My 600 gallon thread whittled down to pics and videos beginning through 01/22/10

[MDK500]

Awesome tank

 

[victor448]

What is the ph, hardness etc coming out of your tap. Do you change your water with a mixture of r/o and tap or just the r/o? If you use just the r/o do you add a product like r/o right to avoid ph crashes? Do you moniter the nitrates in your tank prior to water changes? If you moniter the ph in your tank what is the general reading? Just asking these questions because your fish look great despite the large biomass even for a 600 gallon tank.

 

[Malcus]

awesome shirts

http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt111/MyPhotoDump1/settingup600gallon/IMG_6768.jpg

x2

Also awesome tank, fish, pictures and cat!

 

[TheFishJunky]

this is insane and totally overloaded with great information-great job on your end of explaining and detailing it all. It was a pleasure to watch the vid's and see the whole filtration explained piece by piece.
On another note-your landlord is gonna be pissed !!!LMAO

 

[ultimatejay]

Got to tell ya'. The big guys figure out a way to eat whether I feed them or not. This keeps balance, and they are doing great.

If you have to keep feeding a particular fish(s) alot in order for them not to eat another fish or many other fish than those fish don't belong together. It's called responsible fishkeeping and I know it's hard when you want many different fish in one tank at a time and have them get along. Unfortunately, this is going to be very hard for you to do with the selection of large catfish that you have. I guarantee you if you keep feeding your catfish this much they will not have long healthy lives. Just think what would happen to you if you gorged yourself everyday and then just sat on a couch all day long? You have a large tank, but fish are used to constant swiming all day long in the wild, especially those from the amazon river system, so they eat and burn this food off. When in a tank, they don't get near the same amount of excercise, thus they store alot of fat which leads to organ failures. Just food for thought, the're your fish and you can do whatever you want, I'm just trying to help out.

 

[gangster]

I love the new thread. Its also good to see some cichla in there. The female looks hot!

 

[rosko808]

love that monster tank!!!

 

[Wet Whiskers]

I agree with this theory but problem is big fish will eat smaller fish when they get hungry. This would work perfectly fine if all fish in the tank were big enough not to be eaten.

They don't even have to be small enough to eat, just small enough to suffocate in an attempt to eat...

I would rather choose 1/2 lb of shrimp over an ID shark any day!

No kidding!

Awsome tank. Your fish appear to be enjoying all of the extra space

They are enjoying the space to swim. It really shows me how active these guys are if they have the space to be themselves.

thanks for creating a photo only thread!
Sweet.
lol, I missed the yellow notes with the arrows and x's when i first read your thread.
Looks like a hard puzzle.
thanx again for all the work you put into the (original)thread.
I use your thread as reference for folks wanting to start a big project like that.
I got a long way to go before i reach your "MonsterFishkeeping-point of no return".
But i got time, i'm only in the hobby for 2 years, running 1000L now, so i got some more years.
How many years are you and your family into the fishkeeping hobby now?

Must be a great feeling being able to help in the rescue of big fish!
Nice addition, the new Pangasius!
btw your furry cat looks a bit terrified in the precence of your other cats!lol

Thanks. Been in the hobby for.... wow... um 7 years now, and its definitely a team effort around here.
It is really nice to be able to take a fish that would almost certain otherwise have died and given a second chance.
As for the land cat... Yeah, they're terrified of the big fish. LOL My signature is not an total joke...

Thats a ill setup.. Ever thought about scuba diving in it??

Thanks, and yes! I've got the equipment!

Could of sworn I said something in here.. Might of been the other thread.. LOL..
They look great and very happy JEN... Loving the setup!

You probably did. This is going to get confusing having two threads, but I know people really wanted a photo thread. And thanks. Your guys are loving it!

Awesome tank

QUOTE=victor448;3819170;]What is the ph, hardness etc coming out of your tap. Do you change your water with a mixture of r/o and tap or just the r/o? If you use just the r/o do you add a product like r/o right to avoid ph crashes? Do you moniter the nitrates in your tank prior to water changes? If you moniter the ph in your tank what is the general reading? Just asking these questions because your fish look great despite the large biomass even for a 600 gallon tank.[/QUOTE]

It's a tap/ R/O mix. There is a whole explanation in the other thread I listed on the first page. Water is monitored all the time. I make my own water to keep the pH around 6.8 and the GH down. (I've got the mixture down, but forget the exact number ATM). When I do a water change, I get the temp, pH, and GH all set before I add in the new water using the mixing barrel and pumps. And yes, the bioload is huge on this tank and requires 50% water changes almost weekly to keep the nitrates in check.

 

[BIG-G]

Im in love and the tanks not bad either!!! Just kidding looks awesome!!

 

[Wet Whiskers]

Congrats on the new tank and the fish look happy. I can see Joey's tank went to a good home. One piece of advice to help save some money and keep your fish healthier. When fish are of that size you can stretch out the feeding times by up to a week. It is actually healthier for them. In the wild, large fish will find a shoal of feeders and gorge themselves and then not eat for several days to a week.+++ The most common thing I see fish hobbiest do is overfeeding their fish because it is fun to watch them eat and we think they need to eat 3 square meals a day like we do. LOL.

If you have to keep feeding a particular fish(s) alot in order for them not to eat another fish or many other fish than those fish don't belong together. It's called responsible fishkeeping and I know it's hard when you want many different fish in one tank at a time and have them get along. Unfortunately, this is going to be very hard for you to do with the selection of large catfish that you have. I guarantee you if you keep feeding your catfish this much they will not have long healthy lives. Just think what would happen to you if you gorged yourself everyday and then just sat on a couch all day long?*** You have a large tank, but fish are used to constant swiming all day long in the wild, especially those from the amazon river system, so they eat and burn this food off. When in a tank, they don't get near the same amount of excercise, thus they store alot of fat which leads to organ failures. Just food for thought, the're your fish and you can do whatever you want, I'm just trying to help out.

Okay guys, this is a picture thread. If you have questions or concerns, I'd appreciate if you would read my other thread that contains a lot of information about what actually goes on around here, before making assumptions that I am an irresponsible fish keeper. The link is in my signature. Without information, why do you accuse me of gorging my fish on a daily basis??? *** Also, please reference a study showing that this has been proven to be healthier than smaller daily meals.+++

If you read the thread with the whole story, you will see that this:

He's been good since, but the first night he thought, "Wow! A giant feeder!" I gave the tank one good thump, he dropped him, I threw in 1/2 lb of shrimp and a truce was called. Since then the ID has fattened up, and the TSN has completely lost interest.

refers to the just first night of introducing the new ID...

and this:

Feeding is a massive undertaking around here as that is only one tank. ... Like last night I dropped 16 oz of hikari mixed food, 4 good sized filets of tilapia, and probably 8 market shrimp into the 600 alone.

refers to the night I introduced my peacock bass.

So, if you read the other thread with all the story behind this, you will know when I talk about "last night" you will know that I introduced peacock bass. I do not gorge or power feed my fish normally. This is just how an introduction works with these guys. Feeding smaller amounts daily not only keeps down aggression, but helps the biofiltration to be at a steady level. Giant feedings once a week would lead to a huge ammonia spike. I also find that with a giant feeding these cats are more likely to puke, which would again cause an ammonia spike. If they randomly steal someone's food like the TSN did the other day (see the ONE picture I have of him with a giant belly) there is nothing I can do, and it rarely happens. If I feel that I need bulk, I feed a fillet of tilapia which has a lot of water weight rather than just throwing in more calorie dense foods such as massivore. Also, by doing smaller, daily feedings, these cats stay very active rather than laying bloated on the sand.