# Teggys new 135, thanks to all of your help



## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Hi everyone, time for me to check back in with ya. Some may know I was going to pick up a used 135 gallon that I got for a wicked price from my other thread. Well,,, it's done! For now at least. I'm going to let the fish settle for quite some time before I go about changing too much.

Sorry in advance, most pictures are from my phone, not a terrible camera but still..

As far as the tank and stand are concerned, they seem to be in very good shape. There's a few small scratches but nothing you'll notice unless your looking for them with a light in hand. The stand was painted from white to black using krylon eww, but I was figuring I would have to paint it anyway. Though, to be honest it doesnt look half bad on the stand.

Here's the tank once I got it set up dry. Everything is very scrambled together for the time being, as I wanted to get the tank cycling asap at this point. Also, everything is a mess since I didn't really have time to thoroughly clean the glass.









Lets not forget about our fishy entourage, sitting safe and sound in my living room. Waiting what I would hope is patiently for their new home. When we plucked these guys out of the tank when we picked it all up, the water was at 80 degrees. Once we got home they were at 78 after almost half a day, so not too bad I guess.









I started stacking the rocks as soon as the water got about halfway up. There is no egg crate in there as I didn't have any, and was expecting this tank to be ready already, so I used every bit of substrate that was in it originally, and piled it a bit higher where the rocks would be. Here's me taking a break from stacking rocks to check the temp of the water coming in. I picked up a 50 foot vacuum/fill to/from the sink thingamadoodle, thank goodness for that.









Once the tank was full and at the right temp to match their containers, we plopped their bags into the tank to ensure the temps were spot on once the tank cycled enough. 









At this point I had a beer and sat down lol


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Fast forward to about 11:30pm, it was time to net the fish into the tank. It was wonderful to see how they behaved once in the tank. They all seemed happy and energetic, curious in their newly placed rocks and surroundings both in and outside the tank. I'll show a couple pics of the tank's rock placement and I'll throw pics of fish in there. I need ID on a couple of these if anyone could be so kind. You'll see in some pics the tank is using the blue light on the left and normal on the right. The tank came with a gnarly light, holding two 10,000k and two Actinic blue lights in it. Unfortunately one of each of the bulbs is burnt out (already made sure its just the bulbs too, so yay, even though theyre gonna be spensive). I swapped some bulbs around to get by for now, looks kinda cool too i suppose.

All fish in the tank are WC except for my previous catfish, the pleco, and 2 of the cichlids which were born in-tank from WC fish. Not sure what those 2 cichlids really are though.

And there we are. It's a little lopsided to the left, at the last minute I took out some out of place looking rocks that were to the right. When I eventually switch to sand I'll get that taken care of.









Mr. and Mrs. Five Star. He's about 5.5" and I say he's quite a fatty lol. Theyre the same distance from the camera here.









The Blue Cobalt checkin out the new digs, and me while I took pics. 









I didn't know about this guy until I was breaking down the tank, a cool surprise.









More coming, keeping it to 4 pics each :wink:


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

This guy is probably my favorite looking by far. The colors are intense. What is this one I want another haha









Yellow lab enjoying the large cave/small entrance  









A good amount of the group out and about. The grayish one on the right is one of the "spawned from WC in tank" fish. Don't know what he is.









There's the lab again with a fish that was being harassed by everyone for what looks like a good long time (info on why below).









The gentleman I got this from had the same rocks stacked to the top of the tank against the back. There were really no good hiding spots to speak of, it was a race track. If you see some of these rocks, you can see how perfect they are, some with holes and caves etc. Most all of this was turned toward the back when I broke it down. When stacking rocks I got about half the height, but it's a much better environment now. I'm pleased to say that the raggedy one is doing better already, there's at least 20 different places to hide in there, located throughout the tank.

Whew, if I realize I've forgotten some pictures I'll get them up but for now I would love to hear what you guys think, I couldnt have done it without you. Or it at least wouldnt have gone so smoothly. Thank you everyone so much, I'm in love with this behemoth lol.

Constructive criticism encouraged :thumb:


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

Congrats, man! =D>

Great tank, great find, well-executed move, nicely done!

If my wife would let me , I would pay double what you did just for the tank, stand, canopy and filter. :drooling:

Hope you enjoy! :thumb:


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Thank you much  it was so much stuff I actually paid him more than he asked on his listing, even though he had accepted my lower offer already. I had to in order to not feel too guilty lol.

