A couple of 210 gallon setups

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
cjdesmit said:
Great looking setups and stock. Are they the traditional 210 dimensions (72x24x29)?

Any favorites yet appearing out of your current stock? It will be interesting to see how the two synspilum differ in appearance as there is already quite the difference.
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Hi Chris. Yes, it is a standard 210 gallon with the dimensions you cite. As for favorites, everything is still rather small (i.e., I can't choose...I like them all). I guess I'm particularly looking forward to the lyonsi and synspilum coloring up, and the bocourti putting on some size. I have three synspilum from Rapps, all of which look a little different. One has a rather thick vertical band on it's flank, but not like the band of a blackbelt. Another is more standard in appearance for a synspilum. The third is the one I posted above. All are rather deeply colored and have some blue spangles. Their heads don't show much red yet - it's mostly restricted to the belly, lower jaw, and caudal fin. I have high hopes that these will really start to shine when they hit the 4" mark. As for the LFS synspilum, I'm sure it will mature nicely as well.

The two F1 firemouths are small, but I like the way their colors are starting to come out. I find meeki to be very slow growers. I've had these guys for 6 months and they've grown from about 1" to 1.75". But they're feisty and defend a small territory together, even against the 4" pasionis.

Cheers,
Ian
 
The pic of your synspilum from Rapps did remind me a bit of a blackbelt. I have a young syn that's almost at the 4in mark and is coloring up nicely. It resembles more of the traditional syn appearance, similar to yours from your LFS.

I've also grown out (as well as spawned) some T. meeki and completely agree, they are indeed slow growers. Yours look great though, so I'm sure they'll will be worth the wait.
 
FuriousFish said:
what did you paint it with??? What type of paint???
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The styrofoam is coated with Drylok (a latex-based masonry waterproofing compound, available a Home Depot and similar home improvement outlets). Drylok comes only in white and grey, so I use cement coloring powders to create the appropriate rock-like color. The powders I use (by Sakrete) are available in my local store in black, brown, red-brown, and mustard, which is enough to create a wide range of color options for rocks. The tinted Drylok is then applied directly to the styrofoam and allowed to cure for several days. It tends to dry a bit darker than it looks when wet. Sand can be added to the mixture to give it more texture. Incidentally, I read about this technique online and have been using it successfully for years. Cured Drylok is non-toxic to fish.

Ian
 
Are your back grounds covering overflows by chance? Thinking of doing something similar in my new tank.
 
TripleW said:
Are your back grounds covering overflows by chance? Thinking of doing something similar in my new tank.
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I didn't go the sump route. In both tanks the background on the left and the wood/leaves on the right are hiding the intakes and outflows for two canister filters (Filstar XP3 and Fluval FX5) as well as a powerhead.
 
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