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200 Gallon Aquarium Cichlid Heaven / HeII Build

224K views 302 replies 56 participants last post by  jpbdh4 
#1 ·
I purchased a used 200 gallon Perfecto 84" x 24" x 24" with an Oak stand and Canapy with a few other extras from Craigs list. Man was it dirty when it arrived. I will be posting pictures of my progress in setting up this tank. I also have a unique idea for the backdrop for the Cichlids which is where the Heaven / **** ties it. More on that later.
 
#3 ·
A picture of my tank as my roomate and I are cleaning it out. He is sucking out all of the dirt from the bottom of the tank. I checked for cracks and to make sure the primary seal is intact for the aquarium. All good exept for the ulgy water marks on back of the tank.


Here are what the Marks on the outside of the back of my tank look like. The previous owner had a platic backdrop and what ever was in his tank got between the glass and the plastic and left these marks. I am not sure if the glass etching was from the marks or the previous owner trying to remove the marks. Either way CLR, vinager and a razor blade does nothing. Gong to resort to something stronger.
 
#4 ·
FYI I purchased the tank on May 6th so I will catch you all up to speed. After doing a ton of research on how to buff out glass I resorted to ordering 99.99% pure Curium Oxide. In the mean time I had to use something a bit ruffer to get the marks out. After 10 hours of sanding with silicon carbide sandpaper 320 grit then 400 grit, then 600 grit. I was pretty warn out.

Curium Oxide
http://www.facetshoppe.com/cart/cerium_oxide_pure.html

around 10 hours of sanding. What a ***************. The etched in parts are out but now its all ruffed up. At this point this picture only shows the product after using 320 grit sandpaer. The glass is foggy but the marks are out.
 
#5 ·
I noticed as I was sanding for hours on end that the secondary seals were shot on all of the vertical corners. The bottom seal looked good. The previous owner was a construction worker, sloppy with his work and he decided to cauk the top 1" of the glass to the top bracket to prevent water from leaking out from under the platic top.

I decided to remove all of the secondary seals. I appologize that I don't have more pictures of this process but you can find all sorts of good exampls of this online. I did a ton of reasearch as to what type of silicone to use and I ended up going with "momentive rtv 108" from Grainger.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/GENERAL-ELECTRIC-Clear-Silicone-4UH12

After spending several hours carefully cutting out the silicione and scraping it to the glass. I decided I wanted to buff out the front glass before I resilicioned the tank. Thank goodness the Cerium Oxide came in so I decided to put it to the test. I used my hand drill with a buffing attachment.
http://www.dewalt.com/tools/polisher-attachments-dw4990.aspx

I picked up piece of thick touch leather and cut it to the size of the buffer. Melted pure bee's wax and let the leather disk pad soak up as much bees wax as I could. As it was still hot and the bee's wax was melted I covered the leather pad with Cerium Oxide. The idea is to get the cerium oxide to stick to the Pad.

Before Sanding. When looking though the glass I could see a kind of fog on the inside of the glass. Again CLR, Vinegar, and a razor did nothing.



After using the Cerium Oxide leather buffing pad with lots of water.
 
#6 ·
Here is the tank Tapped up.


Me inside the tank.


Close up of taping


I have to say that putting Silicone on a tank is much harder then it looks. Expecially when you are doing a whole tank at once. I decided to start at an end and silicone all of the end, bottom, sides, top, and then move to the middle of the tank, then do the other end. I would reccomend when silicioning a tank to Please wear a Mask and goggles. I didn't and had to hold my breath many of times as my eyes watered and I felt as if I was going to die. Also if I had to do the tank over again. I think I would have siliconed one joint at a time instead of doing it section by section. I choose to do it section by section because I heard that once silicione starts to cure/ top layer hardens the seal between the two aren't very good.

Also Paper towels are your friend. I ended up wearing thin rubber gloves and dipping my fingers into soap water before I would spread out the silicone but that still didn't help from it getting all over the place. I found out that you can never have to many paper towels when putting the secondary seal on.
 
#7 ·
Now I have scene many custom intank foam / rock backdrops built for tanks mainly reef tanks. I thought hey thats a great idea for a Cichlid tank. But then after thinking about it most of those back drops don't have many caves and what do all Cichlid fish love? CAVES!!!! LOL so I thought hey what if I build a built in backdrop that was nothing but caves! I wouldn't need as many hiding spots in the rest of my tank. Now keep in mind this is just an idea and I had no clue what I was getting myself into nor did I completely think through this idea as I am running into things that I could kick my self for not thinking of earler in the process.

I decided to use PVC pipes as the caves for my backdrop. I did some research online and all of the sites I read pretty much say that PVC, PVC Glue and PVC Primer are all fine in the tank if you let it dry.