And yes I'm very lucky my wife is as into it as I am. She's been as excited as me about it as we got ready to go through with all this.

Oh and speaking of filter, I had mentioned it had a 2075. I don't believe that's what this is. It does however have two large filters, which I cannot identify. Maybe it says on the bottom but,, that would be quite a feat at this point lol. Any help identifying this? I wanna get the product manual online if i can.

Here's the two









and here is a closer pic of one


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

=D> I don't know the ID of your fish, but that peacock (1st pic of the 2nd group) is pretty sweet. I have enjoyed reading this and the last thread. It sounds like you had a good plan and it worked pretty darn well. Nice job :thumb:


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

For a little fish ID-- The pretty blue and red/orange, I would call a peacock, what color type seem open to different parts of the country. Open to further review? 
The small picked on one seems to be a yellow lab but washed out far more than what I've seen. Maybe getting picked on caused the color shift or even the color shift may have caused him to be the picked on one. Nature has a really mean way of weeding out those considered "different".

Looks like a very good trip. Keep checking and watch carefully for a bit and it looks good all around.


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## fishaddict09 (Jun 1, 2010)

those cannisters look like ehiem proffessional cannister filters.


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## fishaddict09 (Jun 1, 2010)

btw I believe the filters alone would retail for around $600 for two of them, so you got an amazing deal on the setup.... (I wish I could have bought this tank  )


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

> The small picked on one seems to be a yellow lab but washed out far more than what I've seen.


You should have seen him before we broke the tank down, he was white as a ghost. The entire time we were looking it over before we broke it down he was being chased around. Now he's getting color back at an almost visible pace, it's nice to see. While writing this actually I looked over and he's getting a lot of his yellow back, and it's like he's becoming a yellow lab once again lol. It's pretty apparent now looking at him.



> btw I believe the filters alone would retail for around $600 for two of them, so you got an amazing deal on the setup.... (I wish I could have bought this tank)


I got off way too easy, I know how much most of you have worked to create what you have today, because I've read through your projects and setups so much. This was definitely the deal of a lifetime, when it comes to fish tanks at least :lol: . Oh, and, what!? They would be that much? I figured they were decent but jeez. I was actually worried at first because they had no brand or anything labeled anywhere.



> I have enjoyed reading this and the last thread. It sounds like you had a good plan and it worked pretty darn well. Nice job


I'm happy you enjoyed them lol. I particularly liked the part where you all made this possible for me to take on with some deal of confidence :wink:


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

Glad to see this worked out so well for you.

I agree those two canisters look like ehiem as I have and ehiem proffesional also.

Your's don't look like the proffessional series though...

Mine has the logo on the very top of the canister.

It also has three tubes coming out of the back.

However the canister design is very much eheim along with the return water diffusers and so on.

I would look over some web pages on eheim filters and try to find something such as dimensions that will identify them specifically in case you ever need a replacement part.

The albino pleco rocks.


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

Also, before you buy bulbs, take a look through eBay aquarium lighting supplies and see what you can score them for there.

Some direct dealers are selling on the site and they seem to be much cheaper than LFS and so on.

That lighting system sounds like it might be a $300-$500 system that would kick azz for a planted tank.

I have vallisneria, anubis, cryptocrene, apotena, java moss and banna plants along with some kind of lilly in a cichlid tank.

The java moss is the only plant that really takes any abuse from the fish.

They like to tear it off whatever I have it tied to and spread it around the tank.

Whatever...

It gives them something to do besides terrorize each other.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Ya petsmart wanted 50 bucks a pop lol. Found them online for 20-25. It's only a 48" light fixture, oh and I found the model, its actually an Aqualight Deluxe Dual. I'm hoping I can get that process going once I change substrate later. I figure why do it now if I'm gonna do all that before too long. I'm looking forward to it. With this tank, to go with the rocks (I love these rocks lol) would you say normal play sand or some kind of black sand. I would be able to throw a little money at it after the holidays if necessary. I dont much care for the current substrate, it's rather bland.


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

I'm not a sand guy at all.

In fact, as I was setting up my 150, I first put sand in and took it all out even before I filled it.

