# New to Chiclid's and New to Forum



## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

Ok this is my Howdy post.... 

I have had a 48 bowfront for about two years running 2 - 6 fancy goldfish (depending on how many were alive at any one time... :roll: ) and a pleco. Wife wants bigger and better so off we went to craigslist in search of new home for our watery friends. Along the way we decided to keep the goldfish in the 48 and create a new setup for chichlids in the new tank, Here are some pics of the tank I will be picking up on Saturday.

Any thoughts on to the size of this tank? Im thinking about 90 or so gallons....but your thoughts are appreciated.



















Filter that is coming with the tank...thoughts on this? Pump to the left is a GenX PCX30.










And a picture of the lights that are coming with the setup










And this is a picture of the type of setup I want to achieve... Taller of course, but the general look is what im going for.










Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and am sure I will be absorbing this forum and others for the next several weeks as I begin to fill and cycle the tank.

Regards,
NS
:fish:


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

saltwater canister


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## TangSteve (Sep 20, 2009)

I run the same canister hooked up to my UGJ system and it works great. It is only mechanical though so you will need some sort of bilogical filtration as well.


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

cjacob316 said:


> saltwater canister


Yes its my understanding that this was a salt water tank in its previous life...


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

TangSteve said:


> I run the same canister hooked up to my UGJ system and it works great. It is only mechanical though so you will need some sort of bilogical filtration as well.


Excellent I was just looking thru the UGJ setup and am thinking about running one since the tank is so deep, should reduce the amount of effort on cleaning the bottom I would hope.


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

Ok, tank is home, unloading from trailer now, its a Tenecor F135, so even larger than I thought.

Now to set it up and put some water in it t check for leaks.... :thumb:

Regards
NS

:fish:


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## lam man48 (Jan 14, 2007)

nice


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

Digging around underneath the tank, it has a UV Sterilizer Lifeguard QL-25. Is this needed in a Freshwater setup?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Congrats on the new tank. Sounds like a real learning experience coming up.  Lots of things to keep you busy. The leap from goldfish which are called cold water fish to tropicals like cichlids is quite a leap. Not as hard as going from none to a tank full though. You have not mentioned a heater. You most likely will need one evewn in your state. (75-80 degrees) 
The UV is something that might take a bit of study. The lamps tend to wear down through use and so it may not be doing a great deal any more. It is something that might be nice but is generally not considered a requirement for freshwater fish. Use it if convenient but not to much worry if it is not. Other more important ways to keep the water in good shape for a start. I suggest lots of reading on fish. You're headed down a path of no end when you start trying to do it right. 

Your lights will most likely do the job. In saltwater or keeping live plants the lighting is much more critical. For fresh the light is more for how you want to see the fish. They would be fine with the lights off!


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

PfunMo said:


> Congrats on the new tank. Sounds like a real learning experience coming up.  Lots of things to keep you busy. The leap from goldfish which are called cold water fish to tropicals like cichlids is quite a leap. Not as hard as going from none to a tank full though. You have not mentioned a heater. You most likely will need one evewn in your state. (75-80 degrees)
> The UV is something that might take a bit of study. The lamps tend to wear down through use and so it may not be doing a great deal any more. It is something that might be nice but is generally not considered a requirement for freshwater fish. Use it if convenient but not to much worry if it is not. Other more important ways to keep the water in good shape for a start. I suggest lots of reading on fish. You're headed down a path of no end when you start trying to do it right.
> 
> Your lights will most likely do the job. In saltwater or keeping live plants the lighting is much more critical. For fresh the light is more for how you want to see the fish. They would be fine with the lights off!


