# new 90.



## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

13razorbackfan has been my soul survivor of my 90 cycle. THANX
so a couple pics, cycle almost complete, have great ideas on fish.
Going hap /peackock. 
I will update with fish when they arrive.
BTW loving my double bright led. good light and water shimmer.








































ooops got the grandaughter and me at the pond


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## denmck (Mar 22, 2013)

Your tank looks awesome and that fish you pulled out of your pond is pretty interesting as well. :wink: It sounds like you are ordering your fish and having them shipped? I have set up a new tank as well and would be interested in how well your experience goes. If you are happy I would appreciate if you can PM me the supplier's name.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

i can do that. a supplier i have dealt with before ,just not these fish. suggested by a member here on cf.
yeah that big fish from the pond was a handful,lol. but definetly a keeper!!
actually im showing her a butterfly that is solar, it spins around when the sun is out and is quite cool :lol:


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## ozman (Sep 7, 2012)

that is one gorgeous looking tank, please keep us posted with updates when you stock it. what have you used for the b/g, its awesome, please pm me =D>
and thats one little cutie you have for a grandaughter :thumb:


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Plus one, tank looks great! And the granddaughter is a ten :wink:


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

just some pics of my new fish.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Looks very nice. Is that the Borleyi mbenji in pic 4?


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

still learning how to post this stuff. 
and my apologies ,this is a stupid phone video. as opposed to a smart phone lol


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

yes, and he is HUGE. gotta be almost 4".  
they venture out a bit. some still hang out on one end going up and down the corner. I had 0 amm and nitrite this morning. 24 hrs . i fed a very small pinch of food that the kind gents sent me with my fish. It will be the ONLY feeding of the day. i will test param's tonite..


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Really nice looking tank. I love the background and rocks. Looks very natural. The german red is of nice quality. He is going to be very nice.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

B.Roberson said:


> yes, and he is HUGE. gotta be almost 4".
> they venture out a bit. some still hang out on one end going up and down the corner. I had 0 amm and nitrite this morning. 24 hrs . i fed a very small pinch of food that the kind gents sent me with my fish. It will be the ONLY feeding of the day. i will test param's tonite..


Fish are all healthy. I would feed them VERY sparingly if at all. I would only feed them every couple days at first to make sure you don't get any spikes.

Give them a couple weeks and they will be swimming around all over the place.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

Awsome. I will do just that. I know they can go days/ weeks without food, so i will take it slowly. I sure dont want any spikes, since my tank was so close to being ready anyway.. Thank you soooo very much for all your help!!! My gosh they are beautiful fish though!!!!


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

B.Roberson said:


> Awsome. I will do just that. I know they can go days/ weeks without food, so i will take it slowly. I sure dont want any spikes, since my tank was so close to being ready anyway.. Thank you soooo very much for all your help!!! My gosh they are beautiful fish though!!!!


I have most of the same fish from the same breeder. Wait till they start to settle in and start to mature. The color will drastically improve.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

well, i was used to seeing and purchasing small mbuna. i was NEVER prepared for what came from fed ex. i was astonisished! I am still a nervous wreck. I dont want anything to go wrong..  Biggest fish I Have ever tried to keep, so I am super excited and nervous at the same time.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

You should have got a deep water electra as well. The one I bought from the same place is top quality.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Ok...you said in PM you were having trouble picking out the lemon jake. The bottom pic and if you notice you have three fish on the left side of the pic all grouped together. The one on top is the lemon jake. The 3rd pic is of the Flavescent. I don't see the deep water electra or ngara in any of the pics. So when they settle down snap a pic of each fish you are not sure and I will identify them.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

is the 3rd pic my deep water?


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)




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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Pic one: top left is the Ngara flametail and on the right looks like the Flavescent

Two: Ngara flametail again

Three: Taiwan reef

Four: I can't tell from the pic what it is but it doesn't look like a deep water electra to me. The fish right below him look to be the lemon jake and the one on the far right is the german red.

Five: Ngara again and the Azureus right below him

Six: Azureus

Seven: Taiwan reef

The German red is very very nice. They picked you out a very good one.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

ok then. The largest fish shipped is the hap they replaced with for the deep water. He said was of same family but yellow on its tail. so
















this is the Large fish..


