Big Daddy Tank

So the 4ft tank and all me fish are gone and sold off so here we go the big daddy tank. Went to have a look and then bought this 1500 litre including sump tank. So will keep a log of what is happening along this journey to fill this tank with water, malawi cichlids and ocean rock and a few pics along the way. So will be pickin it up on Sunday. The hood and wood that surrounds the steel stand wiil be solid oak. Anyway here she is. The main tank is 72x32x32 and the sump is 48 x18x18.






Since i am new to malawi cichlids i would love as much input to get me stared. Since there will be a lot of ocean rock and caves i will be goin for mbuna. So as much advice as possible to start off with a particular mbuna and remember with a tank this size i it will take a lot of fish to fill it, so please pretend the tank is yours and the world is yer oyster, so what ultimate fish would u have or be sensible as a beginner and choose sensible fish. All suggestions are welcome.

Mick...........

More pics Mick and Vids too !!

Kev.

Seriously tho, Great Tank!

stretnik wrote:

More pics Mick and Vids too !!

Kev.

Seriously tho, Great Tank!

Dont worry Kev plenty of pics as i set it up in me gaff. Mossy is puttin togeteher the hood and cabinet for me and all he asks for in return is a cup of tea and a choccy biscuit, ha ha. Vids to follow when the stock goes in.

Mick.....

wow! just wow! congrats on the super tank! makes me go dreaming again....

all the best with it; ? i suppose you will fill them with the lovely demasonis'; yellow labs;pseut acei and some zebras; which will just leave you with enough room for a few more dozen other fishes:P

do post more pictures along the way.

Thats gonna be one helluva Malawi setup bro. A mini lake in your own gaff. Congrats and cant wait to see this bad ass tank take shape. Theres a few folks here who really know their stuff an Africans so help is definately at hand. Best of luck man .

Jay

Wish you all the best, it looks huge, Gav's a really decent Bloke, you couldn't have a better Person helping you.

Kev.

Sweet!
With a nice big tank like that youve got a massive choice of mbunas to pick from.
Should be good! Good luck!

cheers lads

dont know wether to laugh or cry:laugh:

best of luck again bud. cant wait to see its progress!
Al

Oooooh I think it might be time for a monster catfish Mick. Something you can feed the neighbours children to if they kick a ball into your garden:)


Mark

Mark. wrote:

Oooooh I think it might be time for a monster catfish Mick. Something you can feed the neighbours children to if they kick a ball into your garden:)


Mark

Deadly Mark.

One more day and the tank will be in its new home. Can't wait. Thanks for all the positive comments lads.

Mick.......

Good stuff Mick. Now thats a plan for if&when I build an extension.
You could try a Cuckoo Catfish (synodontis multipunctatus) They spawn beside mouth-brooders and replace the cichlid eggs with their own.

awesome lookin tank Mick!

don't be shy about updates & photos - would love to see how that turns out. You'll probably be tinkering with it for years

So this mornin three innocent carlow boys headed down to dungarvan to pick up the new tank. Left at 11:00 kitted out with aero board, ratchet straps and everything a man needs to get that tank in the back of the van. Lobbed the tank and sump into the van and strapped the steel stand to the roof. Legged it and got back to carlow at 15:00 with the kids in the front drive wantin to see the new tank. Anyway here she is.

Holy Moley

That's a Tank and a half.

Oh, and I see you found Waldo...

Congrats on the new arrival, Plenty of Pics y'hear.

Kev.

Just sortin out me sump at the moment adding sponges, matrix and bio balls. Just had a luck at the pump that was included in the sale. Its a Hailea HX6550 and pumps out 5500 lph. Its also 200 W. Is this not a bit high or could someone recommend a pump over 4000 lph with a lower wattage. The tank and sump is 1200 ltres.



Mick.......

mick you could try the aquamedic ocean runner 6500 i think its 115 watts great pumps
john

Excellent tank..best of luck with it!
Lots of pics!
Gavin

stretnik wrote:

I see you found Waldo...
Kev.

Your a gas man Kev.

Great size tank. Add a few pond airstones and you have a Jacuzzi ..

Here is a good post to get you started. Some great info.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/component/o...w/catid,43/id,82737/

The total water in the tank and sump is 1200 lites. So what pond pump will i go for 4000lph or 6000lph.
Also what size heaters i was thinkin 2 300w heaters in the sump. Can anyone recommend some as the ones i have seen are really long.

The carpenter was around uesterday to measure up and next week i am out to pay a visit to a deluxe timberyard to order the wood. I was goin to go with solid oak but now i will be ordering oak veneer.

i am going to use the left over aeroboard that i had for picking up the tank in the van and silicone it at the back and side of the tank, also wrap it around the sump just for added insulation and to keep the leccy bill down.

Mick....

So here is the pic of me sump i am workin on at the moment, next is the plumbing. The filter floss Is only cut to size and put in the second chamber for now. When the tank is runnin i will be puttin a piece of filter floss in the first chamber every so often. The second chamber wil be filled with more bio balls and matrix.

I will be goin for 2 300w heaters but the plan is that the aeroboard around the tank and sump will hopefully keep in some of the heat and then the heaters dont have to come on as much. Gettin there slowly.

Mick....


Mick.........

Just an update on the tank. The timber is hopefully comin next week for mossy to assemble the cabinet and hood. I was recommended these leds from a mate and i then recommeded them to another mate. So he ordered them before me and gave me a shot of them over me tank to have a look before i buy. The two leds are three foot long each and are 10 watts in total. I will be puttin 4 leds on the tank. Anyway i think they are pretty bright.


Mick......

Looks great mick how many liter is it and who made up the stand for Ye

1200 litres including the sump. The tank was bought off one of the lads on the forum here and the tank and stand was made in cork.

Mick....

Two words Mick....

I'M JEALOUS !

Kev.

1200liter! wow mick nice one that baby going to look amazing set up can't wait see the pic's

Mark

the heaters i use are 2x elite ones they are shortest, 300w each 1 in sump 1 in tank. the reason for this is that the sump water flows quite fast and either of the 2 will be on most the time, so 1 above to keep the heat in the main part of the tank, not close to return pipe or overflow tho if you can. get the biggest pump possible the head height will slow it down and its best to have as much circulation as possible

for the media, have it flow as follows (i learned this from my own experience its a bollox when your sump flow slows, pump section nearly runs dry, and you have to pull it apart with all the sludge going everywhere): coarse mechanical->fine mechanical->biological (i use ceramic) with floss/polishing mechanical ONTOP. having floss ontop of the final chamber means you can lift out the floss when its clogged without lifting up everything else, you grade the filtering down so its not quickly blocked in any section but have plenty of bioballs or ceramic so when a few sheets of foam are cacked up you can lift them out and wash off without affecting the bio filtering capabilities. i have 3 fat sheets of foam in each of chambers 1&2 but will reduce to 1 sheet as flow thru the sump is slowing and i want bigger pump, i have 6kg or more of ceramic in chamber 3 with floss covering the top, and pump in chamber 4 with a sock full of peat, but will be putting bio balls in there soon too

hope this helps, i went thru a few arrangements before and find this lowest maintainance and gets best flow rate


p.s if you have a spare pump let me know the specs i need a better one for mine...

Cheers for the advice Joey.
Quick update. Got all me plumbin parts sorted today thanks to JustinK (legend). Thanks to Daniel and Keelan in Seahorse for sortin out the bit of blue perspex and vinyl.





Bit of aeroboard stuck on to side glass and there will be more stuck to the back of the tank to insulate.

Mick....

what are you going to be stocking it with?

Malawi Cichlids.

Mick...