# 720L setup



## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

Hey guys i was planning to setup an aquarium for 720L(about 190Gal) for about a month now. I am reading all over the place because i don't want to mess this up, the tank will be made by me from 10mm glass and the dimensions are going to be: 250Lx54lx54h cm. i am going to make a 3d background myself from styrofoam coated just with cement, now is that a good ideea ? we don't have drylock here but i've seen others do it with just cement and it worked. Another question i have is related to filtration wich is a very big topic i am planning to buy a sun sun 2000l/h filter and use it mostly for mechanical filtration and make another biological filter at home from a thick pvc pipe and fill it with media. Will it be enough? I do not know what pump should i use and how many l/h. I've read somewere that if you have around 2-300l/h you eliminate the nitrate from the tank because you give time to the bacteria to consume all the nitrogen and releasing it in to the water in bubles form, i do not know what to think, but thats why i am here and plan to learn as much as i can before putting fish in the tank. Now about the fishes, i will be keeping 3 species 
-Labidochromis caeruleus
-Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli)
-Labidochromis caeruleus
around 20 pieces each. Is that much or few ?
Thank you for taking time to read this and i apologise if i made any mistakes in grammar(english is not my 1st language)


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

That will be a nice size tank, about 98"L x 21"W x 21"H. I'm not sure on the glass thickness so definitely do your research.

You don't need to use Drylok but you could use a similar product if you want to color your cement. I am unsure if styrofoam coated cement needs to be painted to help keep it attached.

Nitrate is the end product in the nitrogen cycle and is not removed by traditional filtration methods. Water changes are the easiest method for removing nitrates.

I see you have listed Labidochromis caeruleus twice, is that a typo?

Your English is fine, no worries!


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Sounds like you are on a good track for filtration. You may need a little more turnover if you plan to have 60 fish tho. For this sized tank a sump would probably be best that way you can load it up with media and use a large pump.

What is your plan with the PVC pipe? Will the water be gravity fed and then pumped back into the tank? Is your tank drilled or will you have an overflow?

Many ppl like the magdrive pumps by Danner for their sumps. They're not the cheapest, but good quality.


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

Well yes that was a typo sorry about that i meant demasoni, the thickness was established by this site and is going to be reinforced in multiple places so i think that's ok, now on the nitrate part i know that nitrate is the end result in ouur tanks, BUT i also said thet it coult be removed from our tanks with anaerobic bacterias witch instead of eating oxigen they are eating nitrates, and that happens on lower l/h, like 2-400l/h. Don't get me wrong this is not experienced by me it was just an article i read somewere and i can't remember where, i just thouth that some of you might know what i am talking about and enlight us with some info. By the way this is the same proces they remove nitrates at wastewater treatment systems link.
@ clhinds78 about filtration i forgot to mention that i am going to start with 2cm fish and will most definitely add another 2000l/h filter as they grow bigger  The plan with the pvc pipe is to make it verry seal tight fill it with 5l of Sera Siporax and put a pump inside the pipe as well, and let the bacteria do their job. My tank it is not drilled i will have no overflowes, the pvc pipe will act just like any other canister filter.


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

Well here it is. I thouth i give you an update on my work is just a raw photo with my phone, i have a lot to work on it this is just the glass siliconed together, it is not even cured but taking small stepes at a time , and this is how my background should look like in the end.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Nice looking tank, I love the dimensions of it. I also like the background very much!


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

Thank you very much. As i said i still have long way to go but i will keep you up to date with what i do.


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

Well my filter is in place, i still have to wait for my heater and sand to arrive, and mout the doors, but here is kind of finish look (sorry for the quality of photos, they're made with my phone, i promise better quality soon)


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Looking good! Love the background! Is that from Universal Rocks?


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

Actually it is diy. But thank you for comparing my diy skills with those of a company


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

bogdan said:


> Actually it is diy. But thank you for comparing my diy skills with those of a company


From what I can see it looks pretty good!


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

So...how did you make that background?


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

I would love a tank that long. How about a close up picture of the DIY background?


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

clhinds78 said:


> So...how did you make that background?


it is just styrofoam, i cut it into shape and coated it with cement, there are 6 layers i think and in the last one i added a litlle black pigment.


