280L (61 Imp Gallons) Dempsey Tank

[stevereade]

???

 

[Verminator89]

Haha, yeah i was waiting for someone to pester about this


The tank arrived thursday 16th September about 8:10am Well chuffed except for one slight blemish on the tank. Unfortunately it has a 2" scratch on the inside of the front left pane of glass, approx 1-2" from the base. I didnt notice this untill after the driver had left, what can i say i got caught up in the moment. Its small and not noticeable unless you look for it, i plan on placing the substrate a little higher in this corner and having a rock there also. Aside from this i'm very pleased with the tank. The build quality is ace. Big thick silicon with a sturdy middle brace complete with sliding trays. Aside from the scratch, but i won't let it ruin the process of setting it up!


The next thing you want to know is where are the pictures or anything about its setup right. Well its currently sat in the living room empty as i'm waiting for payday, which is thankfully this coming friday! Then i shall be able to purchase my plants and get this baby up and running. The Tetratec EX1200 has been running on my current 180L and is fully mature ready to roll. Just got to wait for those plants. I could have set it up the day i got the tank, however i was reluctant to. For the simple reason i didnt want to set it up without plants. My money went on my tattoo this month, and also the purchase of this tank, and a CO2 kit for my other tanks. Incidentally my tattoo is going to be my male dempsey Thats passion for your fish lol, thats getting done this thursday. Anyway, getting side tracked....


So an update on the tank shall come a little closer to the end of next week, beginning of the week after maybe. If i feel in the mood to get the old camera out i'll get a FTS of the empty tank, maybe.


Untill then, i shall keep you all guessing and waiting
James

 

[Flagtail]

Whats going there?? Any of my favorite cichlids?? Green terror, firemouth, oscar, etc..

 

[Verminator89]

Obviously havnt read the thread have you

 

[Gvilleguy]

James,

Seeing as you have four more patience-testing days to wait for pay day, perhaps I can distract you with questions from someone ignorant of the custom built aquarium market: is there something specific about getting the tank custom built that will assist with breeding your JDs? Just curious about the features of the tank. Or is it simply an empty rectangular tank?

I did see this sentence you wrote:

"The tank itself is going to be x2 sides Opti-white (front/left) x2 standard glass (rear/right)."

But I didn't know what Opti-white is.

Thanks,

Greenville Guy

 

[kaivalagi]

But I didn't know what Opti-white is.

I'm intrigued too, I need to read through this thread properly...

Opti-white is a higher standard glass normally used on the front pane of a tank to provide the best viewing with no green tint (from the manufacturers: http/www.pilkington.com/europe/uk+and+ireland/english/products/bp/bybenefit/specialapplications/optiwhite/default.htm)

 

[Gvilleguy]

Thanks for that - I had no idea!

 

[Verminator89]

The only reason i went with a custom tank is because i have a cabinet that is 16" wide and all 4ft tanks i've seen have been atleast 18" wide. So custom built tanks are the only way i was ever going to get a 4ft tank on this cabinet. The tank aside from this is normal. It is to the same standard and typical character as all the tanks the company produce, but nothing different about it. So no i won't assist me in breeding my dempseys, it just enables me to have a tank the volume and size i require to keep the fish i desire The tank is by and large a rectangular tank, with centre support and sliding panels on top. With a gap either end to allow for pipes in and out. I'm feeling in the mood to get some pictures up. So i shall go and take some now and get them up in the next few hours.
(Edit: The camera needs charging, scrap that for tonight.)


The glass was an optional extra which seemed like a worthwhile thing to do at the time. Standard tanks have a slight tint that is virtually unnoticeable, the opti-white is a crystal clear higher grade of glass which was mentioned previously. For how little extra it would cost to upgrade the glass it seemed worthwhile to do so on the front and left side of the tank. Which happens to be the 2 sides the tank will be viewed from.


Not long to go now....hopefully. I'll be placing my plant order(s) thursday day time sometime. By the time the transfer of funds for the purchases go through my paycheck will be in my account that night. Then hopefully next week i aught to be able to setup my tank

James

 

[Gvilleguy]

Cool - thanks for the update. Smart move on only getting opti-white on the two sides visible for your configuration.

