# 125g Malawi Tank Photo Journal



## porksnorkel (Aug 14, 2007)

just a little show and tell on my new 125g cich malawi set up. please enjoy!

DIY stand and canopy w/ 125g Marineland tank

filtration...twin emperor 280's,emperor 400,fluval fx5,3 hydor nano pumps
lighting.....twin 55W AHSupply PC's on single ballast, blue tint 10K bulbs
cooling.....DIY mini fan from skycraft surplus
heaters....twin stealth 200W
timer/pwr..coralife single digital/ belkin surge suppresors
substrate..tahitian moon sand
rock.........lava
backround..exterior black paint [rolled on]

flora........nada

fauna.......20 Hap and Peacock mix w/ a few pictus cats









[canopy is off for lighting upgrade and structural upgrades]










i did some drilling in the lava rock to add more cave. i used a spade head bit, which needless to say is pretty much useless now. looks like a spoon,lol.


























filtration set up...fx5 is not in yet.


















just to give u an idea of how big the rocks are...this is a shot down the back from the right side. ur seeing the emperor intakes inline.










be about a month before i get any fish. i'll have my barbs running cycling duty and testing for chemical problems [from the last DIY backround calamity] till then. come back and see the fishies!


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

looks nice. I like the idea of drilling into lava rock for caves.


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## porksnorkel (Aug 14, 2007)

no easy task tann, but well worth the extra effort.


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

I've got a big bosch hammerdrill and a bit I use for making conduit holes in cinder walls, probably won't be too bad. I would need to find a source for the large lava rock though.


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## porksnorkel (Aug 14, 2007)

if u drill the lava rock where it looks really fluffy and porous, it's not so bad.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Looking very nice. I'm glad you were able to get this nearer to completion.

BTW, you can use carbide saw blades and debur bits to cut & shape this stuff. That's what I did on the Featherrock I used in my tank. I ruined my spade bit before the brain kicked in & decided I needed to use masonry/carbide bits.


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## tomfoolery (Apr 12, 2008)

skycraft surplus is the place with the big UFO around its sign...right?


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## porksnorkel (Aug 14, 2007)

that's the one tom. on fairbank's in winter park.


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## tomfoolery (Apr 12, 2008)

yep *** driven past that place a bunch of times when i was little i always wanted to go there cause of the ufo and rocket...lol


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## porksnorkel (Aug 14, 2007)

here's what's new.

had to rework the canopy, and this tank has been on stand by, whilst i worked on the other. i did get the canopy finished and hung the big light up in there. it has one actinic and one regular 48"t-8. also reworked the rocks a bit. took out 2 big ones, which gave me about 10 extra gallons of water to work with. more swim space too. no fish yet, other than 1 cycling barb. has 3 emperor 400's and 1 280.


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

That looks really nice. I am planning on drilling some lava rock like you did pretty soon. I have a 125 that is half lava rock (the expensive pre-sclupted stuff from the pet store) and half river rock. I want to upgrade it to all lava rock.


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## porksnorkel (Aug 14, 2007)

sheesh tan. that much rock at the lfs musta cost a fortune! i got about 300 lbs, for 50.00 at a place that sells only rock.

pretty easy to drill in though. just plan on destroying some spade heas bits. get a cheapo set.


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

Came with a used tank for quite a steal. I'll be using a masonry bit with my hammer drill, so I won't be chewing up bits.


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## porksnorkel (Aug 14, 2007)

that'll work. if i may suggest leaving the rocks wet, so the dust doesn't get crazy. good luck and post pics when u have it ready!
u can link pics from this thread if u like.


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