# Budget build



## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

Well after lurking this forum for many months, I decided to make an account and post about my progression. However after looking at theforum i realized such a build wouldn't be appealing to more "seasoned" hobbyist. So i think i will keep this short and sweet for other beginners like me and will teach them research and patience is the way to go!

so anyways with finals coming up this week, I pulled the trigger and was ready to buy a tank...Little did I know how much the LFS charged for 30-50 gallons =( It was too out of my budget for the tank that I wanted..almost $300

I wanted to finish this project over winter break trying to save money on every part along the way.
So I browsed Craigs list and found a "okay" deal on a 40g acrylic tank with stand, canopy, and light for $100. none the less i was happy










I believe the wood is oak, the acrylic was scratched up alot from being a saltwater tank from the previous owner, and the wood color was really bland and ugly to me.

since everything in my room is black i needed to match the tank up to this.










found some 2 in 1 stain/water sealant at lowes. I kind of wish i got semi gloss but oh well










also picked up some novus polish to buff some scratches out of my tank. It didn't really work that well since the tank had some deep scratches in it. I pulled out my car buffer and got better results.. will post pics on my next post.










Also my samples of gravel/sand came in today to see what color i like. I'm leaning more towards the deeper black on the right. And was thinking of getting some cichlid mix/ argonite to put on the bottom of the tank and then this nice black sand on top since i cant stand the look of "pepper and salt" but still want some ph buffering abilities from it.










check out my next post, I know its slow progress but I am researching and buying things when i can usually one at a time. between work and school ^-^


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Looks good so far! :thumb: I assume that's a 40 Breeder? Good starter cichlid tank!

What are you thinking for stock?

You don't necessarily need aragonite sand to buffer your PH, there are a LARGE number of ways! I personally like limestone!


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

i was thinking 5 saulosi and 3 rustys

was going to buy 1inch unsexed from daves rare
what do you think?


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Saulosi and Rusty are both good choices for a 40 Breeder (because they stay small). But since you have a 50% chance of getting a male or female if you buy 8 Saulosi you will get 4m:4f, then you just have to weed out extra males! So I'd buy 8 Saulosi.

But in a 40 Breeder tank you probably would do better as a single species tank, but good news! With single species you could do more Saulosi! Say maybe 3m:9f or so!


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

so i was looking for a fluval 205 and i stumbled across a holiday sale on amazon for the new fluval 206!! for 60 shipped! couldn't believe this deal. and i get a quieter impeller and more flow =)









http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-A207-Fluval ... B005QRDDM4

Also went to my viet friends fish shop and picking up some Tahitian moon sand! this should help with my fish less cycle just need to pick up some ammonia 









I noticed my whole tank has a black theme hopefully this really makes the fish stand out

Im also thinking about getting a 3d background...

anyways finished painting the stand here it is...


















I tried polishing the tank as much as possible but it seems like the prior lady had a magnetic scraper and scratched the **** out of the tank . I don't really think i can get that "hd" look without getting it professionally done so this will have to do. It still looks just as clear as glass though from afar.

here is a close up of the scratches









here is my price total so far in case anyone was wondering:

tank/stand/canopy/light-$100
novus polish-$10
fluval 206-$60
stain-$10
t8 10k bulb-$15
black moon sand 40 lb-$30

check back!


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## czar_wilson (May 26, 2011)

awesome

looks like your coming along!!


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Wow, making fast progress! The tank looks good and so does the stand :thumb:


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

The King Crabb said:


> Saulosi and Rusty are both good choices for a 40 Breeder (because they stay small). But since you have a 50% chance of getting a male or female if you buy 8 Saulosi you will get 4m:4f, then you just have to weed out extra males! So I'd buy 8 Saulosi.
> 
> But in a 40 Breeder tank you probably would do better as a single species tank, but good news! With single species you could do more Saulosi! Say maybe 3m:9f or so!


so is there no way to have a 2 species tank ?


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## quentin8 (Sep 30, 2011)

demasoni and yellow labs...


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

malady said:


> so is there no way to have a 2 species tank ?


There are ways, but you have to be very picky about species! Quentin 8 says Demasoni and Labs, that generally works well and it gives you the Saulosi look but with more blue (I prefer Saulosi because the blue stands out more that way). That's the only combination that comes to mind but there may be a couple more out there!


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## czar_wilson (May 26, 2011)

+1

Best and most common combo for a setup like yours.


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

malady said:


> i was thinking 5 saulosi and 3 rustys
> 
> was going to buy 1inch unsexed from daves rare
> what do you think?


I think you'd be ok with that. Just be prepared to remove 1-2 rustys when full grown if needed.

You can do way more than 2 species if you went with small tropicals. 2 angels, barbs, tetra's, a single krib.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

spotmonster said:


> You can do way more than 2 species if you went with small tropicals. 2 angels, barbs, tetra's, a single krib.


That's true, he could. Although I think he's looking to stay with Mbuna.


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

^ yup crabb is right. There is just something about Malawi cichlids. I have been searching saulosi only tanks on this site, I actually found alot of posts from you king crabb. Anyways after reading all night im slowly liking the idea more and more. I wouldn't mind seeing breeding habits and less aggression. The only thing is I rather see more blue than yellow....

right now I'm thinking 3m9f but what do I do with my extra males as i go along? I don't have any friends with this hobby to give fish to.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

malady said:


> I have been searching saulosi only tanks on this site, I actually found alot of posts from you king crabb....
> 
> what do I do with my extra males as i go along? I don't have any friends with this hobby to give fish to.


