# New 220G Setup - Lots of Pics & One Question



## jes21 (Nov 7, 2015)

After many years of lurking here, reading posts, absorbing information, and enjoying all of your posts - I decided to write my own post. I've been saving for a year and finally made my one and only tank purchase. I picked up a 220 gallon tank right after Christmas. The tank is 72x24x30. I have a matching stand as well and glass tops. I wanted a canopy too, but my local store couldn't get a 72x24 canopy. 6-7 years ago I used to have 5 tanks, all smaller, with African cichlids and others. Then along came my daughter, we moved, and all tanks were sold. Now with our new house I wanted one, big tank (one tank to rule them all).

I was considering All Glass Cages for my tank, but my local fish store had just as good of a price and I didn't have to drive hours to pick it up. Holy cow was it heavy! My cousin and I went to pick it up and the woman working asked us where the other guys were, because she said we needed 4. Somehow my cousin and I were able to manhandle it into my house. My cousin has his own contracting business, so he had already reinforced the floor for me (just as a precaution).

I already had most of my equipment. I had been slowing ordering it over the fall and received a bunch of items for my birthday/Christmas as well. After the tank was in, I began the process of putting everything together. I ordered a 3D background from Universal Rocks, because I really wanted to hide all the equipment. I planned to cut out openings to allow the filter intakes/outflow to go through. Cutting through that background was a chore! Even using a drill with a hole saw attachment and my sharpest knife, it took a long time. I sliced my hand open something wicked too.

I also ordered two lark tree stumps from Universal Rocks. After having Africans in the past, I plan on stocking this tank with South American cichlids. The tree stumps are awesome - I love both of them. Once the background was cut, I started to get it into place. Getting it to stay, even with using silicone, was another pain. My wife was constantly asking me if it was worth it. But I managed to get it into place, line up the filter equipment, and make it stay. I am using pool filter sand for my substrate (this was a pain too, as most pool stores in upstate NY are closed this time of year). The rocks in the tank I got from one of my employees, whose husband owns a landscaping company. All the plants are fake.

After spending a while looking at countless Google images and pictures here, I started to decorate the tank and tried to make it look as good as I could. I have ZERO artistic flair, so any suggestions are always welcome. Hilariously, my town was under a water restriction because of a burst pipe, but that didn't stop me from filling this sucker up! It's up and running now with a lone pleco hanging out to build up some (hopefully) good bacteria.

A big thanks to everyone and this Forum for being a great resource over the years. For my equipment, I have two Fluval Fx6 filters, an Eheim Jager 300w heater, and two Finnex Stingray 36" LED strip lights.

Now, I do have *one question*. My water out of the tap is very soft. Very low pH, kH, Gh, etc. My question is: when I do water changes, how should I handle getting to a higher hardness level when my water is so soft? I never had this problem before, because my last 2 houses all had very hard water.

*Floor Reinforcement*









*Aquarium and Stand in Back of Truck*









*New Tank in House*









*Size Comparison - I am 6 feet tall*









*3D Background*









*Tree Stump #1 - You can see the holes I cut in the background*









*Tree Stump #2*









*Background & Sand*









*Background, Sand, and Stumps*









*Finished Product*









*Friendly Pleco*


----------



## somebody (May 13, 2014)

http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php
Nice tank by the way, can't wait to see the progress! Can we get a preview of the stocking?


----------



## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

Super nice. You are using the Pleco to cycle the tank? I hope you are monitoring the ammonia/cycle and doing WC, so not to hurt it. I thought you was planning on doing SA fish, are you going to do Africans?

PS--I love the Green Latern and Batman pics, --reminds me of my childhood, but I am (was) a marvel person. LOL.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Post the test results for pH, GH and KH and your stocklist.


----------



## jes21 (Nov 7, 2015)

somebody said:


> http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php
> Nice tank by the way, can't wait to see the progress! Can we get a preview of the stocking?


Thanks for the link - will read up! No idea what I am going to stock it with once it's ready. Hoping for advice from the fish store where I purchased my tank.


----------



## jes21 (Nov 7, 2015)

tanker3 said:


> Super nice. You are using the Pleco to cycle the tank? I hope you are monitoring the ammonia/cycle and doing WC, so not to hurt it. I thought you was planning on doing SA fish, are you going to do Africans?
> 
> PS--I love the Green Latern and Batman pics, --reminds me of my childhood, but I am (was) a marvel person. LOL.


When I spoke to the guy at my LFS, he suggested the Pleco because it would be hardy enough to withstand a new tank and provide some good bio-load. Plus he said it would be ok with South American cichlids. I'm not going to do Africans, only because I did that many years ago - so I was hoping to try a new continent. I am monitoring the levels and so far, so good.


----------



## somebody (May 13, 2014)

I always used tetras and Danios. Some cheap fish to get it started a single pleco in such a large tank I'm sure that's gonna take a while. Yes I find they produce a large bioload for one fish but it's like peeing in the ocean, works but it's gonna take a longer amount of time.


----------



## smitty (May 7, 2004)

Looks good and enjoy it.


----------



## boomer92 (Apr 17, 2013)

Congrats on the tank! Love following new projects. Looks great and please post progress!


----------



## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

Nice setup ... :thumb:


----------



## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

As DJ said, post your water parameters (PH, GH, KH). Do you have a water softner?

If you are planning on keeping South Americans, most prefer softer more acidic water anyway. A STABLE PH is much better than the "perfect PH" that is constantly fluctuating with every water change. I would suggest not messing with it.

Good looking setup, I have a 220 myself.


----------



## jes21 (Nov 7, 2015)

Thanks for the replies everyone. After weeks and weeks, I finally have some fish in my tank. I picked up a very pretty geophagus daemon from my LFS. He was pretty shy at first until I added 12 Buenos Aires tetras. Now he swims around and shows off more. I appreciate having this forum and the knowledge everyone has. All my water parameters are holding pretty steady. pH is around 7.4 and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all close to 0. I'm doing weekly water changes, which is a bear because I have to get on a ladder to reach the bottom of the tank to siphon the gravel. My daughter thinks it's funny since I take off my shirt to reach down.


----------



## busterny (Feb 12, 2014)

What type of pleco is that?


----------



## Fish Jerk (Mar 9, 2016)

That's a sweet tank!


----------



## jes21 (Nov 7, 2015)

busterny - my LFS told me it was a common pleco. I'm not sure, though. He has a huge fin on his back, which makes him look like a Sailfin Pleco. But the coloring seems off, so maybe it's not.


----------



## Fish Jerk (Mar 9, 2016)

Oh as for water, add in a bunch of shells and rock salt. Crush some of the shells.


----------



## SYCichlid2 (May 9, 2016)

Update on tank?


----------