::::::::shrug:::::::::

I agree that it looks great in some of the tanks we see on the rate thread, but I just see settlement and cloudyness issues along with it being hard on some filters as a draw back.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Oh that's right, with sand in the tank, it's occasionally gonna get stirred up and end up in the pump. Considering I would never have purchased these pumps myself, I think I'll try and keep them running :lol: . For some reason I hadn't run that through my head yet


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

=D> opcorn:


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## duds (Apr 16, 2010)

Teggy said:


> Oh that's right, with sand in the tank, it's occasionally gonna get stirred up and end up in the pump. Considering I would never have purchased these pumps myself, I think I'll try and keep them running :lol: . For some reason I hadn't run that through my head yet


I would assume the sand would have to first find it's way through all of the filter media before it could get to any moving parts. It's more the design of HOB's that have issues with sand (impellar first and media after).


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

:lol: I suppose you're right duds haha. I suppose that would make sense. Man my brain is just fried after these last couple days I guess  .

Also it appears the blue cobalt and one of the peacocks have found their respective "homes". They're both currently adjusting the gravel outside and inside of them, very cool. Oh, and the raggedy fish is picking a fight with the heater. Silly lab

I'm starting to entertain the idea of stocking a few more fish before too long, they would need to be decent sized though lol (om nom nom). I know this colorful peacock was spawning with another one until recently (the guy I bought this from gave the other to his brother before selling me the tank  ). Maybe I'll have to sex this one and pick up another. I know the blue cobalt spawns too, but he's a mutt-maker from the sound of it, so maybe another of those as well. I'm not sure though yet. One thing at a time I suppose


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## jchild40 (Mar 20, 2010)

=D>


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

Sexing peacocks is easy. The males are colorful and the females are decidedly NOT to the point of being virtually indistinguishable from each other across species. You most definitely have a male. What you WILL need to do is figure out what species you have. You can post a pick in the idfentification forum and get some help. I have looked at a lot of them lately as I set up my tank, but I can't place that one (and it's a beauty).


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## magic_cichlid (Jun 30, 2003)

Don't know if I missed it while reading through the thread, but that peacock you were unsure of and you have as your avatar seems to be a German Red. Gorgeous tank and awesome find!


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Way back in the old days there was a great deal made of NOT FEEDING color enhancing drugs or making efforts to breed in colors that were not natural. Now that bird has come home and there are so many color morphs that nobody can name them as many of them are just mutts that somebody bred to sell better. You do have a very pretty fish and I do like it but whether you can find a real name for it or not is questionable. There was a fellow here in the Austin area trying to sell a "longhorn" cichlid that had a red color for $75 range but I suspect the price may be down by this late in the season!


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

I don't think it's consistent with a German red. It does remind me a lot of the Walteri that I have (see avatar), but on mine the dorsal blaze is also on the lower fins though admittedly that may not be true for all Walteri. I'm not convinced it's a Walteri, but I thought I'd throw that out there.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Lol now I'm very curious. I watched your peacock tank video to check out your Walteri, and he's a great deal taller (bottom fin to top fin) than what I have here. Excellent tank btw, and that Walteri very sweet looking. I checked out more Walteri images to make sure. I also checked the German Red and thats very close looking as well, however it also seems to be taller than mine. This guy is about as sleek as the yellow lab, size-wise. Most others I'm seeing are a bit bulkier.

That's great news about the male/female thing though. So far I've identified 2 male/female pairs in the tank. The FSG's and the mystery peacocks. One thing that might help identify him (which I'll post in the ID forum) is that he was WC, so in theory it shouldn't be a heavily bred mutant fish. I'll be looking at the Yellow Labs to see if I can figure their sexes, maybe they are a male/female pair as well. Oh and speaking of the Labs, check this out. Here's that raggedy guy, and I'm pleased to say it is looking much better. My wife actually came barging into the bedroom early this morning, excited about the coloring he's getting.

You can see the vertical striping, when he first started picking up color it was just those lines, now it's starting to fill out the color a bit more. I can't wait to see how it's looking in a month.


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## Jmanolinsky (Jun 4, 2010)

Your filters look like Eheim Professional II Series. Either 2026 or more likely the larger 2028. I have the 2026 and it looks exactly like yours. Nice job on the move and great find!