I've been posting a lot about them over the months because I've been researching them for even longer and fell in love with them right off the bat! Finally got a 7' tank to do my Saulosi in and i've got the media cycling for it so as soon as I finish the canopy I'm ready for fish! I even have a nice supplier within 45 minutes!

There are lots of things to do with extra males (and fry when you get there). The easiest place to give them to is a local fish shop (lfs), ask around in your area and see where will take them! Just because a place takes trade-ins doesn't mean all fish, ask about Saulosi specifically. You can also sell them in several online places such as Aquabid, Ebay, or even the trading post here at this side. The third place I've heard of very commonly is local clubs, there's a club finder on this site. They usually have meetings/ auctions every once in a while and are almost always open to new members!


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

So i found a nice rock pile walking today and picked out a few big ones, they are bleaching as I type. It looks like some old limestone to me, I found a bunch of fossils in the rock of shells and dragon flies so it looks pretty interesting.


















also been picking up things here and there online b/c it is cheaper










man this hobby is getting expensive...its right up there with smoking and music production :? :-?

so I didn't realize my freshwater kit did not test gh or kh 
I had a tds reader from my hydroponic setup, I know that only measure total dissolved liquids but I figured it would give me a general ballpark of gh or kh since they have to add up together.

So I let some water sit out for a couple days:

ph: 8-8.2
tds: 175 ppm

Do you think my tap water is suitable or should i raise my kh?

also i realize hikari gold isn't the best food for my fish I need to find some NLS 
anyone want to buy my hikari gold for cheap??


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

Nice find on the rocks! I wouldn't toss the Hikari. I feed NLS mostly, but if I get a deal or giveaways on other stuff, I take advantage of it and use it.


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

Been pretty busy, but slowly things are coming together.
I have been having problems with the jager keeping the right temperature its kind of confusing the calibration.
Everything is running the filter is pretty quiet once you get the spray bar positioned right, I have two bottles of Dr. tims one and only ready.
I ordered the fish today  should arrive on wed. I ended up going with 1m5f. The original plan was 3m9f but I didn't want to take the chance of doing something wrong and losing $150 dollars worth of fish.
Hopefully later once everything is dialed in I can get the 3-9 ratio I want.
here is some pictures, next time they will be better quality.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Dave's a super guy and can get you into a lot of really nice fish types so how about off the beaten path a bit more. I like to have something others don't see all the time. You really have a lot of options without getting into the more agreesive types. Yellow labs are always nice even when you do see them lots. I find it best to start a group of juvies and let them grow together. As they grow, you learn what is needed and how to recognize trouble, if it starts. Yellow labs and hap ahli work well for me. They are called haps but are more mbuna in action. A new to me, small fish I got from Dave is Labidochromis chisumulae. Nice small fish that has dramatic colors.

Look around for local hobby types for the best fish and deal without having to pay shipping. An ad on Craigslist can find wonders you may not have thought about.


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

received my led light in the mail, It shows colors of the fish really well.
I have been recording ph, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrites for the past week or so, seems Dr. tim's worked for my tank, I would use it again.
I don't have enough patience to take pictures, the fish are to fast but here are some clear ones. I will try to post more pictures once I get that 3m9f ratio and fill the tank more.
thanks for all the help and it feels good to be done


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

Those Saulosi will populate that tank in a hurry... Good thing IMO..

How long is the tank? 36"? I would think you could pull off a multiple male colony in that tank fairly easily..

Looks good!


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

cantrell00 said:


> Those Saulosi will populate that tank in a hurry... Good thing IMO..
> 
> How long is the tank? 36"? I would think you could pull off a multiple male colony in that tank fairly easily..
> 
> Looks good!


thanks for the response
yes the tank is 36'
Initially I wanted to do saulosi and rusty but people were advising against it
Do you think I can do another species with my 1m5f ratio right now?


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

malady said:


> cantrell00 said:
> 
> 
> > Those Saulosi will populate that tank in a hurry... Good thing IMO..
> ...


That will be tough. If were me, I would increase the number of males to 3 and females to 9.

You could always try the Rusty. They are a very common fish typically @ the LFS. You could add a few & see what happens and remove them if necessary.

Is the tank have a breeder footprint? 36" X 18" or is it just taller with only a 12" front to back depth?


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

breeder footprint

yeah I guess ill just stick to the original plan of 3m9f then


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Looks great =D>

Out of curiosity, how much was that LED light? It really makes the fish look good!


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

The King Crabb said:


> Looks great =D>
> 
> Out of curiosity, how much was that LED light? It really makes the fish look good!


$45 I can pm you the link if you want
the light is not too bright, but has enough lumens to grow algae which is what i wanted


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## Cali_screw (Dec 31, 2011)

Came out great.


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

Cali_screw said:


> Came out great.


thank you


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

So I was doing some research on the Taiwan reef and how the water is pretty turbulent.
So I bought a new hydor nano with just enough power to create a nice current with my spray bar and clean the poop in my tank. I have it hooked up to a timer so it goes off at night, the fish really seem to like it an swim against it head on.










picture of positioning









got some plants from my friend the fish nip on it but nothing serious










I really like the hydor nano its really small and discrete, it has a slight vibrating issue that was a bit annoying but the canopy dampens the sound mostly. I have some more saulosi males on the way in the next coming weeks.
One of my females seems to be flashing alot in the sand, I dont notice anything on the scales and it is only one fish...I guess will see what happens. more pics soon!


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Looks good the fish really stand out nicely against the colors in the tank you chose.


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## malady (Nov 20, 2011)

testing out my new lens, no post processing.

added a BN pleco, the saulosi are ganging up pretty bad on him sometimes, I don't know if I should ride it out or take the pleco out.


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

Those are some good photos...!


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