Pazil Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 (edited) Hey guys... I am new here but not new to Tropheus... although its been quite a while.... Here is the situations and some questions for the pros. I currently am in the process of breaking down my reef tank and I am going to convert the system over to a Tropheus Ilangi tank. My current setup (which will be used for the new setup) is; 150g. cube (36x36x27), rear coraner overflow, 110g sump in the basement, reeflo baracuda return pump (pushing about 3000g/hour @ 10' head pressure). I am running 2 tunze 6055's in the display tank. My sump is 72" long and is setup with a 12" section on one side that the display tank drains into through a filter sock (changed every 2 days) and then goes through 3 baffles and accross the remaining 60" and into the return pump and back to the display. I also have 2 two little fishies reactors running on the sump that I will be running carbon in. Questions are; What if anything should I add to the system for filtration ie. ceramic rings or bio balls in the 12" section of the sump? What is everyone running for substrate in a tropheus tank... I have read the pool filter sand is good aswell as play sand (but this is dirty)? Where do people in Calgary find pcs. of slate rock for the decor? Finally does anyone know of anywhere I can order about 40 Tropheus Ilangi? I will start a build thread after I get the tank emptied and cleaned up. Cheers and thanks in advance Lawrence Edited October 23, 2009 by Pazil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazil Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 OH!! One other question is I have always used RO/DI water with my reef tank. Is this necessary for the tropheus tank? I know that the PH is great here in Calgary for them but I am unsure if the RO/DI sytem will affect the hardness or not. Anyone have any advice here? Cheers Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfong Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 OH!! One other question is I have always used RO/DI water with my reef tank. Is this necessary for the tropheus tank? I know that the PH is great here in Calgary for them but I am unsure if the RO/DI sytem will affect the hardness or not. Anyone have any advice here?Cheers Lawrence The RO/DI water is not necessary for a tropheus tank. Tropheus prefer a higher pH and harder water so the Calgary water should do great. Blue Ram and Punman would probably know as they both keep tropheus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfong Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hey guys... I am new here but not new to Tropheus... although its been quite a while.... Here is the situations and some questions for the pros. I currently am in the process of breaking down my reef tank and I am going to convert the system over to a Tropheus Ilangi tank.My current setup (which will be used for the new setup) is; 150g. cube (36x36x27), rear coraner overflow, 110g sump in the basement, reeflo baracuda return pump (pushing about 3000g/hour @ 10' head pressure). I am running 2 tunze 6055's in the display tank. My sump is 72" long and is setup with a 12" section on one side that the display tank drains into through a filter sock (changed every 2 days) and then goes through 3 baffles and accross the remaining 60" and into the return pump and back to the display. I also have 2 two little fishies reactors running on the sump that I will be running carbon in. Questions are; What if anything should I add to the system for filtration ie. ceramic rings or bio balls in the 12" section of the sump? What is everyone running for substrate in a tropheus tank... I have read the pool filter sand is good aswell as play sand (but this is dirty)? Where do people in Calgary find pcs. of slate rock for the decor? Finally does anyone know of anywhere I can order about 40 Tropheus Ilangi? I will start a build thread after I get the tank emptied and cleaned up. Cheers and thanks in advance Lawrence Someone in Calgary is organizing a group order from Little Africa in the US. They do have a very good selection of tropheus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Ram Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Calgary tap water is ideal for these fish. I have not lost a tropheus in 20 months. One large weekly water change is all I do. I'd be more concerned about your tank dimensions. 36" long is a bit short for 40 tropheus. You would be better with at least a length of 48". Pool filter sand is much cleaner and does not require as much rinsing as play sand but both work fine. I use large pieces of holey rock and some smooth rocks rather than slate. PS if you are unable to acquire the species you mention, I have duboisi for sale!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazil Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 OH!! One other question is I have always used RO/DI water with my reef tank. Is this necessary for the tropheus tank? I know that the PH is great here in Calgary for them but I am unsure if the RO/DI sytem will affect the hardness or not. Anyone have any advice here?Cheers Lawrence The RO/DI water is not necessary for a tropheus tank. Tropheus prefer a higher pH and harder water so the Calgary water should do great. Blue Ram and Punman would probably know as they both keep tropheus. Great thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazil Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Calgary tap water is ideal for these fish. I have not lost a tropheus in 20 months. One large weekly water change is all I do. I'd be more concerned about your tank dimensions. 