10,000Kelvin 39W bulbs with legs and hanging kit for $85 bucks! 

I will be hanging this fixture since the tank is 72" long and the fixture is 60".

I will take a picture of the fixture to post it as soon as I can. :thumb:


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## mightyevil

So, here is the picture of the light fixture, legs and hanging kit...


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## dreday

SCORE!!!!

nice deal.


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## mightyevil

:thumb:


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## mightyevil

I just got the magnets! I will start working on installing these today when I get home from work.

Here they are...









These suckers are STRONG! These are epoxy coated and for that reason safe to use in the aquarium, 34 lbs. of pull strength x2 because I will be using them in pairs.


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## dreday

nice.

they look large though. should leave a large gap behind the bg and the glass. you should seal it up so no little guys get back there.how im not sure... :fish:


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> nice.
> 
> they look large though. should leave a large gap behind the bg and the glass. you should seal it up so no little guys get back there.how im not sure... :fish:


I will make a hole as to make the magnets flush with the background and apply a good amount of silicone to keep them in place. There shouldn't be a space in the back if all goes well. 

I wasn't able to work on the background today because I just got off work and I am a little tired for that and might be the same tomorrow. Hopefully start working with it again on Thursday. :thumb:


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## BoostedX

Man.. That is a great looking background. I dont come in the DIY forum very often but I will be following this to the end. I would love to give this a try sometime. Just need to find a tank now lol.. Good job keep up the hard work.. It will be up and running before you know it. :thumb:


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## mightyevil

Thanks BoostedX, I do have a "deadline" I have to finish before my fish are dead! :lol: "deadline" :lol: sorry...I got carried away...yeah, my cichlids are fighting for territory, they have outgrown the 55 gallon and are killing each other so I hope to finish very soon.

Good luck getting a tank...There are good deals going around Craigslist right now :thumb:


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## buffro

where did you get the magnets and could you please update us when you get this in and let me know how it works I just got an acrylic and am looking at a doing my background soon


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## mightyevil

I got the magnets at magnet4less .com, they were pretty expensive but I dont want my background to float so I got the ones I thought were adequate.

I usually update it daily so yes, I will update you.

I hope your background goes well. :thumb:


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## mightyevil

Check this out! That is how mine will look but my magnets will be covered in black epoxy and are smaller but I am assuming that they are stronger.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=67104

I think Mishon used regular magnets which obviously works but since they are not epoxy covered, I am assuming that the magnets will corrode or start rusting in the long run.


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## mightyevil

I got off of work late but I said to myself "If I don't do something today, then its gonna take longer for the tank to be up and running" so I put the magnets in today and spray painted the stand, doors and canopy again where there were some imperfections.

Here are the pictures.

























Obviously the small black dots are the magnets, again they are about 34 lbs of pulling force each and will be used in pairs so 68 lbs of pulling force where each magnet is. The background better stay put :wink:

Once the background is in, I will start the plumbing for the sump.


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## BoostedX

mightyevil said:


> I do have a "deadline" I have to finish before my fish are dead! :lol: "deadline" :lol: sorry...I got carried away...yeah, my cichlids are fighting for territory, they have outgrown the 55 gallon and are killing each other so I hope to finish very soon.
> 
> Good luck getting a tank...There are good deals going around Craigslist right now :thumb:


That outta be some motivation for ya. It is tough to do stuff with work and all the other **** we all have going on in out lives. But I hope to start a little project this winter.


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## mightyevil

Oh yeah, that is motivation and trust me I also want it up ASAP for my own little enjoyment! 

Winter would probably be the best time to start as far as concrete goes, cause it cures slower.


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## mightyevil

So, the background is not in yet but I went to the LFS and bought a cheap rio pump for my return. I will use that and a couple of 350 Magnum canisters as returns as well. I also made my way down to Lowes and picked up some PVC and fittings. I have a 4" bulkhead that I could not find pluming for at Lowes. Anybody got an Idea where I could get it locally?

Anyway, here is the pump and the manifolds I made with the PVC...









Pump is a Rio HF12 750GPH.

I will put the background in today and try to find the 4'' plumbing to start curing and cycling the background and tank.


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## dreday

they should have 4" stuff there. not sure what you are looking for though. a 4" bulkhead is a bit big dont ya think?? it will move about 1800gph maybe...

good luck though, maybe check out ace or online to get an idea of where to go. sometimes you have to find a wholesale warehouse place to get it, or maybe a construction site.


