Man Cave Entrance

[billberet]

here is how you enter my MAN CAVE!
lol
150 GAL in-wall

 

[dragonfisher33]

so jealous of you. how much did it cost you if you don't mind me ask? also how do you do maintenance on it?

 

[billberet]

hey, can you believe the tank was free, all I paid for was the coral insert, and some extra fish. I sold my existing 3 tanks that were in my wall and it paid for my 150 gal. a lot of items are DIY and leftover things I had laying around.


maintenance is super easy, simple water change once a week to remove nitrate.
I have a fish room behind the wall, where I have my hospital tank and some other small tanks.
I have a whole DIY on how I designed the tank.
check it out and you can see the details on how I design everything.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/150gal-in-wall-simulated-marine-tank-269322.html

 

[bettaowner]

Beautiful aquarium. What is the current stock?

 

[billberet]

off the top of my head I would say

I have 1 firemouth
1 parrot
1 fancy tail guppy (don't know why, lol)
3 tricolors
2 irridescents
40 glows
8 danios
4 silver dollars
8 barbs (albino and black)
3 angles
2 plekos
2 pictus
1 ralph
2 bamboo shrimp
i'm not sure what I have in there anymore, lol.

here are some pics

 

[Oscar98]

And a red tail catfish im guessing?

 

[billberet]

And a red tail catfish im guessing?

i'm sad to say I lost my RT cat, had him for over 15 years.
he was huge!!!
if he was in there now, he would be the only fish left, lol
(munch munch munch)

 

[Oscar98]

i'm sad to say I lost my RT cat, had him for over 15 years.
he was huge!!!
if he was in there now, he would be the only fish left, lol
(munch munch munch)

Sorry hate losing fish haha. But i saw your profile pic. Pretty nice looking.

 

[dragonfisher33]

how do you keep the pool filter sand so clean? do you siphon everyday?

 

[billberet]

no need to, the sand is dense enough that no particles can penetrate it. and it's heavy enough to stay on the bottom when the fish kick it up or dig thru it.

it's the best kind of sand I have ever used and will never use anything else.

when I feed them, any food stays on top of the sand and the cats go around cleaning up the bottom in no time. I do a water change once a week 20%.
that's about it.

 

[dragonfisher33]

yes, i have read good reviews on the pool filter sand. what i'm asking is how you keep the sand clean? how you keep the fish bioload at minimal? those fish in the tank aren't exactly the low-bioload-type of fish. i have used sand before but there's so much poop around even right AFTER i siphon the poop away

 

[Tony30gal]

how did you do the bricks to the wall? just like a person would lay down tile on the ground? did you use that masonry board behind it??

 

[billberet]

how often do you feed them.
I only feed them every other day, they don't make much of a mess at all.
in fact, sometimes I don't even syphon the bottom because there is nothing there. I just do the water changes to remove the nitrates.

 

[billberet]

how did you do the bricks to the wall? just like a person would lay down tile on the ground? did you use that masonry board behind it??

dude, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, so look at my DIY pics.
you'll laugh

I also show how I simulated the grout.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/150gal-in-wall-simulated-marine-tank-269322.html

 

[Aquamandan]

Wow, absolutely beautiful!!

 

[Tategrant]

What kind of sand is it?

 

[billberet]

What kind of sand is it?

I use pool filtration sand.
it's silica based and inert, meaning it will not alter your PH.
it's heavier than other sand so it stays on the bottom, even when the fish kick it up, it sinks back down fast and does not float up into my intake.
I've tried many sand types, and I wasn't as happy as I am with the pool sand.
I've been using this type of sand in my tanks for 20+ years so I know it works well.

 

[aislinn3]

Gorgeous tank! All the DIY makes it a thousand times better too, can't beat that! Well done

 

[billberet]

just finished adding my night time LED's
all the glow fish really GLOW !!!!!!!!!!!!
pictures don't do it justice!

 

[billberet]

ok I made a quick vid to show how the automation works my tanks.
I opened a quick app on my ipad and send commands to my tank.
the home automation program i developed also talks to my tanks.
i know when filters are running or not, lights are on or off. etc...