I just know my girlfriend is going to kill me. 60g cichlid journal

[vapocalyptic]

I will probably be updating this quickly. It may not be long, but it's my first journal. Probably should mention I have lots of free time and this may not be an extended deal, but I felt the need to show it off - it's the biggest tank I've had and I'm so giddy.

I plan on doing some rock work later this evening, going for mainly river rock. I plan on adding a manzanita branch in about a week, when I've got time to get to the LFS. It will be seeded with medium from my other established tank, and therefore if time permits I'll add a few cichlids tonight.

It's the heart land ensemble, with pool filter sand, and for now a single aquaeon quiet flow 50/75 filter. This will be my last tank as I may have to downsize and sell off my planted 20g long and 2.5g nano. I've only got about 700sqft in this apartment and if it was up to me I'd have a tank in every corner.... The girlfriend isn't to keen on that lol. But hey I'm still breathing.... For now. Lol

 

[ImACoolguy]

Looking good! My girlfriend isn't too keen on the fish either but she respects my passion for them and likes guppies. That's as far as she goes though.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

 

[vapocalyptic]

Yeah it's hard to explain that this light cost xxx and if this filter wasn't on sale I'd pay xxx lol. But after scavenging for rock and a few fish, I should be dead set - and probably bankrupt - for the foreseeable future. Hard to pass on a new 60g + stand for 215.00 out the door!

 

[vapocalyptic]

this is her 2.5g betta tank that I maintain. I think she checked out of the hobby when I suggest plants and dw in favor of spongebob ornaments lol.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Lol. I'm with you on that one! Love the natural look. What type of cichlids are you looking at?


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

 

[vapocalyptic]

Honestly probably mbuna hybrids. Locally I can get them at petco, so as they mature I'll sort out the *******s and go from their I kept them before. They're like dogs during feeding time I'd shake the bottle and they'd swim and circle the top. Lol

 

[ImACoolguy]

Sounds good keep us updated and don't get stabbed by the gf for the new tank!


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

 

[vapocalyptic]

Some rock work for the week, and the first fish. It's like a palace for him lol. I'm sort of nervous to stock more work due to the narrow foot print and perpetual fear the rocks will crash into the glass and destroy everything I own lol. I left the right side empty, going to pick up a few huge manzanita branches at my LFS Thursday. Also added an AC70, the aquaeon wasn't cutting it lol. Pretty happy so far.

 

[joecoones]

That is some nice looking river rock! Keep us updated!

 

[vapocalyptic]

Thank you. Some **** sand kicked up and wrecked the aquaeon. Thankfully Amazon will overnight me a replacement... Times like this make me wanna renew my prime sub, that 100 up front really pays for itself.


I want more rock atop that, but I'm a bit scared. It's not the sturdiest in the world... I fear one day a fish will take me outta the hobby with suicidal digging lol. I think I'm going to round up more stones, kind of condense it, so it's a taller formation and not a million caves. I'll be adding some huge manzanita branches Thursday, so expect my next update then!

 

[joecoones]

View attachment 266586Thank you. Some **** sand kicked up and wrecked the aquaeon. Thankfully Amazon will overnight me a replacement... Times like this make me wanna renew my prime sub, that 100 up front really pays for itself.


I want more rock atop that, but I'm a bit scared. It's not the sturdiest in the world... I fear one day a fish will take me outta the hobby with suicidal digging lol. I think I'm going to round up more stones, kind of condense it, so it's a taller formation and not a million caves. I'll be adding some huge manzanita branches Thursday, so expect my next update then!

Not sure about your location but I hit up local rock yards for some really cool rock. Usually runs 0.10$-0.25$/lbs depending on rock type. Just put this quartz in my tank the other day. 21$ for all this rock plus I had a large extra piece so I threw it in my daughter's tank. I am starting an acrylic tank building company so if you ever wanna be super safe and get an acrylic tank I do totally custom dimensions..

 

[vapocalyptic]

Looks good. I'll hunt some down Thursday. What would look good on the right side to compliment the river rock? I'm set on a huge branch, but possibly some larger river rock boulders? Seems like a ton of weight. If anybody is familiar with the Marineland ensemble, the stand seem rock solid... Then again I've same puny stands hold much more


I'd absolutely love to show case your tank in my bedroom, if you deal in kind words lol. I am not in the market for a tank, took a large enough chunk bankrolling this one lol. Thankfully I run a website for my other hobby (vaping/e-cigarettes) and get free product or I'd need another job lol

 

[joecoones]

I would suggest putting plastic grid in the bottom of the tank so the rocks don't sit directly on the glass. As for how much weight it will add to the stand, the rock in my big bow front is about 80 - 85 lbs plus sand is probably 60 lbs?

