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Caton's high-tech 75g custom rimless

16843 Views 138 Replies 25 Participants Last post by  JamesHockey, 
Da Plant Man
Now going to be a high-tech tank, not SW or african


I figured I would start this thread now because I am picking up this wonderful tank in 8 days :icon_cool
The tank is really 74.81g but I figured I would round up :D

I am getting the aquarium from somebody in seattle and I am trading a goat skull straight up for this aquarium. When I bought 4 bottles of hydrogen peroxide (for the skull) and mineral spirits from wal-mart, the lady at the check-out gave me quite the look (mineral spirits are for re-siliconing another tank).

The tank dimensions are 48"x24"x15"h which is pretty good for africans.

Stocking will be:
8- Labidochromis caeruleus (Yellow lab)
8-Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei"
8-Cyrtocara moorii
4-Synodontis njassae

Filtration was going to be a rena XP3 but the guy who did a RAOK thread for it never wrote back after a few PM's. Now I am open to filtration suggestions and plan on doing 1 or 2 UGJ's with power-heads and sponges.

Decor:
Slate rock from patio store
Black sand
Black Backround
Plants around the tank similar to yikejason's tank.
Anubias and vals

I am going to be doing a stand kinda what CL did with his, I PM'ed him for the plans for the stand and he sent them right back really quick :thumbsup:

Here is a picture of the tank being built (pic came from guy who is building it):


In-case you didn't notice the fish are all from lake malawi and I would like to keep it that way (fauna being all bio-type) but for the plants I could not find any aquatic plants native to lake malawi so I bent the bio-type rules.

This is going to be the tank that I spend most my time and $$$ into because it is big, really nice, and brand new. I would like to keep it that way. I plan on moving all my other fish to new homes so that way I can keep a little breeding situation going. If I spent over $250 into my 10g...I don't even want to think what this is going to cost.

Oh, and I have some mesh coming in from speedie408 who gave me a really good deal on his remaining stash of it that he used on his rimless.

Should I paint the back or not? What filter should I use? I want some UGJ's for some current. Should I convert my 20g high tank into a sump instead? What should I do for lighting? I am going to hang the lights. Scape is going to be very open with all the rocks lining the back of the tank. I really need to find where I can get 150lbs of black sand for cheap....

Suggestions or ideas welcome :proud:
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!shadow!
looks like the glass thickness is a little thin don't you think? l'm just worried there will be fishies flopping on the carpet.
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SearunSimpson
To be honest, A coralia would probably be sufficient enough for water movement, along with which ever filter you decide. My only concern with UGJ's is that from my own experience with Malawis (Pseudotropheus Saulosi) is that they do dig spawning pits and or territories to lay the eggs into before the females pick them up into their mouths and are fertilized, so the UGJ might stress or inhibit the ability to dig a pit if the substrate keeps getting blown around.
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Centromochlus
The silicone job looks great in the picture!
Can't wait to see what you do with this tank- good luck. :thumbsup:
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Indignation
Caton said:
I am trading a goat skull straight up for this aquarium.
Click to expand...
This is the single best thing I have ever or will ever read on these forums.

Carry on.
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V
I have a 55 mbuna with 9 yellow labs and i was going to get 7 acei, but now im gonna get rid of my cichlids and get a planted tank going. Tank looks nice but how thick is the glass?
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FSM
!shadow! said:
looks like the glass thickness is a little thin don't you think? l'm just worried there will be fishies flopping on the carpet.
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It doesn't look any thicker than a regular 75 (3/8") but it's also 5" shorter.
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jinx©
I agree with SearunSimpson on the digging possibility.

Are you planning any crossbracing on that?
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Da Plant Man
I think the glass thickness is fine, I have not seen the tank so we will know on the 12th how good it is.

To be honest, A coralia would probably be sufficient enough for water movement, along with which ever filter you decide. My only concern with UGJ's is that from my own experience with Malawis (Pseudotropheus Saulosi) is that they do dig spawning pits and or territories to lay the eggs into before the females pick them up into their mouths and are fertilized, so the UGJ might stress or inhibit the ability to dig a pit if the substrate keeps getting blown around.
Click to expand...
UGJ's will not effect anything with the sand, its just two PVC pipes running under the sand in the back to a sponge and a power-head on the other-side, if I want, I can make the powerhead higher and not blow the substrate. But from what I am hearing from the people on cichlid-forum its fine.

I am having a really hard time finding a good deal on black sand. Figured I would have to pay $200 just for the sand! I really don't want to do this... I might use play-sand but that isn't what I want it to look like.

This is the single best thing I have ever or will ever read on these forums.
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LOL, thanks.
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jinx©
I've known a few people that have used Blasting Grit and seemed happy with it.

I haven't personally used it, but for the price it may be something worth checking into.
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IWANNAGOFAST
I had undergravel jets when I did my tank. Works great but it does create pits and dunes. Have you considered doing a DIY foam background?

As for a filter, I would definitely over filter the sucker, these fish are real messy.
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Da Plant Man
Yeah, I plan on getting two canisters if I can with the UGJ's, that will provide a little bit more filtration.

I am considering doing a foam background but I am unsure of how to do it. Can someone point me toward a DIY thread?

I've known a few people that have used Blasting Grit and seemed happy with it.

I haven't personally used it, but for the price it may be something worth checking into.
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I looked at that link and sadly that don't have any in Washington or Idaho, I will be calling that black diamond sand company today to see if they distribute anywhere else.
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Da Plant Man
AzFishKid said:
The silicone job looks great in the picture!
Can't wait to see what you do with this tank- good luck. :thumbsup:
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Oh, and thanks :D
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IWANNAGOFAST
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=99515

I used those links when I made mine. It was fairly easy and since your tank doesn't have braces it'll be really easy to get it to fit into the tank. (I had to cut mine up into 3 pieces)

Here's mine:


It takes a while for the cement to cure but I think it's worth it. Makes the tank look real nice.
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Da Plant Man
Thank IWGF, I will have to become a regular member on that forum, I only have 30 post's on there to work out stocking and commenting on a few journals on there.
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IWANNAGOFAST
No problem Caton, I used to be really into cichlids, my roommate and I in college had about 10 tanks at our apartment, all with cichlids. He liked the south americans I liked the africans.

Only cichlids I keep now are a single electric blue ram in my planted tank, but maybe in the future when I move out I'll set up an african tank for my folks.
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Da Plant Man
Cool! I live in a very small town and I am planning on using this tank as kinda the poster-child for more things to come. I hope to see if I get a small clinic here in town to have a aquarium that is maintained by me (I am friends with a main doctor there) and to get the vet's office and the dentist's with aquariums. I either hope for them to be african cichlids or something like that. They bring color (what they want...) size (which is what they want) and provide a show (locking lips, breeding, stuff like that). I don't know, maybe I dream big but since the vet is our neighbor and we help him out and I know the dentist (I went skiing with him) and the doctor is nice. So since I have a "in" on most these places I hope to at least have one get a tank for me to maintain and for me to make a little bit of $$$ to help with my tanks.
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IWANNAGOFAST
ooh awesome. Yeah, I think mbunas are the best fish for pop, they're just as colorful as the reef fish without all the hassle of salt water. Good luck with that!
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V
I would pick pool filter sand instead of play sand. Play sand is to fine and it will turn to "mud" or develop gasses. Are you gonna keep any plants in there?
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Da Plant Man
VadimShevchuk said:
I would pick pool filter sand instead of play sand. Play sand is to fine and it will turn to "mud" or develop gasses. Are you gonna keep any plants in there?
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I am gonna keep some anubias and possibly some vals, it all depends on if my fish want them or not though.
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