Thanks Pfunmo....after poking around and completely removing all components, it appears as if the bulb is dead...however I went ahead and plumbed it back in and will order a replacement on Monday. After about 5 hours of replumbing everything with new tubing and clamps, its now up and running and full of water...had about 2 really good leaks and one that took me about 5 trys to fix (main connection on drain side coming from tank)

Yes moving from Goldfish is quite a leap, but what the ****, its only money right??? :roll:

Here are pics as of a few minutes ago, tank is full, lights are on, no leaks :thumb: , and first batch of nitromax added....still need to put media in my canister filter and put the substrate in, (ordering the Eco mix from Carib Sea, so will be about a week before it shows.

Thanks all for the interest in my tank....


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## TangSteve (Sep 20, 2009)

I had the exact same tank for years. Bought it used for $200 and sold years later for $500.

Don't forget it is acrylic so will scratch with a normal algae scarpper. I always used old credit cards and had no issues wirth scratches.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Oh, yes. Looking much better. I was just a tiny bit on edge about the color in those first pics.. Orange, blue and green was a bit much for me. Good luck and as you say, Its only money. 

That is once you loose all your hair... :lol:


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

PfunMo said:


> Oh, yes. Looking much better. I was just a tiny bit on edge about the color in those first pics.. Orange, blue and green was a bit much for me. Good luck and as you say, Its only money.
> 
> That is once you loose all your hair... :lol:


LOL, yeah the original pics at the top where from where it was sitting in a warehouse....the later pics are my home.

Just got the substrate and the rocks in this past weekend, waiting for the driftwood to show up via fedex...once that gets in the tank, will supply new pics....

Just finishing up the cycling, down to 2.0ppm now with ammonia, so should be ready by this weekend for some fishies... That Nitromax is great stuff for speeding up that process.


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

Ok, so was checking the water last night and the ammonia was around 2.2ppm, the nitrites were off the scale and the nitrates were off the scale....So started a 30% water change.

Filled my 33 gallon trash can with water, dropped in a recirq pump and was going to let it sit for the night, bout 9pm wife 2.0 was walking thru the kitchen and noticed the floor was soaking wet....BAH the trashcan has a hole in it along with the bag that was in the trashcan....So in with some chlorine neutralizer. (since i could not wait the 24 hours for the water to dechlorinate) and began the process of a water change.

I wont drag on the story, but it was a comedy of errors that ended with me being frustrated and about 5 large towels to sop up all the water. 

Bottom line is the tank looks good this morning, and will be testing again tonight.

Man its a lot of work to keep these things happy, and I have not even put in my first freaking fish..... :roll:

Regards,

NS

:fish:


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Remember the first time you rode a bike. Gets easier with experience. :thumb:


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## cichlidhopper (May 12, 2008)

Very nice tank.. This hobby is more than a addiction. 
I started with 2 10 gal tanks 3 years ago. I had 2 black moors in one and 2 oranda's in the other.
I now have 81 tanks. With 26 running. All cichlid tanks. So many different ones and so many colors.... Most amazing fish and people I have ever experienced.
I keep both new world and old world cichlids. Everything from Chocolate's to Frontosa's

My advise. Read and ask read some more and ask again.. 

Good luck and just enjoy the wonderful world of cichlids.


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

cichlidhopper said:


> Very nice tank.. This hobby is more than a addiction.
> I started with 2 10 gal tanks 3 years ago. I had 2 black moors in one and 2 oranda's in the other.
> I now have 81 tanks. With 26 running. All cichlid tanks. So many different ones and so many colors.... Most amazing fish and people I have ever experienced.
> I keep both new world and old world cichlids. Everything from Chocolate's to Frontosa's
> ...


81 tanks...wow....and 26 running....double wow, when are you NOT doing water changes...lol...

Well, my ammonia is dropping nicely each nite, but my nitrites are still thru the roof. Almost there......... :thumb:


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

Well, still cycling, ammonia drops every evening, but cant seem to get my nitrites to drop, Nitrates are thru the roof tho.