Picture of a buch of PVC pipes that I cut to build up my stock.
 
#8 ·
I picked up 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1-1/4", 2" and 3" PVC Pipe and I decided to cut them different lengths. My idea was to create kind of a wave patter out of the PVC Pipe that would go up against the back side of the tank. So looking directly into the tank you would see though the PVC piping to what ever I decide to put back there and when you look at from an angle you would see the sides of the PVC piping. This would give 100's of caves for different size fish. I didn't think to far ahead and decide to build one of these. I thought of building at least 4 sections so I can get them into the tank since I have 2 dividers ( supports)

Here is what I came up with for the edge of the tank. When looking at this picture the floor will actually be the back side of the tank.
 
#9 ·
Here is a slightly different angle.



You can see I already was impatient so I began gluing the PVC together. The purple is so ugly but I don't know how I am going to get rid of the purple. I am thinking of coating it with someting and then putting sand on it but I am not sure how well that will work since there will be 100's of pipes and small nooks and crannies.

Here is a top view of it or if it were in the aquarium if you were to look into the aquarium.

 
#11 ·
Last night I ran across a problem with my PVC back drop idea. Currently when I put the piece into my tank the PVC goes all the way to the glass. I fear that the fish will not like going into the pipes if they can't turn around being that there is only one entrance to each cave and the diameter is the same all the way to the back. So I decide to use my router to cut out notches in the back side linking some pipes to each other. I'll have take some more pictures of these when I get home tonight. When building these backdrops I should have made some hollow spots by not allowing all of the PVC to rest against the ground when gluing. This would have been 10 times easier and would have turned out much cleaner then having to router out parts of the PVC.

Do you all think that I should just let the PVC go all the way to the glass or should I cut back tunnels connecting the PVC to each other by the glass wall?

Also how should I coat the PVC or should I just leave it in its unfinished form white and purple?
 
#12 ·
More on the Back drop to come. I will take a few pictures tonight of where I am at now. I wish I would have designed caves with in those PVC tubes instead of having them all be flush with the ground.... I am kicking myself as that was easily 3 days worth of work just making the first 20" x 20" section and a whole can of PVC glue.

Man I am glad I had a mask for gluing the PVC together.

I decided to check to see if I need to reinforce my floor trusses before I fill up my tank. The water in a 200 gallon tank weights roughly 1,660 pounds and when you count in the stand, tank, canopy and etc you are easily over 2,000 pounds. I am putting this tank next to an outside wall close to the wall and across 5 floor trusses so I already know that this will put most of weight at the wall and remove
most of the bending moment.

Picture of my basement's beams


I talked to a few people from my work. (Engineers; and we came up with this calculation.)



With my tank adding 1/2 of the maximum moment the truss was designed for at 2' 6" from the wall I decided I should look into reinforcing the trusses just to be safe and not have to worry about it in the back of my mind. At our work it's safety first.
 
#13 ·
Well Today (I called them on Wednesday) I finally heard back from the manufacture of my floor trusses. Jeez was it a job tracking down who designed my 11 year old floor trusses. They told me to use 3/4" CDX plywood and cut out 16" x 4' sections and glue and screw these to both sides of my trusses for all 5 trusses. They recommend 4' O.C. spacing using 2.5" screws and if I could to screw a few into the diagonal cross sectional beams. They also recommend to use a construction grade glue to glue these to the trusses as well as to screw them in. Pictures to follow when I actually get around to this. There are a few pieces of conduit and my air conditioner line that i will have to cut out for. Always something to make the job harder.
 
#14 ·
I purchased a used 200 gallon Perfecto 84" x 24" x 24"
Isn't that larger than 200 gallons? My 180 is 72 X 24 X 24.

Is 2 X 2 X 2 more than 20 gallons? Just curious... Maybe you are right..

Not sure if I am entirely following the PVC pipe backdrop.. It certainly looks interesting...

As for the floor supports - if in doubt reinforce!

I look forward to following this one. What are you stocking it with?
 
#16 ·
Well the owner told me it was 200 gallons but I can't seem to find anything on line that says what it actually is. To be honest I have not calculated what it is. Lets find out.

http://ovas.ca/index.php?page=53

A 265 is 84 x 24 x 30 and a 220 is 72 x 24 x 20 So I figure a 200 gallon is close. From Answers.com One US gallon is 0.133681 cubic feet or 7.48 gallons per cubic foot of water. My tank is 2' x 2' x 7' or 28 cubic feet. So 7.48 x 28 is 209.5 gallons. Hmm So my tank is ~ 210 gallons. AWESOME its bigger then I thought.

