From the start... 155g Bowfront RBP tank
- Thread starter the buszkock
- Start date
I'm so sorry everyone. I have been working on a kitchen and this project got put aside for the month. I will be getting back into it soon however. Still left to go are MAJOR pieces of the project. Building the stand. Constructing the sump out of Acrylic, installing the 3D background that eventually might actually get here sometime, ugh. And then the final plumbing that will bring it all together. I promise to update this week sometime with some pictures of the 55 and my guys that are getting very big on MASSIVORE pellets. I feed feed feed feed them everyday sometimes two three times, as long as they go after it. If they let one or two sink then I stop and come back later. Haha, I love MONSTER FISH.
Also, there have been awesome episodes on TV lately: River Monsters and HOOKED are great shows. Get back to you all soon. Thanks for the encouragement!
Also, there have been awesome episodes on TV lately: River Monsters and HOOKED are great shows. Get back to you all soon. Thanks for the encouragement!
Well well. It's been almost three years since I updated this thread, but I think I'm back.
Many things have been done since that time. I built the stand and sump, refined the RO/DI automatic water change system, installed the background and added some plants. A few fish lived, a few died, a few new ones were added. All in all it's been a lot of fun. I will have to get some pics up soon to show you guys. What's left to do are a few cosmetic things, like finish the outside of the cabinet and add some kind of hood/ guard for those flying leaps the piranha are capable of. But like any good project, it's never REALLY over until you run out of money or something catastrophic happens. I'll be looking for new ideas to keep the project interesting.
One thing in particular I'd like to do is reroute some flow to a new acrylic breeding tank I'd like to build, where I can stock and breed convicts (live food to supplement the massivore pellets I have them on.) If someone could direct me to a thread for learning how to breed those guys, I'd appreciate it a lot. And also, obviously, I'll need a source for my first few breeding pairs.
Once I get the hang of posting pictures I'll try to update the thread in more or less a logical order that follows the way I built this thing. I figure it's way past sharing time since this tank has been fully functional for 14 months now. Thanks for reading anyone/ everyone
--LC--
Many things have been done since that time. I built the stand and sump, refined the RO/DI automatic water change system, installed the background and added some plants. A few fish lived, a few died, a few new ones were added. All in all it's been a lot of fun. I will have to get some pics up soon to show you guys. What's left to do are a few cosmetic things, like finish the outside of the cabinet and add some kind of hood/ guard for those flying leaps the piranha are capable of. But like any good project, it's never REALLY over until you run out of money or something catastrophic happens. I'll be looking for new ideas to keep the project interesting.
One thing in particular I'd like to do is reroute some flow to a new acrylic breeding tank I'd like to build, where I can stock and breed convicts (live food to supplement the massivore pellets I have them on.) If someone could direct me to a thread for learning how to breed those guys, I'd appreciate it a lot. And also, obviously, I'll need a source for my first few breeding pairs.
Once I get the hang of posting pictures I'll try to update the thread in more or less a logical order that follows the way I built this thing. I figure it's way past sharing time since this tank has been fully functional for 14 months now. Thanks for reading anyone/ everyone
--LC--
Soon, I promise!
In the meantime I found a good source for the convicts I'd like to breed here: http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/stock.html
Jeff was quick to respond and give me some good information. I'd like to figure out a way to keep the same water flowing through the main tank to feed and filter the water from the breeding tank... I'll have to think on that this weekend. Nothing obvious/ practical comes to mind.
lol, O.K. So I guess my other hobby's pics somehow slipped in there. I'm really fumbling with the attachments feature here on MFK. It's better than I remember but still a little bit awkward.
In any case you can see that the tank is on a cantilevered stand, which is composed mainly of two large pieces of MicroLam on stout legs with a number of 2x4's crossing the surface to create the cantilever. The weight of the front third that is hovered over air is balanced by the other 2/3 that is not... I can get more pics up of the stand construction to make that more vivid.
The background is a Back-to-Nature 3D piece of moulded high compression foam... very beautiful. I didn't want to have to cut it up to get it into the tank in one piece, so I cut off the braces on the top of the tank (!!!) and then once installed, replaced the braces with new, clear acrylic bracing that serves to give support to the tank, and also allows light to shine into the tank without creating those annoying shadows I always had in the past from the black opaque frame. And yes, it took a little bit of convincing myself that it would work and it was a major risk, but it's working fine. I would like to mention though that after many months the acrylic welds don't look too strong anymore, and I plan on either rewelding them, or putting in something else to retain support.
The sump underneath is approx. 40 gal., and really is a post all its own, so I'll get to that later and tell you all the things I would do differently the second time. haha.
I have three beautiful Pygocentrus in there... One of which is not Nattereri but Caribe. They are the survivors, because unfortunately a few others dies during the power outages of Hurricane Sandy. No, insurance doesn't cover that. I also have three? juvenile Plecos in there to replace the 14" Pleco that died last year. We named them Breakfast Lunch and Dinner in case the Piranha took a liking to them... So far so good, although I can never seem to find the third when I look.