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

It is really hard to tell from the angle of the pic but are you sure that is not the Borleyi mbenji? Can you take a pic of this fish from the side? Also...take a pic of the mbenji or what you think is the mbenji.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

yeah,im confused. as a novice. what i should have done (too late) was take a picture of them IN the bags, as they were all marked as what they were and paid more attention. But, i did not.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

B.Roberson said:


> yeah,im confused. as a novice. what i should have done (too late) was take a picture of them IN the bags, as they were all marked as what they were and paid more attention. But, i did not.


LOL...its ok. I know when I ordered my last batch I ordered a bunch of little peacocks and did the same thing. Problem was they weren't colored very strongly yet and I had a heck of a time trying to distinguish which was which. Took me a bit but once they started to come out more and swim around I was able to start to tell them apart.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

Amm and nitrite still 0. I have only fed once. I will feed a little tonight. and check params


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

i love my intermedius. really nice red on its top and top fins already. Beautiful fish
















and the big dady has to be the borleyi
















he is 3 1/2 to 4"


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Yes...that is the Borleyi Mbenji. The intermedius is just barely colored. If you like his color now just wait a few months. Mine just really started to color over the last month or so. Awesome.


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## Zyle (Apr 12, 2013)

Hey, so I have a background, possible same you got on the way, Canyons 48x24 from Universal Rocks for my 90. Any tips on how you did yours? Spacing between the background and the back of the tank, how you decided on where to cut the holes. How is the flow/suction at the holes etc? Did you silicone the bottom and sides? Its what I'm most nervous about with my tank build.


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## denmck (Mar 22, 2013)

Your fish look great! Best of luck having everyone settle in. Since I just recently added fish too I understand your nerves, LOL.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

thanks Zyle. thanks denmck.
as far as the background, I think It was 13razorbackfan to help give me ideas where to put holes. But pretty commom sense,. big enough for water to pass.i put mine near the bottom but well above the subtrate. about the hight that my intakes are behind. screen mesh so fish get thru. I puy my intakes behind and somewhat close so i think i get pretty good flow thru the holes. measured my holes where my outputs would be and drilled them all.the bg is spaced enough for ME to get my hand back there to do any maint.i have a maxi jet plummed also so enough room to remove it or work on tubing,,just enough room. i lost 3-6" on 1 end and 5" on the other end.with the shape of the bg..but i wanted to be able to vacuum if necessary or get a fish if tht ever happened. Yes i siliconed bottom and sides. bottom is easy,its covered with substrate, so no eye sore. sides were challenging.I could have done better, much slower,tedious,and cleaner, then i could have used a sand that matched the bg to cover up the silicone. but oh well. its done,/ i will live with it.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

amm,nitrite 0 again tonite. Fish seem ok. My tanks are side by side,4-6" inbetween. The new fish semmed to huddle at one end ,nearest my 75 mbuna tank,for a day or two going up and down the corner. so i took some left over black felt from my 75 bg and hung it on the side so they cant see the other tank. they now seem to frequent the whole tank more, maybe the other fish were a distraction idk?
also sifting thru the sand now. calming down i think


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## Zyle (Apr 12, 2013)

Thanks! My background is supposed to come today, however I have to move to a new place in the next two months so I'm gonna put off cycling. Might get the background in thou.

I figured the hole placement was common sense. I'm using an FX5 so the intake is easy as it has a wand that goes down closer to the bottom of the tank. Cutting a hold in front of that and adding mesh was the plan. Have you found the suction to be enough to get crud out of the tank with it being behind the background. I'm a little worried that while it will turn over the same gallons/min it won't be as effective at collecting the detritus in the tank, especially in front of the background.

The return is more tricky. Do you have yours just flowing into the back of the tank (behind the background) and then have a powerhead pushing water through the background? Or does your maxijet have tubing of some sort?


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

In answer to your first question,i do have a dead spot where detrius (lands) front left corner. I cant be sure how much exactly how much is being sucked thru the holes to the filters cuz it is just too new, and light feeding.. but,, i have been using a turkey baster for spot cleaning my 75 gal mbuna lately cuz i dont want to hook up my python and it gets what i need till a wc on the weekend if i dont like looking at it../.
Now my outputs of BOTH my canisters are going thru my bg to the front . the one on the left is at the top with a spraybar. one on the right is at the top .im just using the adjustable nozzle ,both directed upward. . Both are rena xp. Now i havnt tried adjusting the spraybar yet to see if i can get rid that dead spot,its only been 5 days.but i wanted as much surface agitation i could get and hoped the maxi jet facing one end would force some debristo one end at least.. as far as the maxijet ,yes it is plummed with tubing into the mouth of my large rock of the bg. it is permanent siliconed in. that is the output nozzle that is. I can remove the jet and tubing if i need, i left (just) enough room behind. so it just provides flow in one direction left to right just below middle. 
so a couple pics..first is spraybar on top left. extra hole plugged is a booboo. just havnt painted the plug. second pic is nozzle top right and third is output of maxijet in the mouth of my bg.


