23 replies to this topic

[tranced]

so im getting a bit sick of ramming fish into my sad 4 tank setup, and have decided a fish room is the way to go! and when the missus gets sick of it, then great excuse to get a shed i think. bahahah.

so here the current state of affairs, two 4x18x18 and two 3x18x18. boo



here the room i will be commandeering



got some serious work to do!!

Edited by tranced, 29 December 2011 - 11:09 PM.

[werdna]

Was that photo blurry on purpose to hide whatever it is you have in there, or do you want everyone to feel like they are on something?

[tranced]

i thought it would be theatrical?

[tranced]

first rack is up and running!



wheels are in motion for the new and improved design

[dazzabozza]

How's the plumbing set up Nick?

[tranced]

the bottom tank pumps water up to the top, and it drains back down through standpipes. the big blue things are matten filters... the standpipes are behind them so the water has to pass thru the mat to drain down to the next tank. these are also probably handy for keeping fish out of the plumbing!

each standpipe has a t section with a valve, when opened it will drain the tank to 50%. but obviously the water has to go somewhere...

so i have a t connection on the main pump line, and each hose has a valve. one line pumps water up to the top tank, the other one has a garden hose connection on it. normally i would have the main pump line open, and the hose one either closed or somewhat open (can control the amount of flow thru the system this way).

then to do a water change i connect a hose to this second line, and open that valve fully, then close the valve going up to the top tank and water is now being pumped out of the system. as the bottom tank drains i just have to open the standpipe valves and can basically just sit there while the water drains away. and because the water is being pumped out rather than using gravity, you dont get that damn 'bottom tank syndrome' where the lower tank drains at a snails pace and you fall asleep halfway thru the water change, or get distracted and come back some hours later to your fish flopping around in 1cm of water.

also, basically im sick to death of hauling buckets of water though the house!!

its a bit clumsy design wise this one, but at least i now know what i would have done differently

the next one will be four tiers high, all the matten filters will be on one side of the tank so i only need to access the one side, which will be better. also i will be making the drainage valves on the outside, at the moment they are inside the tanks which is kind of annoying having to take lids off and stick my arms into the tank to drain them. and will be using a larger diameter drainage hole, these ones have a bottleneck of 1cm and they dont drain super fast like i wanted them to.

oh and i will be using the normal straight style matten filter... its a bit too rigid to get a nice curve that sits flush like i wanted.

overall happy with the results, keen to set up the MKII tho... thanks must go out to jason for making the great stands, and ollie for the awesome tanks + plus general advice/helpfulness.

[tranced]

some more pics... i have received the second rack now, need to get tanks made for it... im pretty happy with the original now i have done a couple of water changes... nothing like sitting on the floor with a beer watching fish, while the tanks water change themselves


this is the old tanks, that i have moved into the new room


a shelf from bunnings, let me tell you its not worth the time/effort to set these things up. would have been better off getting a small steel stand made up. ah well it least i can use it for storage later down the road.

some fish...

Edited by tranced, 24 April 2012 - 12:58 PM.

[Peckoltia]

That second pic in the first post, really messed with my eyes. Nice one.

Great fish too mate. The Oxy is a cracker. Don't see too many of them around. A very under-rated fish.

[Westie]

Is that Pelvicachromis Taeniatus in the first fish pic?

[tranced]

love the oxys imagine my suprise when someone brought in 4 large oxys to midland pet to trade in. didnt have to think twice about grabbing those! got a female holding at the moment, hopefully she will hold full term. the second female refuses to spawn tho, hehe.

the first pic is indeed pelvicachromis taeniatus 'molive' the first variant of many i hope that pic actually doesnt do them much justice. trying to get a better pic right now actually...

and here it is, shows the females colour off a bit better...

Edited by tranced, 24 April 2012 - 03:18 PM.

[Westie]

Yeah mate their colour especially when spawning is nothing short of awesome. When I can be bothered starting another planted tank, I'll be getting a pair for sure. Have you had them long?

[tranced]

not very long, just a few weeks. this is the first time ive kept them in a planted tank, also the first time they are living with no other cichlids in the tank. kept a few others before, but they did not do well and all died mysteriously. i have a feeling they either pick fights and cant back it up, or are just a bit shy and easily bullied. so i have given these a tank to themselves.

[dazzabozza]

Sexy Leptos u have Nick.

[tranced]

cheers, they are probably my favourites

[mandm]

They are all great looking fish NIck, well done.

[tranced]

thanks mate

[Riggers]

Wanna bring ya leptosoma round for a swim in my fronty tank Nick? Lol

[tranced]

i reckon they could take em mate they are the special ninja kind

Edited by tranced, 25 April 2012 - 05:02 PM.

[tranced]

tanks are sitting on 23-24 with no heating. wont get any plates thrown at my head when the power bill arrives. pretty happy with this, *the* worst things about keeping fish would have to be the heating side of things (cost, risk)

Edited by tranced, 06 June 2012 - 02:46 PM.

[Westie]

how are the moliwe going?