The Atlantic Ocean might have been a bit of an issue to cross too haha! But thank you I remember them they were amazing! I don't see adults that often but I have seen a few and they are amazing, I've been touring a few shops this weekend and saw some incredible ones small, but even the females had a good amount of orange on them. Fingers crossed I can find the right ones in a few months.
Thats an interesting point with the 2 foot depth, I think the tanks I'm looking at range between 20 inches and 2 foot so interesting factor to consider.
I like the idea of the mix and the kind of numbers you mentioned, I think I'd go for 6 Bosemani and 8 Kamaka but I do also like Picta so could see 4,4,8 still. I also like Parkinsons but not sure they are fully bright enough for what I want to achieve. The funny thing with this tank is how its really a Rainbowfish with a Cichlid in it now haha!
If I go for the 75 I would need to revise those numbers down though.
Its a fun project for sure
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
all kinds of challenges too. Working out the cost is quite interesting at this point, I went to look at some hardscape today at Horizon Aquatics to get an idea and to start with I was really disheartened when I realised how expensive it was going to get but I think there could be some ways to help it and I came away with some ideas I previously didnt expect.
These big redmoore roots took my eye and their height was awesome we weighed the big bit and it was just over £100 but it is huge and beautiful, the smaller piece I'd guess would be between £50 and £70.
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I've also seen someone locally on facebook selling redmoore posts to stand vertically which is more of a discus tank thing but in combination with these roots could look cool. I have a couple of branches of redmoore that are a good size, if I'm ever in an LFS and I see a particularly good bit for not much money I try and grab it.
They also had these big bits of river driftwood which were £50 each I could really see a George Farmer style V shape aquascape from these.
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I've not given up on the lava rock just yet tbh, I saw some today and its not unreasonably rough, its not a smooth river stone but driftwood could be as rough, or even just sand or gravel texture. I didn't get photos of the Lava Rock but got a good idea of how much you get for your money. For reference they had a football (soccer ball for our American Friends) sized piece that was 5.9kg and it was £5 per kilo so £29.50 for that one some other good sized pieces were coming in at 3KG. I had a play in their dojo and if I stacked 3 pieces up I could get it to about 40cm tall and a structure that felt like it wouldnt be lost in the tank. I imagine I would need about 25kg though so probably £100-£150 in rock.
I know its crazy but I'll likely be spending £250-£300 on hardscape
The other thing I'm thinking is some kind of landscaping business might be better for Lava Rock as bigger bits will be cheaper than for aquariums but its the same stuff isnt it? My searches just havent found anything in the UK yet which is frustrating. Any pointers would be appreciated
Wills