225 Build - Funky Style

[Funky_Fish14]

I thought Cheatoballs would have no shame? Haha.

[4lti7ude]

Beautiful tank.
I was going to post that spray paint will melt the foam, but it seems like I clicked in to late hahahah.

I loooove FW tanks sooo much, but more so planted ones right now.

Cichlid tanks are cool but if I may just suggest something.

The choice of Cichlid you picked so far is kinda plain colors. Why not spend a bit more money and pick up some more exotic kinds.

An example of my all time favorite is:


Electric Blue Jack Dampsey

There kinda pricey but the colorful Cichlids will really attract the eye more then the plain earth toned ones.
...Or what about Discus Cichlids?

Also if your going to put plants in that tank there all going to be lacking in growth because of the lack of CO2.
If you stock to much as they get bigger they will starve for CO2 during the day.
Just a heads up.

Oh ya. On a side note. Thats really nice substrate you mixed up, its exactly the color I want mine to be when I redo my FW tank.

[Lance]

Originally Posted by lastlight

It's beyond salvage dude! Return to sender.

It'd look a little funny under your Solana Brett.

Nice looking tank Funky!

[Funky_Fish14]

Altitude:
Thanks! Brett definitely gets the credit for the stand and tank & concept though! I just switched up the plumbing, pump, and the contents... etc...

If you think plain colours... you have not seen my fish! (or dont know what they are??) Plus, I already have all the FW fish I'll ever have... bought them all at small sizes and am growing them up (fast too, holy). (the only thing im missing is (Ex)cichlasoma (or Nandopsis) beani... hard to find.

I dont really like most of the 'common' cichlids... JD's look nice but im not into them (same with the EBJD you mentioned). Most of my fish are less common (some very uncommon), the exceptions being my silver dollars as dithers and a couple jaguars because I have always loved jags (they are very blue jags to boot)

Discus are awesome but I just dont have the room and got into these other ones instead. If I had time/space/money i'd definitely get some; but i have too many tanks as is.

Im not going to heavily plant the tank, simply add a couple easy plants that can take the water movement and aggressive fish. (Will try some java fern and annubias anyways).

Thanks about the substrate! It was an accident at first (and was in a really small ratio) but I played around a little while with the ratios and found something that looked the best imo. (just over 1:7 onyx to the Emerald Creek Garnet). I did get an MSDS sheet for the garnet to find out what was in it before I bought it.



Lance: Haha agreed. And thanks!

[lastlight]

Geez I gotta stop posting in this thread people are going to think we're dating.

Oh.

Shoot.

[Funky_Fish14]

Alrighty here is an update of what the tank looks like since adding some decorations (and with the crappy Marina fixtures above it lol. Like I said i'll be getting a tek light within the next couple weeks. Also cleaned up a lot of the junk in the fish room and tools and stuff that were spreading out of the fish room (basement is still in progress, lol. But we are getting there slowly... its tough to get things done cause im in school all the time and my dad retired from a company but then started a consulting/project management company so hes still busy).



Here are some shots of the fish I added yesterday. I also decided to move my Royal Knife from a 112 to this tank (to help 'diffuse' some of the aggression toward the La Ceiba).


The Parachromis sp. "La Ceiba" (She has been picked on and is angry so she looks like crap and is pouting in the corners). She is 8-9" long. Got her at 6-7" last august. She is a couple years old.




Here is my Royal Knife (Chitala Blanci). He is 14" Long. I bought him at 9" long about 5-6 months ago.



A type of Pike Cichlid (Crenicichla lenticulata, "Rio Atabapo" variety). She is 12" Long. Shes the big boss of the tank, but the Argentea spends more time chasing everyone (but her) around. Lenticulatas are known for being one of (if not the most) aggressive pikes. They usually wont kill anything but will definitely not back down for anyone (even fish double or triple their size) and they can legitimately take on much larger fish.







And finally a couple more pics of the argentea for good measure. :P






I need to get someone with better picture taking skills and a better camera (Im using my blackberry storm's 3.2mp camera which is surprisingly good for a phone, but its limiting.). And a better light.

Hey Brett... got a question... do you have any idea what on earth is going on with the overflow there? Its as if the material is bubbling back in there. I pressed against it from inside the box to no avail. It doesnt budge and I dont remember it being there before and I did nothing to it. Anyways if you have any ideas...? Thanks.

Thanks everyone for looking!

Cheers,

Chris

[Funky_Fish14]

Originally Posted by lastlight

Geez I gotta stop posting in this thread people are going to think we're dating.

Oh.

Shoot.

Aha well I guess I wrecked that by asking a question in the post right after!

[Funky_Fish14]

Yaaaahooooo!

FINALLY got a friggen light for it! Picked up my 4 bulb 48" Tek Light today. Man is that baby bright!

I started with these bulbs because a friend of mine has a tall 230 with the same style of fixture but says his is too blue with his bulb combo so he said dont even put a blue light on... well.. anwyays here is what i bought for it:

1 KZ Fiji Purple
1 ATI Aquablue Special
2 G-man Aquablue +

I was going to get 1 ATI blue + instead of a G-man but due to buddy's comments (and I've seen the tank) I didnt... but I have an extra 48" blue bulb at home (no-name HO T5) and tried it in there... I like it better and am going to take a G-man bulb back and trade it for a blue plus (which I will put in the back of the tank... the blue bulb at the front makes it look hideous.

I set the light up so that I can raise or lower it (I think any light that is not way out of the way should be able to move up and down). Anyways I'll let the pics do the rest of the talking! (LOTS of pics). (there are different bulb combos or some not on in some of the pics)




























On wednesday im headed to calgary to pick up a huge piece of driftwood (well it looks pretty decent in size) for a great price! Will be checking out all the fish stores as usual while im down there. (and heading to Bass Pro Shops at Balsac Mall! what a place!)

Im excited to put this big piece in there. I just need to finish growing out 2 more fish to go in and the tank will be done! Im still arranging some cords inside the stand and stuff, but thats minimal.

Anyways thanks for looking!

Cheers,

Chris


- Hmm. it is definitely not as blue as that last pic! Yuck! Lol.