Jessica's 110g Malawi Build

[Jess1ca]

3 days & the tank will be fully functional with a few minor changes...

I think I'm scrapping the background & going with the standard black. I just don't want to lose water volume the overflows take up. I've also been reading alot about 3D backgrounds trapping debris, I'm just not confident I can do it perfect enough.

Sump is not finished and I don't like the size... I'm gonna look for a used 55 on CL when I have some extra cash. A 55 will give me alot bigger footprint to play with plants in. In the meantime filtration is gonna be a FX5 & 2 AC 110's with the addition of 3 sponge filters. I like the idea of having active media I can pull from a tank in the event I need to cycle a new tank or pull a fish out. Adding my Peacock back to the main is a SCARY thought for me! I'm not sure how its gonna go... Just hoping the tank is big enough to spread the aggression. My male Nyererei & him are arch enemies haha.

I'm still concerned about the water softener @ the new place... I'm still not sure if I should turn it off when performing a wc. What do y'all think????

[Mrc8858]

Exciting! This means more time you can spend on your SW builds lol. I've just started my first big cichlid build thread for a 8' plywood tank so my reef will be on standby for now haha

[Jess1ca]

Originally Posted by Mrc8858

Exciting! This means more time you can spend on your SW builds lol. I've just started my first big cichlid build thread for a 8' plywood tank so my reef will be on standby for now haha

Exactly haha! It was REALLY hard to get this tank ready since the addition of the sw tank haha! I can't hardly wait for the 150 to go up I'm in the market for 2 used 55's really, I feel that both 150's need a 55g sump. I believe the one they had on it is 35g and it just looks too small & there really isn't any room for a fuge. I'd rather do it right the first time. I can't wait for the holidays to be over so I can have some extra dollars & really get things going. I'm saving all my pennies now because I'm buying a 4 bulb fixture for the 75 from another member on here so many builds so little money & time haha!

[Andrew McFadden]

I use the water before the softener at my house. Typically your water spigots for outside are before so I got tiered of dragging the hose in for every water change and just put a T in and another valve inside above the tank lol .

[Jess1ca]

Originally Posted by Andrew McFadden

I use the water before the softener at my house. Typically your water spigots for outside are before so I got tiered of dragging the hose in for every water change and just put a T in and another valve inside above the tank lol .

Lol! My wc equipment is made from a garden hose I'm pretty sure I can shut it off... I was thinkin I could kill the softener, hop in the shower to run the softened water out then do the wc's??? Sound good?

How should I go about acclimating? Normally when I buy a fish I float em & add tank water to the bag about every 10 min or so...

[Andrew McFadden]

No you'll still have softened water. If it goes threw it you're going to have it.

[Jess1ca]

Originally Posted by Andrew McFadden

No you'll still have softened water. If it goes threw it you're going to have it.

Well that's pretty much sucky news if I bring it in from an outdoor spigot I would need some water storage containers to warm it up before doing the wc, right? I really don't want anymore bulky water containers... I already have 2 32g garbage cans for mixing my sw and that will easily be doubled or tripled once the 150 sw build is finished... Ugh. What do I do?! What's they easy way hahahaas

[Andrew McFadden]

Originally Posted by AndrewsPistol

Well that's pretty much sucky news if I bring it in from an outdoor spigot I would need some water storage containers to warm it up before doing the wc, right? I really don't want anymore bulky water containers... I already have 2 32g garbage cans for mixing my sw and that will easily be doubled or tripled once the 150 sw build is finished... Ugh. What do I do?! What's they easy way hahahaas

Plus with you or I in the winter your taking a chance on freezing aswell. That's another reason why I added a water line from the inside.

[Jess1ca]

Originally Posted by Andrew McFadden

Plus with you or I in the winter your taking a chance on freezing aswell. That's another reason why I added a water line from the inside.

So if I add a line inside will I be able to adjust the temp of the water???

[Andrew McFadden]

Originally Posted by AndrewsPistol

So if I add a line inside will I be able to adjust the temp of the water???

No because all the hot water goes threw the softener and if you add a line it needs to be before the softener.

