# 140 build.



## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

So I have been posting and active on this site since June '11. And My project is finnaly underway. 
I finished the stand last week. looks good, missing the doors, trim and canopy; but it'll be coming eventually!
You can follow the stand thread here http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=238321&highlight=

Anyways, It's a 140 gallon (5x2x2)
Filtration: XP3 x2 and a AC500
Lights: Odyssea T5 highout trio with digital timer fixture 48"
UGJ's (powered by Rio 2100 x2)

I can't think of anything else to add in that category.

Yesterday I added another outlet to it's own so I get 15amps of power just for the tank. And later on this week I'll be drilling the wall to make for a drain pipe.

Stocking has already been decided and will be the following
1 Jack Dempsey
5 Red Hook Silver dollar
2 Rainbow chichlid - Herotilapia multispinosa
1 Salvini Cichlid - Nandopsis Salvini

hopfully I can get a few people following this build. I'm very excited to finally see fish in this!

Here is the tank as of 5 mins ago! Like I said, the stand still isn't complete. Missing everything except the frame! Canopy will come eventually as well. 









I'm currently enrolled in university, so don't hold your breath on progression. This has been a very slow process as I usually am only graced with free time on weekends.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Very cool man nice to see a new project getting underway :thumb:

And no worries about slow progress, do it right and take however long it takes is my motto. I started my 55g project 3 months ago and have just last week finished the BG and will be starting on the stand soon so your not alone on the slower progress.

I'll be following the progress.


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## Woodworm (Jan 3, 2009)

I agree with Steve take your time and do it right. There are much more important things in life then fish.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

I hoped for some progression today. Was excited to finally get to test my UGJ system but problem.. 
made from 3/4" PVC pipe. 9 nozzles. and powered by two (2) Rio 2100. 
here is the out come..









So ****. the system is useless. This is very discouraging. here is the plan for my pumps.








The intake for the canister is that box on the top right. and all red corners are two 45 degree joints.

Anybody know what ones I could do without? i covered up two and it was still no good.. should i scrap the idea?


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Other than that. All i need to do is sort this out. 
And find rocks. After that it's time for a cycle!!


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## Mr Mbunas (Dec 1, 2011)

I will be following this opcorn:


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## TCP (Jan 16, 2012)

Mr Mbunas said:


> I will be following this opcorn:


Ditto that :thumb:

I wanna see how this turns out........


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Any idea about how I can fix my UGJ problem? I need to remove 3 nozzles


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

I guess i figured that out faster than expected. I removed three nozzles and will show what ones in a future photo.

Now done with that problem, and onto another..
ugh

Broke a small tab on an XP3 and the seal to the quick-connect is useless. leaked everywhere. Very glad I made the base hold water...
Started a thread for any help http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=239256

Anyways, once I get that sorted out (even if it means spending another $100 on a new, used one), I'll be off to the good fun stuff.

I've also gotten myself into a "sand pool". A local forum member is making a trip to the states for SpectraQuartz sand. I'll be getting 150lbs of black for myself.

I'm going to school so i am able to work on the water (tug boats, ferried, anything really) and have my GMDSS/ROC course this Thursday-Friday. Goes from noon-6pm plus commuting. So I don't even expect to really be around the tank until the weekend comes.

Currently I hear my UGJ system, AC500 and a single XP3 running. A little louder than i want. The spraybar will be put under the surface and positioned submerged, but aimed upwards. Hopefully this will eliminate some noise. The AC500 is also a little noisy, but that's fine because once money allows, i will be adding an FX5. and removing one XP3 and the AC500. 
That will leave a Xp3 for mechanical only, and the fx5 to do it's own thing!


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Build looks good so far! Not sure why I never venture over into the DIY forum, but I'm going to start! There's a lot of good threads in here!

Not much to add as you seem to have everything figured out. I will say I have an AC500 and its pretty much silent as long as the tank is topped off with water so that the lip of the overflow is underwater. What exactly is noisy about yours?

Also, your stock looks good. However, I have found when keeping Salvini on black sand it REALLY washes their colors out. This is a shame, as they are such a brightly colored fish... Just something to think about.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

CjCichlid said:


> What exactly is noisy about yours?