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> they should have 4" stuff there. not sure what you are looking for though. a 4" bulkhead is a bit big dont ya think?? it will move about 1800gph maybe...
> 
> good luck though, maybe check out ace or online to get an idea of where to go. sometimes you have to find a wholesale warehouse place to get it, or maybe a construction site.


Thanks for your suggestions Dreday! 

Yeah, HD did have what I needed I just wasnt looking for exactly what I needed. I went to a plumbing warehouse which was close to where I work, I never knew what type of warehouse it was until now. :thumb: This is my first time working with PVC so I didnt know what I needed, I think I did pretty well though for a first timer.

So I put all the plumbing together and everything looks to be as planned. I hooked up the Rio HF12 and started testing. I did not hook up the magnums but I am expecting for that to go as planned as well.


























When I started breaking everything down, my sump overflowed because my water level was too high and because my overflow box is leaking so the water level in the display side was the same as the overflow, I guess the silicone did not work at all...I have to go back and fix that. I also need to shorten my overflows in the sump so there is less water in there so when the pump goes out the sump can take the water volume. There are also some other minor details to work out so I will be busy with it this weekend. :thumb:


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## dreday

so u have 4 returns??

yea i never used a bulkhead like that for a drain before. and did you drill the glass your self?

and good thing you tested it outside, flooding is one of the majors causes for divorce i hear.... :lol: :lol:


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## buffro

man don't shorten your pipes you need to just make duro's pipes they are much quieter.
http://www.rl180reef.com/frames.htm and with these stand pipes you won't drain your tank any more. like 2" of water from your over flow will run into your sump and that will be it


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> so u have 4 returns??
> 
> yea i never used a bulkhead like that for a drain before. and did you drill the glass your self?
> 
> and good thing you tested it outside, flooding is one of the majors causes for divorce i hear.... :lol: :lol:


 :lol: :lol: :lol:, oh yeah I tested outside, my theory has always been to test outside, no matter what it is! :thumb:

I figured out the leaking problem and it had nothing to do with my overflow but with the design of the tank. The original filtration system it had was an internal trickle filter sort of like in nano reef systems. But it is all fixed now and I am expecting it to be flawless. 

This is it...









But the previous owner sabotaged it for some reason.

I have three returns but the middle one splits so I guess you can say four.

I did drill the tank myself, it is acrylic so not too hard to do. :thumb:


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## mightyevil

buffro said:


> man don't shorten your pipes you need to just make duro's pipes they are much quieter.
> http://www.rl180reef.com/frames.htm and with these stand pipes you won't drain your tank any more. like 2" of water from your over flow will run into your sump and that will be it


Buffro, my drain is the big fat pipe you see on the right of the picture, it sort of works like a Durso IMHO. When I tested it out it was very quiet no gurgling sound at all, I hope it is the same when I have the Magnums running as well. I think it is so quiet because the bulkhead is 4". I will try to post a video when I test it again to try and show the noise level and I will be glad to hear your opinions after, whether it is noisy or not. :thumb:


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## MightyWarMonger

mightyevil said:


> Obviously the small black dots are the magnets, again they are about 34 lbs of pulling force each and will be used in pairs so 68 lbs of pulling force where each magnet is. The background better stay put :wink:
> 
> Once the background is in, I will start the plumbing for the sump.


What you will incounter with your BG is sheer force not pull force the weight it will hold on the sheer force is less than the pull force some were around 1/4 of it or so you would need to look it up to be sure


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## buffro

Hey I was at lowes today and I found a silicone with the acrylic that claims to bond to acrylic and it's mad eby ge and say's it's 100% silicone. I will be testing it tonight ot tomarrow and will report back. If wanna get some and try it I found it at the glass/acrylic area at lowes and it's ina little red squeeze tube I didn't see any of the bigger tubes like you would use in a caulk gun.


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## mightyevil

MightyWarMonger said:


> mightyevil said:
> 
> 
> 
> Obviously the small black dots are the magnets, again they are about 34 lbs of pulling force each and will be used in pairs so 68 lbs of pulling force where each magnet is. The background better stay put :wink:
> 
> Once the background is in, I will start the plumbing for the sump.
> 
> 
> 
> What you will incounter with your BG is sheer force not pull force the weight it will hold on the sheer force is less than the pull force some were around 1/4 of it or so you would need to look it up to be sure
Click to expand...

