djdl Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 Well it's taken a couple of months to get it all together due to a serious underestimation of costs after having tanks/stand built, but I've finally managed to get my first system plumbed up, stocked and working away. It's 4ft 3 tier, with a 4 x 2 x 2 on the top level, one 2 x 2 x 1.25 and two 2 x 1 x 1.25 on the middle and a 3 x 2 x 1.5 sump running it. Overkill on the sump but I've never done it before and had no idea what I'd need.... Here's some shots from early stages through to completion:- Delivery of tanks Painting back of tanks Everything in place OUtflows all plumbed up Sump filled with dacron/media, just waiting on a water pump The final product Awesome! I'm well stoked with it. A huge thanks to:- Michael at Aquariums and Petland for quality tanks Paul (Bender) for the stand Mick (Bmxican) for help/advice and sorting out a few odds and ends I needed Leanne at Aquariums and Petland for help/advice Brad at Aquariums Alive for help/advice I think that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristlenose_boy93 Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hey Very Nice Setup The final result was awsome. Are they yellows in their? Etienne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdl Posted June 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 Cheers Etienne, Yeah I got yellows and Mbamba. I've had them all growing out in six 2 x 1 x 1 tanks but was running out of room real quick so decided to go the whole hog and get a system up and running. I've also got some red zebras and cobalts in another tank, and they're trying at the moment. Had a red zeb with a mouthful the other day, but she spat when I switched them over to another tank when I was shuffling fish around with the new system. The cobalts are all spawning but none of them are holding at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-bender- Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 looking good champ,... glad to see its finally up and running :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2os4sds Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Congrats,and looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 thats one really nice set up. A lot of work must have gone into it cheers Jodie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rival81 Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Nicely done! That's a LOT of cichlids though... what will you do with them all when they reach full size? Also i'm curious how long it took to cycle the entire system? Any idea of the total water volume? My estimate would be around 750L! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdl Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Thanks for the comments guys And yeah, that's a lot of fish. I'm hoping to sell them all once they get to size. At last count I had somewhere around 7-800 fry/juvies, and I have another 3 or 4 mouthfuls to strip in the next few days, and my cobalts and red zebs are at it as I type. I think I need a bigger system..... :frog: Volume-wise yeah it's around 750 litres. It didn't take too long to cycle. I already had six 2 x 1 x 1 tanks up and running. I cycled sponge filters in those for about 5 days, then took 50% water from each of them and emptied it into the smaller tanks on the middle tier. Then I just topped them up which was about 50% fresh water on top. When I turned on the water pump I didn't feed any water to the top tank. I let that run for 4 days then filled the 4 x 2 x 2 with fresh water, which was like another 50% water change. I let that cycle for a day to get as much bacteria etc into that tank, and to raise the temperature a little then added fish and voila. It's all been running sweet since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Patience is a virtue. It's certainly paid off for you. NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE one mate!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmiller Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Wow so many Yellows... lol, im still waiting for mine to get their first mouthfull. Well done with the setup. Great way to have a few tanks and only take up a small space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebris Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 What did you paint the back of the tanks with? Looks great! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdl Posted June 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 The backs were painted with $3.99 spray paint from super cheap auto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broady1 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Did you prep the glass with anything or just spray it straight on ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdl Posted July 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 No man, just sprayed straight onto it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