Jman


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Thank you Jmanolinsky I'm still reeling over this deal. My wife asked me to pinch her when we were first looking at it set up in the house here. That explains how I feel pretty well lol. Like I could wake up any time haha.

I found the history of this tank after having another chat with who I purchased this from. He had a friend who ran a pet store specializing in African Cichlids nearby, and this was his display tank a few years back. When he closed the store he sold this setup to him. That explains a lot lol.

I am a little worried however, I cannot match these filters to any Eheim. They look very similar, almost identical really, but all professional series (which is what it looks like) have a logo or model type on the top, these do not. They definitely use Eheim filter media however. Is it possible they are some sort of knockoff? Unless Eheim made an older canister that looked like this with no branding on the top of it or the sides, I'm growing suspicious. I won't worry too much though, they still work great, and are absolutely silent (so nice after having a 55 using HOB for years).

Oh and BoilerFan inspired me to make a video lol. It's in my signature now. Nothing special, but it really lets you see the caves and rock placement. The lighting I'm using in the tank right now is a standard 48" light until I get the new bulbs for the good one I picked up. This one really doesn't do the tank any favors :lol:


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Oh one more thing, the gentleman said that the blue cobalt may be preggers, if thats the case is there any behavior changes or physical characteristics I can watch for to try and verify that? She's already taken the largest and most secure cave in the tank, and is guarding it like crazy except when she lets the pleco go in to do a little cleaning. Then she leaves until he's done. Anything I should be doing to be ready in case that does happen? Unfortunately I cant fit the 40g into the stand because of the size of the doors, but I can put a 10g in there no problemo. To be honest I'm not holding my breath on this, but I wouldn't mind being ready for it if it does go down.


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

Thanks for the compliments. I've had that tank in its current hap/peacock incarnation for a couple months. For reference the Walteri is about 5 inches long and probably 2 inches from top to bottom.

FWIW, looking at the stills and the video I don't think your cobalt is carrying. You would see a pronounced bulge (buccal sac) beneath her chin right behind her lips. If you google up some pics you'll see what I'm talking about.

I think you'll be surprised how fast the fins heal on your other Lab.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

> looking at the stills and the video I don't think your cobalt is carrying


I'm actually a bit relieved to hear that. I wouldn't want to worry about something like that so soon. I just hope I can keep them happy enough to have some spawning happen at some point.



> I think you'll be surprised how fast the fins heal on your other Lab.


That's good, he's looking real happy, but when you look at him you can't help but feel a bit bad. I'll look forward to him looking tip-top


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Here is what I did today. Since I couldn't fit the 40 gallon tank I have inside the stand (I'm short on floorspace at this point), I put the 10 gallon in. I painted every side of the tank except the front black. I'm going to remove the middle door in the stand and put one in that leaves the little tank exposed. The log is really just there to make it look decent for the time being while it cycles.









(it would help if I remembered to post the picture I guess, lol)


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

FWIW, you're right about the Eheim knockoffs; if you search for Eheim filters on Ebay, you can see some examples of these. I've searched lots of Eheim-related threads while making purchasing decisions, and came across a few people talking about "Jebao" (or Jebo) filters. Just searched old threads and it seems not too many people have experience with them.

I think what you have are two of these: "Acqua Chiara 915 Canister Filter made by JEBAO"

I wouldn't expect them to hold up for ten years, but hopefully they'll do reasonably well for you. I would keep an eye on them and make sure they don't leak after you open them up for maintenance. I'm sure others tempted by the price will be curious to know how they perform over time... There's nothing in the review section on them yet.


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## Jmanolinsky (Jun 4, 2010)

After seeing the filter Tshethar mentioned, I'm inclined to agree with him. The quick release on yours is different than on the Pro II series. The individual hoses disconnect on yours whereas both hoses disconnect with one action on the Pro II. There is a little red lever that releases them. Still a great deal!

