RDC fish

[woundedyak]

Since there is a thread about dogs, I thought I would start one on fish. I know I can't be the only one who is caught up in this hobby. I've been collecting all types of Chiclids for years now and have several tanks around the house to the point were it's getting out of hand (according to the wife.) The wife and I decided to finish our basement this summer so I finally get to build the tank I've always wanted. It's going to be freshwater mainly filled with Peacocks and Haplochrominesa. After doing the math it should be a little over 1100gal. Once it's done, It's going to have a nice finished false wall around it so it looks build in.

Redneck Cad of tank with wet/dry sump filter system


Base and frame




Waterproofing and bulk heads




This is were the project slowed down. Thanks god I know a good plumber. We tapped the drainage system straight into the sewer system. Then ran two fill lines from R.O. tank.
More Redneck CAD drawings.



Should pump about about 900gal an hour



And the Hillbilly Engineering begins











I got the glass on order and I should be getting that in soon. I'm actually going to have that installed by the people who are making it. Other then that I'm still about a month out before I can add water. I will post updates as I go.

Here are some pics of my favorite fish I have collected over the last year or so.

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[GHAcompanies1596]

that is BADDDDD AZZ!! i have a 55g cichlid tank... i love em! ILL post some pics

[DOG ON]

I used to be hooked into Salt water aquariums, I built one 300 gallons big, now it is just sitting somewhere in my garage. Your set up is great.

[INI]

good job...keep us posted

[Laurie]

That's impressive, we used to have a couple of salt water tanks. We even had damsel laying eggs and hatching. But we couldn't get them to eat. I sure don't miss the maintence.

[pooz911]

Tanks are fun!!! I had a pair of red devils that the female egged for several years. The male died at 12 years old and the female died at about 10 years old. The kids were not as hardy as the parents though....i lost all of the youngins this year due to some disease in the tank.

[bajafox]

That's an awesome setup!

We have an 18" ariwana(sp?), one 14" albino catfish, one a few inches smaller, 2 oscars and a skidmark eel at my house, freshwater.

Watching them eat is the best part

[dan200]

That is gonna be an awesome set up!!!

About 13 yrs ago I got a hand me down tank (35 gallon) from a roommate who was moving out of my place. There was only one fish. He was some kind of orange ciclid and was tuff as nails. His name was "Loaf" and he lived a terrible life before he was given to me. He grew up in a college dorm room in a smaller tank. His day consisted of a hundred people banging on the tank, pouring random liquids into his tank like soda beer and tequila etc. I think he spent an entire xmas break with only a banana to eat and his water regularly looked like tar mixed with coffee.

Once Loaf became officially mine I cleaned up his tank, fed him regularly, and got him some roommates. Then It was getting crowded in there so it was time to get a bigger tank. First I got a 55 gal then upgraded that to a 65 and finally I ended up with a big 150 gallon. I blew a crapoad of cash desigining an awesome system but had nowhere near what you have going at your place. It was a rental house so nothing permanent would be doable and my system had to be free standing etc.

One cool thing I did was put in some lighting under neath the floor of the tank pointing up and through the bottom. My tank was glass so I had an undergravel filter. Along the back edge of the tank I cut a circular section out of the undergravel plastic thing that lays across the floor of the tank and then took a two inch section of plack pvc pipe and fit it into the hole. (i did this in 3 places along the back of the tank) I had collected a ton of cool decorative rock and I used it to make some caves over these voids in the undgrvl filter. then i rigged some lights underneath the tank in those spots and hooked em up to a switch on the side of the stand. When you hit the switch the inside of the caves would light up. It looked really friggin cool and was also helpful in a functional way. I had an an eel and a couple of other fish that were not brave enough to venture into the main part of the tank that often. Loaf was a big bully now so that may have kept them in their caves where the had some protection from him. When I turned on the lights they would swim out into the main part of the tank and if they did not, i would hit the switch for the air diffusing bubblers that I had put in the caves also and that would coax them out of there.

Tragically Loaf mysteriously died one evening. I was so bummed. The was over 20 things living in that tank but Loaf was clearly the KING and totally my favorite. I had many great years of watching Loaf slowly pick apart a water dog before rendering him limbless and the swallowing him whole as well as eating the live feeder fish I would feed him. He never turned down his food pellets but I knew he prefered to hunt and kill his dinner so I did my best to spoil him. My roommates and I would place bets on which of the live food he would kill first. It was always a total slaughter.

I moved to California and had to leave the tank behind (sigh). I sold it for almost nothing to a friend of mine. Man I miss that thing.

Have fun with your system and if you ever decide to throw an orange ciclid in there you should name him Loaf.

[Demp]

buy a cleaner shrimp, turn the lights in the house off, and watch him do his dirty work! BAD TO THE BONE!!

[Josh_Westwood]

I worked for a wholesaler for around 6 years, we supplied alot of the San diego fish stores and the wal-marts. I loved my fish tanks but after the 6 years all my stuff is empty and just laying around the house. Tired of all the maintenance. Love your setup and can't wait to see it completed.