# My tank re-do...suggestions?



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

I've been reading and drooling over some of these tanks for quite a while now, and I decided to try a couple of things I've seen on here on my 75 gal. I'm done w/ all of the hard work, now I'm looking at some more aesthetic things (plants & rocks...and stock :fish

So heres what I HAD...










Closer Up









Very basic and plain setup, 2 Oscars (that clearly got too big), driftwood, and a little rock cave they could no longer fit it. I took everything out and basically started from scratch.

First thing I did was to try a 3D background, I tried one on a smaller 10 gal tank for practice, and it turned out fairly decent, so I went for the big one. I used a few ideas I seen on the forums, as you can probably tell. Its about 8 inches at its thickest and about 1/2 inch in the real low middle area, though most of the thick parts are hollowed out. I know its kind of the "old school" now, but I went the cement approach since I had so much of it laying around, I just colored it with pigments as so many others have. There is a powerhead and my filter intake hidden behind the background as well as the output from the fiter. I've also hidden my biowheels behind a removable piece of the background. Then, I decided to give an undergravel filter system a shot. The power head is the one hidden behind the background, and I incorporated 2 of the back jets into the background and the front two jets I made little rocks around the jets, so you really can't see them at all unless your looking for them. Then I topped it all off with a few bags of white Aragonite sand.

The next thing I decided was to refinish my stand. It was about 8 years old and enough water had made its way onto the finish over the years where it was looking a bit rough in some places. So I completely stripped the old stain/varnish off, sanded it down and went with a ebony stain finish and an outdoor stain sealer. Replaced the old ballasts and lights, and spraypainted the inside a metallic silver for better reflection. Add on some new hardware and after a few months of work this is what I came out with...










Closer Up









This picture shows where different things are incorporated









Its still a little bare, and thats where I'm hoping you can help. There will likely be more rocks about the size of the fake ones I've made, I'm defiantly going be planting this, and it will be stocked with some sort of Africans. I'm just looking for some suggestions for all of that? Or just comments, I'll take whatever.


----------



## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Wow, great DIY!

I would suggest some large round river rocks some leaning against the back ground and some smaller ones scattered in your foreground.

If you can find some that are flat on one side it will give the illusion that they're buried deeper than they really are.

And I'm a fan of no plants - it looks great already. But if you're dying to do it a small bunch of vallisneria might look good behind a foreground rock.

kevin


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

Hey thanks for your thoughts. I just put some more larger river rocks in and put in some plants...I just like the way planted looks better. I'll post some updated photos once the water clears up (it got cloudy after planting from moving the sand). 
Still wouldn't mind knowing what others think...especially for stock?


----------



## gus211 (Sep 21, 2009)

I'd say if this is gonna be an african set-up make sure ur plants root up first before you put any fish into the tank african will eat them and rearange them as well just a thought


----------



## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

...or leave the roots alone and shred the leaves!


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

Yeah, I planned on a few weeks before I thrown in any fish just to let everything clear up and stabilize. Thanks for all the suggestions...keep em comin'.


----------



## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Still looking for stocking suggestions?

There are lots of things you can do in a 75. You may have seen this: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... er_75g.php

Judging from the shape of rocks in your back ground you were thinking mbuna?

For maximum variety, you could do *four* species with different colouration and body type. The differences can keep aggression and cross breeding down, since dominant males are less likely to feel threatened by males that don't look similar, and less likely to breed with females that don't look similar - but nothing's guaranteed.

There are lots of *Blue/Black* batted mbuna: _Ps. demasoni_ being the most popular monomorphic type. They're small too, which is good since you need about 12-15 to spread the aggression around. _M. cyaneorhabdo_s has black and white stripes instead of bars. Still a fairly violent fish.

For 'just' *blue* mbuna you could consider _M. callainos_ or _Ps. socolofi_. Both are a bit agressive. Callainos are a nice ice blue while socolofi are darker with black fins. P_s. sp. "acei" (Ngara)_ are midnight blue with white tails. They get big but are peaceful.

For *light* colour you can't go wrong with _L. caeruleus_, except you can go wrong with the quality out there. If you can find a good breeder, they are a stunning fish. Peaceful too. If you can't find nice ones, _M. estherae_ are a nice orange. In some variants the males are blue. A fairly big fish that often sports amazing egg spots.

