Lake Malawi Species • 125g : Male Peacocks, Haps and 1 Mbuna :)

[vann59]

:D Compared to some pics I see on here my pictures are good at best.

Makes you sick, doesn't it?

A few hours after setting the tank up I heard a weird noise and I was thinking oh man my tank is about to bust. I didnt see anything since the lights were off but the next day I noticed that my left top glass cracked. So word to the wise, if youre using a T5HO quad fixture, USE the legs! I finally got my glass tops in yesterday so heres a full tank shot that I took this evening.

At first I thought you meant the side panel glass But I see now you were talking about a lid.

I am planning on getting 48" HO dual t5 lighting. Do you think the aluminum sliding supports are long enough legs? I have LED hoods, I plan to raise them and set the tube lighting on top and then close the lids back after each use. I also read that you can use the clear plastic panels that cover commercial fluorescent lights to cut and use as tank lids. I was thinking of possibly using them as splash guards while the tubes are on top.

[60gallon]

:D Compared to some pics I see on here my pictures are good at best.

Makes you sick, doesn't it?

Yeah it does!!

A few hours after setting the tank up I heard a weird noise and I was thinking oh man my tank is about to bust. I didnt see anything since the lights were off but the next day I noticed that my left top glass cracked. So word to the wise, if youre using a T5HO quad fixture, USE the legs! I finally got my glass tops in yesterday so heres a full tank shot that I took this evening.

At first I thought you meant the side panel glass But I see now you were talking about a lid.

I am planning on getting 48" HO dual t5 lighting. Do you think the aluminum sliding supports are long enough legs? I have LED hoods, I plan to raise them and set the tube lighting on top and then close the lids back after each use. I also read that you can use the clear plastic panels that cover commercial fluorescent lights to cut and use as tank lids. I was thinking of possibly using them as splash guards while the tubes are on top.

Which 48" light are you talking about and what size is your tank? My fixture uses plastic legs that adjust by sliding in a grove along the length of the light, Im not sure if you mean the coat hanger looking legs (Like the Marineland LEDs fixtures use) or the thick plastic legs. Either way if you have a 6ft tank they wont reach unless you buy a 72" fixture. My fixtures legs rest on top of the glass tops.

And the plastic youre talking about is egg crate. I've read people using those as tank lids before, I dont see why it wouldnt work.

[vann59]

I'm talking about the coat hanger type legs on a 48" tank and 48" fixture. And the plastic I'm referring to isn't the egg crate, but the solid clear plastic covers they use as diffuser. I do have eggcrate under my rocks

[60gallon]

^ gotcha!

Then yeah a 48" will be fine but Im still lost as to what you mean about the legs being long enough? Long enough for what? Its getting late so forgive my brain. When you say LED hood what do you mean? Do you have a canopy on your tank too?

And I dont think the diffuser will work very well. I have some in my garage that I use for projects and its pretty flimsy, I wouldnt trust laying heavy lights on top of it. Maybe you have some thicker / more rigid diffuser?

[60gallon]

Heres a shot with the LEDs on

[Jarryd330]

I like your setup. Makes me want to go all out and run a bigger tank rather than my plan of a 75 so I can add in some peacocks with my current stock.

[60gallon]

Thanks!

I started with a 55g, stepped up to a 90g and now this 125g, all in less than a year. If I were you and if you have the room Id get a 125g / 125g+! I wish I wouldve went with the 125g from the start but oh well, it was fun just learning about stuff along the way.

[vann59]

^ gotcha!

Then yeah a 48" will be fine but Im still lost as to what you mean about the legs being long enough? Long enough for what? Its getting late so forgive my brain. When you say LED hood what do you mean? Do you have a canopy on your tank too?

And I dont think the diffuser will work very well. I have some in my garage that I use for projects and its pretty flimsy, I wouldnt trust laying heavy lights on top of it. Maybe you have some thicker / more rigid diffuser?

I was thinking of the length of the legs for the purpose of heat dissipation so as not to crack or melt any lids.

I do think the plexiglass diffuser would be flimsy, but I wouldn't rest the light on it, but rather on the tank sides. Another question would be whether the diffuser would have a negative impact on light penetration into the water, which may be the bigger problem.

So what about thin lexan? I can get some of that and cut it into lids. I have the marineland lids shown here http://www.marineland.com/sites/marineland/products/Detail.aspx?id=3944
and they are great for general lighting as long as it doesn't need to be too bright, but they don't help the plants grow. They flip up on hinges that rest at the back of the tank, so they allow really good access too. But I figure if I lift them up, and set a t5 fixture on the tank, then I might want a lid to keep splashes out, and fish in, while I do that.

I really prefer something lightweight. Removing glass lids is tedious.

[vann59]

I wish I wouldve went with the 125g from the start but oh well, it was fun just learning about stuff along the way.

If you had known how addictive these fish can be, you wouldn't have just gone halfway, right? Me too.

What kind of pea is that in your avatar? Is it green on the body, or is it just the photo?

[CrazyCichlid]

Excellent collection.
Thanks for sharing.
What is the hap on your avatar?
cc

[60gallon]

I was thinking of the length of the legs for the purpose of heat dissipation so as not to crack or melt any lids.

I do think the plexiglass diffuser would be flimsy, but I wouldn't rest the light on it, but rather on the tank sides. Another question would be whether the diffuser would have a negative impact on light penetration into the water, which may be the bigger problem.