[Cichlidjon]

On a side note good to hear from you 'drew I missed his thread!

[Jess1ca]

Originally Posted by Andrew McFadden

No because all the hot water goes threw the softener and if you add a line it needs to be before the softener.

Dang.... Idk what I'm gonna do... It is not possible for me to "make" up enough water and have the storage for it for all my tanks.... At that rate my wc schedule would be spread throughout the week, like 1 a day.... Or 2 and I wouldn't be able to skip a day. Hmmm I might just make my husband get rid of the water softener... I don't have one here so do I really need it, right???

[Andrew McFadden]

Some people use the softened water it would just be a small trace of salt witch your probably using anyways with the Africans. So I don't see a problem.

With the salt tanks your using ro/Di water anyways so it will or should from my knowledge remove what it can of the salt

[Jess1ca]

Well once this build is finished and my 150g sw is complete I will start this build thanks to AndrewMcfadden, my husband is gonna have a fit!! Haha!!!

EDIT: After researching how to build a tank the tv deal probably won't happen... I'm def not that handy hahaa ;D so now I just have a busted tv lol

[Jess1ca]

Ha a minute to spare so here is a little update.


All moved! All tanks except the 150g sw are in operation. That was a crazy experience and I hope that I NEVER have to do that again to be quit honest lol. I was up till 6am getting all the fish squared away and has taken about a week to get the tanks looking nice & not just thrown together. I still need to get more rock n such for this 6ft tank. The decor in the 55 didn't spread out to well after adding an extra 2 ft to the tank haha I hope I have a pic or 2 on my phone because the lights are out right now and then y'all wouldn't have to wait till tomorrow to see a pic I keep moving rockwork around still everyday... In just not happy with the scape :/ it's super crazy to see my Peacock in with the rest of em... He is crazy BIG! Can't believe how much he has grown living by himself. No casualties yet & that's awesome no ammo spikes or crazy things happening thankfully. I have noticed that some are flashing enough for me to notice... Wonder if that's because of the softened water??? Other than that I think everyone is thrilled to have the bigger footprint

Edit: well for some reason it won't let me upload the only pic I have?!?!

[Cichlidjon]

I hope u can post. I've been following for a bit and you've motivated me to upgrade from a 55 to a 125 soon. So hurry up and post haha so I can steal all your ideas and tell my friends I'm just THAT creative lol.

[Jess1ca]

Originally Posted by Cichlidjon

I hope u can post. I've been following for a bit and you've motivated me to upgrade from a 55 to a 125 soon. So hurry up and post haha so I can steal all your ideas and tell my friends I'm just THAT creative lol.

Hahahaa! Not many ideas to steal just yet once I get a couple days off and some extra dollars for more decor THEN you'll get some ideas lol! Here is a shot of what the scape is as of today, I'm constantly messing with it, eventually id like to move out the red slate. For some reason I'm getting tons of evap, which was never a problem in my old house.... Wonder if its because its placed over a heat register... I did block it off with cardboard tho.... I'm also topless this time.

[Andrew McFadden]

Originally Posted by AndrewsPistol

Hahahaa! Not many ideas to steal just yet once I get a couple days off and some extra dollars for more decor THEN you'll get some ideas lol! Here is a shot of what the scape is as of today, I'm constantly messing with it, eventually id like to move out the red slate. For some reason I'm getting tons of evap, which was never a problem in my old house.... Wonder if its because its placed over a heat register... I did block it off with cardboard tho.... I'm also topless this time.

Lookin good even topless will make it evaporate a lot more than it was

[Cichlidjon]

Yup looks good. Make sure the seal over your heater register is is good and tight. Also is the ambient temp in the room itself pretty steady or does it fluctuate a lot? Just wondering its the Hvac tech in me lol

[Jess1ca]

Thanks guys

I figured having the tops off aids in the evap, the hoods probably kept alot in.

It's somewhat steady I'm struggling with the thermostat to keep a comfy temp, but it's pretty warm otherwise. I have 2 little ones & it's snowing pretty good here so gotta keep it toasty i cut cardboard and out it in the inside of the vent cover, hope that's good enough! Can't really move it now its heavyyyy!