# Please post pictures of you tank set-ups!



## JoeC66 (Jan 19, 2008)

Please post pictures of you tank set-ups! I am looking for ideas of how to create hiding spots/caves and establishing healthy boundaries for new world cichlids. I am looking to add some PVC pipe accessories to create this environment. I understand that the items that I place in the tank may be removed as the fish grow.

Thanks in advance!


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

and one without the blacked out background...


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## JoeC66 (Jan 19, 2008)

Beautiful tank!

Are the floating plants real or fake? What are they?

I bought three pieces of PVC joints to create caves/hiding spots. I will posts pictures later.

Thank you for sharing!


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## JoeC66 (Jan 19, 2008)

Here are a few shots from my re-arranged tank: 
http://joec66.blogspot.com/2009/12/new- ... 32009.html


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

Thanks, the plants are fake but they are getting a nice layer of algae on them, makes them look a little more real. I think the fish like the cover it provides them.

I'm not a big fan of PVC for caves or even clay pots for that matter. Rather have something more natural looking.

But if you like it thats all that matters. :thumb:


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## JoeC66 (Jan 19, 2008)

Strohs58 said:


> Thanks, the plants are fake but they are getting a nice layer of algae on them, makes them look a little more real. I think the fish like the cover it provides them.
> 
> I'm not a big fan of PVC for caves or even clay pots for that matter. Rather have something more natural looking.
> 
> But if you like it thats all that matters. :thumb:


Our tanks look better then the inner workings of most lakes and ponds!


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

As far as adult oscars go, they will pretty much never utilize any sort of hiding spot...


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## JoeC66 (Jan 19, 2008)

artemis1 said:


> As far as adult oscars go, they will pretty much never utilize any sort of hiding spot...


Nice!

What size tanks do you have?


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

I used local driftwood, it was free and made some nice hidey holes


















a big hollow stump, and a couple of smaller pieces, I loved the look of the stump but it took up almost all the tank space


I sawed the stump down the middle (took over an hour with a handsaw), and sat one piece upright and laid the other on the bottom of the tank


I have to add baking soda to keep my ph up, but with an SA setup you should be alright


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## WaWaZat (Dec 27, 2007)

bulldogg7 said:


> I used local driftwood, it was free and made some nice hidey holes
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Let me bring this post up again...

Beautiful driftwood tank! Can you offer advice on finding & using free driftwood?

I have a few driftwood pieces that came with a used tank I bought that I am considering using. They are mounted with screws to flat slate. Does anyone know if using metal screws is standard and if they will cause any probs in an aquarium?


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## WaWaZat (Dec 27, 2007)

Strohs58 said:


> Thanks, the plants are fake but they are getting a nice layer of algae on them, makes them look a little more real. I think the fish like the cover it provides them.
> 
> I'm not a big fan of PVC for caves or even clay pots for that matter. Rather have something more natural looking.
> 
> But if you like it thats all that matters. :thumb:


I 2nd Joe's sentiment... beautiful tank! How do you keep the plants in place?


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

y brother actually found the driftwood at a local lake about 10 years ago. I just pressure washed it and screwed it to a couple of slate pieces and screwed the wood together where the pieces were touching each other. You can get stainless screws at a hardware store and use them in the slate. I used regular coated drywall screws tho, the coating is supposed to keep them from rusting, but I noticed some rust on the head of one that was holding the wood together, probably from the screwdriver slipping.


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

My tanks ------>http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=208309


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## shef (Oct 3, 2004)

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but keep in mind, it doesn't matter how you decorate, if your oscar doesn't like it, he will re-do it for you :lol: . Mine does all the time.


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

WaWaZat said:


> Strohs58 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks, the plants are fake but they are getting a nice layer of algae on them, makes them look a little more real. I think the fish like the cover it provides them.
> ...


Thanks...the plants came with some cheap suction cups on them. *** been replacing them with better ones as they lose the ability to hold to the tank walls.