There's a small rattling noise. So I'll take the impeller out, clean and Vaseline to see if it helps. But also, because of the center brace on my tank, the water will always sit lower than the lip on the AC500. So This is also part of the problem. I'll be getting rid of it if It's still too loud after the tank is covered with a canopy.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Little update. More of a 'fix' though. I found a local guy who has taken down 12 tanks (use to have 14, downsized to 2) and has 8 XP3's to sell. He will give me one for $60. but that is without media/hose. So i just get the housing and top. I belive media baskets as well. 
And what's even better is that another person emailed me who had broken the bottom part, and is interested in taking the "box" part off my hands. I'll ask for $15-20 to help with the cost.

Seems like perfect timing to fix my error.

This week i will be adding my drain line so when I do my W/C i can easily just flip a valve, and water will be drained. Aqueon w/c to add water back in.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Noteworthy progress!

So I changed my UGJ's. i'm now running 4 jets with two pumps. And to my surprice it works fine. I have each pump connected to two jets so there's no more joined unit. I spend an hour last night adding flake food (lot's of it) and watching the water movment. A good 3 handfulls of food cleared up in 10 mins. the fine particles did manage to find their way to the bottom. They landed center of the tank. close to the back. tonight i will fix it by pointing an output nozzle to stir up that part. 
Obviously everything will need to be redone once rocks get in, but it's a start.

Tonight i'll be plumbing a drainage system into the tank. So i can turn a valve and have water get pumped out for an easy w/c. this will also be rigged so i can attach a hose for a syphon. I'll post pictures once it's complete.

This weekend i'll be stopping by a landscaping yark to browse rocks and see if anything stands out. I'll also be ordering silk plants from an online retailer within the next two weeks.

I found a small leak in an XP3.. Since I have two of them i'm trying to determin what one it is. I currently have one running at home. If i get home and everything dry. I'll test the other one and find a fix. Cycle will begin once I figure out what's going wrong with the filter..

Wish me luck! I'll post pictures tonight (if i remember)


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Whoa..

So massive news. I've been talking to a guy. He's a member of a local fish forum and lives 3 blocks away from me. I'm talking to him right now, and holy ****. 
He's just got his licence to import fish. 
LOOKS LIKE I'M GETTING *WC FISH!*
I'm so glad.


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## dr2391 (Feb 11, 2009)

nice man. you should post pictures of how its coming. I'm getting ready to start a 55 that i bought off craigslist a few weeks ago. have you ever thought of a diy 3d background?


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

dr2391 said:


> nice man. you should post pictures of how its coming. I'm getting ready to start a 55 that i bought off craigslist a few weeks ago. have you ever thought of a diy 3d background?


I've thought about it. but money says no. 
And I don't have time for a DIY


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

NEWS NEWS NEWS!

Rocks, and started cycle today. 
So today i finally got my rocks into the tank. it all looks pretty good! Not perfect but i'll settle with it because i'll never be satisfied. Anyways. Tank is quite too, and i've been worried about the volume for a bit.

Sand arrives tuesday and i'll get put in asap. Canopy and sides to the stand are being built right now as well. finally starting to come together.

Anyways. here are a few pictures.

The tank,









And my two filters, plus the gadget i set up for water changes. It'll pretty much just a bypass so the water is gravity fed out the tank. and for when i decide to vacuum, there's a quick connect attachment for a hose. So i can just plug in a hose and start the vacuum.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Full lights. 
10,000k
6500k
Power-glo









led's.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Sand and background. WOOHOO. Looks good imo. Rocks give nice contract against the sand and back. And the intakes are painted black, and they blend into the back very nicely.

what do y'all think?

























The photo's just make a liar out of me. Those tubes really are invisible 

I have 10 day's break between two first-aid classes so the canopy will get finished then. I'll also do the final touches on the drain system.

Finishing the doors and stand won't be done for a while because I can't decide if I want two doors, three doors.. i really dont know! so i'm stalling until i can decide.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Today i prepaid for 9 Salvini that are about 3" each. 
Also found a local guy giving away 3 firemouths (2-3 inches) and i'll reserve another 4 at a LFS.

The reason i prepaid is because these are all pretty rare around here and i dont wanna loose this chance.


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

And my two filters, plus the gadget i set up for water changes. It'll pretty much just a bypass so the water is gravity fed out the tank. and for when i decide to vacuum, there's a quick connect attachment for a hose. So i can just plug in a hose and start the vacuum. 

Can you explain more about what the gadget does for you and how it's set up? Although I get the jist...I'm having a hard time grasping exactly what you did and what you use it for..


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

When I get home I'll try and draw up something on paint. 
It's pretty much just to direct water (via gravity) to a drain. But I added on an extra part, where I can attach a siphon/vacuum.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

So. The solid 'o' means a ball valve
The * is a quick connect for a hose
A T means a T joint. 
And I have numbered the ball valves.