On top we have some mangrove shoots hovering in some foam I got at Michael's... they are just shoots really but I hope to keep them healthy as mangroves can help filter the water of phosphates and nitrates, plus they look cool and go with the overall decor.
I DO have a skull in the tank. Of course.
So overall this is about a 160 - 165 gallon system I estimate, as a 155 bowfront is actually only about 146, and there is considerable displacement from the thick background. A lot of space is given up in fact for that look. So let's say 125 in the main and 35 in the sump.
Next I'll take more pictures of the equipment that runs the show, and share all I've learned about setting up an automatic water addition/ water change system. It's a headful, but I owe to the keepers of monsters as many of you helped me early on with some great ideas.
I hope to hear from everyone interested in this project and you can help me bring it to the next level-- The introduction of Convicts into a world of predators. Who can survive? Only the fittest.
In any case you can see that the tank is on a cantilevered stand, which is composed mainly of two large pieces of MicroLam on stout legs with a number of 2x4's crossing the surface to create the cantilever. The weight of the front third that is hovered over air is balanced by the other 2/3 that is not... I can get more pics up of the stand construction to make that more vivid.
The background is a Back-to-Nature 3D piece of moulded high compression foam... very beautiful. I didn't want to have to cut it up to get it into the tank in one piece, so I cut off the braces on the top of the tank (!!!) and then once installed, replaced the braces with new, clear acrylic bracing that serves to give support to the tank, and also allows light to shine into the tank without creating those annoying shadows I always had in the past from the black opaque frame. And yes, it took a little bit of convincing myself that it would work and it was a major risk, but it's working fine. I would like to mention though that after many months the acrylic welds don't look too strong anymore, and I plan on either rewelding them, or putting in something else to retain support.
The sump underneath is approx. 40 gal., and really is a post all its own, so I'll get to that later and tell you all the things I would do differently the second time. haha.
I have three beautiful Pygocentrus in there... One of which is not Nattereri but Caribe. They are the survivors, because unfortunately a few others dies during the power outages of Hurricane Sandy. No, insurance doesn't cover that. I also have three? juvenile Plecos in there to replace the 14" Pleco that died last year. We named them Breakfast Lunch and Dinner in case the Piranha took a liking to them... So far so good, although I can never seem to find the third when I look.
On top we have some mangrove shoots hovering in some foam I got at Michael's... they are just shoots really but I hope to keep them healthy as mangroves can help filter the water of phosphates and nitrates, plus they look cool and go with the overall decor.
I DO have a skull in the tank. Of course.
So overall this is about a 160 - 165 gallon system I estimate, as a 155 bowfront is actually only about 146, and there is considerable displacement from the thick background. A lot of space is given up in fact for that look. So let's say 125 in the main and 35 in the sump.
Next I'll take more pictures of the equipment that runs the show, and share all I've learned about setting up an automatic water addition/ water change system. It's a headful, but I owe to the keepers of monsters as many of you helped me early on with some great ideas.
I hope to hear from everyone interested in this project and you can help me bring it to the next level-- The introduction of Convicts into a world of predators. Who can survive? Only the fittest.
Sorry to hear that. Part of the hobby, unfortunately, is seeing the result of our inexperience at times.
I have had a hard time keeping the water clear, which tells me something is off. I actually reduced the amount of RO/DI water that was exchanged each day because the water was almost "too" clean. In other words, I think some of the beneficial bacteria were being flushed out and allowing toxic levels of NH3 to rise up once in a while. Very hard to figure out the problem, but seems o.k. right now. I actually add beneficial bacteria from a bottle now every few weeks to help maintain the levels. This may also be an issue with the sump not functioning correctly, but I'm going to need a few experts to help me sort that out if it's the problem.
Anyway, I have a list of projects left for this tank:
1. Breed Convicts and Add them to tank, both as food source and as experiment to find hardy fast survivors. Convicts and Plecos are some of those rare fish that can live with Piranha, so we'll see if we can't get a few new tank mates to make viewing more interesting.
2. Make a 8-10" crown for the top of the tank. Allows me to remove plastic that prevents fish from jumping out so the light will enter the tank unimpaired, protects fish from suicidal leaps.
Going to construct of acrylic and paint flat black.
3. Soundproof underneath tank.
4. Finish the cabinet with a removable front and side panels. I'll probably use some rigid foam to provide some insulation and noise reduction, followed by panels of MDF covered in a wood veneer. I haven't decided on the color yet, but it'll be likely Zebrawood or a Black satin. I like the idea of the Zebra wood because it gives me that jungle vibe when I look at it.
5. MAYBE, a system that creates an artificial rain.
6. Whatever crazy idea comes after that.
Thanks for looking and please comment if you enjoy these posts.