New 90g South American Cichlid tank is set up!

[tpaquarist17]

I FINALLY got my 90g set up! Initially was trying to build a budget friendly 67g long I got for a deal. Between buying a house and still working full time I have tried to work this tank into my free time as much as I possibly could. I found the stand with canopy at a thrift store for $35. I sanded it down completely, refinished the canopy, top trim and painted the bottom of the stand. I decided I didn’t like how shallow the 67g was and picked up this 90g for a great price. The sand is play sand from Lowe’s($5 per 50lb bag). I got the manzanita driftwood off Facebook for $15, and I picked up these plants about 8 months ago from a local auction. The rocks came from a local landscape supply store for a whopping $17 and the lighting on the tank consists of (2) 30w 6500k flood lights off of Amazon for $27. The only thing not budget friendly is the fx4 filtering the tank. I still bought it second had for a decent price though!

Lots of time, energy, research; and yes, money, went into this. I am very proud to show it off even if it isn’t the biggest or the best. I love this hobby and I’m glad to be a part of this great society!!

If anyone has any questions about anything tank related or have any suggestions as to what else I could do to it feel free to comment!

Stocking list:

(5) Angels(I still don’t know exactly what they are, guessing just hybrids)
(3) geophagus red head tapajos
(3) white saum green terrors
(1) true parrot cichlid
(5) emerald green coryadoras

 

[The Morning]

I think it looks fantastic. Nice job.

 

[tpaquarist17]

The Morning thank you! If I find some more manzanita I may add a bit more on the other side of the tank as well as more plants

 

[jeaninel]

Nice pick up! Looks great!

 

[mrrobxc]

You did a great job refinishing that stand and canopy. Love the scape as well. Great eye!

I think stock will be tough long term. If you end up with a pair of GT’s, they’ll claim the whole tank. True parrots also grow into very large fish and will make the 90 feel right. Should be ok while young but you’ll want to thin out the stock.

Angels, tapajos geos, and the Brochis would just about fill that tank. And they would look great in there.

GT’s alone will fill that tank. You can add some deeper bodied characins or some of the medium sized anostomids as tankmates, along with a medium growing catfish.

The true parrot would work singly but is probably better off in a larger setup.

Whatever you decide long term, have fun with alll Of them while you grow them out. Gorgeous setup!

 

[tpaquarist17]

mrrobxc thank you! My long term goal is to set up a rack for breeding some of these guys. The gts were specifically hand selected, right now I have 2 females and one male. I was growing females out to find which one had the traits I was looking for. The red head tapajos are one of my favorite SA species and are super personable as well as easygoing and don’t bicker with the others in the tank. I have already made plans to move to a 180 in the future, this is ultimately just a grow out tank. The parrot is surprisingly very humble, even being the tank boss. That can always change as they mature. All in all, studying their behaviors day after day over the past few months, they don’t care much for one another. There is complete peace in the tank, no torn fins or injuries and they only chase or pick small battles with their own kind. I will keep watching as they grow but I am confident that since growing up together they have and will continue to build a hierarchy that they will coexist within

 

[mrrobxc]

mrrobxc thank you! My long term goal is to set up a rack for breeding some of these guys. The gts were specifically hand selected, right now I have 2 females and one male. I was growing females out to find which one had the traits I was looking for. The red head tapajos are one of my favorite SA species and are super personable as well as easygoing and don’t bicker with the others in the tank. I have already made plans to move to a 180 in the future, this is ultimately just a grow out tank. The parrot is surprisingly very humble, even being the tank boss. That can always change as they mature. All in all, studying their behaviors day after day over the past few months, they don’t care much for one another. There is complete peace in the tank, no torn fins or injuries and they only chase or pick small battles with their own kind. I will keep watching as they grow but I am confident that since growing up together they have and will continue to build a hierarchy that they will coexist within

Nice. That 180 will be perfect!

 

[MFM]

Looks amazing!! I love the wood and those rocks... Good job!

 

[tpaquarist17]

M MFM thanks! Took a little while to find the rocks I had been looking for

 

[PrymeTyme-716]

Great project and great finished product. Keep the thread updated so I can follow, good luck