36" long is a bit short for 40 tropheus. You would be better with at least a length of 48". Pool filter sand is much cleaner and does not require as much rinsing as play sand but both work fine. I use large pieces of holey rock and some smooth rocks rather than slate. PS if you are unable to acquire the species you mention, I have duboisi for sale!! Thanks for the info on pool filter sand.... I think I am leaning that way..... My tank is 36"x36"x27" (150g)... I think it will have ample space for more than what I am planning. I do agree that 36" is somewhat short but the depth of the tank is also 36". Where did you get the rocks for your tank? Cheers Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazil Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hey guys... I am new here but not new to Tropheus... although its been quite a while.... Here is the situations and some questions for the pros. I currently am in the process of breaking down my reef tank and I am going to convert the system over to a Tropheus Ilangi tank.My current setup (which will be used for the new setup) is; 150g. cube (36x36x27), rear coraner overflow, 110g sump in the basement, reeflo baracuda return pump (pushing about 3000g/hour @ 10' head pressure). I am running 2 tunze 6055's in the display tank. My sump is 72" long and is setup with a 12" section on one side that the display tank drains into through a filter sock (changed every 2 days) and then goes through 3 baffles and accross the remaining 60" and into the return pump and back to the display. I also have 2 two little fishies reactors running on the sump that I will be running carbon in. Questions are; What if anything should I add to the system for filtration ie. ceramic rings or bio balls in the 12" section of the sump? What is everyone running for substrate in a tropheus tank... I have read the pool filter sand is good aswell as play sand (but this is dirty)? Where do people in Calgary find pcs. of slate rock for the decor? Finally does anyone know of anywhere I can order about 40 Tropheus Ilangi? I will start a build thread after I get the tank emptied and cleaned up. Cheers and thanks in advance Lawrence Someone in Calgary is organizing a group order from Little Africa in the US. They do have a very good selection of tropheus. I would get in on this order but I do not see the fish I am interested in on thier price list.... I am not in a hurry to get this setup ... I will wait until I can get all of the colony on one order. Cheers Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punman Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 (edited) I got my rocks from Burnco - about 30 cents a pound compared with $3 a pound at a pet shop. But you could get them from a creek or river for much less if you are into that method. I have used pool filter sand and play sand from Home Depot - the Target brand of play sand. Clean but rinse it first. Like Blue Ram, I too have tropheus I am selling. Yellow and Black coloured Kirizas. You can PM me if you like. By the way - is your tank floor area 36x36 or 36x27? Edited October 3, 2009 by punman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazil Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 I got my rocks from Burnco - about 30 cents a pound compared with $3 a pound at a pet shop. But you could get them from a creek or river for much less if you are into that method.I have used pool filter sand and play sand from Home Depot - the Target brand of play sand. Clean but rinse it first. Like Blue Ram, I too have tropheus I am selling. Yellow and Black coloured Kirizas. You can PM me if you like. By the way - is your tank floor area 36x36 or 36x27? Thanks for the info..... Tank is 36x36 floor area and 27 high..... How many of the Kirizas do you have for sale and how big are they? Cheers Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 If you want to use your RO/DI unit, it's be fine for an ATO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazil Posted October 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 If you want to use your RO/DI unit, it's be fine for an ATO. I have a Tunze ATO that I will continue to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punman Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 My 90 gallon tropheus tank is 4 ft by 1.5 ft with a footprint (bottom area) of 6 square feet and a diagonal of 4.3 feet. You tank would have a footprint of 9 square feet and a diagonal of 4.3 feet. So although the plan is somewhat unconventional, overall you have quite a large area to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazil Posted October 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Well its been a while since an update ....... I went to Burco and picked up about 100 lbs of flat shelf rock and finished aquascapng the tank. I decided to go with one continuous rock wall accross the back with numerous caves and crevises. I know this is not the norm but I am going to try it out for a while and see how the aggression goes. I decided to go with play sand for a substate. I was able to get some filter media from 2 ac 500's from a friend to seed the new setup. I purchased 12 large goldfish to help cycle the tank and the cycle finished 2 days ago. The goldfish were donated back to the LFS with no losses. My order from Reserve Stock Cichlids arrived late last night and I was able to get them home and acclimated by 3am.... Long night. Today they all 43 F1 Tropheus Red Rainbows (all from 1.25" -1.5") seem to be doing fine and we have had no losses yet (fingers crossed). I will get some pictures up later tonight or on the weekend. I forgot just how enjoyable these guys are to watch. Cheers Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazil Posted October 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Here are some pics from today. Thanks for looking Cheers Lawrence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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