PART DEUX!!! - Epic Overhaul (3D Backgrounds/300g, 250g, 120g tanks)

[fish_n_vw]

Lighting looks great Justin, and I will come down in a few months. I have to get the audi fixed. Its running funny. Again, tank looks great bro, keep up the good work. And I can't wait to see what you won't post.

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[JK47]

Lighting looks great Justin, and I will come down in a few months. I have to get the audi fixed. Its running funny. Again, tank looks great bro, keep up the good work. And I can't wait to see what you won't post.

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Thanks bro. I'm looking forward to the next time your down. You roll an Audi too? Have a black A4 turbo myself.

what can i say..J your lighting setup is impressive. its all in my dream..lol..really appreciate it if you can show in detail how you position the T12 and the LED to get that kind of natural effect. thanx dude.

I am embarrassed to even post this picture with some of the nice looking setups out there but you asked for it so here you are sir. I will likelly replace this T12 setup woth a T5HO like my 300 gallon but I'm undecided until I see the T5HO's on this setup.



Side note, my dovii pair decided to break in their new room with a spawn. These two crack me up sorry the pics are out of focus, I am shooting pics one handed right now and can't manual focus.







More pics tomorrow.

[PDRed302]

Awesome looking tanks and great fish room! that Festae pair is gorgeous.

[jerome9731]

the background is amazing!

[fish_n_vw]

Yes I do. But its givin me some trouble right now.. still a great looking and handleing vehicle. Black A6 avant.

That dovii tank is sick. She spawned right on the b/g... that's awesome. So these things double as a spawning location.

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[JK47]

Awesome looking tanks and great fish room! that Festae pair is gorgeous.

Thanks man! I love the avatar BTW!

the background is amazing!

Thanks Jerome!!!

Yes I do. But its givin me some trouble right now.. still a great looking and handleing vehicle. Black A6 avant.

That dovii tank is sick. She spawned right on the b/g... that's awesome. So these things double as a spawning location.

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Yes they do. In fact they only spawn on the locations that have a deep hole or crevice behind it. If you look close in the pic, that's where mom will be picking up the wigglers and dropping them in one place until they are free swimming. This background is the females best defence. The underside if you notice is hollowed out. The first install job I did failed on me using the pond foam but since it lifted on the bottom it gives her a quick retreat to get away from the male quick.

I'm actually struggling on redoing this background or not. The separation bothers me but it is extremely useful for the female. What would you do? I already bought the same background to replace it and reinstall it.

[fish_n_vw]

I would leave it.. it dosent detract from the tank at all, and in contrast, it "helps" the whole thing work.. that's just me though.. I really like it.

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[JML1997]

Incredible work, the fish look great!

[jweav]

I love the body profile of your dovii! I have always liked Dovii that had a more slender profile to me they look more predatory and natural looking. I must say that I really like the color of the sand in your tank. In the thread you started on the cichlid forum you showed a picture of water you would find around rapids that you wanted your tank to represent. In the rivers here in Virginia that I fish the sand that collects behind rapids closely resembles the sand you have in your tank in both color and texture. Yes some of the gravel in the river resembles the larger rocks in the river in which it was formed from but the sand looks to be about the same color as yours. Great job on the tank!

[JK47]

I would leave it.. it dosent detract from the tank at all, and in contrast, it "helps" the whole thing work.. that's just me though.. I really like it.

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Thanks for the feedback Anthony. My wife is telling me the same thing and I'm slowly coming around. I do have this "extra" 6'x3' tall background though. Maybe I'll consider building another tank for an RTM pair or a different species, who knows.

Incredible work, the fish look great!

Thanks J!

I love the body profile of your dovii! I have always liked Dovii that had a more slender profile to me they look more predatory and natural looking. I must say that I really like the color of the sand in your tank. In the thread you started on the cichlid forum you showed a picture of water you would find around rapids that you wanted your tank to represent. In the rivers here in Virginia that I fish the sand that collects behind rapids closely resembles the sand you have in your tank in both color and texture. Yes some of the gravel in the river resembles the larger rocks in the river in which it was formed from but the sand looks to be about the same color as yours. Great job on the tank!

Thanks for the kind words. I don't over feed my dovii. A lot of people do and unfortunatly are cutting down on the lifespan of the fish. I think I nailed the inspirational pic so far but have a couple tricks left up my sleeve. We'll get there though, trust me

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I haven't had any health issues for a few days now so lets get this build back on track! I got the tank drilled for the in/out plumbing for the FX5. I will use these later as the access holes for more return plumbing when I switch to the larger pump this weekend.

(and yes, I drill my tanks full of water and running..)









Petty I know but I finally got around to picking up a bag of intake covers to keep fry out of the FX5. I redid the foam blocks that are being used as strainers in the access holes cut in the background as well.



You can tell these are x10 better than the old ones I was using. That thick string is where it's at, the thin ones are impossible for me to untie and they fit perfectly.



I also picked up a few more pounds of biomedia prepping for the larger pump this weekend so I can pull off the FX5 and move it to the 300 gallon. The darker colored media is the same brand that came out of the established FX5 on the tank. I'll replace it with new media when I move it over to the 300 gallon.



And finally I have a FTS without that damn FX5 intake dangling in the tank! this pic is out of focus because I am still having trouble focusing with my camera. What evs it feels good to get closer to done. I will start soaking driftwood tomorrow so I can scape soon.



Lastly, the festae pair dug out every corner in the tank and finally settled in. They dug out from under all of the rocks and made hiding places in there. They were never really diggers for me before. The female has a swollen belly and they are courting each other non stop so it looks like I should have a spawn very soon