Big tank on a small budget

@llewellynkearney Thanks. I know of it but have only gone into the pet shop there. Will check it out over the wnd.

 

Ek lees lekker aan die storie. Keep it up mate

 

Its been a bussy weekend full of water changes and i started to build the canopy. I really wanted to do a pendant type of light fixture but after some planning ahead for winter i stuck with a normal canopy. It gets pretty cold here. So lighting has to go inside. With the 350l i came across the Opple range of T5 fittings from Ellies. Its been mentioned on the forum a couple of times aswell so i think you guys know what i'm talking about. I stuck them in there with ballasts and all.... Its been a year with no problems from moisture. Thumbs crossed. So i went for the same for the 720l just the 38watt i think and 2 of them. I like the color of the 6500k units. Propablly not the best for plants but i'm not going down that road just yet..... Need some more experience first.

So enough chat..... Here is some more pics...





The tank in action. Now we will see if i have the patients to wait for the cycling process.. haha.

 

And yes i still need to do some major work on all of the cabling....:embarrest:

 

And a shot with substrate...



I need to wash some more sand i know....... But its coming along.

 

Good job on the setup

 

Thank @Ryno its getting there.

Now does anyone have a 1,8m piece of driftwood they want to donate??? Found a ad on gumtree from Capetown that sells driftwood for R15 per kilo and they will send pics of the piece before you buy. Will follow up tomorrow.

 

Thanks @Ryno its getting there.

Now does anyone have a 1,8m piece of driftwood they want to donate??? Found a ad on gumtree from Capetown that sells driftwood for R15 per kilo and they will send pics of the piece before you buy. Will follow up tomorrow.

 

Looking good boet, well done what type of fishes will be swimming around in this monster tank?

 

Sorry for the double post.....

@hviviers75 mostly south american cichlids. Green terror, redhead, some I may not mention, 4 tinfoil barbs(you might enjoy them) 2 flagtails. But that's it for now.

 

Cool man are you moving them from your 350 liter tank? Can I suggest that you increase the group of Tinfoil barbs to 6 - 8 they love to be in bigger schools go look at mydummyname's album of his 2 meter tank he keeps tinfoil barbs and bala sharks.

You can take some gravel from your existing tank to help build a nice colony of bacteria in your new gravel. You can also take some of your mature filter media to speed up cycling in your new tank. Hth.

 

@hviviers75 yes most of them comes from my 350l. Tinfoils get huge. But will see when final stock list is done. And I got about 2kg of mature media in there with the barbs but thanks for the advice.

Keeping a close eye on all levels. But it all looks good so far...

 

Cool man yes they do get huge. Enjoy the project.

That is good news.

Only a pleasure we all are here to help each other out.

 

@nick discus Dankie man. Ek is baie bly mense volg my storie.
Things are starting to gome together nicely.

 

So the canopy is coming along nice. Doesn't look like much yet but wait and see.. This time i stuck with chipboard made a canopy from supawood for the 350l and thought I sealed it properly but I didn't and supawood and moisture lets just say are not best friends. My 16mm supawood canopy is now a 20mm supawood canopy.... haha. I also made alot of changes to my design. The 350l is extremely heavy and I have to take it of for every waterchange. It gives me a good workout. But one day is one day and if I slip its bye bye tank... And that is bad.

Also i started to add the first fish. I know i should have waited longer but dammmm its was hard not to.:blink: Will keep a close eye on the levels and I got some mature media in there so I hope it helps the cycling process a little.

canopy:






And the first fish... Not to bad I think....

 

Been following this thread keenly.

I have some sad news for you. Chipboard dislikes water more than supawood. Your chipboard canopy will possibly live a shorter lifespan than if it were supawood

I would personally woodfill the edges then paint the entire canopy in waterproofing paint to hell and back. Literally... When u think you have enough coats on, double what you have pit on. Aim for a minimum of 5 coats

 

That is so true and very funny. Thanks allot for following aswell. But what I forgot to mention is that its going to get a resin coating on the inside and outside before painting this time.... To hell and back like you said.... And then one for the 350l also. But wil test the mk2 before I build it...:idea:

 

So I did the first layer of resin today... Not much to see but I can tell you I forgot just how much I hate resin and fiberglass for that matter.... Hope my plan works and @Zoom will not say I told you so...... If all goes to plan I should have some nice ( with proper camera this time) pics of the tank with canopy by this wnd.

On another matter. The occupants of the 350l seems much less stressed since some of the big boys were moved out..... That made me very happy indeed. I really hope to have everyone in their new homes by Feb....

 

"On another matter. The occupants of the 350l seems much less stressed since some of the big boys were moved out..... That made me very happy indeed"

This is good news we always want the best for all our fishes well done.

And good luck with the hood.

 

Well done on the tank and on all the DIY things. Must say it looks very good.
Your mentioned earlier that you thought the lights at 6500K were bad for plants. Well just the opposite, they are perfect for them.
Remember to do a few waterchanges while the tank is new to remove some of the excess ammonia in the water.

Again, great start.