9 replies to this topic

[LouiKeeper]

Hi, I'm Loui. I have just decided to launch back into an aquarium again after having about a 15 year gap. I used to have a few tanks - community, marines, and a some malawi cichlids. I have decided to straight back to my favourites - the cichlids.

So, Kevin at Malaga Aquariums built a lovely custom 5ft x 17in x 2ft for my living area. It was delivered on Saturday evening. Great job - thanks Kev!
Here it is after being delivered.
 IMG_0140.jpg   166.38KB   76 downloads

Here is my initial hardscape - before water. Not the greatest shot but hopefully you can see enough.
 IMG_0142.jpg   222KB   151 downloads
Substrate is play sand with a bit of gravel added on top to break up the colour more than anything else. The background is small limestone rocks siliconed onto acrylic sheets. I'll then be attaching a few plants (java ferns) into the gaps (attached to the rocks) on the background to break it up a bit.

After stepping back from the tank it now looks like I need more rocks for caves, but I've had enough of rock scrubbing for the next few days, as I'm waiting for the feeling to come back into my finger tips.

I'm planning a "slightly" planted display tank. Currently thinking a stocking list of mostly mbuna of the usual suspects, and possibly adding some male peacocks. I'm pretty excited! Stay tuned for the next update which should be water, heater, plants... and some photos without all the reflections

If you have any thoughts, suggestions or pearls of wisdom to share with me then please do. I'm all ears...

Cheers,
Loui

[Bowdy]

Looking good mate look forward to seeing it decked out with fish.
Cheers.

[Robbotheyobbo]

that looks awesome loui, i was a bit worried looking at the pic with all the small l/stone on the back untill i read a little more,

[Westie]

Kev is a champ. I like what you've done with the background

[LouiKeeper]

Thanks guys, and yep Kev sure is a good bloke, he has certainly done the right thing by me.

[LouiKeeper]

Update...

Water in, filtration (AquaOne 1200) on, heater on (AquaOne 300W), everything stable, water parameters good so far. The water is still cloudy from the sand substrate but I'm hoping water changes will clear it up soon. The tank is aimed at being a display tank, i.e. no plans for deliberate breeding and I'm aiming for males.

I'm going for fish-in cycling, on advice from Kev. I've started with 10 little guys (all only about 3cm), went with 2 each at this stage fingers crossed I hope I got some males (where it makes a difference for the dimorphic species). No-one is really big enough to display any colours but there is already a lot of character being shown. They greet us and follow us around the tank already!

Stock list:
Dimidiochromis strigatus (Haplochromis Sunset)
Nimbochromis polystigma
Cyrtocara moorii (Blue Dolphin)
Aulonocara "marble" (Marble Peacock)
Metriaclima pulpican

I know it's a bit of an interesting group, but I'm hoping the addition of more cover will help out the little pulpicans as everyone else grows. In the long run there will of course be a quite a few more fish too. I guess if the Haps get too big and nasty I might have to separate them. Everyone is pretty much the same size at the moment with enough cover too, so I figure I have a while before any troubles start that I have to deal with. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of where we are now.

 IMG_0143.jpg   713.98KB   86 downloads
 IMG_0144.jpg   902.55KB   70 downloads

Water changes here I come...

Cheers,
Loui

[ice]

Looking fantastic so far mate, love the rock stacks at the back, they would be great for fry hiding spots

[joey]

interesting aquascaping. good stuff man

Edited by joey, 21 November 2011 - 03:07 PM.

[Evil_Boof]

nothing looks as good as a brand new tank looks real nice!

[LouiKeeper]

Hi all,

Well everything has gone really well! A couple of weeks ago I starting seeing some algal growth and got 3 little bristlenoses, they have happily grazed since. Then on Sunday I did a water test and decided everything was stable (ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates ~25). So figured I could get some more fish. Of course I now had to find a new favourite LFS, since Kev's Malaga demise. So I've been visiting a few of the other NOR shops and figured I'd give Exotic Tropical Fish a try as they have a nice selection of cichlids.

So, on Sunday I added to the clan with some more gorgeous cichlids and some featherfin cats. So now the stocklist is:
2 each of strigatus, polystigma, moorii, marble peacock, pulpican, hongi, lombardoi, mylochromis plagiotaenia, crabro, synodontis eurupteris. And 3 little bristlenoses. Everyone is still small with the biggest being around 6cm or 7cm.

 IMG_0148A.jpg   1.53MB   48 downloads

It is only a few days since the new additions but everyone seems happy, except that my featherfin catfish just never come out of the caves. Hopefully they will settle and come out a bit more. The tank is now a buzz with heaps more movement and colour. I'm having so much fun!

Next task is to try taking some decent photos with my real camera

Cheers,
Louise