# Old 220 gallon saltwater converted to cichlids



## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

Bought this old salt water tank & stand from a local Chinese restaurant in town for $500. Had been sitting as found for over five months. When I siphoned the water out, I got just a smidgen on my tongue and it made my whole face burn...who knows what was growing in it!

Brought it home with the help of my son, nephews and future son-in-law. Bleached and cleaned. Made under sand jets, wife painted stand and back of tank. Also, I drilled holes in stand for lines/tubing and built a set of stands/shelves for the inside of the stand.

Tank measures 31" H X 24" D X 72" L. Glass is 0.6" thick. By my guestimate, the tank alone weighs some 600#s. With the stand, the setup is right at 6 foot tall. WE LOVE IT!!!


IMAG0034 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr

Salt creep and dirt were horrible...view from the side:

CameraZOOM-20120120115547609 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


CameraZOOM-20120120115539324 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


CameraZOOM-20120124112822073 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


CameraZOOM-20120124112813960 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


CameraZOOM-20120130075159474 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


CameraZOOM-20120205115611646 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


CameraZOOM-20120208174338096 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

Looks great! what a great family project!

How long did the whole process take from buying to fish?


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

dsouthworth said:


> Looks great! what a great family project!
> 
> How long did the whole process take from buying to fish?


Could have been done in a week or so; but, the cold weather delayed painting by several days then I had to wait on my helpers' college schedules to allow them to carry into my home office, so was about three weeks total. A loooong three weeks!

Sold my old 125 gallon setup to my boss for $300 so am actually not out the full $500. Woohoo!


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## nikouro (Mar 6, 2012)

Really looks nice. Any other comment would be superfluous. The project will be worth watching and enjoying.
Do you have plans to eventually plant your plant some more in the background?


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## timbo6684 (Aug 29, 2010)

What type of lighting are you using?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Excellent job on the cleanup and makeover. Looks great!!


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## tnnsman7 (Jun 10, 2004)

I too would like to know what lights those are. Awesome tank, btw.


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks for the compliments, all!

I have since removed the plants completely and gone with more rock after adding two Coralife 2900 fan/pumps.

The lights are quad HO T5s from Aquatraders and they have been great. On one set have 10K & Actinic, on other set in each I have a 10K & Red Wave bulb. Each unit also has 6 LED moonlights.


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Got a new photo of your setup? Looks great. My only concern is the depth of the sand! How deep is that?


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

It is 300#s of Quickrete PFS...depth varies based on how much digging they do but averages 5+ inches and the fish LOVE it! Have four holding right now and two that have just released.

These pics are from last week. Have since adjusted the rocks to allow for more hiding spaces for fry/babies...


CameraZOOM-20120318102455094 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


CameraZOOM-20120318102610838 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


CameraZOOM-20120318102635146 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

Picture after rock rearranging. Actually disturbed 4-5 babies and saw one get munched on. Two nights ago my Acei female spit out an easy 2 dozen fry...most of which wound up being buffet. Have at least two different age fry in the tank now that have seen...


CameraZOOM-20120319121738753 by BigLoveTravis, on Flickr


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## MalawiBlue (Dec 11, 2002)

Looks good! Has me looking forward to getting back into big tanks!


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