DevonCichlid

Patiently awaiting!

My first canister was an Eheim Ecco. Can't remember the model but I really didn't like it. I purchased an Fx5 next, still have it and love it except for when I have to break my back to move it for maintenance. That really is a minor complaint because it has been a champ filtration wise. I tried out a Marineland c360 next, didn't like it's performance and when it came to cleaning time the trays were fitting so tight inside that handles on the inside broke fairly quickly. I also picked up a used G6 around the same time. Priming it was absolute hell which probably caused me to close my mind on it quickly. I didn't think it's filtration capabilities stacked up very well over about a 3 month period and I quickly took it out of service. Next I moved to the Rena XP4. Easiest to maintain, good filtration, lots of trays for options. I had two of them as Rena Xp4 and love them and now it's like API XL or something like that and I find the quality of the product has dipped. the clips on the side are very loose fitting, they changed the outlets, there is less hardware that come with them and the top o ring provided is cheap and falls out every time I go to maintain the filter. Sure it is nit picky stuff but the XP4s for me didnt have any of these issues. The guy at Aquatium Central convinced me to come back and try out Eheim again as I had a bad taste in my mouth from owning the Ecco a few years back. Bought the 2075 model I think. It has all the media provided and has easy to use trays in it as well. I am very pleased that he convinced me to try out this Eheim because it is also a champ like the FX5 and easier to pack around. Sure the $299 price tag looks scary to most off the hop but it has all the media that you need in the box and is simple enough to have setup and primed and going. There were some micro bubbles off the first start for about a day but that was probably my fault to start. The FX5 is on a 90g alone and is always crystal clear, scratch that ther is a sponge filter on there recently for an experiment/leeching. I have an XP4 and Eheim 2075 on the 120g. XP4 on 90G, XP4 on 65G, Emperor 400 and Sponge on the other 90G. My 20g long has two sponges on it as well. For me it's all been experimentation but after this long winded response I would vouch for the old Rena XP4, Fluval FX5 and Eheim 2075. I am learning to appreciate sponge filters as well and will probably fit them into all my tanks if I can hide them.

I'm currently failing with my Geophagus Altifrons Tocantins. They have never really settled into the 90G tank I've got them in and am planning to switch up a lot of the inner tank setup to see if they feel comfortable that way.

I just picked up 5 juvie Jack Dempseys for my empty 90g. I'm curious if I should add a few more to increase the odds of getting a pair out of them and maybe mitigate the casualties by overstocking. The tank is overfiltered and will get weekly 20% water changes so water quality shouldn't be an issue. Obviously they are too young for sexing so right now it's a roll of a dice to see how many males and females I get. The goal is to get a pair out of the ones I purchase and then trade in the others before any casualties pile up. On a side note, the JD are about the same length as the danios I used to cycle the tank. They are much thicker but they are hanging out like buddies at feeding time right now. I just find it interesting how thngs in tanks can be like that and then in a month or so the danios would be at the bottom of the food chain.

I will definitely be trying out the sunblasters, i just haven't made it into the city yet to pick them up. I've been monitoring the temperature of my mechanical room and I actually don't think the heaters will have to work very hard. They are on about 30% of the time right now on the two tanks I have in there and the room is a bit chilly from the a/c being on. I suspect in the winter it will warm up in there and they will be on even less. With all 8 heaters running I could be looking at around $10-15 per month total which I am willing to live with. The lights will only be running 4 hours a day and the air pumps hardly cost anything to run so after the up front costs the project shouldn't be too costly. So for an update, at embarrassing as it is, I moved the stand into my basement mechanical room with a big curve ball. It didn't fit down the staircase. Shame on me I guess as I used to deliver furniture for a living so I should have realized the dimensions werent optimal. Anyways, I had to disassemble all the middle bracing from the sides which wouldnt have been too bad if I hadn't also glued each joint in addition to the screws. Once it got it all apart and moved downstairs it was a breeze to get back together but none of the joints are glued now. Luckily the floor was level where I was reassembling so that made it a lot easier. I'm now seeding 4 sponge filters, 2 different kinds in one of my 90s and am going to monitor them over the next month or so to see if there is any diffence as far as plugging etc. It likely won't be an issue anyways because none of these 20s are going to be overstocked but it's my little experiment for now. Its tough not to just go out and get all the equipment and get this project in full force but I am looking at another potential move now so that's a bit of a deterrent. Anyways thanks for the replies and feedback, I'm always open to reading and hearing everyone's experiences.

Here are a couple pics from my phone. That's after the first coat of flat black exterior paint. I'll put on one more coat and move it into the basement. The side view isn't great but shows what the middle tier looks like.

