General Aquaria Discussion • A few of my fish...

[CichlidSnad]

Been a cichlid keeper for about 10 years now and finally got the cash flow and to buy a larger tank. I bought my 120 gallon around Xmas and have been slowly stocking my tank. Now that I got a 55 for cheap I am going to set that up and start a nice growout tank by buying in bulk off of one of those online breeders. Still undecided which but as soon as I get the 55 set up and cycled for about a week I should have it narrowed down.

Anyway, thought I would share with you all my current tank and some of it's inhabitants. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!

[Iggy Newcastle]

Great photos and nice looking fish.

I strongly suggest using 1 type of lighting on a single tank. It will look better.

[CichlidSnad]

Thanks!

I've had the two types because I am still trying to determine what lighting I want to stick with without spending unnecessary money. The Brichardi tank I have didn't really look good with the LED light I had so I switched it with one off my 120. The LED also has a blue nighttime light that I would rather have on the 120. Any suggestions on lighting?

One plan I am still playing with is to make my own hood with an array of LED's that I can hook to a Raspberry Pi and control all sorts of colors and configurations. This way I can connect through Bluetooth and change it with my phone/tablet. If I go this route I will likely make hoods for all my tanks that can all be controlled individually. Another benefit would be one single source for all of the tanks where I can control absolutely everything including timers and possibly even a feeder.

[Iggy Newcastle]

I've tried plenty of different stuff over the years. I now run the Current Satellite Freshwater+ LEDs on all my tanks. They have a customizable remote control. I love them.

Your project sounds pretty sweet.

[CichlidSnad]

I've seen those before as well as the Fluval Aquasky which is what had been one of the factors that had sparked my idea. I know I want a canopy on the tank that will hide all the lighting, HOB and air pump I have hanging and I was thinking that having lighting built into the canopy might be better. I just have to sit down and plan it out to see what all I can incorporate into the automation and how feasible it would be cost vs function.

Of course this would also give me a long term project as I am always wanting to change something in my tanks and this would surely keep me distracted for a while.

[Iggy Newcastle]

LOL... Keep your mind off of adding tanks, that's clever

[CichlidSnad]

In theory yes. Lol! Just have to make the decision whether to start the project or not. I will definitely start a thread all about it if I do start it.

[Iggy Newcastle]

Please do