180 Acrylic Set-Up

[eden2020]

Well.. now that we are pretty settled into the new home after our most recent move, it was time to get the new (used) tank set-up. I found a 180 acrylic that came with a nice unfinished stand and canopy and about 40 fish. Most of the fish have been rehomed with only a few larger Mbuna to find homes still, and the basement is finally finished minus a couple more pictures and maybe some new bar stools..

So here it is so far. The first couple pics are of the basement - thankfully the heavy work was done by the previous owner. Sorting out the entertainment area to my liking was a top priority with football bowl games and NFL play-offs starting. The occasional game on Xbox One is also fun as well.. My wife helped me select some new paint colors and painted.. As you can see, my younger son's Oscar and a few of "her" poorly behaved friends occupy a 90 gallon Oceanic (3x2x2), and further into the pics you can see the 180 empty and filled. Again my wife selected the stain (with my approval in case I didn't like the color) and did a wonderful job turning it into a piece of furniture. The doors will get stained and put on next, the canopy is being modified and is in the garage. As you can see, I added 150 pounds (or more) of Caribsea Aragamax and fired up a small Fluval 206 to start moving the water around. Of course more filtration will be needed, but waiting on the new filter media for the FX5 that came with the tank..

First major post on here.. so enjoy.. more to come soon..

Marc and family

[eden2020]

A little more about the tank plans. As you can see in the next two pictures I have been collecting Texas Holey Rock. In the past I always used Lace rock and River rock and have a couple hundred pounds of each I have collected over the years.. The Lace rock comes is some really cool shapes much like the Holey rock, but fish tend to scratch themselves on it. The river rocks are smooth and have a wide variety of color but tend to be less stable in the tank and can slide off each other if not stacked neatly. River rock does not tend to create as many hiding placed for fry and small fish either. I guess there are pros and cons to any choice, but for now I will give the TH rock a shot.

-Marc and family..

[eden2020]

What will go in it..? Here's the list. I know I will have to thin out the herd in time but for now, I will watch the kids grow..

(13) Foss Rostratus (currently between 3-4 inches) One male is starting to color.
(9) Pheno Tanzania Star Sapphire (currently between 2.5-4 inches)
(7-10) Syno Multipunctatus (All breeding size, not sure how many will end up in the 180, I think I have 12-15 total now)
(13) Cyprichromis Utinta

Other possibilities:
Breeding trio of Lethrinops Red Cap Chirwa (4-5 inches)
Breeding group of Mloto Ivory Head (5 in the group currently on the smaller side 2-3 inches. Recently lost a sweet male..)
(5) Syno Petricola.. probably leave these out, but if I decide against the Multis, I will go with these.
Large male Protmelas Imperial (Had a reverse trio, dominant male killed the female, and almost the other male I have.. shame)
(6) Deep Water Haps - Breeding group (4-6 inches)
(2) 3 inche Lelupi
(4 or 5) Neo Cyclindricus
(3) Black Calvus (couple inches)
A small handful of male peacocks - Otter Point, Eureka, Ruby Red, and Jacob...

Decisions, decisions.. Have no fear I also have a 110 Cube project, a 60 Cube that I can't seem to get sold, and a 45 gallon cube marineland tank and stand. Haven't decided if I want to set-up the 45 gallon on the stand or the 60. Both have the same footprint.. go bigger right.

-Marc and family

Pic is the 45 cube I just picked up.. the second pic is the 60 acrylic

[lilscoots]

I would not put the male peacocks into a breeding colony tank. 
Also, I would not put Deep water (Placidichromis electra) and Phenos (Placidichromis phenochilus) in the same tank if you want to breed either.
Looks nice.  Wish I would have held out for an acrylic 180, my glass one is so heavy.

[eden2020]

Agreed.. on the fish choices.. I keep the deep H20 Haps separate.. actually still at my father-in-laws house and was thinking the same on the male peacocks. They are MUCH smaller than any of the other fish, but I was thinking on putthing all the oddball males I have into the 110 when I get it going or even selling them since I am so far out from getting the stand done for the 110.

Yes- the reason I sold my 180 glass was the weight. My oldest son has moved back to Florida, and moving the 180 glass around is a major pain. Especially if there are steps involved. Don't get me wrong, moving a 6 footer (even acrylic) can be a pain but so much easier than glass. Anything over 125 gallons from now on will be acrylic only.

-Marc

[Steve]

Looks really good Marc. Always great to have a place like a nicely decorated basement to spend some time enjoying fish and relaxing. Takes a lot of the stress out of the day and makes the hobby really enjoyable.