Did a couple of full water changes to lower the nitrates, two days later, spiked again, but still have high nitrites...

grrr, wife 2.0 is getting very impatient...wants...fishies...now..... :roll:

Well, maybe by this weekend.... opcorn:

Also, here is a crappy phone photo of the tank, but you get the picture of where im going with it...the stump is curently soaking in water to get it to sink, but will be added in the next few days. off to the left and should fill that area nicely.

Tough to get the rocks much higher, and already have 200+ lbs of them in there....

Also will be replacing the tall plants with something else...need something that is taller and fuller for this size tank,and more of them...


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## buddha2364 (Nov 3, 2009)

opcorn:


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## myfirstgixxer07 (Jun 4, 2009)

Welcome and congrats on the new tank :thumb:


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## TheBanker (Jun 14, 2008)

welcome to the forum, looks like that tank was made for that space. Matches your cabinets. What type of cichlids are you getting?


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

OK, so the tank is "mostly" done cycling.... 8) .... and the wife wants fish, so we went and picked up 12 at the LFS and brought them home Sunday. After acclimating to my water for about an hour in the tank they went.

WOW....  Man are they active little buggers....After keeping fancy goldfish for a few years, this was just about a shock to my system.

Wife 2.0 love them and actually went home today early from work just to watch them some more. I may have a little competition for my time now... 

Its a mixed batch of africans. Basically I told the guy at the LFS that I wanted all of them in that there tank. They seemed to be getting along nicely and my tank is much more bettah set up than the LFS tank.

So....No idea what I have. Pics coming soon. I do know thru the library here that I have 1M and 1F of the Melanocromis auratus species. 3 completely orange cichlids and I think they have spot on the anal fin, but hard to tell, one greyish color with black vertical strips, one light yellow with black vertical stripes...its a very pale looking fish, and some others...that have some nice markings. Im looking to identify them all, but I want to see if I can do that on my own. Kind of like opening up a cereal box and finding the prize.

All in total its 12 fish and they seem happy after 2 days in the tank, very little aggression other than the normal chasing each other around, the M. Auratus, I may need to pick up another female or two since he seems to be the most aggressive so far towards her.

They like to play in the current of my centipede return and dont seem to like the top of the tank much.

I let the acclimate a day before feeding and then started them off on Cichlid Gold mini pellets, but one of the cichlids does not want to go up and feed, so gonna get him some sinking pellets. Also have some zuchini at home that will go in tonight.

All in all, everything is going well :thumb:

Still looking to add about 12 - 18 more tho to fully stock the tank. They are all currently in the 1.5 - 3" range.

Question, is there a general rule on size versus age? ie...1.5 inches is about 6 months old...etc..etc...?

Regards,

NS

:fish:


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

Ok as promised, here are some pics....sorry for the flash one, but it shows a few more fish.

15 cichlids so far, and one catfish. looking to add about 7 -10 more...Thoughts?

1 red jewel
3 M Auruts 1m, and 2f
1 elect blue
1 bumble bee
3 red zebras..i think...rest still working to identify....

two anubis plants, growing them out and hope to replace the fakes as they grow out.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Your tank looks MUCH better than the one you originally said was the look you were going for! :thumb:

It's really beautiful. I prefer rockwork over having wood in African tanks, but others like the wood for sure. Your rocks look great. Good for you for working on identification skills. I've never kept Malawi cichlids, so can't help you with stocking.


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## Wolffishin (Sep 9, 2009)

The tank looks great.

Just be aware that you have some very aggressive fish (Auratus, Bumble Bee) and you may at some time need to rehouse or exchange them for something different.

But you do have a nice size tank and it could work out, you never know.


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

scrubjay said:


> Your tank looks MUCH better than the one you originally said was the look you were going for! :thumb:
> 
> It's really beautiful. I prefer rockwork over having wood in African tanks, but others like the wood for sure. Your rocks look great. Good for you for working on identification skills. I've never kept Malawi cichlids, so can't help you with stocking.


Thanks scrubjay, yes I realized it was much better to go for the original look instead of trying to copy someone elses work. However that is a large piece of driftwood on the left :wink:

It just looks like the rocks and blends in nicely I think.