 

[Verminator89]

Final Plant List

x2 Echinodorus Uruguayensis
x2 Echinodorus Bleheri
x1 Echinodorus "Tricolor"
x10-12 Fissidens Fontanus (Pheonix Moss)



As soon as i find somewhere i can get all these plants in one go i shall order them. However current lines of enquiry are coming up blank. I can't find online retailers that sell all of them, and i've only found one company that sells Fissidens Fontanus, and they don't sell anything else. I'm going to throw a few emails out there and see what some of these companys can do for me

I'm getting seriously itchy fingers now. I've sat looking at this empty tank now since September 16th and i just want to get it going. So far it has sand in and thats all. Just need my plants!

James

 

[star4]

James, send this chap and email http/stores.ebay.co.uk/Last-Trading-Post/Aquatic-Plants-Fertilisers-/_i.html?_fsub=3&_sid=28119685&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322 Mike is his name he might be able to help with the plants, he is a brill chap and very helpfull

 

[Verminator89]

emailed him. Thanks Lesley Hoping to get a positive response.

 

[Verminator89]

Still no luck with the plants and during work today i got thinking about how badly i wanted this tank to be set-up. How its currently going i'll be lucky to get the plants i want before next christmas, and so i just thought "f*** it". So i went out and i bought a load of other plants, still from the Continent on the other end of the pond So i have bought the following plants;


Echinodorus palaefolius var latifolius
Echinodorus Red Special
Ecinodorus "unknown" (shall try and get a pic for ID)
Sagittaria "unknown" (again shall get pic for ID)
Vallis sp


So i've arranged all the wood and used all the rocks to create a low rocky scape surrounding the tall roots. Also using some (most) of the rocks to help hold the wood in place and also to help keep the contours in tact. With digging cichlids this "planted" aspect of the biotope may fail catastrophically. I've always boasted that my cichlids never destroy plants and with me using the rocks to create a "base" around the plants i aught to be fine. However, upon removing the wood from my current 180L, which my dempseys are still in something quite unexpected happened. They beligerently pulled up all my crypts. Haha, not so good concidering i was just about to plant their new home on the knowledge they've never destroyed a plant todate - untill then


Immediately after removing all the wood, i have left in there one piece of slate with a few crypts and java fern. They've cleaned the rock like crazy ALL day and dug what looks like a "moat" around it Literally, it looks quite odd for a fish to create such a creation. Yes, you guessed it, they've spawned. I'd say a guess between 300-400 eggs, although counting is rather hard as they are so tiny and close together. Well after initially thinking it couldnt have occured at a more inconvenient time i've since thought of it as good timing. Once the eggs hatch and the fry are free swimming i shall remove the parents and leave just the fry in this tank Back onto topic of the new tank though....


So initial planting has finished and the tank is looking brilliant, if i may say so myself. I'm more than dissapointed with the fact i havnt got the plants i want, but i shall swap them out over the coming months as i get the ones i'm after. So untill then this shall have to do. One slight balls up on my part was that i realised after i'd finished that the light unit i bought came without the bulbs (duh!), so i shall have to go and get these after work tommorow, along with the black backing paper. Once this has been complete the obligatory pics shall commence ofcourse. I can't have you guys and gals waiting any longer for the FTS.


Current inhabitants are 8 white cloud mountain minnows. Just something small i bought today to help keep some of the filter media ticking over. I know they don't come close to creating the waste my dempseys + others put out, but it'll keep it running for a day or two. Then i shall add the SAE's in the coming day or two. Also going to have to rehome my 3 Boesemani's and 2 Angels somewhere soon (kitchen tank) before the fry hatch. Then as mentioned earlier once the fry are free swimming (just over a week), i shall remove the parents and plop them in their new home.

The mountain minnows shall then go in my planted 2ft upstairs No they won't become Dempsey supper - i couldnt be so cruel!


James

 

[star4]

Shame about the plants, I was sure Mike would have been able to help, cant wait to see the finished product, you have more patience than me I throw my tanks together pretty quick

 

[Gvilleguy]

Pictures would be cool! (hint hint)