I am a big fan of *Orange Blotch (OB)* cichlids. _L. trewavasae, L. fuelleborni, M. estherae, M. fainzilberi_ and _Tropheops_ all have OB variants. The Labeotropheus have an unique mouth and the Tropheops sports a very different head shape.

Lastly, you can get a nice *lavender and rust* colour from _I. sprengerae_. Another mild cichlid.

Again, shoot for four species in a 75. Just try not to mix genuses (no two Metriaclima, for example) with the exception of some Pseudotropheus.

In most cases you'll want 1m/5f. Sexing is less important with L. caeruleus, Ps. sp. "acei" and I. sprengerae since they're not too violent.

And get 5 Synodontis for fry patrol and additional action.

Much of this may be old news to you, but it's my suggestion!

kevin


----------



## gus211 (Sep 21, 2009)

I actually like maingano for a blue fish or the saulosi because you get two colors with one fish the males are a blue with black barring and the females are a yellowish but that's just me I mean there are so many cool fish its hard to pick some times. My favorite is the polit its like a whitesh blue body with a black face any way back to why I posted to begin with I would like to see the updated picture of ur tank. Also as posted above be really carefull with yellow labs I just went through a bad episode with my labs and it didn't end so well for the fry they ended up becoming oscar food due to a bad strain of fish


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

Hey guys, thanks for the input, I'll defiantly take these recommendations to heart when I'm pickin out my stock.


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

So its been a while since I posted progress on my tank so I thought I'd do just that. I've since got some plants in there and other rocks and stocked it as well with some Acie's, Borleyi, Electric Yellow's, and Cobue. Also apologize for the less than stellar picture quality, they were taken w/ my phone and I'd recently done some rearranging so the water is a bit cloudy.










I also made up my own version of cichlid stones by making a rock like object out of spray foam, covering it in cement, and then pulling out the foam leaving just the cement rock shell. My fish are loving them.




























Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions and help.


----------



## killakam (Feb 26, 2011)

I love those cichlid stones you made, 100 x better then cichlid stones IMHO if you ask me 
nice job buddy


----------



## racingonline (Apr 2, 2011)

i only wish i had half this much talent. nice job.


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

killakam said:


> I love those cichlid stones you made, 100 x better then cichlid stones IMHO if you ask me
> nice job buddy


Thanks. I like them better as well because I was able to shape and color them more to the rounded rock style of my background...they fit in better.


----------



## Norm66 (Mar 3, 2005)

Wow. Looks great! I love the DIY rocks.


----------



## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

If you could elaborate a little more on how you made them rocks I would appreciate it. How easy was it to remove the foam once the cement had cured? Are the bottoms of the rocks open so the entire piece of foam could slide out? Did you have to break it out in pieces? Did it stick to the cement?

Sorry for all the questions but really like them and your tank. That style background in exactly what I was thinking of doing when I do mine. The larger, rounder rocks rather than the bunch of smaller ones.

One other questions once a background like that is made is it still advisable to place rock piles in there to help for territories or do the fish stake a claim on the BG itself? Just seems like a shame to have to hide that behind a lot of rock to keep the fish comfortable.

Thanks in advance Ben


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

xxbenjamminxx said:


> If you could elaborate a little more on how you made them rocks I would appreciate it. How easy was it to remove the foam once the cement had cured? Are the bottoms of the rocks open so the entire piece of foam could slide out? Did you have to break it out in pieces? Did it stick to the cement?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions but really like them and your tank. That style background in exactly what I was thinking of doing when I do mine. The larger, rounder rocks rather than the bunch of smaller ones.
> 
> ...


Well it was a little trial an error. One way that I did was to take a terra cotta pot, turn it on its side and cover it in foam and carve it to look like a rock. The opening on the pot would be the opening in the rock. Then cover it in cement. Those looked great, but I overlooked the buoyancy of the foam and they floated. So what it did with those was to drill some holes into the cement and with a small hook I made out of a wire hanger I pulled out the foam and then filled it up with cement.

The way that worked best for me was just spray some foam onto a piece of wax paper and carve it into a stone when it was dry. Then you cover it in cement leaving a hole for the opening or drilling one in later (though that causes some chip out if you go too thin on the cement). With these, the bottom is open. Then I just turned it upside down, and pulled out the foam carefully. It does stick to the sides, but if you get it wet it comes out a little easier. Since the inside wasn't smooth because the top of the foam wasn't after carving, I just put a few coats of cement inside to make it nice and smooth.