So what about thin lexan? I can get some of that and cut it into lids. I have the marineland lids shown here http://www.marineland.com/sites/marineland/products/Detail.aspx?id=3944
and they are great for general lighting as long as it doesn't need to be too bright, but they don't help the plants grow. They flip up on hinges that rest at the back of the tank, so they allow really good access too. But I figure if I lift them up, and set a t5 fixture on the tank, then I might want a lid to keep splashes out, and fish in, while I do that.

I really prefer something lightweight. Removing glass lids is tedious.

You mean the height of the legs? As long as its 2"+ I think youll be alright. Since adding the legs back to my fixture the glass tops dont even get warm.

About the hood, why would you still have it on your tank if youre just going to flip it backwards and have the T5 light on your tank instead? I would just use some glass tops or lexan / plexi-glass as tops and sit my light on the sides of my tank like you said.

If you had known how addictive these fish can be, you wouldn't have just gone halfway, right? Me too.

What kind of pea is that in your avatar? Is it green on the body, or is it just the photo?

I had my first cichlid tank was back in 2001. I had a friend that worked at Petco and he hooked me up with everything, even the cichlids. I dont remember what cichlids I had but I know 1 was a yellow lab. I had that tank for almost a year before I got rid of it. I was young and always on the go so I was never home to really appreciate the tank. If it wasnt for my daughter asking for a fish tank last Christmas I wouldnt even have a tank. Now that I've had it up and running since Dec. 2011, shes lost interest and Im all into it! But yeah if I knew what I knew now, Id go all out.

About the fish in my avatar picture hes a Makonde Yellow Blackfin hap, the alpha male of the tank. He looks green / yellow depending on how the light hits his body but hes more yellow than green, its just not a vibrant yellow like my yellow lab or benga yellow.

Excellent collection.
Thanks for sharing.
What is the hap on your avatar?
cc

Thanks. The hap is a Makonde Yellow Blackfin.







My birthday is this coming week so I treated myself to an early present tonight, I bought 9 more peacock & hap males to put in the 125g.

Peacocks
Masoni
Sulfur head
Some hybrid; it looks similar to my bicolor

Haps
Yellow blaze
Mbenji
Ericotaenia
Livingstonii
Insignus
Star Sapphire


That puts me at 21 fish total, so Im good for now. I have them set to be shipped overnight on Thursday so theyll be delivered on Friday. Im going to quarantine them for 2 weeks and I'll be using a extra Eheim 2217 that I have with some established media from my 2 FX5s but my main concern is the tank size I need to buy. I know what yall are probably going to say, go big and just set up another tank afterwards but honestly I dont have the room, so with that said.....Theyre all under 3", Im going to try and find a 40g BUT IF I CANT will they be ok in a 20g for 2 weeks???


EDIT: Dont think I'll have enough room to raise the quarantine tank in my stand so I'll use an extra AC110 that I have instead of the 2217.

[Sub-Mariner]

My birthday is this coming week so I treated myself to an early present tonight, I bought 9 more peacock & hap males to put in the 125g.


Peacocks
Masoni
Sulfur head
Some hybrid; it looks similar to my bicolor

Haps
Yellow blaze
Mbenji
Ericotaenia
Livingstonii
Insignus
Star Sapphire

Same person just new user name.

Heres the new guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cue6g0q5Hc


I also bought a Taiwan Reef from my LFS this past Wednesday, I just couldnt wait until Friday for the new guys to be delivered

[vann59]

I know what yall are probably going to say, go big and just set up another tank afterwards but honestly I dont have the room, so with that said.....Theyre all under 3", Im going to try and find a 40g BUT IF I CANT will they be ok in a 20g for 2 weeks???

If you don't have room, you could maybe get rid of a TV, or sell a couch and just have stackable plastic chairs? C,mon we're talking fish tanks here, this is IMPORTANT.

And by the way, my birthday is tomorrow, so do you want to send me some fish? I just got the t5 dual HO light a few days ago, and put the plants back in. I had put them outside in a bucket so they could at least get a little sunlight to keep them alive. I am only running one bulb, since Java ferns don't need much light, and I want some green algae, but I've been told if I run both bulbs without other plants, I could get a super algae bloom.

That Taiwan reef is a real looker...

[skurj]

Great list! I ventured into the lfs yesterday and came across a fish i must have... the yellow blaze.. oop sno tank to put him in... i gonna need that plumber in soon to fix the sink and install a new one in the basement...

[Sub-Mariner]

HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!

Heres a nice looking fish that I picked out JUST FOR YOU from my personal stock! Notice the beautiful yellow coloring and look how active he is already! He'll only get better looking with time.

About my new guys, I just put them in the main tank. I've purchased fish from the same supplier three times in the past year and have always just added the fish directly to the main tank.


So the light fits your tank? What did you end up using for lids?

Great list! I ventured into the lfs yesterday and came across a fish i must have... the yellow blaze.. oop sno tank to put him in... i gonna need that plumber in soon to fix the sink and install a new one in the basement...

Thanks!

A Yellow Blaze is a cool fish for sure! I had one several months back that I bought from a local guy, it was around 6", a big boy but he was too set in his ways for my tank so I had to sell him again. Every since I saw what one looked like grown up in person I knew Id have another one some day.

My LFS had a whole tank full of fully colored Yellow Blaze males when I bought my Taiwan Reef male. Unfortunately I saw them AFTER I had ordered the juvenile one. Oh well part of the fun is watching them grow and color up.

Get your tank and get your plumber in there!!