I see, I will probably put the background in today and do a water test again, this time with all equipment in. We'll see how strong the magnets really are, I am tired of looking for info  . If it works, good, if not, the silicone will have to do. :thumb:


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## mightyevil

buffro said:


> Hey I was at lowes today and I found a silicone with the acrylic that claims to bond to acrylic and it's mad eby ge and say's it's 100% silicone. I will be testing it tonight ot tomarrow and will report back. If wanna get some and try it I found it at the glass/acrylic area at lowes and it's ina little red squeeze tube I didn't see any of the bigger tubes like you would use in a caulk gun.


I will try if I have to..only problem I see is that you have to squeeze it out and it will take a lot longer than a caulking gun, in a 110 gallon, one side will probably dry by the time I get to the other but then again I can just do it piece by piece.


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## mightyevil

The background is in and it held well with the magnets, I had a little trouble putting it in and cracked a few pieces so I dont plan on taking back off until it comes off for good. The magnums' seals are broken so I have to replace those. And I also modified the sump which did make it very noisy.

I will post pictures later today.


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## dreday

found this info on the drylok.... says before use in a fish pond to let dy for 1 week before use.

so i guess that mens it can last in a tank. also says it can be used in pools as well.

http://www.ugl.com/pdf/DRYLOK%20Masonry ... 0Sheet.pdf


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> found this info on the drylok.... says before use in a fish pond to let dy for 1 week before use.
> 
> so i guess that mens it can last in a tank. also says it can be used in pools as well.
> 
> http://www.ugl.com/pdf/DRYLOK%20Masonry ... 0Sheet.pdf


Great find :thumb: ! Will use on the next background, if there is one


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## mightyevil

Sorry for not being able to post some pictures lately but I have been using every second of my day to try and finish the tank and my workload at work but it is finally done:fish: . I put sand in and it is up and running. I have to do a water change tomorrow to try and get all the dirtiness off the sand. Will post pictures once the water is clear. :thumb:


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## Rick_Lindsey

Quick question... you mentioned you were planning to use your magnum350 as a return, does that mean you're planning to put the intake of the magnum in your sump, and the output of your magnum in your main tank? If so, I fear you may discover it doesn't work nearly so well as you expect... if not, then my apologies and carry on sir!

-Rick (the armchair aquarist, waiting for pictures so he can live vicariously through other people's aquaria)


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## mightyevil

Rick_Lindsey said:


> Quick question... you mentioned you were planning to use your magnum350 as a return, does that mean you're planning to put the intake of the magnum in your sump, and the output of your magnum in your main tank? If so, I fear you may discover it doesn't work nearly so well as you expect... if not, then my apologies and carry on sir!
> 
> -Rick (the armchair aquarist, waiting for pictures so he can live vicariously through other people's aquaria)


Yes, as a matter of fact it is in already and performing well. I never used the Magnums before, they came with my 180 gallon purchase (everything used). As far as I can tell they are moving water decently. I am using two Magnums 350 and one Rio HF 12 as returns. I will try and post a video and pictures later today.


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## mightyevil

Here are the promised pictures  :dancing:  :dancing: ...

Full front shot...








Zoomed front shot...








Shot from right side to show water movement, the first return is one of the Magnums 350...








This is one return from the Rio HF12 pump...








Here is the other Rio return...









The other Magnum is not set up yet, forgot the hose at home! 

Shot of the Magnums...








Shot of the sump...








Shot of some of the plumbing...








Shot of some of the magnets that are holding the background in place...









Thanks to everyone for watching, special thanks to the ones who commented and gave opinions and ideas :thumb: !

I will answer any questions for those who have them  .

Finally, I will post more pictures as the tank matures and the aqua escaping is in place.


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## Rick_Lindsey

Looking good, sir! Bravo .

-Rick (the armchair aquarist, who is surprised the magnums work with that plumbing setup, but hey, more power to ya!)


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## mightyevil

Rick_Lindsey said:


> Looking good, sir! Bravo .
> 
> -Rick (the armchair aquarist, who is surprised the magnums work with that plumbing setup, but hey, more power to ya!)


