David R's 370g thread...

[GlassJAw]

Get a haircut you crazy long hair!
How long before your 2 car garage becomes a 1 car garage with the other side being a car sized tank??
I have been watching your fish room evolve slowly..... but I had no idea your addiction was this bad. Mean maori mean!!

 

[David R]

Haha jeez Slinky didn't expect to you on here! You'll have to call in some time when you're up this way.

When are you filling it up?

1 day per mm of glass thickness for the silicone to cure, so have to wait at least 12 days, maybe longer to be on the safe side, and even then I'll be filling it slowly over the course of a week or so just to let everything settle gradually.

I noticed last night that when I moved the stand a couple of inches to the left just before placing the tank that I skewed it out from the wall, now the left hand end is about 2" further out than the right! Damn thing is pretty much immovable, going to have to get people to help lift the tank while I slide the stand over.

 

[GlassJAw]

I've been lurking in the darkness reading about your fish room for some time, but it kinda went dead after a while.... then I noticed you were getting rid of some of your items. I hafta say I wasn't expecting this much of a change, but because I like it allot I decided to sign up to give you the proverbial thumbs up!!
(yes I'm actually giving you the thumbs up at the computer screen right now)

 

[David R]

Looking for input on my sump design: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4063127

 

[David R]

Sump plans finalised, will be taking them to the tank maker next week, so should have that made shortly. Got some acrylic sheeting to make up the drip tray and draws, still haven't been able to find egg crate though, have to find some commercial lighting places.

Started work on the background today, will cut it into three pieces before coating with mortar to make it easier to install. Going to have a go at carving it tomorrow once the silicone has dried.
Test fit:

Ready to be carved, forgot how much fun playing with polystyrene is!

The bit sticking out at the right is to go around the overflow box, there is another panel to go on the end that will be attached separately.

Toby wasn't too impressed at not being allowed in the garage to help, but a 1 year old puppy + bits of polystyrene everywhere is a recipe for disaster...

Tank is still crooked, haven't been able to get enough people around to straighten it up....

 

[Crispy]

Very nice! Can't wait to see it done. (I bet you can't wait either!)

 

[Duncan7]

Poly looks good man Keep it up.

 

[japes]

How have I missed this thread?

Looking good David.

Regarding stocking, around 8 altifrons would be fine and quite uncrowded, but I have differing opinions on crowding compared to most people. Regarding the sex ratios, anything that is even or female heavy should be good, and given the footprint, I can't see spread of aggression being an issue with a reasonably stocked tank.

If Characins interest you I'd sway away from keeping the A. heckelii with them. Also surprised to read that your two males don't beat the pants off eachother, they're at the size where they tend to do that. Not overly sure I'd trust the Severum and Uarus (anyone have experience with Uaru and Tetra/Pencilfish?) either. Even a bit of a concern reading a couple of the recent threads where people have had altifrons decide to "try" a Barb/Tetra. Headstanders will be fine, although I can't say I've ever kept them, so that's not from an experience point of view.

 

[wow]

awesome, can't wait so see the finished result.

 

[David R]

Thanks Ryan, I was hoping you'd chime in at some stage. I've pretty much given up on the Characins at this stage, I heard a whisper about the possibility of black aros being available here again so if that happens then the stocking might have to change a bit!

As for the heckelii, I'm a bit surprised too, but I can only think that the lack of a female gives them nothing to fight over. It works with african and central american cichlids, so I can't see why keeping a group of males wouldn't cut down on the aggression with geos/SA's as well.

Once the tank is up and running I'm planning on adding the catfish and angels first, then the altifrons, then depending on how full it looks add some/all/none of the rotkeils, uaru and heckelii. This is still a while away, I'm doing an experiment with an old 3' tank running it as a settling chamber before my sump, I'll hopefully have it set up this weekend, and depending on how well it works I'll get one made for the 370g or just go with the sump I've planned. The background is coming along slowly, carving it is messy and time consuming.

Also made the drip tray for the sump, 437 holes!!!