So. Regular use, BV (ball valve) 1 is open. And 2 & 3 are closed. 
When I want to drain the tank. I shut off the canister filter. Then I close ball valve 1, and open 3. 
This directs the water to the drain.

Now if I want to use a vacuum and direct it to the same drain. I connect it to this system using a "hose quick connect". (remember that at this point, #1 is open, filter is running and 3 is closed)
So I open #2, get the siphon started and it pumps outside.

I also have a check valve as 'backup" that rests between #2 and the quick-connect.


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

Intersting. It got me thinking, if you put this on your output side of the filter, you could use the hose connection to the drain and turn the filter back on. Instead of using gravity, the filter will pump faster to the drain. This is how I drain my larger tanks, but I have to disconnect my hose every time.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

That's true about using the filters pump. But an xp3 pump is weaker than the power of gravity. If I had an Fx5, I'm sure I would have used the strength of the filter. But for this setup, it's a 1" drain line that'll be gravity fed. After the draining device I have, it reduces it to te 5/8 standard tube.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Looks like everything is coming along nicely. I like the water changing device you rigged up! I need to do something similar as I am about fed up with my python hose flipping out of my tank spraying water everywhere... :?

What's your final stocking list going to be? I think the addition of some driftwood would look good, but then again I am kind of a driftwood junkie... :roll:


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

I have no idea how I have missed seeing your updated pictures with the rocks/sand in there for the past 2 weeks dsouthworth...but just now noticed the updates in this thread. It is looking really good :thumb:


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

dsouthworth said:


> But an xp3 pump is weaker than the power of gravity.


Wow, that is crazy to me! But I'm a high flow kinda guy.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Stock list is being bought. My cycle I proceeding good. All fish that I add will be 2-3 inches. So please don't tell me how over stocked it will be. Fish will be taken out and sold if they do not color up or if they are causing too much havoc.

So 
3 JD
9 salvini
7 firemouth
8 silver dollar

In the end. The stock will be
1 JD
6 salvini
4 fire mouth
5 SD

I have already bought my sal's and I am picking up 3 firemouth's this weekend. Ten letting a friend take care of him. I will reserve the other 3 firemouths soon.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

cycle is almost done!!
After a 2-3ppm dose of ammonia yesterday, ammonia is a 0ppm and nitrite is at .25ppm. since that ammonia dose it's been 36 hours so i still have a bit to go. but it's nice knowing that it's advancing!!


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

And of course it wont go as i wanted.. cycle still continues.. been seeded and added a store bought bacteria (not Dr. tims.. but something similar)..

It's been about a month now and i'm still waiting.

I've been talking to cjcichlid who's pushed me away from the 5-6 silver dollar's and more towards a larger shoal of fish. so i'll be putting in about 12-15 BA tetra's. hopefully big enough that the Jd doesn't eat them all.. That'll be an interesting few days.

Anyways. I've got my stock bought and awaiting the cycle to finish. 
I'll have 5 sal's, 8 meeki. 
Once the sal's start to pair off i'll get rid off all except a single pair. and I'll be doing the same with the firemouths but keeping 2 pairs. 
BA's will be added when i can track down them all. currently my lfs only has ONE! so they'll lookout for more and keep me posted

the Jack will be added when I find the perfect one. Still searching.. and searching..


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

So.. cycle finished yesterday.. oh ya. 
Heading out to a few lfs right now to pick up my fish.

Stay tuned!!


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

So I've added fish now. 25 of these little guys!
In the end i'm planning for a pair of salvini and two pairs of firemouths. and I have a dozen BA tetra's.

Anyways, at the moment, before i start seeing pairs i have
8 firemouth's
5 salvini's
12 BA tetra's

Once i get down to the final stocking numbers, i'll add in a male JD.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Sounds good! What's the average size of all the fish and were you able to differentiate between male and female? I would try and get the JD in there ASAP though as it will help prevent any aggression due to adding him into an already established tank later on down the road.

Good luck with your new fish!


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

CjCichlid said:


> Sounds good! What's the average size of all the fish and were you able to differentiate between male and female? I would try and get the JD in there ASAP though as it will help prevent any aggression due to adding him into an already established tank later on down the road.
> 
> Good luck with your new fish!


The largest Meeki (3 of them) are about 4". the other 5 are about 3"
The largest Salvini (2 of them) are about 4". The other 3 are again, 3". 
BA tetra's are all 2.5".

