jvision Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 Well, it was a LONG time coming... I've had the tank for quite a while, had a stand built and bought the fish a while ago, too. But, it's finally all set up in my living room. The tank is a 5' 125gal, filtered by an FX5 (was going to go with 2 Cascades, but they didn't fit well under the stand), with the intake behind an HMF. The stand was built by AA's very own Boom :boom: There are also 2 Hydor Mini's on the far end (I may swap them for a larger Hydor or 2 that I have in other tanks). Hardscape is just rundlestone from Burnco and work, with some shells for the N. brevis and playsand. Lighting is a Finnex MonsterRay, and I love how it makes the red in the Tropheus pop! Livestock is a group of around 40 Tropheus moori Ndole Bay, 6 N. brevis, 2 Syno. mulitpunctatus and a few BN juvies (1 albino, 3 or 4 green spot). I had some Cyp. leptosoma in the tank before the move, but they couldn't handle the 1/2hr in the pails and the 100% WC I purchased the Tropheus from AA member, bella. There were around 35 when I first picked them up, and have just let the females spit in the tank - I can't believe how big the fry are when they're spit! I think I'll fill in the gaps in the pile on the wall with some 2" rundle to give the fry some better places to hide - right now the adults and Synos can get in there easily. I've heard that Tropheus can be brutal to each other; so far, I've found that most aggression is directed to fish of similar size - fry scrap with each other, juvies are always sparring and adults jostle with each other, but leave smaller fish alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaykit Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 This is awesome! I've always wanted a room divider tank exactly like this. Congrats on finally getting it in place and setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted May 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 This is awesome! I've always wanted a room divider tank exactly like this. Congrats on finally getting it in place and setup. It took a bit to decide which tank to use - I have a few larger ones, but a 4' was too short to properly divide the living room and dining room, and a 6' seemed a bit too long. This 5' is perfect! I also had a small end table between the tank and the couch, but decided that I wanted to be as close to the tank as possible so I can really watch the fish. I now have 2 end tables at the other end of the couch. My wife was asking if I'll be putting some greenery in the tank. The Tropheus are pretty hard on plants, but I have a piece of Anubias that's been floating in the tank for a while that they haven't eaten, and there are a few sprigs of Java fern floating around as well. Once I get the rock wall filled in a bit with smaller stones, I may stick a few plants in and around it... might even see about gluing something to the 2 boulders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfong Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 You could also try vallisneria. My tropheus tank has some vall that was in there before I switched it over to tropheus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senroc Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Looks great. Love how you can sit right beside it and watch the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted May 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Looks great. Love how you can sit right beside it and watch the tank. I came to sit and watch the fish for a bit this morning and the dog was in MY spot! I decided to go make coffee before I gave her the boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Nice clean set up, Jason. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 VERY NICE!! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bella Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 You have done a great job. Brevis and shells are a nice touch to the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Picked up some T. sp "Ikola" from flipperocks this weekend and rearranged the rock work a bit. Still going to add a bit more small stuff between the boulders, but I font want to trap any of the big ones in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Before, all I had was a 48" Finnex Monster Ray for lighting, but I wanted more light to give them some more algae to graze on, so I added a Finnex FugeRay. It's REALLY bright in there, now. Might just run the blues on the FugeRay to bring out the blue highlights in the Brevis. I'll see how things go this week. I also swapped out the 2 Hydor minis for a Hydor3... still might want to bump up the flow a bit. Next goal is to get a few more Syno. multipunctatus and some Paracyprichromis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Big fan of Ikola, nice addition to the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pteronarcys Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Add high phosphates in there and you will have an algae garden in no time with the high lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted August 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Nice clean set up, Jason. Well done. Neil, what do you think about adding some NLS H2O Wafers to a Tropheus tank - probably after dark? I've got a few young BNs in the tank to help with the algae on the glass, but they're clearly not getting enough food. I'm currently feeding NLS Cichlid, but am not sure about the Wafers with Tropheus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 I dunno Jason, I think that it might be a mistake, even if added after dark. If the trophs find those wafers, being the pigs they are the most dominant fish could hog most of the food, which could in turn lead to complications. A gut full of food sitting over night is never a good thing when it comes to bloat prone fish. Personally I wouldn't keep any plecos in a tank full of active aggressive herbivores such as tropheus. Let the algae grow wild in the tank, and use a glass cleaner & some elbow grease to keep the glass clean. But that's just my opinion. I don't know if you have seen the AlgaeMAX pellets that NLS recently released, if I was keeping trophs again I would probably give these a try, along with the cichlid pellets. Maybe a 50/50 mix. If you are set on keeping the BN's, you could try tossing a few of these in after the lights go out, not nearly the overeating risk factor compared to wafers. AlgaeMAX is made of 9 different types of algae, seaweed, and kelp. •Chlorella Algae•Red Seaweed•Kelp•Chondrus crispus•Ulva Seaweed•Wakame Seaweed•Spirulina•Spinosum Seaweed•Eucheuma cottonii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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