Jman


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## AnThRaXx (Apr 21, 2008)

i run canister filters with sand. intakes merely 3-4 inches above it and no clogs no noise no problems ever. i have however had problems with HOB filters. i believe that with the canisters u get wat you pay for and the companies do something to prevent the sand from entering into the impeller housing. either way you got a great deal on this setup. lights and filter alone would run you nearly 1k new. *** been working on building a new setup.. (that u found used !!  ) for awhile. home depot has cheap light bulbs as well. gonna be a little harder to make sure you get the right wattage and spectrum. but with a little work u can save a TON! well GL to ya in your endeavors here. BTW if you dont plan on doing many plants. maybe sell the lighting system for some extra cash. itll make fish pop but its designed for saltwater more then likely with that bright blue lighting.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Ya that's just a bit of a bummer about the knockoffs. I will say though they aren't too shabby. You can't hear them and they definitely pump a lot of water. I'll let you know more about them after I actually change the filter media and see them running (because I know they're absolutely filthy right now, but I was taking advantage of that to cycle the tank quickly). I will say though even knowing these are knockoffs I love them. Like I said it's all about noise to me (as long as it does it's job too of course), and these are whisper quiet, you can't hear them through the stand.

Oh and about the light, I wish I hadn't seen it turned on at all, because wow it makes the tank look fantastic. I rushed to buy the 2 replacement bulbs because it looked so nice. It will also satisfy my curiosity on planting the tank like I wanted to try. So I guess I'm in a bit deep to sell it now but thats alright, I can't wait to have it working now lol.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Well I bit the bullet today and painted the back of the tank. If only I had time the day I got the tank to do it, it would have been much easier. Picked up a mini-roller and some flat black paint I'm stoked though with how it came out. I also painted the canopy since it wasn't looking so hot, as well as cleaned the plumbing for the filters. Not so green now  .

Any suggestions on how to hide the ins and outs with the current setup? Maybe move the spray bars higher, perhaps at water level or even right above? And what to do with the intakes... :lol:


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## kriskm (Dec 1, 2009)

You can use Krylon Fusion spray paint to paint the intakes and returns black. It will help to hide them a lot. It is a good idea to have the returns just below the surface to stir up the water, exposing the water to air and oxygenating it better. Cool tank!


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Thanks kriskm, I know of painting them yet for some reason hadn't thought of doing it. Now that the back is black that would hide it well.


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## superemone (Mar 16, 2010)

Ever thought of changing substrate to white sand? It makes your scape looks 1000x better.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

I have thought of that, originally I really wanted sand substrate. After having this for the time I have with the gravel, I'm fairly confident that if I put sand in there it would be a beautiful landscape, covered in a layer of fish poo, lol. If I were to put sand in I would probably have to do something to help prevent that. Any thoughts? Cuz I wouldn't mind getting sand in there if I can do it in such a way that it doesn't make too much a mess in the tank constantly.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

How about an easy kinda/sorta solution? I'm thinking of taking out part of the gravel which is near the front where it can be seen near the glass and adding a layer of sand there and over the top of the rest to make a mixed gravel/sand bottom. Over time this will be stirred and mixed together but for now would get the look without the full trauma of scooping and changing the whole thing. Depending on the color of sand versus gravel it might make it a very natural look as many times sand and gravel occur together. Just another way to confuse you?


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

I switched to sand and haven't had a problem with visible fish poo everywhere. If you have strong enough filtration it will be fine. If you have trouble you can always buy a jet to keep a current going to move it toward the filter intake.

Now, in my 20L growout tank with just a sponge filter, it's a whole different story


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## superemone (Mar 16, 2010)

I never have poop problems either with sand. Just point your outtake towards the front glass, the poop will be blown towards the back. It won't be visible. Plus, it's all in one area so it's easy to siphon out.

I read somewhere that sand substrate reduce nitrate up to 90% compared to gravel.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

> I never have poop problems either with sand. Just point your outtake towards the front glass, the poop will be blown towards the back.


Well that doesn't sound so bad, even if I have to siphon once in a while, as long as I don't have to clean everywhere it sounds appealing.



> I read somewhere that sand substrate reduce nitrate up to 90% compared to gravel.


Really now? Hmm... 
Now that sounds especially appealing. I just may have to re-consider doing this. Besides, I want to get under and put some egg-crate in there anyway.


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## Jmanolinsky (Jun 4, 2010)

Teggy,

I read some of the threads about egg crate benefits or lack thereof. I'm not sold that it makes a difference. I looked at it at Home Depot. I just don't see how it is any benefit at all. Has anyone actually had the bottom glass break from their rocks? I'd have to read some evidence that this was a real problem and not just a myth. Seems like a waste of money and effort to me.

