# 6by2by2 mixed malawi tank



## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

as I've been asked to document this in a proper thread.

I picked up a second hand 6by2by2 (in very good condition apart from a broken centre brace, no scratches to be found) it came with a FX5 so most of the filtration is sorted.

first off, bringing the tank back, took 4 blokes, and unfortunately the doorways aren't quite wide enough for 2 blokes side by side...

so put it on the kitchen table








then drove back up and got the stand to put it on.










moved the tank over (not popular as there is a scratch on the table..)









fitted 2 pieces of eggcrate for where I planed the rock piles.

Once I got the backing plastic I applied it using a little oil (had olive oil going spare, so used a little of that) and then used an ink roller (thats what I was told it was called) to smooth out any bubbles

then I had the fun of moving and washing 213kg of rock (I was so geeky I decided to weigh it)
then set up 1 of those painting ladder/platform things, and transferred the rock to that. then got in the tank, and lifted the rock into the tank before carefully arranging it (the heaviest piece there was 26kg, so not something I wanted to drop.

once that was done I added 40kg washed play sand (a 4-5 hour job.)

and then filled it up. this was shot straight after filling, and despite spraying the water in directly (and stirring up the sand) notice the lack of cloudiness










I then fitted a floating shelf above the tank (Ikea) and attached 4 LED lights









and though this photo doesn't show it well, it is very well illuminated 








which given thats only (at most) 5.6w to light an entire 180g I think thats pretty good going.

filled the FX5 with Eheim substrat pro, and filterwool. (put a layer of filterwool behind each of the sponges in the basket, and 2-3 layers in the bottom basket with the eheim media on top, other baskets were just substrat pro

I then added my fish, both new (quarantined for 4 weeks) and from my existing tanks.

stock list is was as follows.

10 I. Sprengerae (rusties) 
11 L. Caeruleus (yellow labs)
4 Ps. Ellongatus Chewere 
3 Ps. Acei 1m2f
3 M. Estherae 1m2f
5 O. Lithobates Mumbo Island 3m2f (bought as trios, 1 female died shortly after getting home. and the other "female" turned out not to be...)
8 P. Taeniolatus "fire blue" (should be Makanjila)
4 Synodontis Petricola

haven't been able to get hold of any utaka or peacocks of yet

so far there has only been 1 death. and that was 1 of the spare O. lithobates males, the other 2 seem to ignore each other, though 1 isn't showing full colours, however, in the last week I have had a female red zebra and a small yellow lab develop bloat, so not happy, but other than that no problems with this tank.

I have no full tank setups, as I haven't been able to get a matched pair of flashguns or studio lights to light the tank up good and proper for a full shot, and trying to do it in bits didn't work

I haven't done a lot of photography of recent (due to my health) and have been infuriated with my aquarium attempts so not many inhabitants shots.
the dominant O lithobates








the dominant P. Taeniolatus "fire blue"








one of my original yellow labs (the newer ones I got (though still small) aren't quite as colourful)








and a pair of my rusties female front, male back









If I get the opportunity I may add a pair of lerinthrops and some copadiochromis. amd maybe a trio of aulonocara, but depends what I find is available


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

Awsome tank. How much did you get it for?


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## chc (Jul 28, 2004)

I just love how that tank reflects the natural environment of the fish. No plants, no coral, no decorative rocks, just a simple slice of Malawi!


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## kj23502 (Jul 29, 2008)

I love it!! That is alot of rock!!


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## faile486 (Jul 15, 2008)

What type of rock is that?


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## youngb074 (Jun 22, 2008)

What a beautiful tank, and I love the lighting. Wish you had some more pics of your fish....but I understand they are sometimes not very photo friendly :wink:


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

the tank, stand, filter and 1 heater (slightly annoyed there, he didnt give me both heaters as he was supposed to...) for Â£200 ($400)

given that it was only up the road (20 miles, as opposed the the usual 2-300 miles away I find these adverts) and the fact that to buy a 6by2by2 new (and none of the rest) around here would have set me back 340($680) minimum (and I found 1 LFS selling it at Â£500 ($1000))

the rock is "green slate" though I think there might be some basalt in there as well (2 different textured rocks in the same large piece) I have arranged all rocks so the strata all run the same direction, so that also makes it look more natural (might not be obvious, but when it isn't they always look a bit more man made)


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

as a late update








(hope the image is good for you, it looks great on my TFT, but on the CRT monitor it looks dark

I've added some _Aulonocara stuartgrandi maleri_ Maleri Island who though being small (hitting 2" or so) are doing well


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Looks awesome =D> I remember that tank.


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## jschall (Apr 2, 2009)

I lightened up that picture for you:








It kind of washed out the sand. If I had more time I could color correct it properly.


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## F8LBITEva (Nov 9, 2007)

Great looking tank! :thumb:


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## natalie559 (Dec 6, 2007)

Awesome- thanks for the update!

How were you able to stack the rocks so high? Do they lean on the glass?


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

Tank looks great. I think I'll set one up similarly for my next one.

Natalie, stacking rocks sometimes works great all on it's own...like putting a puzzle together. I'd imagine some of them lean on the glass, but if you play with it you can usually get a pretty stable pile.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

none of them lean on the sides

supported straight down, as mentioned earlier used eggcrate underneath


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## cichlids _killer (Apr 13, 2008)

wow how did i missed this thread...? nice tank madman i love th rock work ...can i get some close pic of rock work please


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

I really like the biotopical look of this tank. Beautiful work. :thumb: You've given me an idea or two about lighting arrangements as well...


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## PitBully (Apr 14, 2009)

That is an amazing tank!!!!


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

Beatiful!
Makes me want to get more rocks and redo mine, very, very nice look!


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## gmaschke (Aug 23, 2008)

Wow!!! :thumb: that is one of the most natural better looking tanks I have seen. I absolutley am jelous I love it


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## natalie559 (Dec 6, 2007)

And your rusties are stunning! I bet more people would keep them if they knew they would look like that- need to add that pic to their profile!


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

thank you for the comments


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Great looking tank. Congrats.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

insert huge photo here.



not joking, the thumbnail is small, but your going to want at least a 21" screen to see it all

need to get some newer photos. but having to move the fridge in order to set the lights up makes it a bit of a pain.


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## HondaKid (Jul 11, 2009)

Wow! That's a beautiful set up. Congrats!


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## Schneider (Jul 27, 2009)

chc said:


> I just love how that tank reflects the natural environment of the fish. No plants, no coral, no decorative rocks, just a simple slice of Malawi!


 Malawi has habitats where plants occur-this is where Dimidiochromis species come from.


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## caseyof99 (Aug 5, 2009)

thats what im f***ing talking about. Perfect tank setup.


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## dreday (Oct 12, 2007)

yea and those are some big rocks. looks very nice. :thumb:


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