Then I just painted them with drylock, and then "sponge painted" with colored drylock to give the rocky colors. I have about 4 stones that I used the terra cotta pot method for, and then four that I used the second method for. The ones with the pots in them are closed on the bottom, so they work well to stack up on the ones that have open bottoms.

For me, I had cement and drylock, and spray foam (Great Stuff I think) left over from when I made my background, and I just picked up some terra cotta pots from Home Depot for like $.20/each, so I only spent like $1. They took about a week to make between letting the foam set up, carve, covering in two coats of cement, hollowing out the foam, re-cementing, and then painting with the drylock. Then I let them sit for about another week for the cement to cure, soaked them in water for about another week and then in they went. There just starting to get alge covered now (about a month later). Overall, worth it for me.

With my background, my fish do like to go into the nooks and crannies and hang out there, especially the smaller Electric Yellows. Right in the bottom middle of my background is the one rock that looks like it is being supported up by two smaller rocks (you can see it better in the pictures earlier in this thread. I didn't like the way that part turned out, so I wanted to cover that part with these stones. Now, though, there is an open space there where my larger Pleco likes to hang out during the day. The other rocks are just far enough in front of the background so that you can still seem them and the fish can still explore if they like.

Thanks all for you positive comments, their appreciated, and have inspired me to do this.


----------



## MalawiHombre (May 5, 2011)

WOW! I don't really know what to say, I just love this setup. That backgroud is insane, and I love that you made your own caves. The moderate planting scheme is also working very well for that tank. I was told to come to this forum for ideas to make my own, and this is so awesome. Consider me inspired. Props!


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

MalawiHombre said:



> WOW! I don't really know what to say, I just love this setup. That backgroud is insane, and I love that you made your own caves. The moderate planting scheme is also working very well for that tank. I was told to come to this forum for ideas to make my own, and this is so awesome. Consider me inspired. Props!


Hey thanks. Appreciate the praise.


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

Just wanted to post some pictures that I think are a little more clear than the others...


----------



## MalawiHombre (May 5, 2011)

I was just wondering if you could help me with the clay pot method you used? I tried it without using the foam and I ended up just cracking the cement into pieces. It says you just sprayed it around the pot, how? Your cichlid stones are killer and I want them in my tank I'm working on.


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

MalawiHombre said:


> I was just wondering if you could help me with the clay pot method you used? I tried it without using the foam and I ended up just cracking the cement into pieces. It says you just sprayed it around the pot, how? Your cichlid stones are killer and I want them in my tank I'm working on.


I think if you just put more cement on the foam before you removed the foam it would work better. I put on like 3-4 coats before I pulled it out. 
But, if you wanna go the clay pot method (which works nice for being able to stack them up) what I did was to take some wax paper, and spray some foam down on top of that, like an inch thick or so, you don't really need more than that because it expands quite a bit. Then lay the pot on top of that on its side. Then just spray the foam all the way around the pot so that its totally encased. But remember which end the hold is in cuz you'll need to carve an entrance. Something I did to make the nice round hole was to take a toilet paper roll and put it in end so it left a tunnel into the pot when I was putting the foam on, then just removed it when it was all dry while I was shaping the foam into stones. Then, ya just cover it in cement. **TIP: leave as little foam as possible when carving cuz as I found out, its quite buoyant and you have to put a lot more cement on to get it to sink.** Then color them how you wish. 
You can message me if you have other questions. Oh, and thanks for taking interest. :thumb:


----------



## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

Ben, yes to the extra piles. The mbuna have an innate desire to dih UNDER things, so a few rocks will keep them from burrowing BEHIND or UNDER the BG. It will also compliment the BG. Remember, it's a BACKground, not foreground!!! LOL


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

iwade4fish said:


> Ben, yes to the extra piles. The mbuna have an innate desire to dih UNDER things, so a few rocks will keep them from burrowing BEHIND or UNDER the BG. It will also compliment the BG. Remember, it's a BACKground, not foreground!!! LOL


+1. It looks better (IMO), its a minimum of digging stuff up, and my mbuna really seem to like it


----------



## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

Love the "lost-foam" proccess!!!!! Why didn't I think of that!! Off to get some from HD.


----------



## dollunit (Apr 15, 2010)

I would love to tell you Im just a genious...but it was an accidental discovery...like Penicillin.


----------