I've finished building my multi-tank stand now and am planning out my equipment list and am looking to sharpen my pencil on the lighting costs. Any hints, tips or advise would be appreciated. There are two tiers with 4 tanks on each tier and a 2x4 in the middle for bracing. The total length will be around 52" from the left edge of tank 1 to the right edge of tank 4. The tanks are 24 long x 18 high x 12 wide and will be placed side by side with the 12" (12.5") side front facing. Unfortunately I only had a 55" wide x 80" high pocket in my mechanical room that I could fit a multi-aquarium/multi-tier stand so I'm looking to maximize the amount of smaller tanks that I can fit in there. I will probably paint the back of them with just a flat black exterior paint to block the view of any hoses/cords that could be an eyesore. While I'm at it I might as well put my other plans/ideas out there and see if anyone else is doing similar or might have experience with running multi tanks like this. Filtration Sponge Filters for each 20G tank, air driven. I started seeding a couple Seapora sponge filters in an established tank but I'm kind of second guessing them as they seem to be really fine compared to old ones that I used to buy (can't remember the brand) Air Pumps Rena 400 split off. Best case scenario I can run all eight sponges off of the two ports on the back of the Rena 400 but am thinking realistically I'll end up needing a couple of them. I've been changing out the Stellars I used in the past that I found quite noisy although they really pump out the air. Heater Any sufficient submersible 100W heater for each tank (this is where my monthly electric bill is really gonna suffer). I have only Jager's in all my other tanks and have been issue free thus for with them so will probably stick with them. Substrate Probably a SIL8 or SIL9 in the tanks I chose to put it in. A few of these tanks are intended to be fry/grow out tanks so I probably won't use substrate in them or the Q tank. I just recently put in some SIL8 in my new 120G and am quite happy with that grain size. It was only $25 for 160lbs of it so the price is right. Lighting I'm tossing the idea of picking up a 48-60" LED Single bright Marineland Light for each tier but that's still $160.00 a piece. I see the Beamlight 24-36" LED lights are only $69.99 and they appear to just have a different sticker then the Marineland so that could be an option too but the total cost will still be higher then I was hoping for having to buy 2 per tier. Ideally I'll wait for most of these items to pop up on sale or wait for boxing day sales to pick everything up. I'm not in a rush right now but knowing me I will get impulsive and have to start to piece together sooner rather then later. Anyways that's my long winded topic that started out a lot shorter. Any ideas would definitely be welcomed.

There are 3 doors for the front openings, just one of them didn't make the picture. It was either do the three openings or just the two end panels with the leftover plywood. I chose the doors to hide my subpar jigsaw skills The spot I have picked out for the multiple tank stand is only 62" wide so I'll be likely going the 62" long x 55" high. I should be able to get 6 - 20G tanks on there with 3 tiers to it. The bottom two tanks will be just off the floor but I'm restricted to 80" of total height in that specific spot. I'm just working on notches and dimensions right now, should cost somewhere around $160.00 with either paint or stain/varathane.

Well I've just completed my second DIY Aquarium Stand and decided to post it. I was itching to build another stand although I wasn't sure what I wanted to commit to. I watched a lot of videos and read a lot of articles and decided to go with a 5ft stand to sit beside my other DIY 4ft stand in the basement. I am kind of itching to build a multi aquarium stand as well for smaller tanks but ultimately decided to take on this project. I kind of dropped the ball on taking pictures of my progress on this stand from the start. I didn't really think of doing it to start but am definitely pleased with the (nearly) finished product and figured I'd share the results. The picture below is from my phone so not great but is after the first application of varathane. I will be putting on another coat tonight which should be good enough and then tomorrow I'll be able to flip the doors and put the first coat on the backside so I'm looking at probably Tuesday or Wednesday this week and it will have the hinges and doors installed and ready for action. The dimensions of the stand without the doors and panels is 60" long by 20" deep and 26.5" High. As far as my skills go woodworking wise I would define myself as a rough beginner. I find woodworking really relaxing and get a good sense of accomplishment when I'm done so I'll probably keep working on the craft to get better at it. I have a table saw, mitre saw, jigsaw, skill saw but very little experience with all of them. I skipped out on my table saw for the long cuts as I didn't have any help or the proper setup to get the full piece of plywood through without any issues so I opted for the skill saw and just took my time. The openings for the doors on the front I just used my jigsaw, it turned out ok but I can see a few spots where I must have been reaching for another beer. I notched out 4x4s for the corners to put the 2x4 runners across and then glued the joints and screwed them in with 2-1/2" screws. The middle supports are 17" from the edges and just 2x4s. I did use metal braces on those joints originally although they really didn't need it but I had some laying around so decided to use them. I ran out of plywood or I likely would have put panels on the outsides as well but I think it looks fine this way too. There are two applications of stain (dark walnut) and will be two applications of semi-gloss varathane. The total cost of the project will be $117.05 not including the obvious things like saw blades, tools, etc. that I already have. It really didn't take a lot of time either once I had my plan in place. Anyways, this post is all over the place but gets the basic information out there. Anyone that has experience building multi-aquarium stands should hit me up with some ideas too. I'll probably be looking to use multiple 20-30G tanks (haven't decided yet).

Awesome guys. Thanks for the quick responses.

