i have been keeping them in my 29g (for those unfamiliar with me). but I have been planning in my mind for quit some time a 40breeder build for them. i've got the tank. and nearly everything else planed out except two things. number one problem is my river bed. i want to have a smooth flat rock river bed that will have some curves in it, for them that will have very high flow running through it. i don't want to cobble pieces together to do this, i want one long piece of rock, but i don't know what kind of rock would be the best (and hopefully cheapest) rock to use. my first thought was granite, but i think that would be a little pricey. however i can not come up with another rock that would be custom cut to do what i want.
the second decision i have to make is how to get the flow into the river bed. as far as i can think i have two options. the first on is to have the river begin in the back of the tank, or on one of the sides and have a hole cut run the flow up from the canister filter (there will be two canisters running on the tank, one very high flow for the river bed, and one for the rest of the tank). i like this option because it keeps the inside of the tank clean and neat, however it really limits where the river can begin.
the other thought i have is to run the hose up the back side of the tank, and bury it in the substrate. i like this option because it allows me to begin the river almost anywhere in the tank, however it is not a clean look having the hose running up and down the back side of the tank. and i run a risk of the hose first, not staying under the substrate, and second well i just forgot the other one :-(.
anyway that is the challenge i am currently at, its really got spinning my tires because this is the most important part of my tank.
You could use two circulation pumps at one end and the filter at another end
Try a rock quarry for the rock that you want, I personally don't know what kind would be best though. They usually charge pretty low and have a BIG selection.
You could use two circulation pumps at one end and the filter at another end
Try a rock quarry for the rock that you want, I personally don't know what kind would be best though. They usually charge pretty low and have a BIG selection.
i've been, the biggest problem is that 95% of the rock in quarries here is limestone, which i do not want in my tank. that and well the ones in the area do not have rocks that are a slab that can be cut to work as i need it to. the only rock they have that isn't limestone is the river rocks which again doesn't give me the smooth cut slab i want
i would pull a page from the saltwater guys, drill the back of the tank and run your pipes/tubing/ext through there. Then either use the canister filter or a closed loop system with a pump. When looking at how to make a tank cleaner and have less equipment seems saltwater is way ahead of freshwater for the most part. They've already been there did that.
i could drill the back and then run a hose to the front of the tank, that would eliminate the hose hanging down the back of the tank, and the need to secure the hose under the substrate...
i want to stick with two canisters, i found these loaches to be sensitive water fluxuations in quality, esp ammonia spikes, and i want to minimize losses. would the syphon still work okay with the intank about the output?
i would pull a page from the saltwater guys, drill the back of the tank and run your pipes/tubing/ext through there. Then either use the canister filter or a closed loop system with a pump. When looking at how to make a tank cleaner and have less equipment seems saltwater is way ahead of freshwater for the most part. They've already been there did that.
I like at least 1 HOB on my river tanks. For me it simulates water coming up over rocks (rapids). You can use HOB's and canisters with a river manifold, as well as a power head.
Have you tried calling a local counter top manufacturer or general contracter for what you're looking for? You may be able to get their scraps. Buy them a couple of brew's and they may even cut it for you.
I like at least 1 HOB on my river tanks. For me it simulates water coming up over rocks (rapids). You can use HOB's and canisters with a river manifold, as well as a power head.
Have you tried calling a local counter top manufacturer or general contracter for what you're looking for? You may be able to get their scraps. Buy them a couple of brew's and they may even cut it for you.
i forgot all about that thing! thank you. i think i will use that but modify the design to work with a canister filter. the canisters will give me a total flow of 675gph, 375 on the river., and 300 for the general tank. Because i have found these guys rather sensitive to water quality.
If you could do anything you wanted, how would the river bed be positioned in the tank? Also, is it possible to drill the bottom of the tank and bring the hoses in there and up through the substrate or would that be a nightmare in the making?
Those are interesting fish. What else do you plan to have in the tank, plants, etc?
i am thinking about one of these. the top left is the original idea i had in my head.
i'm not sure i want to drill the bottom of the tank, i foresee that being a huge problem it would make the tank cleaner and much easier to set-up, but when i move, or if anything goes wrong i potentially would have to drain the entire tank....i don't want to run that risk.
as far as the tank goes, i am taking the 29g in my sig and moving the whole thing to the 40b. then up my numbers on the loaches, and rummy noses, and corys.
If you could do anything you wanted, how would the river bed be positioned in the tank? Also, is it possible to drill the bottom of the tank and bring the hoses in there and up through the substrate or would that be a nightmare in the making?
Those are interesting fish. What else do you plan to have in the tank, plants, etc?
First thing i would do. Is locate a park or somewhere that there is a stream. Then, take your significant other/best friend/family on a lovely day at the park. Then you can observe an environment similar to what you wish to recreate. There you can find your stone, with a lovely weathered look.
Depending on how much work you want to put into this, you could do a false background/corner. It will take a bit more time, but it's amazing what you can do. Check out the DIY section. It'll really get your wheels spinning.
I am Rowdaddy.
