Our Fish Tank Project (Pics Inside)

Discussion in 'The SRTConnection Lounge' started by Cygnus, Jan 2, 2009.

  1. Cygnus

    Cygnus Platinum Supporting Member

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    It all started back in November. For months I talked about upgrading to a bigger fish tank. We had a 29gal and I wanted a 150gal+. My wife and I were on our way home from grocery shopping and right up the street someone was having a garage sale. As I'm driving by I was like "Wow, did you see that tank". So then I stopped, backed up and asked my wife to ask them how much they wanted for it. $100 for both the tank (150gal) and cabinet stand and they delivered it to our house.

    November and first day at the house as you can see it needed to be cleaned.
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    Okay so where it was originally placed at was a bit to crowded for the hall way so we moved it to the center of a wall in our living room. I bought a Rena Canister Filtration system, got a background, bought about 60lbs of slate/rock and stacked it up, 60lbs of sand and filled it up about a 1/4 way with water.
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    Got 3 fake plants, filled it up with water, got the 2 stage lighting system with the lunar lights.
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    Had to re-arrange the plants and cut one down because of the (2) Crabs we got, one was almost out of the tank. The little guy swung off the plant on the filtration tube and heater and climbed up. At this time we also transfered our fish from the 29gal tank into this tank and purchased a few more fish.
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    We had a problem with our Jack Dempsey cichlid attacking the other fish so we had to trade him in. Because of him I had to redo the tank since he kept hiding while I was trying to catch him and I had to move all the rocks. We then added more fish to the tank and added more slate/rock and marble. So by now I would say there's about 80+ lbs of rock alone.
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    Last round of rocks we added some lava rocks. This is the finished product and as it sits today.
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    (2) Mateo Convict (Couple Pair)
    (2) Neon Jewel Cichlids
    (1) Geophagusus Jepulatin
    (2) Geophagusus Brasilian
    (2) Fiddler Crabs
    (1) Tire Track Eel
    (10) Tiger Barbs
     
  2. black08

    black08 black08

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    Very nice deal you run up on.....i had a 180 untill i moved to texas. Now i`m back at the beach and want another one
     
  3. CentralTexHemi

    CentralTexHemi PUNISHER

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    Hmmm I think you have crabs-LOL

    Looks great.

    So which one is named Ron?
     
  4. TNCHARGER

    TNCHARGER Moderator

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    Nice...I had a 20 gal salt water when I was a teenager..lot of work but more color than fresh water..
     
  5. Goats

    Goats God of skittles

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    Looks cool mang
     
  6. mikej

    mikej Lost

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    Very neat looking, I always wanted to do a fish tank, just never got around to it.
     
  7. Cygnus

    Cygnus Platinum Supporting Member

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    Thanks! You should get another one! They are fun to setup and relaxing once its all set up.

    Lol! Thanks! No names for the fish yet. I think the school of Tiger Barbs will remain nameless lol.

    Thanks! Yeah saltwater is a lot more money and a lot of work to maintain. I love saltwater tank setups I just don't have the time to maintain them so with this tank I went freshwater. One thing I like about saltwater also is the colorful selection of sea life.

    Thanks Chris!

    Thanks! Its actually fun, just start big... you'll save money in the long run.
     
  8. DragginWagon

    DragginWagon Full Access Member

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    Ok heres probably the best place to buy tanks new, not everyone can run across a great deal like Jesus did, so check this site.... http://glasscages.com If you're into reptiles, they also sell terrariums dirt cheap!
     
  9. loxmith

    loxmith Recovering Post Whore...

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    Very nice set-up...:thumb:
     
  10. cherbear

    cherbear Supporting Member

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    I wish we could have done a saltwater set up. I also love the color of them as well.
     
  11. LegMaker

    LegMaker LMI - LegMakerIntakes

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    very nice...... used to run a 320 gal flush mounted in my wall at my old house in cali. full reef, halid lights, skimmer, wet/dry filter, chiller, etc. HUGE investment that i ended up selling with the house!!! this is all i have now........ 55 gal, wet dry filter, uv sterilizer, etc. used to be salt but switched to fresh to get back into oscars....... yeah, i used to have a dempsey, but he got eaten by the albino oscar you can barely see in the pic....

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  12. DragginWagon

    DragginWagon Full Access Member

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  13. Cygnus

    Cygnus Platinum Supporting Member

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    Chris, how do you like the UV sterilizer? I was thinking of investing in one.
     
  14. Vipz

    Vipz Attack the 'Ring

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    where's the shark?
     