My 2 cents,
Jman


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

I'm fairly confident that dispersing the weight is important. The real problem comes when you have a stack of rocks, and without realizing it, you can have a great deal of weight pressing down on one point against the glass. Putting a rigid material in the bottom of the tank like egg crate, or even a thicker piece of acrylic, can do a great deal in taking that one point of weight and spreading it across a larger area.

I haven't had it happen to me, but I can verify that a buddy of mine from years back had it happen in the middle of the night. I never thought much of it until I started getting into this myself.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

A side note on the egg-crate thing, I'm more talking if you have a lot of rock stacked.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Picked up a couple new fish today. Got lucky again lol. We took a drive to the closest locally owned pet store today, since we have none in town. Just before we got there someone had dropped off 2 Acei cichlids because they were selling their tank and the buyer didn't want the fish. I couldn't resist, as the person running the fish department practically gave them to us. They're at least 4" (I suck at eyeballing size haha), and I have a feeling it's a male/female, but I can't be sure. I'm actually off to post in the ID forum to figure that out. Here they are, they are still moving around a lot since they have only been in the tank for about an hour, so I took a video instead haha. 




I also picked up a 2 Amazon Swords, one for each end of the tank, placed in the back corners, and a clump of Java Moss on a bamboo stick lol. I'm hoping it will easily grow from the stick, and onto the middle top rock, allowing me to remove the stick eventually.


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

Nice :thumb: You'll pretty uch have to vent them to determine sex IME. That or wait and see if one of them ends up holding. Long term you'll want to get to a 1m : 3 or 4 f ratio.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

I will hopefully be getting more females soon. What should I get to finish my stocking for now, I basically just want to get to the right male to female ratio.

In the tank now:
FSG x2 (male and female)
Peacock x2 (male and female)
Blue Cobalt x1 (believed to be male)
Yellow Lab x2 (I know one is male, and think the other is too)
And now the 2 Acei as well. I have a feeling it's a male/female pair but I'll tell with time.
I'll also list the 2 catfish, and 2 plecos just for overstocking concerns. Though one catfish doesn't even count, I've seen him once since getting the tank lol.

Any suggestions on what I should be getting? I can start making phone calls once I have a game plan


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

That java moss probably won't be on the bamboo very long...

Instead, it will be all over the tank.

:lol:


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

The blue with the yellow fins is the Acei?

Cool.

I have a male that is about 7".

Wondering what he is...


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

> That java moss probably won't be on the bamboo very long...


 :lol: haha you called it, I knew it was a gamble. They did however get the piece of bamboo, still with some moss on it, lodged out of their reach, but still in direct light. There's still a small chance I guess lol. When I can find some I'll eventually get a clump of it and tie it down.



> I have a male that is about 7".
> 
> Wondering what he is...


I was told in the other id forum that they are Yellow Tail Acei and google confirmed it for me. Apparently they can range from blue to almost black in color. You must have a full-grown one I think their max length is 6", kudos, I like these guys so far. Boy are they active though.


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

I tied a bunch of java moss to driftwood in my planted tank.

They loved tearing it off.

They seem to eat it too...


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Lol hopefully I have better luck with the Java Ferns I'm going to be attaching to rocks. I also refuse to give up on my mossy dreams :lol:


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Well I got the light working a couple days ago and I'm loving it. It's so much better than the standard one I was using for the time being. It got really hot under the canopy however, so I rigged up a couple computer fans to a DC adapter and that fixed that right up. I'll eventually mount the fan setup but for now it's just propped there against the back. Sometime today I want to get some more good pictures of the tank, as it's changed a bit since I last pulled out the "good" camera. I'll post later


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## shaguars7 (Apr 12, 2009)

well I love seeing someone so excited about a new tank!...Myself included that is likely why i have so many..lol....I think that the peacock is a red shoulder peacock. As for the sand i say do it. Also the rocks and the eggcrate i think it is soley for piece of mind. You dont need it the glass will not break from the weight of the rocks. what must of happened to your friends tank in the middle of the night is that the rocks must of been poorly balanced or piled and one fell. I see that happen here or there. Overall great tank and also i would hold off on buying more fish till u deceide which way u want to go with it.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Thanks shag, I think I will go for the sand. I have a bunch of females coming the saturday after thanksgiving, fortunately I know what I want to do with the tank. The only change I want from the way it is now, besides little painting projects and whatnot, is to switch to sand. I'll have to do that before those fish come and I'm guessing better sooner than later.