Thank you Rick, Maybe the Mags will give out soon I don't know, if they do, there is my reason to buy another Rio pump  .


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## dreday

very nice. i see you painted the pvc black. very custom. :thumb: :thumb:

looks good. and the magnets are holding steady??

i saw one lone auratus(?) in there. lol where are the rest of the fishes???

i got started today on mine, should take me about a month, no time. but thanks for your tips and new tactics. good job bud. =D>


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> very nice. i see you painted the pvc black. very custom. :thumb: :thumb:
> 
> looks good. and the magnets are holding steady??
> 
> i saw one lone auratus(?) in there. lol where are the rest of the fishes???
> 
> i got started today on mine, should take me about a month, no time. but thanks for your tips and new tactics. good job bud. =D>


Thanks Dreday, I did paint the PVC black for a cleaner look. The magnets are holding strong, the structure did move up about an inch but that was expected because I decided not to use the stoppers as it would look ugly. Sand got in underneath the structure and it looks nice, natural. I put in all my fish in there this morning and aqua escaped the tank as well. The lonely Auratus was my lab rat, seeing as how it survived the move everyone else went in as well.

Good luck with your background :thumb: ! Let me know if you need suggestions when you get stuck , if you get stuck  .


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## mightyevil

I went to a couple LFS stores to trade in my two Auratus and two Red Zebras but nobody wanted to give me anything for them so I just gave them away, they went crazy in the big tank and started biting everyone else. I got 3 more Aceis, 3 more yellow labs and 2 new Perlmutts. here are the pictures!

Sorry my picture taking ability sucks  !

















These are the Perlmutts...


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## dreday

wow looks great. really nice work.

time to get some more fish!!!! lol throw in a group or afras cobue or socofoli. either way the tank looks awesome. :thumb:


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## mightyevil

For those who would like to know...the stock list is as follows:

(2) Plecostamus
(1) Jack Dempsey
(5) Yellow labs
(4) Aceis
(2) Perlmutts
(1) Socofoli (I think)
(1) Unknown Blue cichlid



dreday said:


> wow looks great. really nice work.
> 
> time to get some more fish!!!! lol throw in a group or afras cobue or socofoli. either way the tank looks awesome. :thumb:


I like the Cobues but I only like the males, the females look boring and I want something that will breed in the tank and that it is not aggressive to the point that they will kill my other fish when carrying.

I do have one Socofoli, or at least I think it is, here is his picture...









Any other suggestion for fish that will get along with my current fish?


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## dreday

lol that jack will be a terror to most of the africans. it will get much larger. maybe a labidachromis mbamba, a cool looking mbuna that is purple with yellow tipped fins. only seen them from a few online breeders.

just watch the jd, he could cause problems when he gets full grown.


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> lol that jack will be a terror to most of the africans. it will get much larger. maybe a labidachromis mbamba, a cool looking mbuna that is purple with yellow tipped fins. only seen them from a few online breeders.
> 
> just watch the jd, he could cause problems when he gets full grown.


LOL I am hoping it is as good as my last one. The last one I had was housed with a red zebra and they were friends for a few years, the JD was three times bigger than the zebra but then again that zebra was the devil himself.

The labidachromis mbamba is nice! I might go with those and with some Pseudotropheus Polit.


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## Amazilia

I have also bought a used tank-a 90 gal- and it has some scratches too that are annoying!
In your post you said you used 2000 wet/dry sandpaper? Where did you get it and did you sand by hand or use a sander? If you used a sander what type of sander did you use?
Thanks and Happy Labor Day! :fish: :fish: :fish:


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## mightyevil

Amazilia said:


> I have also bought a used tank-a 90 gal- and it has some scratches too that are annoying!
> In your post you said you used 2000 wet/dry sandpaper? Where did you get it and did you sand by hand or use a sander? If you used a sander what type of sander did you use?
> Thanks and Happy Labor Day! :fish: :fish: :fish:


You can get the wet dry sand paper at shops where they sell stuff to repair and detail cars.

I did not use a sander, if you use one I would recommend using one with a very fine grit paper because you wont be able to use wet sand paper with a sander. You can buy a cheap sander at Walt-Mart (Skil brand for about $20.00). After using the machine you would have to use a sanding block with the wet sand paper anyway but the sander will definitely help with removing the deep scratches.