I am looking at a JD this friday. He is however 6-7 inches. Do you think this is too big to start off? or should i keep looking until i find one a tad smaller?

ps. there have been two firemouths that havent left each others sides yet. Seems like good news already!


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

It's hard to say. Usually you want all the fish to start out around the same size (preferably smaller than larger) but it could work. The fact that he will be bachelor so to speak may help, as the others will have the protection of their mate. I guess you won't know until you try...


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## Steffano2 (Jan 11, 2007)

Your salvini should be large enough to sex by now, I would think?


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Steffano2 said:


> Your salvini should be large enough to sex by now, I would think?


Indeed! But they have yet to form a pair. There is a male who has claimed a small cave and a female is usually close by but I can't tell if she's just found a differend care or WHAT! either way i am still waiting.

When I added the JD, later that night i noticed a few BA's with nipped off fins and i assumed it was the JD. But i think it's just aggression between the species, with a little added help from a few salvini.

for the sal's i know i have 2m/2f but i can never locate all 5 at the same time in my tank, so i gave up trying to find a 5th


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## Steffano2 (Jan 11, 2007)

You'll find all your fish when the salvini decide to pair up and spawn. They will either kill everything or isolate and keep everyone else cornered.  That's been my experience with them, they are brutal in breeding mode.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

so as i posted last i went to the tank,and to my surprise all 5 salvini we're staring right at me. Anyways, it looks like i have two males and the rest are females.



Steffano2 said:


> You'll find all your fish when the salvini decide to pair up and spawn. They will either kill everything or isolate and keep everyone else cornered.  That's been my experience with them, they are brutal in breeding mode.


I'm aware. But I think it might work. They will kill the BA's for sure, but i think the firemouths will keep to themselves. And thus far, nobody has messed with the JD and the JD hasn't messed with anybody so after a week it's still working. I'll also be removing the extra 3 sal's once a pair forms.


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## Steffano2 (Jan 11, 2007)

dsouthworth said:


> so as i posted last i went to the tank,and to my surprise all 5 salvini we're staring right at me. Anyways, it looks like i have two males and the rest are females.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sounds like you have a plan! :thumb:


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Steffano2 said:


> dsouthworth said:
> 
> 
> > so as i posted last i went to the tank,and to my surprise all 5 salvini we're staring right at me. Anyways, it looks like i have two males and the rest are females.
> ...


I do, but it it greatly influenced by advice from cjcichlid. I'm a cichlid newby and have tons of posts here. I've just done a lot of reachearch and hope everything turns out well.


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## matt121966 (Mar 6, 2012)

following the build


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

matt121966 said:


> following the build


Welcome aboard!


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Good to hear everything is going relatively well! But, where are the PICS?! :wink:


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

CjCichlid said:


> Good to hear everything is going relatively well! But, where are the PICS?! :wink:


I have a buddy coming this week with his camera. But for now here are a few with my crappy little sony.
There's more pics on the photobucket album, so you can click on any of the pictures to see em. I have some silk plants in there but not too happy. it's all temp placement.
Oh, and the pics are a few days old and we're taken when the sal's were still in hiding. I'll try and be sneaky and get a few later on tonight.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

So i'm looking at my sal's again. Trying to find all 5 at one time is a challenging task!

Anwyways, looks like i have 1 female for sure. and a possible 2nd. Tomorrow i'll be taking two (for sure) males back to the lfs and getting for sure females.
Now i actually know what i'm looking for..


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

And here are 4 of my 5 sal's. the 5th hides all the time. He'll be one of the ones to go when i return them tomorrow. and he's pretty grumpy.. 
anyways.. more pictures..

Pic 3 is the same salvini as the one in the back of pic 4
#1








#2








#3








#4


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Looking good! How big are your meeki, as they are showing pretty good color already! Pic 1 of the Sals is female, pic 2 is male, 3 is to blurry, and 4 looks male as well.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

CjCichlid said:


> Looking good! How big are your meeki, as they are showing pretty good color already! Pic 1 of the Sals is female, pic 2 is male, 3 is to blurry, and 4 looks male as well.


in pic #4 the sal in the back is the same one as in pic #3.

Anyways. Everything is going good. Tomorrow I'll be trying to catch 2 males, and take them back to the lfs for a trade of 2 females. I only have 1 in the tank for sure right now.

The BA's all nad nipped fins earlier this week, but i think the salvini got used to them because all fins have grown back nicely


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