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## iridextr (Feb 8, 2013)

You need some Fryeri in there! Beautiful tank, seriously. I love the 90, it's such a great size! Very nicely done sir.


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## Zyle (Apr 12, 2013)

Thanks for the pics and details. Very helpful. Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread! Since I only have one canister filter and thus (for now) one output, I think I'm going to proceed as follows. Intake on the bottom right side. I'll cut 1-2 1" holes and cover with mesh/silicone. The right side is more flat and should cause less to get stuck on the rock/hopefully better flow. The output will probably come from the extruding rock on the left side. I'll cut 2-3 holes and I haven't 100% decided how to finish them. Throw a powerhead in there, add some tubing and attach to a powerhead, directly plumb the FX5. I want good surface agitation so I know at least on of the holes will need to be upward facing. The rest will be aimed to move the water around as best as possible. You said you had an FX5 right? What do you think if I were to make a spray bar for the FX5 output to get the agitation I want, but still keeping it behind the background, like a lot of people have done with the FX5. Then for actual flow I would have a powerhead on the bottom of the tank behind the background pushing flow through the holes? So sorta similar to what you did, but keeping the FX5 bar out of sight?


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

i am runing 2 xp3 (L) models. not an fx5. I think it would be cool if you could hide the outputs also. I'm not sure if you can get the surface agitation you want if the spraybar is behind? Idk? I would like to see that in action if you have..


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## Zyle (Apr 12, 2013)

Def gonna try it out before I make any permanent cuts or silicone. It's actually lucky that I will be moving soon. Otherwise I'd probably be too anxious to get started to actually take my time on it haha. If the spray bar will give me the agitation I want I think that will be the only "output" I'll be using. I'm fairly confident it will, I just gotta make sure to position the holes at an upward angle. I am however still thinking about making 2-3 holes and hooking them up to a powerhead in order to get better tank flow/circulation and hopefully get more solids into the water then into the input. I'm looking at possibly using 1/2" or smaller bulkhead fittings (might silicone them in to make them flush) and some flexible or pvc piping. I think the bulkhead fittings will give the holes a clean look and I found some snap on strainer covers that I can likely paint/glue sand on. I'll update you as I go.


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## fishing12 (Dec 15, 2012)

Hey been on vacation and I come back to a cycled tank full of fish. Its looks great!!! Worth the wait wasnt it LOL!!!!!


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

Hahaha. that will teach you to go anywhere without telling me lol. :roll: 
My ruby red is washing out a little, i wonder cuz he is so small?


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

B.Roberson said:


> Hahaha. that will teach you to go anywhere without telling me lol. :roll:
> My ruby red is washing out a little, i wonder cuz he is so small?


What happens a lot is a fish in a species only tank will color really strong especially when somewhat smaller then when moved to a tank that is new with larger peacoocks and haps can force them to color down a bit. He will color back up.


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## fishing12 (Dec 15, 2012)

13razorbackfan said:


> B.Roberson said:
> 
> 
> > Hahaha. that will teach you to go anywhere without telling me lol. :roll:
> ...


It is amazing how quickly they can color up or down, seconds is all it takes. My fish can change color depending on mood,aggression levels feeding etc. I'm still waiting for a bunch of mine to get any of their male coloring, perhaps some wont and then it may be time to rotate them out and try either a new one of the same species perhaps or try some other species altogether.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

maybe i will try changing my detergent if this one is washing out colors.. switch to tide mabe  lol


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

some updated pics


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

so now brown diaotms have taken over. alot on the glass and definatly on the rocks and BG. now granted it is spring and getting a little more sunlight, but my 75 sitting right next to it doesnt have it.... so??
could water movement be a cause? I read you need good water movement so they CANT attach to surfaces. 
or is tis still a NEW tank syndrome that has to be worked out because of the addition of fish. Its been what? 3 weeks now? so is it just a sunlight deal?