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## WaWaZat (Dec 27, 2007)

Strohs58 said:


> WaWaZat said:
> 
> 
> > Strohs58 said:
> ...


Oh, they're fake?! Nice looking plants!


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## CoolCichlid (Feb 12, 2010)

bulldogg7 said:


> I used local driftwood, it was free and made some nice hidey holes
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow! Very creative!


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## WaWaZat (Dec 27, 2007)

Hey Bulldogg... how do you keep the bottom of that tank clean? Would you consider an UGJ system in a tank where the decorations take up such substrate real estate and create such obstacles to vacuum around?


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

I'm pushing about 1500gph through the sump (1000 now that there's fry in there and the intake is screened off), and 2 emperor 400's on the tank, my plan was to have all the returns near the surface pointing toward the front to sort of roll the water around so the junk would be pushed to the back and into the filters. It seems to be working, I have a few bigger pieces that settle on the bottom but during a water change the fish help stir it up by attacking the hose so I just suck out what i can. 
I considered UGJ but just didn't want to see all that plumbing getting dug up. Been thinking about something similar, like a long submerged spraybar at the back pointing up to help the bigger stuff suspended longer.


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## WaWaZat (Dec 27, 2007)

bulldogg7 said:


> I'm pushing about 1500gph through the sump (1000 now that there's fry in there and the intake is screened off), and 2 emperor 400's on the tank, my plan was to have all the returns near the surface pointing toward the front to sort of roll the water around so the junk would be pushed to the back and into the filters. It seems to be working, I have a few bigger pieces that settle on the bottom but during a water change the fish help stir it up by attacking the hose so I just suck out what i can.
> I considered UGJ but just didn't want to see all that plumbing getting dug up. Been thinking about something similar, like a long submerged spraybar at the back pointing up to help the bigger stuff suspended longer.


I have the same dilemma w/considering a UGJ for my 125g Oscar/big fish tank... getting constantly dug up & exposed. I was thinking about maybe using smaller dia. flexible tubing & fewer runs to jets. Maybe even only hiding jets in front of larger rocks & wood, pointing towards the front glass in hopes of creating some rotating current to carry the junk back to the intake. Mind you I haven't tested any of this nor have any experience doing this so I have no idea if it will work in reality. Do you have any thoughts on this plan?

Where is your sump intake? When you say "roll the water around", do you mean like a barrel?... along the surface towards the front of the glass, down the front glass, then back along the substrate carrying the junk back? And you say it works well in reality?


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

The intake is a glass-holes overflow box in the top center of the tank. 


> do you mean like a barrel?... along the surface towards the front of the glass, down the front glass, then back along the substrate carrying the junk back


yeap :thumb: it doesn't get quite everything but most of it.

Using tubes coming out of a pvc bulk head hidden in the back should work if you can keep them down. I'm sure someone's probably done it before, pex pipe might work, it's stiff enough to hold a shape and you may be able to boil it and bend it to whatever shape you need, I've just never tried shaping pex before.


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## WaWaZat (Dec 27, 2007)

So you're picking up bottom junk with a surface skimmer?? How come you didn't opt for pick-up tubes near the bottom up to the overflow box?

When you say bulkhead, do you mean like a multi-port fitting that a few pex pipe runs might feed off of?

Sorry everyone to get completely off topic here but I need to know what bulldogg knows! :lol:


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

The Emperor 400's get most of what's swept back there. The skimmer gets the lighter stuff that passes them by  I just didn't like the idea of the extra plumbing in the tank with, the overflow box only sticks out 2 inches and actually looks like it was made with the tank.

yeah multiport, just instead of having more pipe branching off connect pex or other tubing to it


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

I meant manifold not bulkhead, sorry if I confused ya


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

dubble post


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Tank looks great Carmine! :thumb: I'm about to put my Tiger in his new 60 gallon I have him acclimating now. I'm keeping the tank very bare so he will have tons of room to swim around. I will post pics tomorrow after all is done.


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