SC Aquaria
75 Community
20H Community
20L Convict "Bedroom"
20L Growout
10gal RCS
1.5gal in progress
55 gal Paludarium/Vivarium coming soon
First thing i would do. Is locate a park or somewhere that there is a stream. Then, take your significant other/best friend/family on a lovely day at the park. Then you can observe an environment similar to what you wish to recreate. There you can find your stone, with a lovely weathered look.
Depending on how much work you want to put into this, you could do a false background/corner. It will take a bit more time, but it's amazing what you can do. Check out the DIY section. It'll really get your wheels spinning.
hehe i spend most of my free time in parks anyway, but i have what i want in my head i was hoping for more options in the rock i can use, department. i did see a place yesterday that has some slab rock that didn't look like it was limestone based, i am gonna call them today.
i had been kinda anti false background because i always felt like it took away from space that i could have plants, but now that i think about it, it would make a great way to help hide my hoses and keep my tank clean looking. thank you!
You're welcome. I just went out for a phase one shopping trip for my project. Don't rush into it if you don't have to. You'll be glad you took your time and didn't cut corners.
I am Rowdaddy.
SC Aquaria
75 Community
20H Community
20L Convict "Bedroom"
20L Growout
10gal RCS
1.5gal in progress
55 gal Paludarium/Vivarium coming soon
my phase one was petcos $1 a galon sale . i have been wanting to do this tank for about 7 months now, and have been actively planning things in my head for the last 3 or so, bit by bit i am making good progress.
i called around to a few landscaping places yeasterday, and it seems my choices are flagstone, or granite. so monday i'm going to drive to a couple and see what they have what it would cost me.
has anyone ever drilled the lower parts of their tank? what have your experiences been?
lol!i understand the worry. i don't think i have the finese to do it. but i have an LFS that does it $25 a hole. they have done it many times so i'm not to concerned with shattering
i don't lol. but thats why i started a third job yesterday. i haven't heard back from that rock cutting guy....i'm a little bummed but i'm going to give him a phone call today on my break and see what the deal is.
i think i'm not going to drill the tank. it will make it easier to sell or to do something different with down the road. and while i would love a clean tank, i can deal with a few hoses running down the back tank.
so the guy turned out be a waste of time. i was contact him last time i posted. since then we made appointments 6 different times, each time he had reschedule, because of this or that. i got mad and told him off, i mean what kind of guy does that to people? i had to re-arrange my schedule every time to fit this guys garabage.
so long story short, come to find out a guy i work with is a freaking artist and does alot of work with cut stone...so he said he would do it.
i agree i like the flagstone, it has more of a river bed feel to it. but man that granite would would badass in a tank. but i have a rock i want to use, i think it will work well
yeah plain slate is probably cheaper, but i want the rock i use to be darker than plain slate, and i don't mind forking over a little for this tank. after all this is the tank i have been dreaming in my head for the last 8 months.
for flow i have the XP2 and XP3 to handle the tank. i am going to use the XP3(more than likely with out filter media) exclusively for the river bed, and the xp2 for the rest of the tank ( not sure at what angle i will have the flow yet. I am probably going to spend a couple days tweaking to it give the bamboos the safest place i can in case they don't like the river bed with the loaches.)
Hey man check my sig our for use of granite scraps in a tank. It can be done tastefully, even with larger chunks. My local countertop gave me a 5 gallon bucket for free, they had a scrap pile the size of a large SUV out back so I picked all the expensive neat yet tasteful looking pieces.
Either way, if you use that rock in your pic, I think it's gonna look great! Good luck man!
~Joshua
i don't want to use pieces for the river, i want it to be one continus piece so that they glide up and down the the bed without gaps, or level changes. in the photos from where they come from its usually one huge piece of rock that has been smoothed, and carved by thousands of years of water flow, so i want to recreate that as much as possible.
Hey man check my sig our for use of granite scraps in a tank. It can be done tastefully, even with larger chunks. My local countertop gave me a 5 gallon bucket for free, they had a scrap pile the size of a large SUV out back so I picked all the expensive neat yet tasteful looking pieces.
Either way, if you use that rock in your pic, I think it's gonna look great! Good luck man!
~Joshua
last week i was able to find the rock i want. i got two huge pieces totaling almost 70lb $20. i and currently working with an artist friend, who can cut rock, to make sure we are on the same page and have the correct measurements before we cut.
i'm going to rinse off the rocks and take photos today (so the plan goes).
For the river bed flow, PVC pipe will stay put under the substrate. Easy and cheap to put together. Hide the outflow with some stones at the top of the bed.
here is the rock, i didn't wash it before the photos but if you look close you can see the pencil lines of where we will be cutting and chiseling.
there is the "s" in the middle, that will be carved into a channel.outter edges will be trimmed down into a shelf that will be above the flow, where they can hang out if they want to get out the current.
the stand came in the other day. i'm gonna bring it home this week and set the tank on top. it won't fit in my car so i have to wait for my schedule line up with the LFS, they are gonna let me use our service van to get it to my house. i'm thinking i might paint the back of the tank black, just to make things easier.
a small problem arose this past saturday, the friend that is supposed to work on the rock, hasn't even started yet. a little unhappy about that, but it is what it is.
but super excited for that stand, its a cherry wood color, and called a "modern" stand. i googled it and found nothing that looks like it. i think its gonna look great.
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