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## Zyle (Apr 12, 2013)

You got an extra koralia powerhead lying around? If you're concerned about waterflow, temporarily throw a magnetic powerhead or two on to the glass and see if it helps. If it does you can work on a long term solution to improve flow and keep it hidden.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

Thanks Zyle .. i think i will try that to see if it helps.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

can i throw a male yellow lab in this mix?


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

newer video. sorry its glarry,using the flash cuz the lights are not on.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Beautiful tank and great fish. They are really starting to color up. Fun to watch them grow. Looks like everything is going swimmingly


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Swweeeet.

Are you still having any cloudy water issues due to the background? Looks very clear to me...


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## notchback65 (Apr 3, 2013)

Awesome Tank! :thumb:


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

Iggy, well no. tank seems to have cleared up. maybe wasnt completely cycled idk.
notchback thanks.
now to the issue I AM having. 
i have 2 canisters. 1 out put on the right near the top,just a nozzle










the other on the left top, a spray bar.










i made a mistake drilling the hole for the spraybar is why i have the intake coming out the other hole for now.i will explain

3 holes for circulation to the back of the bg.just 2 shown. but 1 in the middle.


















i have 1 power head aimed toward the middle right, so flow from left to right. thats my only circulation beside my outputs ,facing up for water agitation.










My problem is all the poo goes and hangs out in the left corner of the tank, VERY visably. Just hours after feeding.and a tank vacuum.









right here...

Both my intake are BEHIND the bg close or near the holes i cut for circulation. BUT. the 1 on the left is not close enough to the hole to suck the poo thru and into the filter..
So here where that mistake hole comes in. i routed the intake to the front of the bg, as you can see the makeshift tubing.. well it solves my poo issue,so i need to figure out how to rig my intake to that left hole or very close to it. 
I was thinking of finding /making a round intake that i can attach to the screen of that hole in the back of the bg,run some tubing to the intake ,,,idk.
any suggestions?? i could use black zipties or such to hold the new intake to the screen of the hole,. idk.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

What is the diameter of the left intake through the BG? Would it be possible to fit a large PVC 90 behind and at the intake hole?

If the intake is 1.5", could you use a 1.5" 90 and bush it down to size for some flex tubing to tie into your intake hard piping? Position the 90 so it butts up against the intake. Just use enough flex so it sits right at the intake.

Does this make any sense?


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

i used actually a door knob hole saw, so i think its 2 & 1/2" but yeah i know what you mean. i can elbow something from the bottom on my intake to get it closer to the hole, i was thinking more on the way of almost the same size screen connected to the intake that sits right against the bg ,behind the bg.. or yeah just elbow,or sweep a connecter so that its close to the hole. All i know is that when i put that intake in front, all my poo problems went away. So now it's time to play. 
Thats why it is called fish keeping..... not fish watching lol


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

thanks iggy. so i have adjusted my intake behind the bg in that one area with flex tubing. and almost completly fixed the issue. 
now in another note.. my borelyi, was the bully of the tank,for a while. I had to remove my azereous for a bit. chewed tail and such. I replaced my lethrinop intermedius, that died, along with a couple others. The new intermedius is larger than my borleyi. 
Now HE is king of the tank. Chasing everyone. Mostly the azerous. even the taiwan reef gets a little scared, but will hold its own. 
i am about to try a tinme out with him. i did with the borelyi, and it didnt work. When aI put him back in he went right back to his usual ways, after a month and a half. But when I added the lethrinop. tides changed. Now he chases the borelyi and others.. I know a all male isnt a guarantee, but suggestions? 
thanxxx


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## fishing12 (Dec 15, 2012)

B.Roberson my 180 all male has seen many changes in Hierarchy over the 5.5 months its been set up. My Moorii of all fish is the dominant one in the tank now. Before that it was the Sunshine peacock, then the Lemon Jake, Malawi Hawk etc. Seems every couple of weeks things change and as long as none of them are getting beaten badly or stressed out its part of the interesting dynamics that happen with these fish. BTW your setup looks great, hope you are enjoying it!


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

thanx, for both comments. I will just wait and seee what happens


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

updated video. i wish i had a good video player beside this smart phone





Background music compliments of Saturday college football gameday,,,,,,hoooohaaaaa =D> =D> :thumb: :thumb: :drooling: :drooling:


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