If you dont use the sander, find a semi fine dry sand paper and start sanding down all the scratches only not the whole tank, until you cant see them anymore. Then use your sanding block for the whole tank and work your way up from the roughest wet dry sand paper you can find, to the finest.

It is important that you remove the scratches you can see like I mentioned above first. Otherwise, if you just begin sanding the whole tank with the sanding block, when you are done you will still be able to see the deeper scratches.

Once done with sanding your tank, it will still look opaque, you will need to purchase the Novus products #3 and #2 scratch removal bottles. Then you can either buff by hand or buff with an orbital sander/buffer with the purchase of a buffing kit (about $6) from Lowes or local hardware store. Obviously, if you buff by hand it will take you significantly longer to buff the tank.

Some tips, use a bit of dish soap on the outside of the tank when sanding it with wet sand paper as to keep it from getting stuck to the tank. When working your way up the grits of sand paper sand in opposite directions with each grit. For example, if you sand your tank in a horizontal manner with the first grit, sand the tank vertically with the next grit. This way you can be sure that you are getting rid of all the scratches.I would only buff the inside of the tank if there are noticeable scratches when filled with water, you might want to fill the tank in a well lit area to notice any inside scratches after you are done buffing the outside.

This is the way I buffed my tanks, it does not mean that it is the only way but it sure worked for me.


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## Amazilia

Thank you mightyevil! I will give it a go...


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## mightyevil

Amazilia said:


> Thank you mightyevil! I will give it a go...


Alright, let us know how it turns out, you should probably start a thread. There aren't many threads on buffing acrylic tanks, I am sure it will get lots of attention.


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## mightyevil

New inhabitants to the tank...

They can be Hybrids and might have to go...my wife bought them for me.


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## Amazilia

Don't know enough to comment on if hybrids or not but nice pics! Clear and awesome!
When I sand I will start a new thread but it is a glass 90 gal not acrylic. Does that change your response that you put so much effort into?  Is it the same for glass tanks...please say yes as your response definately took some time! 
Thanks! :fish: :fish: :fish:


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## mightyevil

Thanks! I thought my picture taking abilities were not that great :lol: !

 No way :lol: !

Glass is definitely different, sorry. I assumed it was acrylic because you said it had a lot of scratches, usually not the case with glass aquariums. At least others can read the above response so its not in vain, don't worry  .

You can definitely buff glass but it is a lot more difficult, I have heard of people using toothpaste to buff glass but you should try and gather a substantial amount of information before you try it. If the scratches are not too apparent once its filled, I would recommend to not even bother.


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## dreday

i looked into sanding glass myself. if you can feel the scratches with your fingernail then it will probably not come out any better. that means they are deep and you have to sand a lot and I MEAN A LOT!!!!

you have to sand a huge area around the scratch to ensure a clear view. otherwise it will appear distorted. google glass scratch repair and look at some videos.

and mighty your purple guys with red look like afra red tops from hongi island. the silver one with balck bars and yellow fins does not ring a bell. looks similar to zebra obliquedens but not the same fish.


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## Amazilia

I think I won't worry about the scratches - not that bad and mostly at bottom probably from the substrated in the tank before. I have started my DIY background today. You had previously emailed me your instructions from your video I saw on youtube mighty - thanks! I will start a new thread hopefully within the week for all to watch along the process. Happy fishkeeping! :fish: :fish: :fish: =D>


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## Amazilia

Ok guys, I started my thread for my 90 gal DIY BG which I started this weekend. Any comments /advice would be appreciated. Thanks!


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## mightyevil

Amazilia said:


> Ok guys, I started my thread for my 90 gal DIY BG which I started this weekend. Any comments /advice would be appreciated. Thanks!


Yeah, I saw your start, doing great so far!


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> mighty your purple guys with red look like afra red tops from hongi island. the silver one with balck bars and yellow fins does not ring a bell. looks similar to zebra obliquedens but not the same fish.


I hope they are Afra Red Tops! The ones with the black bars and yellow fins are Pearlmutts, those I know are not hybrids for sure. I was just concerned about the purple with red top ones. Thanks a lot Dreday, I'm gonna go look up some info on the red tops.


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## mightyevil

Just to let you all know...I just added another Pearlmutt so now I have 3 Pearlmutts.


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## justinf67

cool little fish. background came out really well man...