I'm planning on putting some ruby read peacocks in the tank. And to be honest I know you all are going to kill me but my wife wants to put different colored ones in as well. So we probably are going to have some mutts if I can't convince her otherwise. I am tearing up the house and she has been extremely tolerant with my path of destruction so if she is hard pressed on it I might have to fold in.



What are your thoughts on my back drop idea? Do you think they can turn around in the PVC pipes if they only have one entrance or should I make two? Normal cichlid caves have one entrance but once the fish passes though the entrance the cave opens up allowing for the fish to turn around... Here the cave is the same diameter all the way to the glass... I jus don't have enough experience.
 
#17 ·
I'll have to measure the outside of the tank. The glass is 3/4" thick. I don't know the exact measurements of the tank; but I think its not exactly 84 x 24 x 24. I think it might be slightly bigger if you are measuring the outside of the tank.

Ideas please on the back drop... Thanks all.

Also I am thinking of putting in a RUGJ custom built from 1/2 and 3/4 in PVC with at least 120 gpm per jet opening. Jets as well as putting some holes in the PVC so I can get up current through the gravel. I was also thinking of putting in 1 to 2 hydor koralia water movers. I hear they are quite when not operated with a wave maker. (My idea with all of this is to keep the fish poop off the gravel so that the filters can suck it up. Cichlids dig and in my 55 poop loves to collect in those caves... Disgusting!

I am also not sure what kind of main filter to use. Whether it will be some custom built canister, some monster store bought self cleaning canister, a sump or some other type of filtration. I do know that I want to build (preferably) or buy a fluidized bed sand filter.

Recommendations on this are also appreciated
 
#18 ·
cantrell00 said:
Not sure if I am entirely following the PVC pipe backdrop.. It certainly looks interesting..."
Cantrell00 what do you not follow on the PVC backdrop? I will try to explain it further if you can help me out. Also I will take a picture of what I have inside of my tank when I get home tonight. After I pick up the Plywood.

The PVC you see resting on the floor in the pictures will actually be rotated 90 degrees and will be going on the inside of the back wall of my aquarium. So when looking though the front of my tank you will be peering into the PVC and all you would see are circles.

I.E.


Then when you look at it from an angle you will see the different heights of the PVC. Like you are to one side of the aquarium. This is what you would see. Again the tubes are not sitting vertical like they are in the picture but horizontal when they are in the tank. I just used the floor (will be the back glass in the tank) as a base point to build off of.


What I am not sure off and I didn't plan for ahead of time is now all of the PVC tubes but.t up against the glass wall leaving only one entrance for each cave (PVC) pipe. Do you think I should provide a way for the cichlids to enter in the back side of the pvc like have a way for the fish to swim from one PVC tube to the next? Picture a U.
 
#20 ·
cantrell00 you think it will be ugly? I think it will look different that’s for sure. Since I am an engineer I think it will look kind of neat especially after it has algae all over. I also figured that since I will have enough hiding places I can have less rock in the fore and middle ground.

Should I leave the PVC to only have one enterance or make 2?

Won't the paint flake or chip off?

Why mbuna's? They are just so mean! I have a 55 aquarium now with Mbuna's and I was thinking of transfering some of them into the 200 as well.
 
#21 ·
cantrell00 you think it will be ugly? I think it will look different that’s for sure. Since I am an engineer I think it will look kind of neat especially after it has algae all over. I also figured that since I will have enough hiding places I can have less rock in the fore and middle ground.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder my man.. If you like it, run with it... I prefer a natural look myself.

Should I leave the PVC to only have one enterance or make 2?
I think the fish will be more inclined to use them if they can go all the way through.

Won't the paint flake or chip off?
Nope. Not unless you want it to. Would need to be scraped off if so desired.

Why mbuna's? They are just so mean! I have a 55 aquarium now with Mbuna's and I was thinking of transfering some of them into the 200 as well.
Not entirely true.. Some are for sure... Having a friggin EIGHT FOOT tank (yes, I am jealous!) will go a LONG way to minimizing that though.. Well along with species selection.. Basically, stay away from melanochromis & tropeops species.. Here is a partial list of what could be considered as 'peaceful':

Yellow Labs
Rusty
Psuedo Acei Luwala or Ngara
Psuedo Saulosi (if the only blue/black bar type)
Any of the Zebra Types, Red Zebra, Blue Cobalt or Pearl.

There are many others...

Here is my 180 build if you want more decorating ideas..

