15 replies to this topic

[gibbs]

This is my work in progress. It will eventually be an all male Malawi hap/peacock display tank. I started with nothing not even the tank. Im no Ronny with a camera or Steven Green for improvisation but i do know a thing or 2 about Malawi's

I did the first 2 steps a month ago
Step 1: The cabinet. This was a simple design, the legs carry all the weight to the floor and held together by a top and bottom support. 6" x 2" timber, took me a few hours to complete





Step 2: The hood. Again simple took maybe an hour, no fancy stuff here just a shell and a six foot piano hinge



Got my tank a week ago and this is where im now at.



I was originally goin to paint the cabinet a gloss black but i ended with a very Australian feel to the cabinet after i changed my mind and stained jarrah.
Now to waterproof the hood and then i can stain that and in with the fish. The fun part
Ill be running an Eheim 2217 and Aquaone cf2400 filtration.
2x 300w jager heating
Twin 6 foot lights
Painted black background (for now )

[STEVEGREEN]

looking good mate , nothing like having tanks the same as your cars.

Built not Bought!!!

onya cob , ave a crack , it's the Aussie WAY!!!!!!

Cheers
Steve Green

[gibbs]

Wanna see some fish????? Ok save ya's begging. They are all still juvie's so i will post they're progression as time goes by and they mature into adults.

Fossorochromis rostratus


Nimbochromis venustus


S. fryeri


Buccochromis rhoadesii


Aul. Lwanda


The rest of the stock list is:
Copadichromis chrysonotus
Dimidiochromis strigatus
Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" (Taiwan Reef)
Protomelas taeniolatus
Aulonocara (Rubescens)
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" (Maleri Is.)
Many many more to come

[gibbs]

Good news is it all went without a problem. Today was a good day, all the fish went in and living large in their new home. The change in character of these fish was instant going from a small temperary tank to big one. Natural behaviour is much more noticable and the fish seem to mind there own business in amoungst the plants and wide open spaces. Some pics of the new setup.

Without plants



With plants (Vallis)



Full view



So that's were the tank is at, i might make some modules for the background in the near future. It's been a long process but she is finally up. On a scale of 1-10, this feels like a 10

Hope you guys like it, give me thoughts especially on the plants as i have never been big on them with malawi's

Cheers
steven

[Ronny]

Looking good

Nice collection of fish you got in there too.

Personally, I like plants in Malawi tanks, vals in particular it's just hard tokeep them in there sometimes lol.
Which is why I resorted to some good plastic plants.

[Scat]

Looks great !

You have done a fantastic job on the tank & cabinet and your haps will all grow out to fill out your tank just nicely !

Cant wait to see this progress down the track as the fish grow !

Vallis would go well in here but i wouldnt be too fussed about plants with a tank full of malawi`s !

Cheers
Craig

[jslayz]

Hi Steve

Nice job, you must be proud of your efforts!

I like the colour of the cabinet and how it compliments the white sand and rocks.

Any future stock additions planned or will your current stocks grow to fill the tank?

Good work,

Jared

[(Anthony)]

Hey mate,
Tank looks great,
Cant wait to see the updates of when the fish grow!

Anthony,

[Angelo]

looking awesome! love the sand...

[gibbs]

Thanks for the comments, the cabinet has 2 coats of jarrah varnish. It come up really nice in the end.

This is my current fish list:
Aulonocara (Rubescens)
Aulonocara sp. "Lwanda"
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" (Maleri Is.)
Buccochromis Rhoadesii
Champsochromis spilorhynchus
Chilotilapia rhoadesii
Copadichromis chrysonotus
Dimidiochromis compressiceps
Dimidiochromis strigatus
Fossorochromis rostratus
Nimbochromis venustus
Otophaynx sp. "torpedo blue"
Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania"
Protomelas taeniolatus
Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" (Taiwan Reef)
Sciaenochromis fryeri

And these are the fish to come, when i find them
Aristochromis christyi - very rare but can be found apparently
Champsochromis caeruleus - very rare
Copadichromis borleyi (Kadango)
Exochochromis anagenys - probably will never find 1
Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus
Nimbochromis polystigma
Otopharynx lithobates (Zimbawe) - worried it might get smashed
Protomelas sp. "Spilonotus Tanzania"
Tyrannochromis macrostoma - don't like my chances
Aulonocara jacobfreibergi "Eureka"
Aulonocara jacobfreibergi (undo reef) - might clash with "lwanda"??
Aulonocara stuartgranti (Ngara) - might get smashed??

So thats the list i have in mind. Any suggestions or ideas feel welcome. If you think of a fish not on my list that is pretty cool and tough enough then do tell or even if you know where i can find some of the rarer species

Cheers
Steven

[(Anthony)]

Will u be adding in anymore limestone?

[gibbs]

Will u be adding in anymore limestone?

At this stage probably not, if the plants don't go well then i might add a couple of big limestone rocks

[Poncho]

Nice tank gibbs and love your taste in fish. I reckon the big haps are quite underated, what with all these tangs and geos lately.

There are some Dimidiochromis kiwinge about that might tickle your fancy, also Lichnochromis acuticeps is another nice hap you might like to consider. Have heard N. linni are about in QLD too.
Hematilapia oxyrhynchus were available not that long ago - hopefully there's still some around.

I'm wondering how you'll fit all those fish in your tank though!

[Ronny]

Step 2: The hood. Again simple took maybe an hour, no fancy stuff here just a shell and a six foot piano hinge

WOAH, back it up a lil...

I just noticed that air freshener above the tank, personally, I wouldnt have one of those anywhere near my tanks.

If even the smalles bit of air freshener got in the water, it could be disastrous....

[gibbs]

WOAH, back it up a lil...

I just noticed that air freshener above the tank, personally, I wouldnt have one of those anywhere near my tanks.

If even the smalles bit of air freshener got in the water, it could be disastrous....

Hey ronny, it's cool man the freshner run out weeks before i even got the tank otherwise it would have been moved. We got a refill for it the other day and it now sits in another room after the wife and i debated over it for a half hour because she couldn't see how it can poison the fish, i won

Poncho Posted Yesterday, 12:12 PM
Nice tank gibbs and love your taste in fish. I reckon the big haps are quite underated, what with all these tangs and geos lately.

There are some Dimidiochromis kiwinge about that might tickle your fancy, also Lichnochromis acuticeps is another nice hap you might like to consider. Have heard N. linni are about in QLD too.
Hematilapia oxyrhynchus were available not that long ago - hopefully there's still some around.

I'm wondering how you'll fit all those fish in your tank though!

Thanks Poncho. I love big haps to, they are my favorite fish. Tried keeping some other stuff but always found myself wondering over to the Malawi section at fish shops, i know the species pretty well so i thought why not do what seems to come naturally
Az had some kiwinge the otherday but i walked out with the champ and chilotilapia instead, ill get a hold of him to see if he has any left. Ill keep an eye out for the fish suggested in particular the Lichnochromis acuticeps. In the end it will be a big preditory hap tank. The peacocks might have to leave to make room, maybe even the protomelas species, at this stage them fish are there mainly for visual effect while the rest lack a bit of colour. The tank is heavily filtered so the bio will hold up...hopefully, thanks mate

If anyone spots anything cool, buzz me

Cheers
Steven

[Golly]

thats a sick tanks, good looking fish and thanks for all your help
cheers jarman