Cichla + Potamotrygon Tank : I need your help in conception

[warman98]

So you actually heated the floor beneath the tank bottom right?How is that working out? How many Watts does your tank take up to heat?

Great fish, never new monster fish community was so big in Switzerland, I'm fro Portugal and it's starting to grow, but slowly. Your cichla are great!

 

[ElTofi]

it works like for the rest of the house... by heat exchangers into the ground.

I have a wood pellets boiler for the house. I have made install a bypass from it especially for the tank. I have a temperature sensor into the tank. At a set temperature under 25°C into the tank, a solenoid valve opens and warm water (40°C, configurable) begins to circulate in the tubes of the tank's basement. When the temperature sensor indicates that the good temperature level is reached, the circuit is closed. Moreover, I have a venting system enslaved by a hygrometer. At the set humidity level (70% these days), the fan starts until the humidity falls back to 69.99 %

I still don't know how much pellets I use in more for this one, cause the installation only works from September 2011. But believe me, it can't be worst than before ! I had several tanks at 28-32 °C electricaly heated, without any insolation of the fishroom and I live at 1040 meters above see, in the Pre-Alps... Winters are rude...

Anecdote : in mi-2006, right after our moving around here, I received a phone from the electricity supplier. He thought they made an error setting up my counter. I had the power consumption of 6 families of 4 persons ! They came to "check the counter"... and they came with the local police ! I guess they intend to find a cultivation of cannabis or something...

I made several changes :

- insolation of the fishroom
- reduced the numbers of tanks (ok, for a much bigger one, but anyway, it counts)
- upgraded the efficiency of the mechanical venting
- set up hygrometer & heating configurable systems

we'll talk about money next year, after a while with this system...

 

[ElTofi]

Your cichla are great!

my Cichla are ridiculously small ! But when I see how fast and how much they eat, I think it won't last too long

 

[blksubykid]

@blksubykid : no idea !?! I'm not an expert at all with this technical stuff... that's why I asked for help from a friend of mine who is, indeed, an expert with this very subject... He's an engineer in Industrial metallic and concrete buildings... so I guess he has better capacities than I to do the job

No worries! I was just curious because we use that to run analysis on our designs for the FSAE racecar at school.

Sweet setup BTW!

 

[warman98]

Thank's my arapaima tank in a few years will probably take that heating system, thank's. I have a Cichla Ocellaris just the same size one day I'll keep kelbheri and monoculus Keep us posted

 

[cockroach]

Wow, wonderful tank and great build.

 

[Kaya]

I want a tank like this too.. Excellent build Christophe.. Just gonna check out the videos.. Good I had a look at your build.. i love the work with the hanging plants.. gonna try to work that into my pond too.. brilliant.. cheers mate..

 

[ElTofi]

thanks guys ! I really appreciate it... especially from someone who did the same kind of huge job with a "massive" pond-tank... What is really fun with the hanging plants, is that I can lay crickets in the baskets... and then, watch the arowana babies jump above the surface to hunt them... and believe me : it's fascinating ! you can see them do that strange move, right before they attack... they bend themselves into a kind of S and suddenly, in a lightning quick speed, they have a cricket in mouth ! Terrific !!! and they are only 4-5'' long... I imagine when they will be 25'' and more...

Considering plants, orchids and epiphyts on the "green wall" : I must admit that it's a bit tiny yet... it still has to grow and to densify a few months before showing something worth it... I have several plants such as :


In the green wall, from left to right :
- Monstera deliciosa (Phylodendron gigantea)
- Orchids sp "Vandas" (3 x)
- Scindapsus sp
- some kind of gray mosses, real epiphyts

In hanging basket, above water (from left to right)
- 3 Rhipsalis (above the filter)
- Asplenium sp
- Echinodorus sp E136 + Echinodorus argentinensis
- Spathyphyllum sp

My idea was to colonize these plants with spiders, crickets, flies, and other insects, to supply a regular food base for arowanas... but I guess that's utopical, when I see how much (and how fast) they eat and grow ! As I live in the middle of a mountain cows land, I'll be able to supply insects, worms and small invertebrates from April to September... The winter is more difficult for hunting bugs to feed the fishes...

@Kaya : I'm sure you can developp such a "bug's life" into your trees and plants above the pond... don't you think so ?

anyway, thanks for you opinions...

 

[davidwy]

congratulations on your great build!!! just brilliant....... and I'm really glad to see such enthusiasm especially in a non-tropical climate country...

 

[HokieFish]

Wow, this is an awesome tank. Have you looked into vermiculture to raise/sustain a group of feeder worms for your tank. There is a lot of interesting info on the web and it could definately suppliment your food for the tank, especially during the months when you won't be able to gather insects/bugs.