Chris' African/mbuna Journal |
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 Oct 17 2007, 09:56 PM
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#1
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 Fish Addict  Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695  |
Type of setup ?
mbuna Tank ? 40 UK Gallons (185 litres/48 US Gallons Filtration ? Eheim Pro 2224 (700 lph) Eheim Ecco 2232 (400 lph) I will be constructing and Under Gravel Jet. Each jet will be around 570 lph and there will be 6 jets (around 3400 lph) Lighting ? A twin 36w standard fitting (plus 30w tube & t5 compact ready if i want/need them) Substrate? Argos play sand - 2 inches above the egg crate min. Decor? Slate (from a mixture of lfs and garden centre) Water chemistry ? Still need a test kit  about 25 degrees c Maintenance ? about a 20% water change each week Clean 1 filter every other week (as i have 2 filters it will work out around once a month) Feeding? Cichlid pellet Pea's, Cucumber, Lettice The European Shrimp Mix (homemade food) each of these twice a week leaving 1 day a week for a few live brine shrimp Fish ? Labidochromis caeruleus 2m+2f pseudotropheus salousi 1m+3f metriaclima callainos 1m+3f the egg crate/filter grid is on order and should be here soon. i have 4 kuhli loaches to move and 6 shrimp to move also. so on sunday i will be getting the 'playsand' and add it to the tank if the filter grid is here (which it should) nothing else to add i think all constructive advise welcome as im sure it will be helpfull! thanks for reading chris This post has been edited by chr15_8: May 27 2008, 09:59 PM |
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Oct 17 2007, 10:03 PM
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#2
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 Do ya feel lucky punk?  Group: Moderators Posts: 3603 Joined: 16-February 04 From: Manchester, UK Member No.: 4260 |
Good thread. It would be nice to see a few more of these.
 Don't forget plenty of pics. 
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Oct 17 2007, 10:25 PM
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#3
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
QUOTE(Ferris @ Oct 17 2007, 11:03 PM)  Good thread. It would be nice to see a few more of these. Don't forget plenty of pics. pictures will be the main 'structure' of this post. i would also like to see more cichlid journal as everyone does it with planted tanks. i gives people ideas as well as help/advice chris |
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Oct 17 2007, 10:30 PM
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#4
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 Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 730 Joined: 15-February 06 From: երեվան, Հայաստան Member No.: 19124 |
loving the idea mate, im thinking of turning my tank fully mbuna =) just got some Yellow labs... and wow you are gonne love em!
good luck mate, looking forward to seing how this turns out! |
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Oct 18 2007, 02:06 AM
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#5
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Fish Fanatic  Group: Members Posts: 94 Joined: 14-August 07 From: Frederick, MD Member No.: 34572 |
Great detail - thanks for sharing... I'm working on a mbuna tank myself. One question, what is the significance of a under water jet? Looking forward to seeing some pics!
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Oct 18 2007, 04:32 PM
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#6
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
thanks. i also hope it turns out well!
some info on the ugj http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ug_jets.php i will also be taking pictures though the constuction of the ugj chris |
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Oct 22 2007, 08:56 PM
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#7
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
hi
ive got rid of all the fish now. so tank empty. ive put the eggcrate down, made up the ugj's all i nee to do is glue some sand on the jets so they blend in better. im going to start washing out the playsand tommorrow and add after the glue has set (glue should only take 10-15 mins to fully cure) ive got a few pictures but ill wait till tommorow becaus ethere nothing special (and there only 3-4) chris also i might be changing the stock around slightly |
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Oct 23 2007, 07:28 AM
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#8
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 Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 664 Joined: 18-February 07 From: brisbane'Australia Member No.: 29359 |
it sounds very good but isnt 3500lph a bit of an overkill
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Oct 23 2007, 12:16 PM
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#9
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Do ya feel lucky punk? Group: Moderators Posts: 3603 Joined: 16-February 04 From: Manchester, UK Member No.: 4260 |
QUOTE (jakeroberts @ Oct 23 2007, 08:28 AM) it sounds very good but isnt 3500lph a bit of an overkill Nope - you can't really have too much. That's roughly 20x tank volume per hour, which is perfect for an overstocked Mbuna tank. The minimum to aim for should be 10x. |
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Oct 26 2007, 05:32 PM
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#10
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
ok ive glued the ugj's and added sand to the tips to help blend in (will post a few pictures)
ive bought 9 large rocks (each rock will be broken down into 3 sections so i'l have around 21 pieces) tommorow i plan to brake up the rocks, add them to the tank. i will rinse all the sand to add to the tank should take about 5 hours im thinking. (i need to finish by 3.30) so will start at 10. chris This post has been edited by chr15_8: Oct 27 2007, 08:27 PM |
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Oct 27 2007, 08:27 PM
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#11
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
well today i didnt get out of bed till 11ish.