Identifying the fish is difficult, I am scouring these forums looking for others pics to help identify, Im sure Ill eventually post a few pics and ask for help on those I finally give up on.

Regards,

NS

:fish:


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

Wolffishin said:


> The tank looks great.
> 
> Just be aware that you have some very aggressive fish (Auratus, Bumble Bee) and you may at some time need to rehouse or exchange them for something different.
> 
> But you do have a nice size tank and it could work out, you never know.


Yes the Auratus caught me by suprise at how much he was harrasing the female. After two days I went and picked up another female today, and he is not harrasing the one female nearly as much. However the original female has almost completely changed colors and has an almost greyish blue look to her.

The bumble bee is also a new fish just purchased today and I will be keeping an eye on him, Also picked up a Red Jewel and a catfish (the cat has disappeared and I worry for his return, my big Hap nailed him in the side as soon as he went in the tank and stunned the poor guy. have not seen him since... :roll: )

The red jewel has also gone into hiding, have not seen it since it went into the tank. opcorn:

Regards,

NS

:fish:


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## bertolli (Aug 18, 2009)

Congrats on your new tank. It looks like your keeping mostly mbunas, if your going to keep a catfish they generally like to be in numbers so you should probably pick up a couple more.
Never kept jewels but that may be the case with him.
You have a very nice looking tank :thumb:


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

NetStalker said:


> Thanks scrubjay, yes I realized it was much better to go for the original look instead of trying to copy someone elses work. However that is a large piece of driftwood on the left :wink: It just looks like the rocks and blends in nicely I think.
> Regards,
> NS


It looks fine, but think of the awesome South American cichlid tank you could start! I used to dream of finding something like that stump. :drooling:

It does blend in really well with the rocks and just as long as it isn't softening your water, it's great structure. :fish:


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

Ok this is it....put the last of the rock in it on Sunday, now its sit back and enjoy time.... opcorn:

Thanks everyone for the comments an help, its all been appreciated.










Regards,

NS

:fish:


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## Liam_Doherty (Sep 8, 2009)

That is absolutly stunning. Thanks for the pic.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

wow, now your tank is spectacular! The stump looks great there and I love the height and structural complexity of your rockwork. You have some very lucky fish and I bet it is hard to stop watching them! What kind of rock is that and where did your stump come from? Did you do the undergravel jets?

I am much slower getting my tanks set up ;p
There are so many neat DIY tweaks since I last had my two 100-gallon tanks 10 years ago! 3-D backgrounds, undergravel jets, etc. I've got a 40-gal breeder to set up and a used 46-bowfront, but now I'm thinking I might sell the 46er to get a larger tank.

This is exactly how I want my rockwork for my J. transcriptus/multies tank to look, although I will be building it up high on one side and having a shell bed on the other.

congrats on a stupendous job! =D> 
--Angela


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

scrubjay said:


> wow, now your tank is spectacular! The stump looks great there and I love the height and structural complexity of your rockwork. You have some very lucky fish and I bet it is hard to stop watching them! What kind of rock is that and where did your stump come from? Did you do the undergravel jets?
> 
> I am much slower getting my tanks set up ;p
> There are so many neat DIY tweaks since I last had my two 100-gallon tanks 10 years ago! 3-D backgrounds, undergravel jets, etc. I've got a 40-gal breeder to set up and a used 46-bowfront, but now I'm thinking I might sell the 46er to get a larger tank.
> ...


Rock is called Table Mesa Brown Rip Rap (a type of quartzite)....picked it up at the local rock yard for about 10 dollars total. To me it looks like petrified wood.

The stump my wife found on ebay, lots of sellers out there just do a search on driftwood and aquarium. This is the biggest one I could get that would fit the opening of my acrylic on top.

Im not a big fan of the blue background, but its starting to grow on me. Im cultivating the live plants and hopeing to eventually remove all the fakes. But for now they are a great filler for the back ground, and the cichlids love to hide and play in them.