[eden2020]

I am thankful the previous owners took the time (and money) to get it close to way it is. Two things that seem to eliminate stress, watching fish and petting the dog.. An occasional Blue Moon or Ultra doesn't seem to hurt either.

Thanks for the compliment.

-Marc and family

[LoveTheFishies]

A little more about the tank plans. As you can see in the next two pictures I have been collecting Texas Holey Rock. In the past I always used Lace rock and River rock and have a couple hundred pounds of each I have collected over the years.. The Lace rock comes is some really cool shapes much like the Holey rock, but fish tend to scratch themselves on it. The river rocks are smooth and have a wide variety of color but tend to be less stable in the tank and can slide off each other if not stacked neatly. River rock does not tend to create as many hiding placed for fry and small fish either. I guess there are pros and cons to any choice, but for now I will give the TH rock a shot.

-Marc and family..

Thats alot of holey rock.  Looks good.

[eden2020]

Thanks.. yeah i have been picking up the holey rock a little at a time. For obvious reasons.. cost..

The tank below the shelf is 3x2x2 (90 gallon) and I am trying to fill the 180. I have another 30 gallon long in the storage room with another 40 lbs or so, and picking up another 60 pounds this weekend. My father in law has a couple pieces of mine in his 90 display that I will have to go steal back from him. Hopefully I will have enough to get a ncie display up and running. It's been a long time coming so I want to do it right.

-Marc and family

[eden2020]

Some of the filter media I needed came.. So I replaced the sponges in the FX5 that came with the tank..

I opted to set the Fluval up like this: top tray - (6) scrubber pads, and a a bunch of ceramic bio stones with the hole in them /
middle tray - Two bags of charcoal / bottom tray - 3 fine pads to catch the small stuff. I have polishiing pads that I will put one in the very bottom of the third tray but don't have them yet. After hooking up the FX5 there was a noticeable difference in water clarity.

I also put the SunSun canister filter back together that came with the tank as well. Seems to be a knock-off of the Marineland 360 I have just seems to be a cheaper build. I cleaned the filter pads that were in it, rinsed the charcoal bags, and added some cut up coarse filter pads and some more dish scrubbers.. That is hooked up as well. When I did my research on the filter it popped on Ebay for $49.95 free shipping. I can't vouch for the filter.. but it is pretty quiet, and easy to work. However it is sitting inside a bucket just in case.. LOL

I found some more Holey Rock while I am cycling the tank. I hope to have some "test fish" in by the end of the week. I don't want to rush things.

The texas holey rock is another 62 lbs that I can add to what I have. Great shapes.. I would saw high B grade colorwise for those of you who like their THR more on the white side. A grade on the size and holes. As you can see by the pics, some great passages. The bigger pieces are: 19.9 lbs, 13.58 lbs, and 12.65 lbs.. great score at only about $1.25 a pound!

More updates to come.. !

-marc and family

[eden2020]

As you can see the tank is starting to clear up nicely.. the haze is more from the glare and camera phone. I will get the Fuji out to take better pics when the tank is aquascaped and has fish in it..

-marc

[eden2020]

Finally made some progress on the tank again..

Placed the holey rock on the left side of the tank and around the right side of the overflow. A bit of a challenge to aquascape with the overflow. (The overflow was never drilled so it is not functional) The right side of the tank was bare when I took the photos but now has a large grouping of lace rock. I decided to mix it up a bit and add the lace rock to break up the texas holey rock deal. It proved to be a good choice. (I will take a photo of that later and post it). I also bought PVC and hose to change my FX5 return to a spray bar.. Again the design is a challenge to work around the overflow, but I have a plan.. measure once, cut twice.

[Ron]

That is some really nice holey rock!

[mightieskeeper]

Very nice setup Marc!  Where did your rock come from? You have some really nice pieces.

[eden2020]

Thanks! I have been buying the texas holey rock here and there for a couple years.. I found some at the "Pet Station" in Dearborn before it changed hands.. picked up some more locally from a gentleman in Macomb, and some others in WV. The right side of the tank is about 6 or 7 different pieces that I managed to build into an almost seamless piece. I try to blend the rock together to appear as if they are all one. The left side of the tank around the overflow is only two pieces but they look like they were from the same rock.

I will try post some pics with the lace rock too.. cool transition from the Holey rock and honestly it seems like the fish prefer the lace rock.

So far I have 13 Foss Rostratus, 13 Syno Multis, and 11 Phenos (tanz. stars) dropped in..

-Marc and family