# Rockpiles (an mbuna biotope journal)



## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

After researching and reading the forums for a while I have seen that new tank journals have become quite popular, and the other members of this forum have imo provided new tank owners with great advice. Today I just washed my rocks and set them in the tank, and so far I likin' it. I am waiting for a few supplies to arrive and I will fill the tank with sand, water, filters, the whole shabang and get it cycling.

Stats:
tank: 60 gal. 48/15/17
filters/pumps: fluval 404 and koralia 750
rock: (almost too much) granite
substrate: washed play sand

Fish (hopefully):
Metriaclima sp. "Zebra Long Pelvic"- 8
Cynotilapia sp. "Hara"- 8

Here are some pictures of the rock setup. Any comments/suggestions (equipment, fish, rocks, etc...) are much appreciated and hoped for. I will continue post pictures until fish are well established in the tank.

The rocks (i apologize for the poor quality/glare:

Before placement in tank









Front









Top Right (blurry)









View from left side. Rocks go all the way to the front!









Right side









Thanks for viewing everybody! Let me know what you think![/img]


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

Too big & too much relative to the size of the tank...


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## JoelRHale (Apr 22, 2011)

Take out half the rocks. Arrange it into two clumps of piles on either side. The alpha should claim one pile and the rest will share the other. Keeps aggression down. Good luck!


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

alright I'll give that a try and see how it looks. I'm going for a look somewhat like this:





I'll mess around with it a bit...


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## killakam (Feb 26, 2011)

use egg crate!!! jesus those rocks look heavy...


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## JoelRHale (Apr 22, 2011)

Look at 1:19. Notice the sandy patch surrounded by rock. *That* would be a perfect aquarium layout. Cichlids like to dig and you should give them areas to do that. If they can't dig you miss out observing one of the best behaviors mbunas possess.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Alright I cleared out some of the rocks from the middle to give it a little more space, let me know what you think.


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## JoelRHale (Apr 22, 2011)

I like it much more, I still think it needs more open sand space in the middle. But now we're branching into personal preference and I don't want to force my taste on you. I would take out two of the larger rocks in the middle and all the small rocks out.

I love the color of your rocks and the source of your inspiration.


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

Looks better.... I would remove the two largest ones on the right & split the rest into two piles...

The Mdoka's will get pretty big & will need some space.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Hey guys thanks for the speedy advice! I'll definitely see what I can do about making some more space in the middle, but I cant imagine moving those two big ones on the right, they'r sooo heavy (plus i love big rocks hehe). I'll keep you all posted. Oh, one more thing, does my fish list seem okay? I think the two species will contrast well.

Thanks!


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

> Oh, one more thing, does my fish list seem okay? I think the two species will contrast well


Looks fine but they are both fairly aggressive... I would do 2M, 4-5F for both groups.

I have multiple Hara males color in my 180 with Demasoni FWIW. Demasoni & Mdoka seem like a good comparison in temperament. The Mdoka will get significantly larger than the Demasoni though...


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## natedgg (Apr 9, 2011)

cantrell00 said:


> The Mdoka will get significantly larger than the Demasoni though...


He isn't doing Demasoni. Cyno sp. hara was with the Mdoka.

I think your setup looks good. I would leave your rock alone, get the tank cycled, see how the fish start to respond. You'll know if the territories are too "mixed" or close and if you need to remove some pieces. Fish are for your enjoyment too, so do what will make you happy as much as you can while accommodating their needs. My $0.02.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Well we'll see how it goes one of the sites sponsers whom i will propbly be buying the fish from said the haras should be okay with the mdokas.

I took another stab at the rocks too, I like this even better


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## natedgg (Apr 9, 2011)

Cantrell, you don't have any issues with the similarity of the colors and stripping with the Dems and the Hara males? I know the Hara are a bit lighter, but I figured that could go badly. I wanted Dems, but liked the Hara better.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

I'll hopefully be getting some water in there and the lights up by thursday, super excited!


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Ya nate I love the look of the Haras too, and the fact that they'll be bigger!


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I liked the way you first had the rocks, but the change looks good too.



killakam said:


> use egg crate!!!


And please don't bother with eggcrate. Tempered glass is made to handle this. Brittle plastic is not.