As to the UGJ system, I bailed on that. Once I saw how much of a foot print the rocks were taking up it just no longer made sense...my only fear now is not being able to properly vacuum the tank and all the little crevices....I might have rocked my self in to a hard spot on that.

Thanks for the kind words, its been a very expensive hobby so far and these fish better survive or im gonna kill em. 

Regards,

NS

:fish:


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Thanks. My local rock yard has quartzite, so I'll see if they have something like that. I know they have tons of slate and lots of cool granite, but this seems more natural looking. I'm planning a little jaunt down to Portland, OR because there is a huge landscaping supply place there that looks like it has everything. I'm glad your wife is into the tank. I see so many guys here implying that their wives would rather they don't spend money on their fish hobby. I can't imagine being in that situation! I love living alone 8)

I was thinking the undergravel jets were probably overkill in the 40-gallon I am initially setting up, but since it will have a lot of rockwork on one side, I was thinking of hiding one of these Hydor Koralia pumps behind the rockwork instead. I haven't seen them in person, so I don't know how big they are, but a small one might do the trick.









If you had a black background, it would look like the caves in the rocks are really deep. Might be nice.


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## ntvinh986 (Nov 17, 2009)

TangSteve said:


> I run the same canister hooked up to my UGJ system and it works great. It is only mechanical though so you will need some sort of bilogical filtration as well.


It's so great. Thanks a lots.


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

My wife managed to take some really good pictures of the tank last night, this one is my favorite so wanted to share one last photo....










This one really brings out the colors of the fish and rocks.

I still have not identified the two yellowish vertically striped fish in my tank nor the light blue one off to the right below the temp probe. Any help is appreciated.

Regards,

NS

:fish:


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## bertolli (Aug 18, 2009)

NetStalker said:


> I still have not identified the two yellowish vertically striped fish in my tank nor the light blue one off to the right below the temp probe. Any help is appreciated.
> :fish:


Not sure about the blue one but the yellow ones are probably male kenyis if they came from the mixed african tank at the lfs.









http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=798


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## NetStalker (Oct 9, 2009)

bertolli said:


> NetStalker said:
> 
> 
> > I still have not identified the two yellowish vertically striped fish in my tank nor the light blue one off to the right below the temp probe. Any help is appreciated.
> ...


Yep thats him and I have a female as well, now just need to figure out the big guy what he is, and that is the last that I need to identify in this tank...

thanks a ton bertolli.

Regards

NS

:fish:


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## tophergold (Nov 16, 2009)

Black background would KILL!!! :drooling:

And awesome setup, lots of nooks and shadows makes for a great effect... im def jealous great tank


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Whenever I read the word "kenyi" now, I think "red alert, red alert" because of what people on here say about them. :lol: Same with auratus and bumble bee.

Just out of curiousity, what is the best way to house the "highly aggressive" mbuna species? In giant male-only tanks with equally sized fish? In single-species tanks? In harems with other groups in huge tanks? and I'm not asking because I want some! lol.

If these fish are tank-raised, it's a bummer that people breed these particular species (in quantity) for the pet trade instead of other, less aggressive species. I am sure there is a market for them, but unsuspecting buyers may get turned off of keeping aquaria. Or maybe they just buy more fish when the aggressive ones kill their others.


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## bertolli (Aug 18, 2009)

kenyis like all mbunas are harem breeders, they defend their territory fiercely so you have to have a large tank with lots of cover. The more fish you have the less likely one fish is to be repeatedly picked on to the point of life threatening stress.
Mbunas tend to be all fairly agressive some more than others but in the right tank size and set up they all get along fine.


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## Robtheheretic (Nov 14, 2009)

your tank is stunning i wish i had the room/money for set up like that. as it is im having a hard time finding room for my 55 in my new apartment(and still have know idea what im going to put in it)


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