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=225411&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

 
#22 ·
Nice. Your tank is beautiful and very natural looking. You have a TON of fish in your tank. Do any of your fish fight? I figured having more hiding places would be a good thing so I wanted a backdrop that would provide me with enough hiding places for the fish and would allow me to have minimum things to remove when cleaning the gravel and for them to dig under. I also wanted to set up the tank so that it would encourage breeding. I hope that after its all in, painted it won't look extremely ugly. LOL

What kind of paint should I use? A black spray paint? Would it be toxic?

How is your tank maintenance? I was thinking of doing a sump. Recommendations?
 
#24 ·
Gotta say I am loving following this thread. You have a brilliant opportunity to something pretty sweeT here with that huge tank.

Personally I have to agree with you that there are a lot of really nice looking backgrounds out there whether they are 3D, DIY, custom, professionally made etc... but you're right most of them are flat with no caves and Cichlids love caves. Most back grounds to me seem to take up so much tank space but offer little in actually hiding space so you are forced to take up even more tank space making caves as well.

I think (IMHO) you have gone from one extreme to the next in that you are offering just caves. Have you got any plans for what is going to go in the middle or front of the tank at all so far as decor/rocks etc?

I think perhaps that so much PVC may not be the way to go on this one. Depending on your stock list and how you manage your stock, you may find that a lot of those PVC caves will go unused. My cichlids love weaving in and out of the rocks and rock formations that I make (I change it up every 6-9 months or so) and it is brilliant watching them.

Also.....perhaps taking into account waste in that (my cichlids anyway) poop in their caves all the time. Imagine having to pull the poop from all those Pipes - could be a huge pain : (

I think you are on the right track with integrating caves into the back ground I just think it is a little extreme.

I am all for the natural look and using a black background & rocks. This allows you to change up the design as much as you like where as if you go with a background you are pretty set in stone with it.

Looking forward to seeing what happens next : ) :thumb:
 
#25 ·
hugenerd said:
Gotta say I am loving following this thread. You have a brilliant opportunity to something pretty sweeT here with that huge tank.

Personally I have to agree with you that there are a lot of really nice looking backgrounds out there whether they are 3D, DIY, custom, professionally made etc... but you're right most of them are flat with no caves and Cichlids love caves. Most back grounds to me seem to take up so much tank space but offer little in actually hiding space so you are forced to take up even more tank space making caves as well.

I think (IMHO) you have gone from one extreme to the next in that you are offering just caves. Have you got any plans for what is going to go in the middle or front of the tank at all so far as decor/rocks etc?

I think perhaps that so much PVC may not be the way to go on this one. Depending on your stock list and how you manage your stock, you may find that a lot of those PVC caves will go unused. My cichlids love weaving in and out of the rocks and rock formations that I make (I change it up every 6-9 months or so) and it is brilliant watching them.

Also.....perhaps taking into account waste in that (my cichlids anyway) poop in their caves all the time. Imagine having to pull the poop from all those Pipes - could be a huge pain : (

I think you are on the right track with integrating caves into the back ground I just think it is a little extreme.
hugenerd you might be right that it is a little extreme. I am not going to deny that. LOL and honestly I don't know if I will end up using this idea or building a new. Either way I am dead set on having my background be full of caves. I just haven't figured out the right mix. I also want different size caves some for the bigger fish some for the little ones and tiny ones for the fry (if and when that ever happens) I thought this would be an aswesome idea but as I am buiding this it is taking alot of time and I am not sure how I am going to cover this. My first idea was to try to incorporate a natural design with tunnels. The problem with natural backgrounds as well is most of the caves turn out of view and that's where the fish hides most of the time. With having a strait away view I was hoping that I could see all of my fish all of the time. I wish I could come up with a way that wasn't so time consuming to add sand to my design or to start-a-new with a cave full background.

Any ideas?... Foam with PVC?

Also on the Poo part you are right they do poo a lot in their caves. I was figuring having a huge hydor powerheard that would either suck or blow the water around the smooth PVC cave bottoms and would flush all of the poop off of them. Having a gravel sunken bottom cave or one way entrance with a solid back makes it really hard to flush the waste away but since the PVC is open on the back I feel there is a better chance that it will be carred away with the current. Again this is just me thinking here. Since NO ONE has ever built a background like this It is going to be touch for me to test.

Maybe I will check and see if I can fit it into my 55 gallon tank and see how the fish like it. I also really wish I could go back and rebuild them with what I know now. A few more pictures to follow.
 
#26 ·
Agridion, you could use 90 degree or 180 degree sweep PVC pipes to create back doors and other entrances for the fish. That might work better than cutting the PVC. If you do cut it, make sure you sand the cut edges as they do get sharp. I use PVC buried half way in my substrate then put rocks over them to make caves too. Never thought of fusing it to my background. Nice idea.
 
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