I'll need to net the fish out of the tank and go at it I suppose. Will I want to drain whatever water I can into my several large rubbermaid containers when I do that? Or shall I not worry about it. I was thinking something along the lines of removing large rocks, then removing fish, then taking what water I can into the tubs I have. Probably do a little bit of vacuuming in the tank before scooping out the current substrate to avoid a mess on the new sand. Then setting all back up again, doing everything in that order. Sound good?

Of course this also leaves the question should I even worry about it? Should I just do it on some later date once the tank has been going for a good long time? I happen to have a few new pics with the new lighting, whats your opinions everyone?


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

I left my fish in when I changed over. I vacuumed the gravel heavily as I lowered the water level. Then I scooped out half the gravel (left side) and added sand. Then I did the same on the other side.

I did of course remove all the plants and rocks first, that's a given. I also disconnected and removed the filter and heater. The fish that stayed in the tank were a few loaches and a rainbow shark. Your fish are bigger so it may be worth taking some water out to a 5 gallon bucket or rubbermaid tub. Your tank is bigger than mine (75G) so it may take you longer which again may lead you to take the fish out.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

That doesn't sound to bad, just doing one side at a time. I would have to decide what would be less stress for the fish. Netting them and putting them in a few big tubs, or leaving them in while I do all that. I'll go through whatever work I need to if it will mean reducing stress on the fish. Some of these are irreplaceable as far as I'm concerned. As in to say, I wouldn't really be able to get new ones like these, whether it be due to availability or budget.

I wonder which way would be easiest on them..


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

Mine don't seem too stressed when I move stuff when they're around. They just go hide.

Course, I didn't replace all my substrate with fish in tank.


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## benny71 (Sep 30, 2010)

Teggy said:


> That doesn't sound to bad, just doing one side at a time. I would have to decide what would be less stress for the fish. Netting them and putting them in a few big tubs, or leaving them in while I do all that. I'll go through whatever work I need to if it will mean reducing stress on the fish. Some of these are irreplaceable as far as I'm concerned. As in to say, I wouldn't really be able to get new ones like these, whether it be due to availability or budget.
> 
> I wonder which way would be easiest on them..


Juveniles can survive a several day, several hundred mile trip through the mail and be perfectly fine...Your irreplaceable adult fish will be just fine sitting in a bucket with a bubble rock and heater for a few hours.

They can either stay in a bucket with clear, oxygenated water for a couple of hours or they can stay in your tank as you stir up all of the nastiness in the bottom of your tank...Take your pick.


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Welp, I think I've decided to go ahead and prep to change to sand on Sunday. I'll remove the fish and whatnot in the order I said before. There is a pool supply store down the road and I'm hoping I can get the sand I need there.

I'm guessing it would be best to put some small rocks in there too so the fish have something to move around besides just sand. Is that something I should do? If so, would it be best to mix the rocks in with the sand, or sprinkle them around on top? I was also thinking it might be nice to edge all the larger rocks with them at the base instead, then just let them move them at will.


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## shaguars7 (Apr 12, 2009)

do not forget to rinse the sand heavily...very important :thumb:


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## AC (Jul 26, 2010)

Teggy said:


> > That java moss probably won't be on the bamboo very long...
> 
> 
> :lol: haha you called it, I knew it was a gamble. They did however get the piece of bamboo, still with some moss on it, lodged out of their reach, but still in direct light. There's still a small chance I guess lol. When I can find some I'll eventually get a clump of it and tie it down.
> ...


Well, I don't know what to say there.

He's just a touch under 7".

If I measure him as sport fisherman do with the tail compressed he goes just over 7".


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

Well, changed to sand today lol, checkitout
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/...0&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=


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## Teggy (Nov 5, 2010)

As you may have figured by now, I'm pretty much doing a project every other day. I've wanted something to do with my hands recently and having this tank as a project has been great. As I said I switched to sand yesterday, here's a few pics of that now that it's cleared up


















Then today I got out of bed with an idea to create subtle moonlighting using blue cold-cathode lighting that I have around for computers. I wired that sucker into the 12v adapter that is also being used for the 2 fans under the canopy. Presto, 5 minute moonlighting


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