Your water alone in a 60 gallon tank is 480 pounds (8lbs/gallon) So if the stand came with the tank is should hold whatever rock you want in there. Do you build websites by chance? Maybe we could do a tank trade for a website haha.

 

[vapocalyptic]

I build blogs, my friend, and although in my line of work I'm slowly building a reputable and reliable brand, I'm probably the last person you want designing a site lol. It's just.... Elementary at best. More about the content than the looks. www.vapocalyptic.com have a look.
Edit: make sure if you're mobile you do desktop view!

I opted for a large sand bed instead of plastic, so the rocks were placed on about half an inch of sand, with another inch and a half added on top.

About the website... May know some people who can help. What ya lookin to do bud? Also, I'm in Arizona, and would quit my job tomorrow and work for you lol

 

[joecoones]

I build blogs, my friend, and although in my line of work I'm slowly building a reputable and reliable brand, I'm probably the last person you want designing a site lol. It's just.... Elementary at best. More about the content than the looks. www.vapocalyptic.com have a look.
Edit: make sure if you're mobile you do desktop view!

I opted for a large sand bed instead of plastic, so the rocks were placed on about half an inch of sand, with another inch and a half added on top.

About the website... May know some people who can help. What ya lookin to do bud? Also, I'm in Arizona, and would quit my job tomorrow and work for you lol

Hey if this thing takes off I will need to do some hiring. Right now its just my friend and me. he is building an oven in his backyard for tank molds and I am about to finish a big bending table in my garage. I have family that own a plastics company in Oklahoma who are gonna hook me up with the acrylic. This local manager at a big box pet store is impressed with the tank decorations I build and wants me to do custom turtle docks for them to stock, pretty exciting, so I am using my turtle dock monies to buy acrylic. I've gotten pretty good at welding acrylic too, my seams are way better than when I started. As for what I want in a website? I have no idea. I want people to be able to order from it. But I need to come up with a size/cost formula so that people can see the cost right then rather than having to get back to them with a quote. Anyways.

As for your tank, personally I would cover the entire bottom with riverrock, piled up, but not terribly high, leaving like a sand "race track" around the rock in the middle and then work in a bunch of driftwood into the pile. Kinda like this pic but with the rock heading closer to each side and the driftwood worked into the rocks. (stole this pic from google image)

 

[joecoones]

BTW, I will check out your website when I get home. Work blocks anything tobacco/nicotine related... lol gotta love the fed.

 

[vapocalyptic]

No problem. Don't get too excited, but an e-commerce / store front wouldn't be terribly hard to do. You'd need to calculate your supply cost, shipping (is it cheaper to set up an account, by weight, etc) and consider how much it costs you vs what you charge. Relatively simple but could fall into a pitfall considering custom acrylics often include tons of work and hours and without clientele / strong advertising and brand recognition you could be in the red for quite a while. Might I suggest just standard dimensions, build your client base, than do the custom work? I dunno. I'd love to be a part of it if you get to that point.


I also really dig that scape. Gonna see what I can do this week. This will be a slow journal lol, I only have two days of the month do this stuff - disposable income is the first check of the month!

 

[vapocalyptic]

Also starting local first cuts costs down costs for the foreseeable future til you can support shipping and custom order

 

[joecoones]

Also starting local first cuts costs down costs for the foreseeable future til you can support shipping and custom order

Well the cool thing is the reef store here and 2 LFSs want to carry my tanks. I am going to do mostly nano reef tanks to start with. (Could always be used for FW plants etc.) The ones with the built in sump/overflow all in one. I think people would be more apt to buy a turn key setup than just the tank. I also have a suprise for one of the LFS that are really supporting me, I am building them a beautiful coral frag tank with my logo up in the corner, they can showcase their corals and I can showcase the tank! My dad is a graphic artist so nice thing is all the art/cards/logo is all in house. I would show it but I need my LLC first so noone take my company name... I can't believe there isn't a company out there with this name already!! Also best friend is an attorney, so there is the legal stuff in house too! lol. When I have the LLC and the finished logo I am going to journal the entire company from now on with video. If it grows it would be fun to have those videos around in 10-20 years.

 

[vapocalyptic]

Sounds like you've been working on it for a while bro. Didn't mean to sound so condescending I apologize it seemed like an idea... You've got a business ready to boom! I hope you see great success. Don't forget me lol haha