i started to brake up the slate which didnt turn out as i planned. turned out alot smaller but to be honest im glad as i like the look of the smaller bits. ive only used about 3 rocks (ony about 1/2 the rock due to the size and shape of the broken of pieces) and ive got 9! the rock is about half way there at least so not much to go i also went to a fish shop (took about an hour) to buy a pump the most suitable pump was an eheim which they wanted £90 ($180) so i bought a pond pump for £35ish ($70). its quite noisy and will have to be turned off at night (i could hear it in the living room about 15ft away when the tv was turned off) the jets are very powerfull and im glad i only got the 2400lph one instead of the recommend 3500lph pump. sand i almost all washed used 2 out of the 3 bags and will use a max of half the last bag ive put 4 under water leds in that was in my previous tank. ive put them behind the rock so at night/dark they glow though. ive got a few photos but will post when ive finished the rockwork. chris This post has been edited by chr15_8: Oct 28 2007, 06:35 PM |
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Oct 27 2007, 08:36 PM
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#12
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
i still need to buy the eheim ecco from a mate (second hand)
and fish thats all i think i need to get now chris This post has been edited by chr15_8: May 10 2008, 05:35 PM |
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Oct 28 2007, 06:33 PM
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#13
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
well ive finished now!
the rocks are all in place the tank is full of water. the only problem is no pics! when i filled up the tank i used the hose form the garden, there is alot of condensation on the outside of the tank due to the water being so cold anyway the water is reading just below 60 degree f and about 10 degree c. so ill take pics after the condensation has gone (every time i wipe it its back in seconds) chris edit. my mum says she's worried about the weight of rocks in the tank being to much lol This post has been edited by chr15_8: Oct 28 2007, 06:34 PM |
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Oct 28 2007, 07:53 PM
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#14
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
i have pics!
the pump for the ugj  front view of the rock  right hand side  left hand side  view from the right hand side of the tank as you come into the room 
This post has been edited by chr15_8: Oct 28 2007, 10:07 PM |
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Oct 29 2007, 01:44 AM
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#15
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 Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have. Group: Members Posts: 3172 Joined: 12-September 05 From: Kansas Member No.: 15832 |
Looking good, they're going to LOVE all those rocks.
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Oct 29 2007, 11:41 AM
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#16
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Do ya feel lucky punk? Group: Moderators Posts: 3603 Joined: 16-February 04 From: Manchester, UK Member No.: 4260 |
Looking good chr15_8 - one thing i would point out is that whilst the gaps inbetween the rocks will be great for Mbuna juvies - they are not big enough for adults to make caves etc. Perfect for now but you may need to rearrange slightly as they grow.
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Oct 29 2007, 05:38 PM
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#17
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Fish Addict Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: 10-September 06 From: Middlesex Member No.: 24695 |
thanks. im happy with it to be honest aswell
QUOTE (Ferris @ Oct 29 2007, 11:41 AM) Looking good chr15_8 - one thing i would point out is that whilst the gaps inbetween the rocks will be great for Mbuna juvies - they are not big enough for adults to make caves etc. Perfect for now but you may need to rearrange slightly as they grow. yep  i will redo it all in about 6 months (or as they start getting to big) the hight of the smallest purpose built cave is around 1 3/4 inches hight buy about 3 inch at the opening. i counted about 17 plus in the middle (wher the pump is its all open so the can 'hide'/chase etc around there) chris |
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Oct 30 2007, 04:05 AM
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#18
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 Fishaholic  Group: Members Posts: 370 Joined: 12-February 07 From: Australia Member No.: 29172 |
Woah, that's a LOT of slate!
Looking good though, can't wait to see some fish in there!
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Oct 30 2007, 04:45 PM
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#19
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Fish Crazy  Group: Members Posts: 171 Joined: 11-April 07 From: Sacramento, California Member No.: 31110 |
looks really nice so far. One of my LFS has a large tank with slate piled up 4ft high in the same way yours is, it looks pretty cool. I think they had the problem that Ferris pointed out though, as I could see no gaps in the slate large enough for the adults however the juvenile fish loved all the hiding places. What are the dimensions of your tank? This post has been edited by Waterbox: Oct 30 2007, 04:46 PM |