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

If you blended in a few more dark tones I think you could make it look real authentic. Like extra shading on some of the undersides and such. You did a great job though, I usually hate DIY styrofoam backgrounds. Can't wait to see it filled!


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

oh belive me i can't wait either 
thank you for your compliment


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

bogdan said:


> clhinds78 said:
> 
> 
> > So...how did you make that background?
> ...


Very cool! I think it will look awesome with some brightly colored cichlids contrasting it!


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

well $%^& my tank has a leak. is just a drop per 2 seconds or so, the leak is on the left panel about 6 cm from the bottom. Will it be enough to just put a fair ammount of silicone from the inside ?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The usual recommendation is to remove all the silicone in the section that is leaking, for example, if the front left corner seam is leaking, you would remove all the interior silicone in that entire joint, clean the glass well and apply a new bead of silicone.


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## stalefish83 (May 22, 2014)

That sucks!! I'm sorry man, that's the worst. To me that's in some ways worse than losing a fish (go ahead, call me heartless!) That's happened to me a couple of times and every time I have posed the same exact question, in forums and to the local re-seal expert at my LFS, the advise has been to reseal everything. everything. Hopefully you'll get some better news from someone else who knows better than anyone else I've talked to, but the reason is that new silicone doesn't bond to old silicone. So anywhere than the new silicone meets the old, you will eventually have a problem there.

This means tearing everything down, taking off all of the silicone (inside the tank, I' mean, of course you leave the silicone between the glass panels alone, but you probably know that already) and reapplying new silicone along the bottom and all four corners.

I really hope for your sake that I'm wrong. but either way you've some work ahead of you. Best of luck


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## stalefish83 (May 22, 2014)

Deeda said:


> The usual recommendation is to remove all the silicone in the section that is leaking, for example, if the front left corner seam is leaking, you would remove all the interior silicone in that entire joint, clean the glass well and apply a new bead of silicone.


Have you had success repairing leaks this way, Dee? just asking because this would be easier than what I've been told. Either way the tank needs to be torn down, but I hate (HATE!!!!) removing silicone. I have OCD in funny little ways and I can never get every little speck of silicone, dust, or whatever off the area that needs the new silicone. Even with a brand new straight edge razor, a lint-free cloth and rubbing alcohol.

I should also divulge that I've tried twice to re-seal a 40g tank and failed both times. So there's that


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

No I have not tried using the partial silicone replacement method but I have heard of others that have used it successfully. My personal choice is to remove all the interior silicone fillets, trying not to damage the silicone used to assemble the glass panes, clean the glass well and apply new silicone to ALL the joints. For me, this method has worked well on all but my 125G tank which developed a minor drip, drip, drip leak after 2 years in operation.

I also wanted to clarify that I recommend resealing all the joints rather than just the one as I made in my above post. The OP has already installed a DIY background in his tank and it would be a pain to remove it and do the whole tank. If I had this problem, I would try only doing the joint that was leaking and hope that it corrected the problem.


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

Exactly that is the problem, i have installed a diy backgroundand if i even try to take it out it would break and i would have to start over. I am going to try to reseal only about 10 cm around the leak, even so i have to cut my backgroung . Well wish me luck.


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

Well it worked 









very open for sugestions (while i wait for my fish to arrive)


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Congrats on the repair!!!

The tank looks nice, I love the length of it. I went back to your first couple posts and are you still planning on the 3 species you originally wanted? If so, you may want to adjust the rock layout to provide taller rock piles and open spaces for these fish.


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

I thought about the same thing, but i don't like a few of these rocks so i will go and search some more rocks so i cand build a few small piles. And yes i still want those 3 species. anyway this is just a raw setup, and like i said i am very open for sugestions. Thanx for the ideea.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

My personal preference is to use rocks that are similar in color and general shapes, just as you would find in nature. However, I also find that the rocks eventually get covered in some form of algae, whether green or brown, and other natural growths in my aquariums so I usually look for rocks that are similar in type. Round rocks are more difficult to stack securely, in my opinion. A mix of different sizes usually stack well.


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## bogdan (Aug 5, 2014)

For me those rocks are pretty easy to find, i just go to the river near by and dig them up. It's all natural and are found in the same place, also i can't wait for algae to cover them, not too many tho, that will be bad.


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

I went diving in a lake to get my rocks. I agree the rocks should all be the same type, tank looks great though.


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