patrick

I will run two filter systems on this tank. One external XP3 and one internal using the space behind the background. This is not really necessary, one will do fine with just the one behind the background, but I figure I'll do it this way for demonstration purposes.

This is the pump I am going to use.

Here is how it's going to work.

Drilling holes for filter outtake. There will be three holes, one for a XP3 and two more for an internal pump that will be installed behind the background.

Making sure it fits

Some silicone has been smeared inside the hole. This will create great friction to keep the outtake real nice and snug.

From the front.

Yeah makes sense now never thought about the center brace----Duh and I have 7- 90's

7x10 minutes = 1 hour and 10 minutes to remove them all. Not too bad. When are you placing the order?

nice job Patrick ---I see you thoroughly thought this out before proceeding. But I am wondering why you had to remove the trim couldn't the background be cut to fit flush without removing it?

The background can be cut in half and then re-assembled in the tank. You can't get it in with the center brace in place. I decided against cutting the background because it's so easy to remove the trim. I think it took me 5-10 minutes to get it off. It is also easier to clean and work inside the tank with the trim off.

The overflow has been cut out at the top left.

A grill has been cut.

In place and glued.

Main intake at the bottom left.

Yet another grill has been cut.

Both grills in place.

The exposed edges of the background has been painted with black silicone.

Sand has been added to the silicone.

A piece of media sheet has been cut to fit in front of the grill. This will work as a pre-filter and prevent fry from being sucked in.

I would like to change the color of some of the decorations in my tank. Is their any paint out there that is safe to do this with? (ie. wont put anything harmful into the water?)

There is a paint called Krylon Fusion that is supposed to be safe. It should be available in the hardware stores.

Minor adjustments

I also need to trim the height of the background about 1/2"

Once again I am using the hand saw.

Trimming the top of the background

The background is in the tank and the top frame has been placed on top to make sure it fits properly.

Next is to prepare for filtration and other equipment.

Here we go again. This time I will install a 48x24 AquaTerra Canyon Rock in a 90 gallon tank.

Here is the tank

First I will remove the top frame. I am using a hobby knife to seperate the silicone from the frame.

I am carefully bending the frame to loosen the silicone

The frame is coming off

Scraping off the old silicone

Since the inner measurements on a 48" tank never is 48" the background needs to be trimmed down. I cut it about 1/4-1/2 inch shorter to allow for silicone to be applied in between. This is easily done with a hand saw.

Fine tuning with a small surform plane

I am marking out where I will cut out for the frame. This isn't really a must. You can just cut it flush to fit underneath, but doing it this way will ensure that the lid will be tight against the background preventing small fish from being able to jump behind.

A dremel tool is very handy to have but this can also be done with a saw and a hobby knife.

I trim the bottom corners of the background so the siliconed edges of the tank does not interfere with the background sitting flat on the bottom of the tank.

Love the adonis

Nice pics RD, and great looking fish!

I have seen pics of allot of peoples work on this sight and allot of them are reaaly good. I am wondering if anyone has any plans from building their stands? I am looking to build one for a 48'x18'x18 tank. Not really sure where to start or what to use, I have a few ideas but any help would be appreciated. I am not really looking for a work of art just a functional stand that wont collapse!!!

Thanks Mark

Hi Mark,

Here is an attachment with a stand that will hold a tank with a footprint 48x18. As a bonus it also holds two 20 gallons on the bottom.

stand3.pdf

I like taking pictures of fry to ge a close up view.

First up is Xystichromis sp. "Dayglow".

Then Xystichromis sp. "Kyoga flameback"

Lithochromis rufus

Haplochromis sp. "Ruby Green"

A bit camera shy...

Finally a couple juvenile Paralabidochromis sp. "Redfin piebald"

I am curious to know how you finished off the edges of the background so that the yellow foam does not show on the side of the tank. You do not show a clear pic of this. Also, what is your lighting set-up for this? It looks stunning! Thanks for putting all the labour into showing us, it really is an inspiration!

Thanks!

The tank is in a corner of the room (the left side where the module is) so this was not an issue. Since the slimline is only 1" thick this was not really an issue on the other side either, but if you cut the slimline 1/4 short on the sides and fill with black silicone the foam will not be visible.

The lighting in this tank is 1 Philips 32 W T8 Daylight 6500K (front) and 1 Zoo Med 36 W T8 Actinic 420 (back).

Here are some updated pics. I still have another 10 fish to add. The algae growth really makes it look more natural I think.

Stunning tank Patrick! Truely stunning

Thanks! I have been cycling the tank with Seachem Stability and adding fish gradually. I will move the last ones this weekend and try to get som pics.

This handsome guy recently became a father. Not BlackMumba's most colorful male, but my absolute favourite.

They did it again. Now I am crossing my fingers that the eggs are fertilized and she wont spit.

Very nice.

Nice pics of the Saskatchewan prairie rattlers

What is used for filtration on the 40 gallons?

Hydro sponges and power heads. A couple of them have additional hydro sponges powered by air.

Knowing the success of your fish, %50 waterchanges weekly too?

Fry tanks 30% twice a week and breeding tanks 30% once a week. The goal is to keep the Nitrate below 20.

What is used for filtration on the 40 gallons?

Hydro sponges and power heads. A couple of them have additional hydro sponges powered by air.

My suggestion is to buy some RO water and mix with the tapwater to see what you get. Buying a RO unit will definately save you lots of money in the long run.

Well that my plan, thats why I wanted to know what ratio other people were using. Do I use a 50/50 mix? More RO to tap?

Its a small tank(10g) so I dont' need to spend the money buying a RO unit quite yet. I just want to know what ratio of RO/tap to start with so I dont' end up screwing up and wasting a bunch of RO.

I would start mixing 1 cup RO with 1 cup tapwater that way you don't wast so much RO water

:bow: :drool: :boxed: Holy moly, I wish I had a basement that looked like that. What a wonderful set up you guys have made there. What kind of shelving units are you using for the first picture? I wanted to look into getting one for all my smaller tanks....to free up space

Thanks The rack on the first picture is home made.

My suggestion is to buy some RO water and mix with the tapwater to see what you get. Buying a RO unit will definately save you lots of money in the long run.

Not sure about Edmonton, but Calgary has a posted annual water test results. Use this link if you're interested.

http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt/gat...lity+Report.htm

While we're on this subject. Is it possible to convert TDS (measured in ppm) to GH (not sure what units are used, degrees I think)?

No it is not possible. The TDS meter sends a charge or electricity between two prongs at the end. The less resistance the higher value. Minerals such as calcium, magensium, potassium can be completely absent (GH 0) but if there is for example carbonates and sodium in the water it will still lead electricity and the TDS meter will show a positive value. The TDS meter's aren't 100% accurate either because they measure the conductivity and then convertes to TDS. The problem is that all dissolved solids do not have the same conductivity.