Aaron's 10g Shellie build

[AaronW]

Hey everyone! Whats happening? Today I decided on starting a build thread over here. I have a 10 gallon thats cycling right now. I want to put shell dwellers in it.

Ok firstly, I have never kept african cichlids so I will need alot of advice on how I can make this a great home for the little guys.

Secondly I wanna make it a biotope, so if you scape heads out there are familiar with what I'm trying to go for I'd love some critiques and pointers.

Lastly I will try to post something every day about it so I can get the best help I need. I am a student with a job, and I'm also a working songwriter so things can get pretty hefty at times. So if some days I don't post please don't lose interest! I'm pretty good about staying on top of things.

Anyway I'll post the first pic now.

 

[AaronW]

Low water level. Going to fix that haha. This is the bear bones build so far. Pool filter sand with a stock hood and light. Also I have an Aqueon 10 gallon filter. Not sure about the heater.

 

[gman42]

Im following.

I have been looking into shellies for a while, but my lfs wont get any in for a while.
If you are looking for shells, i think there are some nice shells on amazon for a good price.

 

[Nathanpopp]

Shell dwellers are great for 10 gallons. A pair is what i suggest for a 10 gallon. No more. Also put 4-5 shells in the tank, just for them to choose from, and to play around with.

Sand is a must for shellies. They like to dig. I find pool filter sand great for things like this. It's cheap, and looks better than play sand.

 

[AaronW]

Shell dwellers are great for 10 gallons. A pair is what i suggest for a 10 gallon. No more. Also put 4-5 shells in the tank, just for them to choose from, and to play around with.

Sand is a must for shellies. They like to dig. I find pool filter sand great for things like this. It's cheap, and looks better than play sand.

I love pool filter sand! I have it in my planted 60 with a flourite mix. Looks great. Now about the number, I've heard a little differently. I heard you can get away with 1 male and 3 females.

 

[Nathanpopp]

You could probably get away with that.

 

[AaronW]

You could probably get away with that.

Yeah. I'll definitely have to look into it though. I got a lot of research to do

 

[AaronW]

Ok everybody here's my readings for today. Nitrates and ammonia are 0 and PH is 7.6





My high range and nitrite readings.



I'm doing a fish less cycle and the tank has been cycling for about 1 month and a half now. What should I do to speed up the cycle?

Also what parameters should I be looking for before I put the Shellies in?

 

[AaronW]

Water change. Filled to the top. What should I do bout the hood. Should I just go topless with a different lighting fixture?

 

[Nathanpopp]

To get your tank looking nice, I think you should move the thermometer to the very bottom or top. Put a black background on it. And you need to move the heater to the center of the tank. It should be fully submerged

 

[Nathanpopp]

Light looks fine

 

[AaronW]

To get your tank looking nice, I think you should move the thermometer to the very bottom or top. Put a black background on it. And you need to move the heater to the center of the tank. It should be fully submerged

How should I go about painting the background black? Do I move the tank? It's up on top of a dresser. I'll post another pic today

 

[TheGrza]

Open top tank might lead to more heat loss. You can get a pack of 30 escargot shells on amazon for $15.

 

[Nathanpopp]

I've heard of getting some cheap black acrylic paint from Walmart, and that will work. But I would google it before taking my advice.

 

[AaronW]

Open top tank might lead to more heat loss. You can get a pack of 30 escargot shells on amazon for $15.

Oh maybe. Perhaps a glass top and different fixture? I don't like the Aqueon stock hood. It has an awkward appearance.

 

[AaronW]

I've heard of getting some cheap black acrylic paint from Walmart, and that will work. But I would google it before taking my advice.

I'll look into the type of paint I can use. But I'm just not sure because it's already cycling. Will taking out all the water backtrack on my cycle?

 

[Nathanpopp]

Paint the back of the tank with the water still in it

 

[AaronW]

Paint the back of the tank with the water still in it

Ha I know I'm gonna have to move it. It's gonna take some figuring out to do.

 

[eAts]

From my experience I wouldn't paint the tank with water in it. The tanks heavy to move and the paint makes a mess. You could find some black aquarium background on amazon and just tape it to the back in my opinion it looks fine and don't have to mess with paint. I've also read that you could try window tint, but I have never tried that so I can't exactly vouch that it will work effectively. But, I'm interested in this, I'll be following.

 

[AaronW]

From my experience I wouldn't paint the tank with water in it. The tanks heavy to move and the paint makes a mess. You could find some black aquarium background on amazon and just tape it to the back in my opinion it looks fine and don't have to mess with paint. I've also read that you could try window tint, but I have never tried that so I can't exactly vouch that it will work effectively. But, I'm interested in this, I'll be following.

Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking. It's also high up so it's not easily accessible. I do like painted backgrounds though.