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## shellies215 (Jan 7, 2011)

+1 If you got the rock in there without breaking the tank, you don't need to worry about it. I have a rock in a 40g breeder that weighs around 140 lbs. just be careful moving them around.


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

> He isn't doing Demasoni. Cyno sp. hara was with the Mdoka.


I know. I was saying that the demasoni is a close color & temperment comparison to the Mdoka. Both are blue/black bar fish.



> Cantrell, you don't have any issues with the similarity of the colors and stripping with the Dems and the Hara males? I know the Hara are a bit lighter, but I figured that could go badly.


No.. The Hara are at the top on a dominance scale.. They really don't pay each other any attention. I could make the argument that demasoni & hara really don't look much like one another at all. The females are deep blue to purple & the males can be nearly white, light grey when colored. It should be noted that this is in a 180 with 25-30 juvenile dems @ approx 15 juvenile hara. The largest of both are around 2". In a smaller tank with lesser fish it could be a completely different dynamic in how the fish 'deal' with one another.


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## love-my-fish (Nov 26, 2009)

I enjoy it when someone is excited about the hobby. I feel the same thing setting up new tanks. I will give you my personal 2 cents worth and ultimately you have to make the final decision. I would remove the huge rock, 2nd one from the right. Also i would remove the 2 or 3 smaller rocks to the right of the 2 big ones on the left.. Then you should have some good central space for sand sifting and actual swimming.

Also don't forget your tank is a 60 gallon tank,, with that much rock in there and with that size, you don't have a 60 gallon tank of water any longer. That will affect the amount of fish you can have in there as well as how often you have to do water changes and so forth....

All in all though,, I like how it looks but i think a bit more open space would do wonders and more beneficial......

Looking forward to see how this ends up....
cheers!!!
Sheldon


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Hey thanksfor all the great input guys. I think for now i'll leave the big rocks in and see howthe fish like it, if it becomes a problem I can always change it down the road. Once my new filter media arrives I'll be able to fill the tank up and start it cycling. I'll post more pics!


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## samorama (Apr 9, 2011)

i'd say leave the ones on the right and take out a bunch of the others. looks awesome though just get less fish i'd say. you'll get it figured out. good luck keep us updated.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Hey guys, filling the tank today, and soooooo stoked!!! Will post pics when it's done.


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

i really like the new improved look. i also appreciate the small level of detail those smaller rocks add. i rather enjoyed your first setup however.. have you considered a much larger tank? you clearly have the skills and the rock for a NICE setup. id just maybe dbl the size and leave all the the rock u had


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

One day anthraxx...one day. I would love a big tank, but Im only a sophomore in college (meaning poor) so this size will have to do, but i thank you for the compliment  .
I got the tank running, and decholrinated the water. I will post pics when I have the lights setup!

A couple questions though: Some of the carbon from the filter media was a little loose and shot into the tank by the filter, is this a problem at all? 
Also, I am going to try a live bacteria solution to jumpstart the cycling process. Should I use this immediately, or wait til the tank clears up?

Thanks!


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

ya it is actually. as a pretty good rule of thumb its a good idea to wash anything your planning to put into your tank. i personally wash off all filter media (for HOB carbon applications i rinse until the black dust is no longer coming off it) its "rumored" and i use the term loosely, to cause hole in the head syndrome. its sort of an over time kinda deal from what i understand. hope things work out for ya


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

oh well i rinsed all the media out before i started to run the filter, but some solid pieces of carbon come out at the beginning, but no more have since then.


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## Sshhyguy (Mar 20, 2003)

codyDjung said:


> Well we'll see how it goes one of the sites sponsers whom i will propbly be buying the fish from said the haras should be okay with the mdokas.
> 
> I took another stab at the rocks too, I like this even better


I think it looks great with any of the last two setups IMO. Very natural looking!! When it comes to a show tank Im always one for quality of the look over square footage.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Thanks for the encouragement shy guy! Ill post some pics tonight when it's darker.
I got the tank cycling for one day now, using ammonia and a formula of nitriting bacteria to jumpstart it and after a day i got ammonia 0.25 and nitrites 0, which I thought was kinda weird. I dosed again, and will measure parameters tomorrow.

Thanks for all the help so far guys!


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Hey everyone! Finally go he lights setup and took a couple pics of it. Still need to make background though. Let me know what you think!


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## Nina_b (Jan 3, 2011)

It's stunning.


