Jeff's Tank Thread

[JSD_Philly]

Hi Everyone,

I figured this would be the best place to stay organized with my new ever evolving hobby.

This all started a few months ago as my wanting to get a medium sized tank to keep a few fish.

Well, fast forward a few months and I now have a 75 Gallon oscar tank and a 20 gallon tank with a few african dwarf frogs.

My goal is to turn the 20 gallon into a planted community tank. I have much to learn on that front.

Anyway, on to the pics.

Here is Herman the Oscar when I first got him (maybe he's a she?)

Here is the tank with the canopy I built.

And here is Herman a few days ago

 

[Juventus7shop]

Sweet! Nice Oscar! Subscribed


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[Nils]

Looks awesome! Looking forward to seeing progress!

P.S: Supporting Bernie! BERNIE4PREZ2016

 

[JSD_Philly]

I made a couple little tweaks. I added some rocks that I had and a added an extra little clay pot cave in the back corner.

Also, this shot shows the inside of the canopy I built.

Todays project is making a water changing system:

My tank is near my kitchen sink, however I don't have a threaded faucet (I rent and have a fancy Ikea faucet) so I am unable to use the Python type water changers.

Also, because I rent, I am not able to add plumbing in anywhere. However, I am lucky that I have an out door faucet right out side the window next to my tank.

SOOO....here is the solution I have come up with for now.

I have an 18 gallon container that fits perfectly in the space under my tank. I am going to be putting a water pump, heater, thermometer and air stone in the container and I will use the outside faucet and a hose to fill up the container. My plan is to let the water sit inside for 2-3 days to get to room temp and then let the heater run for 1 day or so to get the water up to the same temperature as my tank. Then treat the water with Prime.

Then, once / week:
I will drain water out the tank and out the window
Turn on the pump and refill the tank
Refill the tank with the hose.

If everything works, the whole process should only take me about 15 min.

Ill post pictures tonight of the process as it unfolds!

 

[JSD_Philly]

Well, as usual, DIY projects are always more involved then I anticipate and taking pictures of fish is freaking hard!

Tonight I tested the theory behind my water change system. It worked really well.

This is the switch that turns on/off 6 of the outlets.

Tomorrow I need to get a Ball Valve like this. I wanna make sure that I have a way turn of the water flow that is not electric, but good old fashion mechanical.

Run everything right and then use the container that fits under the tank.
I will try to get some pictures posted up tomorrow of the finished work.

Also, here are some pictures I tried to take tonight.
It is amazing to me how much Herman will change colors. He goes pale when he's scared and the stripes come out when he is angry.

And I gave Herman a treat because I know how much he HATES pictures!

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a water change system set up so I can show it off!

 

[Nils]

Going to make water changes EASY peasy! Lol the pic of Herman with the food in his mouth staring us straight down, that would be good in a caption contest!

 

[JSD_Philly]

Sorry about the delay, I have been away for a few days.

Tonight I finally got my water change system set up. I went through a bunch of difference designs and, as usual: The simplest design seems to work the best.

So here it is, pictures tell it best I think.The general design is this: Water reservoir below the tank, window next to the tank. I have set up a system that allows water to be drained from the tank and out the window, then I turn the valves and turn on the pump and water fills the tank.

Here is the valve system I created:

It is probably unnecessary, but I think it is important to use plumbers tape on ALL the connections I used:

Here is the reservoir on the out side and the inside view (I am still going to tweak this a bit, but it does work for now)
Outside:

Inside:

Here is the tank input/output (again, I'll tweak this to make sure it only drains the correct amount, even if I forget to turn it off for a minute)

Here is the valve system set up (this will be mounted to the wall soon)

Here is the output when draining tank (I had to add a pump to prime water for the draining)

Here is the switch to turn on the pump

Here is the tank when it was drained, right before I turned on the fill cycle.

And lastly, here is Herman getting a treat for putting up with the construction around his tank for the last hour:

I would love some feed back and thanks for checking in.

 

[JSD_Philly]

I am officially a fan of a big water change once a week and then a smaller one in-between. The fish are soo soo soo happy and excited. Its crazy to see what a difference it makes.

Nothing new going on, but I am getting ready to start my 20 gallon planted tank. Many updates to follow...

 

[Mebbid]

Interesting idea you have there!

I live in an apartment and drain the water into my bathtub and then fill straight from the faucet.

 

[JSD_Philly]

Day 5 of my attempt at a planted Oscar Tank! Also, I don't think I ever posted the picture of the drift wood I added.

Anyhow, I began adding real plants. Usually with a rock near the roots of roots under the wood. Herman is only a few months old, but he seems to enjoy the plants a lot more then the old way. Maybe he won't destroy them all!!

 

[JSD_Philly]

So here are some updates!

The planted tank has taken hold with the oscar well! Maybe it is just that he is young, but for now, he seems to be loving the plants! Maybe because I had fake plants there for a while then added real plants.

Also, with water changes, while i still use the system I made to drain and do top offs, small changes: I have moved to filling a 45 gallon trash can on wheels, and rolling it down the hall and using a pump to fill the tank. Takes about 30 min from start to finish and is quite easy!

 

[Delapool]

Nice! That's a good water change time. No water sloshing? That's what I get into trouble for if water ends up on the floor.

 

[JSD_Philly]

Nice! That's a good water change time. No water sloshing? That's what I get into trouble for if water ends up on the floor.

I bought a heavy duty can and the lid seems to snap tight and keep water from sloshing.


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[Delapool]

I bought a heavy duty can and the lid seems to snap tight and keep water from sloshing.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

Ah, that's a good idea. I get sidetracked reading AA posts and 'over-fill' the buckets some times.

 

[JSD_Philly]

Yea! Having it be such a large trash can, I can set the timers, 8 min on hot to fill halfway, then 7 min cold...then I come and watch and tweak to get to the right temp!

 

[JSD_Philly]

Thought I would give some updates. I added some plants and some lighting.
I also set up a 20 gallon long at work in my office, but its still getting established...pictures to come down the road.

Without further ado...heres the pics:

 

[Nils]

Fat frogs, awesome oscars and nice tanks! I like it!

 

[lunch]

I had a similar issue with my tank being about 9 meters from the closest tap and after running buckets for as long as I could stand ( draining and refilling ) I decided to work out a labour free alternative, given that I was upsizing my tank by a factor of 3 and was going to also be doing 2 extra pwc's per week, not being able to plumb any pipes due to the tank being on the opposite side of the lounge room and the wife not letting me mess with the taps in any permanent way,I went to my local hardware store and found a $3 solution just an idea
I now drain the tank with a hose out the front door and fill it with a second hose from the laundry tap.. 100 litres out and in, in about 15 mins while I kick back on the couch.
I'm about to increase the size of the 'fill' hose to the size of the 'drain' hose and I reckon I'll get it down to under 10 mins..

Oh and are those murray river rainbows?

 

[JSD_Philly]

Ahh, thats awesome. I am loving the ease of the draining my tank and filling the wheeled trash can and filling with a pump has been easy! Now I can do a 50+% water change once a week super easy!!

And yup, australian rainbows is correct!

 

[JSD_Philly]

Quick update...apparently he still likes the plants. I made some tweaks to the tank.