125g Malawi Tank Photo Journal

[porksnorkel]

just a little show and tell on my new 125g cich malawi set up. please enjoy!
DIY stand and canopy w/ 125g Marineland tank
filtration...twin emperor 280's,emperor 400,fluval fx5,3 hydor nano pumps
lighting.....twin 55W AHSupply PC's on single ballast, blue tint 10K bulbs
cooling.....DIY mini fan from skycraft surplus
heaters....twin stealth 200W
timer/pwr..coralife single digital/ belkin surge suppresors
air pump...whisper 100
substrate..tahitian moon sand
rock.........lava
backround..exterior black paint [rolled on]
flora........nada
fauna.......20 Hap and Peacock mix w/ a few pictus cats

[canopy is off for lighting upgrade and structural upgrades]

i did some drilling in the lava rock to add more cave. i used a spade head bit, which needless to say is pretty much useless now. looks like a spoon,lol.

filtration set up...fx5 is not in yet.

just to give u an idea of how big the rocks are...this is a shot down the back from the right side. ur seeing the emperor intakes inline.

be about a month before i get any fish. i'll have my barbs running cycling duty and testing for chemical problems [from the last DIY backround calamity] till then. come back and see the fishies!

 

[CatatonicBug]

Are you cycling this tank with fish? Any way you can remove the barbs and do a fishless cycle?

 

[Zagz]

Looking good! I can't wait to see it once you have your fish in there.

I do agree that a fishless cycle would be better than cycling with fish.

 

[porksnorkel]

i also agree w/ the fishless cycle, but i have to test for problems w/ the last silicone, which i don't think will be an issue, as cleaned everything pretty well. the last silicone did apparently have some form of mildewcide in it.

the fish are not in yet. i will transfer over all the used emperor cartridges and bio-wheels from my other 125g, a day before adding them. guys...we're only talking about 2 small rosy barbs here that have survived some very nasty situations, w/ out batting an eye. they'll be just fine. besides i need their Q-tank home for some newer fish for the amazon 125g.

 

[black hills tj]

Looks nice. I am looking forward to seeing the tank progress!

Anne and Catatonic...I don't see any fish in there :S

 

[Zagz]

i'll have my barbs running cycling duty and testing for chemical problems [from the last DIY backround calamity] till then. come back and see the fishies!

This is the part that had me thinking of cycling with fish.

 

[black hills tj]

This is the part that had me thinking of cycling with fish.

Wow. Fine print on the bottom there. Didn't see it

 

[CatatonicBug]

i'll have my barbs running cycling duty

I was referring to this statement. I didn't see any fish either, but just wanted to check.

Good luck on the new layout. It really is too bad the last setup didn't work out for you. It really looked like a neat idea.

 

[porksnorkel]

oops

 

[Purrbox]

I only saw one angel in the picture. If there wasn't a male beside her to fertilize the eggs as they were laid, they won't hatch.

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Looks awesome!

 

[porksnorkel]

i watched the male fertilize. there are actually 3 angels in here...the make was just out of shot and the third is hiding.

 

[porksnorkel]

ere's what's new.
had to rework the canopy, and this tank has been on stand by, whilst i worked on the other. i did get the canopy finished and hung the big light up in there. it has one actinic and one regular 48"t-8. also reworked the rocks a bit. took out 2 big ones, which gave me about 10 extra gallons of water to work with. more swim space too. no fish yet, other than 1 cycling barb. has 3 emperor 400's and 1 280.

 

[AquaScaper]

can't wait to see some updates! and can't wait to see the malawi cichlids!