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## dreday

actually i may be wrong. i keep getting red tops confused. i dont think there is an afra red top from hongi is. i think they are lab. hongi is. "red tops". not sure here, hope some one could correct me.

my friend got some red tops but he nor i can remember if they were afras or not. the bag said red top hongi island...............


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## justinf67

this guy is a red top cobalt. they look exactly like that at my local petsmart.... heres a reference pic.










hope that helps u...


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## mightyevil

justinf67 said:


> cool little fish. background came out really well man...


Thanks Justin, I appreciate the comment!



dreday said:


> actually i may be wrong. i keep getting red tops confused. i dont think there is an afra red top from hongi is. i think they are lab. hongi is. "red tops". not sure here, hope some one could correct me.
> 
> my friend got some red tops but he nor i can remember if they were afras or not. the bag said red top hongi island............... Embarrassed


Yeah, I suspect that they may be Labidochromis sp "hongi" because they have the red coloring under their mouth as well.



justinf67 said:


> this guy is a red top cobalt. they look exactly like that at my local petsmart.... heres a reference pic.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> hope that helps u...


I hope that they are Red Top Cobalts, that would be nice! Thanks for that info Justinf67!


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## mightyevil

Update!

I decided to go with cold cathodes for my moonlight because I think they looked really good when I tried them on my 55gal.

This time I decided to go with white cathodes instead of blue and they look awesome, you cant really appreciate them in the pictures but there is very cool shimmer and the sand does not look as bright as in the pictures.

I still need to fix the wiring and stuff but I am waiting on some American DJ switch boxes to make EVERYTHING look good.


































I made these little hangers type of things with plexiglass acrylic to be able to stick the cathodes behind my light fixture and at the same time I am able to remove them whenever i'd like.


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## dreday

dude MOONLIGHT?!?!?!??!

thats bright as ****.... lol you light up the whole house with those. :lol: looks good but might be a little much. but hey if you can sleep with those on then go for it opcorn:


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## mightyevil

LOL

They are not as bright as they look, I spliced 14 gauge THHN cable to make them longer and they look a lot less brighter, this tank is in my office so I don't get to see it when dark most of the time but I will try to take video next time and hopefully you can notice how dim they really are.

The blue ones I used before where bright as **** but I spray painted the cathodes until I was happy with the light output, so if I think these are too bright down the road I will do the same.


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## Rick_Lindsey

I've always planned to do white lights if/when I do moonlights. People seem to really like the blue look, and it makes sense for deep-water fish since blue will be the last light to filter out, but last time I checked moonlight was white .

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## mightyevil

Rick_Lindsey said:


> I've always planned to do white lights if/when I do moonlights. People seem to really like the blue look, and it makes sense for deep-water fish since blue will be the last light to filter out, but last time I checked moonlight was white .
> 
> -Rick (the armchair aquarist)


Exactly my thoughts!

I remember when I used to go camping to the mountains and on a clear night the moon will shine very brightly in the open and it was a nice white color. People do like the blue look a lot and its not too bad but I wanted something more real, I guess.

One of my Acei is definitely holding right now so the tank is already a success, I also checked the water parameters last week and the water is perfect Ammonia is 0ppm, Nitrate 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm and PH is right about 8.2 (I have not done a water change since it was up and running).

EDIT** I have replaced about fifteen gallons of evaporated water since it has been up.


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## Rick_Lindsey

How heavily stocked is your tank, and how long have your fish been in it? zero nitrate is certainly desirable, but typically not attainable once there are fish in the tank for any significant period of time, so it would seem to make your measurements suspect.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## mightyevil

Fish have been in for about three weeks now and have added up until about last week, so most have been in for three weeks, 4 were added two weeks ago and 1 was added 1 week ago.

I have...

(2) Large Plecos 7"-8"
(1) Jack Dempsey 3"-4"
(4) Acei
(5) Yellow Labs
(3) Pearlmutts
(4) Labidochromis sp "hongi" (not sure about these)
(1) Socolofi
(1) Cobalt Blue (not sure but most likely)

Most of which are 2"-2 1/2" except for the two plecos, 2 Acei, the Socolofi, 1 Yellow Lab, the Cobalt Blue and the Jack Dempsey but none of the Cichlids are over 4" or 4 1/2".