I've become fascinated with the idea of starting up a small RCS tank and wanted to get some feedback to see if what I have would be suitable. I have a 20G Long hospital tank setup right now that includes Substrate - 2.5" Playsand Filter - Sponge Filter running off a Marineland Maxi-Jet 400 rated for 110gph in powerhead mode with Venturi Lighting- Single Bright 24" LED Air - I also have an air pump setup on it split to two air stones (kinda overkill) Driftwood is also mature in the tank The sponge filter and substrate are going on 6 months now where at the minimum there have been small BN Pleco's in there and at the max a few cichlids for a few days for QT from the LFS. Obviously test levels are all good on ammonia, etc. As far as plants I'm only planning on getting some easy plants where I preferably won't have to dose ever, ie. Java Moss, Java Fern. That's the plan at least until I get the planted tank bug where I would eventually get into CO2 setups and lighting. Does that powerhead generate too much flow for a shrimp tank? If so I have the air pump that would be more then capable for the sponge filter. Is the LED lighting going to be enough for the Java Moss/Java Fern? Any additional feedback would be appreciated.

Hey Harold, Can you put me down for these guys below? I could meet up on the next scheduled Edmonton trip. Qty 7 - F1 geophagus altifrons Tocantins - 3" Thanks!

I'm up to 3 - 90 gallons right now and running different setups on all of them. My first 90 I went all out and got the FX5 and run it full of bio and filter floss. It has approx 8-10 adult cichlid's in it and the water is clean and clear. I've had no problems at all with this filter setup. Keep in mind I do weekly or bi-weekly 30% water changes and alternate changing out filter floss and cleaning the course filter sponges. My next 90 has a Rena XP4 and Marineland ........can't remember which model and a Emperor 400. It is overstocked badly with Peacock Cichlids around 20 adults (which I'm working on thinning out) but the water stays clean and clear (better now that I have the Emperor on there for polishing), once again same water change/filter maintenance schedule. My most recent 90 has a Rena XP4 (or the API XL or whatever they are calling it) on it only and I've just put my Frontosa's, Calvus and Synodontis in there. Same maintenance as the other tanks. I guess you can see a trend here as I've really taken a liking to the Rena XP4/API XL although they removed the spray bar on the XL and have a more generic output. A few reason's why I'm liking it is maintenance and customization. There are lots of compartments to set up your filtration/bio/chem needs as your heart desires. I prefer running lots of bio in mine and have bypassed the chemical for the most part unless its necessary. Maintenance wise the Rena are super easy to maintain and clean where the Marineland I have I despise for cleaning and the FX5 is just heavy more then anything. I have had issues with the FX5 with particles getting into the return and having to do some extra maintenance there but that's more my issue for having the intake too close to the heaping piles of substrate in that tank. I usually wait for sales on bio and the filters so for my money the Rena/API are my choice but if the FX5 goes on a good sale, and I can actually get my hands on one its an awesome filter.

Good Afternoon Harold, I'm looking for 6 - F1 unsexed Altolamprologus calvus (black Zambian) - 1 1/4 to 1-1/2". Its not a big rush, can probably plan around the next trip up to Edmonton. I'm in Fort Sask so I can pop into the city fairly quickly.

Biggest you can afford for what you're willing to spend imo (not just the tank but the whole setup together). Anything over a 55G seems to be easier to maintain in general for a newb. My first tank (18G) was an absolute disaster considering I knew nothing about the Nitrogen Cycle, left the tank in the sunlight all day, had it underfiltered and had it heavily overstocked. Work it around your budget, get a good filter (high gph turnover) and read about the hobby as much as possible as it can be a very rewarding. I'm still a newb 2 years in now but have learned a few things the hard way.

Sounds good I'm gonna give that a try. Thanks!

It all depends on what you want to do with your tank. For a reef tank you want to shoot for about 1 pound of rock per gallon. 15 pounds in a 21 gallon tank should be a good start. Do you have a sump? What kind of filtration are you running? No sump, I was just using my existing cannister filter 205. I removed the chemical filtration, have lots of bio in there with the regular filter pads in there. I was going to go with a reef tank for sure.

Good Evening Harold. I'm just wondering if I can get a trio of Aulonocara stuartgranti chiwindi peacocks and 2 Regular Bristlenose Plecos? Let me know whenever you get a chance and I'll send you my info. Thanks!

I've only got about 15lbs of live rock in my new tank, its a 21G tank. I've been cycling for about 3 weeks now. Is this enough live rock for this size? If it isn't, should I just add more and consider it a restart of the cycling process? Any opinions are appreciated.

One of my female Yellow Labs has been carrying for almost a week now. I'm a little nervous to move her around as she might get picked on when I bring her back in the tank but am getting quite excited to see the little fry

I'm fairly new to the forum but have read a lot of information that is posted on here to help me in my past tank setups/opinions. I have a newly cycled 90G that I've decided to put some Peacocks in. I'm just looking for opinions/feedback on what everyone's favorite Peacock would be? I've seen a lot of pictures online so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm getting into looks wise. I'm also tossing around the idea of putting 4-5 different kinds in there and would just like to hear any feedback whether its positive in regards to doing this.