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## JoelRHale (Apr 22, 2011)

Man that looks awesome.

With a set up like that, why not just put a black background on the back? that would save you a lot of time and since you have so much rock anyways it will keep you from taking any more gallons out of your tank.


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## bearded lab (Apr 28, 2010)

Can't wait to see some fish; their colors will really pop!


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Hey thanks for all the positive feedback guys!
I am not going to do a 3d background, but was thinking of painting one in different shades of blue to give it an impression of depth, but I have been considering just a black background...we'll see.
More comments/suggestions are much appreciated

Thanks all!


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## davidsrego (Apr 10, 2011)

That looks wicked!
I think a plain background would look best... but hey, you seem to have the eye for it.


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

Looks great. You don't even need fish.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Looks really good! Not sure it's stunning or wicked, but I like the rock and placement. Still may need some more hiding places depending on what fish you are going to put in there?

Which might be??


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Hey tnaks again for the comments!
I plan aon getting Cynotilapia sp. "hara" and Metriaclima sp. "zebra long pelvic"


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## fishghost (Jul 27, 2003)

Awesome job Cody. The tank looks really nice.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Thanks fishghost! I will have a background up soon, and some more pics of that.
The tank is almost cycled and I should have some fish in the tank by next week!


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Hey guys Im wondering if you can help me out. The water is kinda cloudy still, and I'm wonderimg if its a bacterial bloom. I used dr. tims one and only to help jumpstart the fishless cycle (about 7 days ago) andthe tank still isnt fully cycled yet, and still a little cloudy.

Should I up the filtration? All I have on it now is a fluval 404 (with sponge, prefilter, carbon, carbon, and biomedia) and a koralia pump. Do think adding another filter like an hob would help get things going better, along with another bottle of dr. tims? Also, do you think i should swap out the coarbon for something else, cause pieces of it are shot out the filter every so often.

Also, I've updated my possible fishlist.
how does this sound?
6-Cyno. "hara"
4-Labeo. trewavasae "chilumba"
4-Met. "zebra long pelvic" mdoka

Thanks everyone for all the help so far!


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

hey all! its been a while. I got the background up, and ill post some pics tonight when Its darker.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Hey everybody, sorry it's been a while. I got a picture up with the background today, I decide to go with black.

sorry for the glare, I 'll try to get some more pics tonight. Also, fish will be in soon! Going with either:
Met. sp. "zebra long pelvic" and Labeo. trew. "red top"
or
Met. pyrsonotos "nakatenga" and Labeo. trew. "chilumba"


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## love-my-fish (Nov 26, 2009)

good call on the black background,,,, I think you made the right choice.... Looking forward to more pictures.... cheers!!!!


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Thanks!

Here's some more...




























Hope you like it! Still trying to figure out how to reduce glare....


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## icedgxe (Aug 5, 2007)

What kind of lighting are you running?


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

75 watt full spectrum bulb mounted about 4ft above the tank and directed at an angle. Took the idea from johnlabbe's saulosi society here on cichlid forum.


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## codyDjung (May 4, 2011)

Good news! I finally have some fish in the tank! I went with 10 Cyno. afra "jalo reef", 4 Met. sp. "daktari", and am waiting on a group of 4-5 Met. sp. elongatus "Chewere". Will post some pics soon!


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## FloodXL (Feb 23, 2006)

Those are some awesome rocks. great work! I think you will be happy you reduced the amount of rock, fish do need some :fish: space. Can't wait to see it with mbuna in there, good luck and congrats! =D>


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## TMF89 (Jul 14, 2010)

Cody, I REALLY like the tank. I've always been a fan of big rocks/structures over little ones, and I really like those two pieces on the right. I think you did the right thing with the black backround as well, now that you have fish in there I'm sure you can see how much "pop" it adds. 3D and colored backrounds are great for biotopes and tanks like that, but I think that black or dark blue backrounds are the best way to show off your fish, really excited for more pix.


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## Louie13 (Jun 2, 2010)

From the rocks(very closely resemble what is seen in underwater shots of the lake), to the lighting, down to the sand matching the rocks. The natural placement of the rocks, this is just perfect. You really did a great job here!


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## esparkman (Dec 30, 2006)

Amazing setup man. I am getting ready to acquire a 125g that will have some TLC put into it. What kind of rock are those you are using?


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

I like that big boulder look.


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