  15. MotherMopar

    MotherMopar The One, The Only... MOMO

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    Nice tank!

    I had a 125 that was 6ft. long... what's the dimensions on that puppy?

    Heavy SOB, huh?!?!

    I had in my tank a silver arowana who was about 2 feet long. My brother, in his 150 gal. tank, had another silver arowana, but his was approx. 34-36" long (measurements varied). If you've never seen these fish, check them out...

    Anyway, I've always liked the hobby... just don't have the space or time for it anymore. Sadly.

    I used to feed my arowana mice that the family cat would catch... or whole shrimp from the grocery... "Harry" as he was called (didn't know if he was male or female, to be honest) loved that stuff!

    That 150 you have is relatively square... perfect tank for those convicts, etc. Do you have a breeding pair of convicts? If so, watch out! They will CONFISCATE all but the top corners of the tank for their brood... and kick the shit out of any other creature in there!

    YEARS ago, my Dad had 2 Oscars and some other s.american ciclids... and a breeding pair of convicts. Those little SOBs kept the FULL grown oscars away! The male convict had this wonderful, mature male hump on his head and LONG fins... awesome, dominant fish. One of the Oscars tired of the female's shit and engulfed her... the male convict literally pestered and beat on that oscar until he spit her out... she was all tore up... but they kept on screwing and making more and more babies!

    We'd sell the fry to the local pet store in exchange for fish food and supplies.

    Come to think of it, we were in petco this evening and there were 3 tanks full of baby oscars... they are but a handful of domesticated fish that actually have personalities... I'm sure its mainly due to them wanting to eat 24-7... but none the less, I must say, that Oscars are cool as shit! Eat anything, live anywhere... they're like water dogs... they get all excited when they see you (feeding), but its def. cool!
     
  16. Cygnus

    Cygnus Platinum Supporting Member

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    No sharks. Freshwater "sharks" they sell at the store are really catfish.

    Thanks!!! The tank is 4ft long (48") x 2ft wide (24") x 31" tall. The freaking tank and stand was heavy alone without everything added to it. My wife had to help me move it. Now with everything in it, its not getting moved lol.

    I don't think I've ever seen a arowana, I'm going to google it.

    Yes, the Convicts are a breeding pair. I've been told to watch out for them with the other fish during their time. The Convicts are beautiful fish.

    If you like Oscars you should look up Long-Fin Oscars, they are amazing looking.
     
  17. 8yourM5

    8yourM5 Full Access Member

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    Nice man I will have to see if I still hae pics from my 240+gallon salt water tank. I know ron(norcal) has a nice corral tank

    arrowanas are sick look up RED arrowana super$$$ and illigal in most us states but a beautiful fish non the less
     
  18. LegMaker

    LegMaker LMI - LegMakerIntakes

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    i had a 2 ft long arrowana that used to jump out of my tank on a regular basis!!! the fish is naturally a surface dweller. in the amazon it actually hunts for food that may be living OUTSIDE the water, on the low hanging branches!! they will jump out of the water in order to catch food!! wild fish!! i had to actually put clamps on the lid in order to keep the damn thing in!!!! hahahahaha

    my oscars are now 3 years old..... put them in the tank as little babies when my youngest son was born........ love those fish!!!

    jesus - imo it is worth the investment!!! i RARELY ever run into parasitic issues in my tanks that have run one. the only issue is when it comes time to change out the bulb each year....... if you do not reinstall the bulb juuuuust right, they tend to leak from the rubber ends that seal around the bulb.
     
  19. MotherMopar

    MotherMopar The One, The Only... MOMO

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    Arowanna's are GREAT fish. At one point, they were the most popular fish in Germany (or so I once heard). RELATIVELY peaceful (they won't blindly attack other large fish), but WILL eat ANYTHING that moves and can fit in their mouths. Like Chris said below, they do jump (6ft out of water). Tremendously powerful survivors from the dinosaur eras. However, they don't get along with one another unless you have a HUGE tank (they like their space).

    Asian arowanna's are nice, but EXPENSIVE... and some are illegal here (endangered species).

    We didn't have an issue with any of our Arowannas jumping... since the first one we had, back in the early 80's. BUT they CAN jump for sure!!!

    Chris, s.american arowannas are known to snatch bats, birds and other creatures off branches hanging over the water in the amazon!

    DAMIT, I wish I had the time and space!!!

    THAT is some AWESOME stuff!
     
  20. srt-4chick

    srt-4chick Silver Supporting Members

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    very nice looks good. You have to watch the crabs my friend had some and they kept kiiling themself by getting out of the tank and dying...lol