So 21 fish total, not a big bio load for a 140 gallonish system, 110 gallon tank with a 40+ gallon sump minus the DIY background negative volume. That's about 6.7 gallons per fish, not too shabby, I don't plan on adding any more but then again you never know  .


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## mightyevil

Here is my holding Acei...


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## dreday

oh yea shes holding. and shes still small......

when she gets bigger expect broods up to 50 fry. even more if they get good at it.

also what type of water did you use to replace the evaporated water?

if it was tap then you should have some nitrates. you should have some no matter what really. unless you are using ro water you will have some trace of nitrates. and with no wc for over 3 weeks you should have some. unless you put in a refugium in your sump you should have them.

you could always take some water in to a lfs and have them test it. just to verify you kits. if no nitrates show up then something is kinda fishy.... :fish:


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> oh yea shes holding. and shes still small......
> 
> when she gets bigger expect broods up to 50 fry. even more if they get good at it.


She is about 4"-4 1/2", I thought she was big and fat :lol: .



dreday said:


> also what type of water did you use to replace the evaporated water?
> 
> if it was tap then you should have some nitrates. you should have some no matter what really. unless you are using ro water you will have some trace of nitrates. and with no wc for over 3 weeks you should have some. unless you put in a refugium in your sump you should have them.
> 
> you could always take some water in to a lfs and have them test it. just to verify you kits. if no nitrates show up then something is kinda fishy.... :fish:


Yes, I do use tap water with conditioner, water is pretty good around here, so I hear.

Well, I have one of those kits that haves you put some water in a testing tube and pour some chemicals in it and then haves you compare it to a color chart. I know the water can't be 0.00 for Nitrates but its darn close.

I might test the water at the LFS but I need to test again, maybe tomorrow, I am sure something will show this time.


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## mightyevil

So I checked the water parameters today and Nitrates are definitely up.

See for yourselves...
Starting from left to right, PH 8.0, Amonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 5 ppm.









I also noticed this little guy morphing like crazy and doing the mating thing with another little one.

























This is the other little one, both were as white as this one but with their stripes at full coloration chasing each other, locking mouths and shaking like a salt shaker...hopefully they hit it off soon but I think they are too small. They are only about 2". I couldn't get the pictures of the amazing colors they were displaying because my biggest yellow lab would break them up when they would try to lock jaws, and when I got close to take a picture of that, they got scared and went their own ways. The one in the above pictures tries to chase everyone off from his side of the tank.


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## dreday

yea they are fisty. and thats good that you have a fish that will break up fights. my lab used to the same, till the other fish out grew him... :roll:

just keep an eye out for ammo and nitrates. if you nitrates are rising with no trace of ammo then your filter is doing a great job.


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## mightyevil

dreday said:


> yea they are fisty. and thats good that you have a fish that will break up fights. my lab used to the same, till the other fish out grew him... :roll:
> 
> just keep an eye out for ammo and nitrates. if you nitrates are rising with no trace of ammo then your filter is doing a great job.


Yeah, right now I am testing it frequently to see how often I have to make my water changes, so far 3 weeks and counting.


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## mightyevil

Here is the video of the moonlight I promised, the sand still looks pretty bright in the video but very close to what it looks like, I might end up dimming the moonlight a little more by spray painting the cathodes though...

Oh, and you can see the shimmer very nicely!

http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww72/mightyevil/Pets/?action=view&current=MOV00264.flv


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## Vpipa

How long after you put water in for the first time , did you let it soak and how many water changes before you put your fish in / back in?..

I just finnished mine and am Soaking now.. Got all my fronts in smaller tank and just thinking how long am I looking at..??

thanks...and BTW ..incredible, bueatifull work !!!


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## mightyevil

I let the cement cure for about a week before submerging it, it is recommended to let cure for 28 days but I am too impatient  .

I did make about 3 100% water changes and my PH went down to 8.3 or something like that, can't remember but it was good and at that time I threw one of my Auratus in there as a "lab rat" and it was fine the next morning so I threw all my fish in that next day.

I think that as long as your PH and your temperature is good you should be fine. :thumb:

Thanks for the kind words!


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## Vpipa

Great...thanks for your respond.. I wil be posting my soon..


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## mightyevil

Vpipa said:


> Great...thanks for your respond.. I wil be posting my soon..


Cool! It is always exciting to see a new DIY background!


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