New 125 Gallon

[punman]

This is how I have my 90 gallon set up for the same fish. I would have more rock but this is not so much a show tank but a breeding tank and I have to remove rock to catch holding females every two weeks. It only takes two minutes to remove the rock.

Good luck!!

Edited September 24, 2005 by punman

[RD.]

Yes, much easier for catching holding females!

Edited September 24, 2005 by RD.

[Molino]

I like your design RD. I'm also planning a 125 gallon tank for Haps (including Mooris). I look forward to seeing your progress as you set up the tank. I hope to have mine set up within a month.

[RD.]

Dwayne - do you have any close up shots of the moorii?

Good luck with your new tank Molino, make sure to post some pics when it's completed.

Edited September 24, 2005 by RD.

[albert_dao]

... Whoa, those moorii use to be mine. And before that, they belonged to Rahim, haha!

[Cap'n]

This tank will be designed with the species of fish that I'll be keeping in mind, not so much for me personally.

A point way too many aquarists lose focus of.

A nice sculpted background would go a long way in a well layed out setup like yours.

[RD.]

Albert, I didn' realize Dwayne bought the group of moorii that you originally owned. The juvies are healthy & are already showing good growth.

Cpt ....... As nice as that might look, with the lighting I'll be using, you wouldn't see that much of the background. The idea behind the black background was to add depth to the tank, and to hide the hardware. The other problem I find with the 3D type of backgrounds, is the nicer looking ones take up a fair bit of space. In a 24" wide tank, no problem, in an 18" tank, every inch counts.

This is the look I'm after.

This is another hap tank that I've always admired.

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquai...jeanpierre.html

My only criticism of Jean Pierre's set up, is IMO he should have provided some stacked boulders for the caeruleus. A few big dark caves would have been a nice addition to that monster tank.

[rahim101]

Here's a pic that is now on teh Gold Aquariums website of the the C.moorii when they were in my tank!!!

Notice the red on the anal fin!!!!

[RD.]

where's the pic?

[rahim101]

http://www.cichlids.ca/images/gallery/66Pr...nReef-thumb.jpg

This is a pic of my old F0 taiwan reef that was in thge same tank as the above C. moorii !!!!

Great to see that Gold's is still using pics of my former fish!!!!!

Makes me a proud father!!!!! LOL

Edited September 25, 2005 by rahim101

[Cap'n]

OK Neil, if you can achieve that lighting I'm liking the tank more and more.

I'm actually in the process of lighting my new 92gal corner and I'm liking the way I can hide the equipment and gak in the shadows.

Are you painting the background or do you have an alternate plan? 'cause I need to get some black plastic or similar for mine.

[RD.]

Cpt - here's another example, and this is a 125 with two single strip 36" lights. (with powerglo fl tubes) Same as what I'll have on mine.

With the lights moved forward there's still plenty of light from the mid to front portion of the tank, but along the very back it gives the fish some deep dark areas to retreat to, and adds some depth to the tank. IMO it gives a deep dark mysterious feel to the tank.

Here's another nice example, on a 55 gallon.

I suspect that in person, these tanks aren't quite as dark as they appear in the pics above.

As far as the background, I'm leaning towards black felt, velcroed to the back.

It's easy to change down the road if I want, and it will give a non reflective dark finish. I don't want t use anything with a shiny or reflective finish, and I believe that even flat black paint will have some glare to it. (in my room)

Another person suggested this material (found at most hobby stores) http://www.coroplast.com/product.htm but it has horizontal ridges running across it, and another person suggested using this material http://www.tri-dee.com/sintra_plastic_pvc.htm , but it sounds rather expensive, and will most likely still cause some glare.

I'm still undecided at this point?

[Cap'n]

I tossed out the coroplast idea because of the lines as well. I'm thinking of getting some Luon cut to size and painting it flat black.

[RD.]

Where does one find Luon? Can you get it in very thin sheets?

[seajays]

I just used sign vinyl and stuck it on like a big decal it is a flat black on the sticky side . Just spay the tanks and the back of the vinyl real good with light soapy water or windex, keep wet and smooth out with a credit card. You can get it at any sign supply or from a sign shop. Comes in 15 and 24 inch.