Big tank on a small budget

hahaha be happy. I am mature dude was just stating my facts. We all are allowed to give our opinions in here. Lets all be happy and friendly in the new year.

 

@SloMo.00. Thanks for the good feedback.... And the sump is a 4ft. I estimate the total actual volume sould be around 800l to 850l. I hope closer to 850l

 

@Tiger barb Thanks for the vote of convidence. But i think keep on watching some more. Maybe its a total fail. But i have a good feeling on this one....

 

OK so there is filtration and a stand. Now i could start to focus on what i wanted to keep??? In the 350l i started with some odd ball fish Clown Knife, Tiger shovelnose, Birchir and so on. Can anyone spot the problem here? haha. We all learn the hard way it seems.....So after that i got some nice malawis. I liked the colours alot. And again messed that up. They got mixed up with parrots some green terrors (that started a whole new problem....) and a redhead that was saved from a very bad enviroment in a lfs tank.
So at this point my mix is totally wrong and overstocked but it did show my what type of fish i really enjoyed. They all seemed to be South American, and that stuck. The more i read about them the more i liked them and i could see everything the people that wrote about them in my own fish. Especially their personalities....


Some pics of my 350l. Dont judge. Everything will be sorted once the big tank is set up. So i will also have some fish to give away... The 350l will become a home for four parrots a birchir and a green severum and the big tank will get the readhead and some of the terrors a texsas a JD 2 tinfoil barbs and 2 flagtails. I know its not 100%. Its not a biotope its my mix. But please give advice on this one....

 

just FYI the Texas Cichlids and i think the JD's are Blacklisted

 

Sorry about the poor quality pics...

And on we go... So i know what type of fish i wanted and as most of them dig i wanted a very fine substrate. This started a whole new problem for me. There is so much opinions on this subject it started to scare my..... From play sand to silica filter sand and everything inbetween..... To fine and it clouds the water if stirred up and create pockets of toxic gas if not stirred up regularly enough.... WTF..... Long story short i got silica witch is pool filter sand. I did not know this in the beginning either and that confused me even further. But as far as i'm concerned its great.. Like very small natuaral colour gravel. You can stir it up and it falls right back down. No clouding at all. The down side is that its verrrryyy dirty out ofthe bag and needs to be wassed very very good not to cloud the tank.....

 

I think i might cry in that case...... please @Relborg post link to the actual pdf list if you can....

 

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?78-Freshwater-Fish-Blacklist

 

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?78-Freshwater-Fish-Blacklist

Cichlasoma Octofasciatum (Jack Dempsey)
Herichtys Cyanoguttatus /Chichlasoma Cyanoguttatum (Texas Cichlid)

(IMO) if you got em keep em

EDIT: @SloMo.00. you are way to quick today

 

I also say keep them. No use in selling them or uthenizing them. You know all the inns and outs of BL species so just be responsible with them. They are beauts none the less.

 

Haha. I know its no joke but that was what I was thinking also. Thanks again for all the nice words guys....

 

Cannot wait to see how this monster tank is going to look like when done. Good luck with your setup. That silica sand is awesome stuff most of us use it as a substrate.

 

@shan and. @hviviers75. Thanks for following my story guys. I also hope it looks good when its all done.

 

What a deal so far!!! Cant wait to see the end result on this bad boy!!!

 

Ok so allot of the major stuff is all sorted. There is a tank, stand, filtration, substrate and some fish. This is also the point where i started to run out of fish funds and i still have to sort the background and lighting.... Not the cheapest parts of a tank.... So i really wanted a 3D background i even started a tread on the forum but with no luck again. Only the very cheap styrofoam stuff is available... Seen some nice Backgrounds on Designs by nature but no one does them in SA and they are very expensive. Again i might be wrong ( please let me be wrong on this one i will save up till the end of days for one of those...). After there was no luck with the 3D background i started to look into doing a diy but in truth i'm good with my hands but no artist... So i did a bad thing that turned out very nice.. Painted the back and side all black. Hides my overflow to the point were you cant see it at all from the front.

The time came to move the tank over from the old stand to the new one and plug it in and see if it will work?

 

First pics of the tank on the stand....... And?

 

Hi there is a place at pretty gardens called spitskom reptile, they keep the 3d backgrouns from buyo, but i must warn you its a bit pricy.

 

And it looks awesome man! One day i'll have a tank that size.

 

Thanks again everyone for following my story. Its really an amazing feeling when you start to fill a tank to start cycling and not just to test. I must have filled it 20 times in 3 months for all my tests. Haha.. I sound like an evil scientist...

 

@SloMo.00. After this is complete there might be a proper sized ply tank in my not to distant future..... The 720l will become the sump then..... But don't tell the misses.