Aquarium thread

[Drifter 851]

I thought I had a new thread for my tanks since the site upgrade but I guess I didn;t, so I'll start a new one now.

 

Just picked up a breeding group of 5 of these guys last week. They are a somewhat rare fish in the hobby called White Knight Alhi's. Pics can not do them justice because they have a unreal iridescence to them that just does not come through in pics like in person. I've seen these fish sell for as much as over $100 each, I picked up five of them for $70 from some fellow club members

 

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

How's the custom acquarium site coming along?

[Drifter 851]

About half way done with it but got tied up lately with rod work, cleaning the rest of the basement, family B-days and all sorts of stuff so haven't finished it yet.

[FullMetalPikmin 20]

When I was younger, my family'd get some fish as pets..... they all lasted about a week or so because they would die in really stupid ways.

Examples include: jumping out of the bowl and eating itself to death

 

So if we couldn't have one fish at a time, imagine an aquarium.

Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to have a fish now-a-days considering I have a dog.

[Diddums 4,346]

 

?

[Drifter 851]

Picked up two new fish today. A pair of Featherfin catfish. They are both big but the one is really huge, they are 4" and just over 6". It really pays to get involved in local fish/aquarium clubs because I've priced these size of this species before at the local fish shops and for a 4" they want $39.99 and 6" they want $49.99.....I got both these together from a fellow club member for $10 for both

 

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

That's a really cool fish, Steve.  I love catfish.  I love catching them, eating them, and just learning about them.  Such a cool species.  

[Drifter 851]

Just picked up this beautiful OB as the final fish to round out my Peacock & Hap show tank.

 

[Diddums 4,346]

It's nice to see not only the fish and the passion you put into them, but also that you're meeting what I can only assume to be very nice people.

 

Very nice uncle Steve, very nice.

[Plumbers Crack 4,072]

Loving them all Steve but gotta say that the last one looks like he got in a splatter party at a paint store!

[Drifter 851]

 Now that a month or so has passed and the new little plants were starting to get some decent size leaves on them during a WC today I took them out and cut them free and tied them onto wood in the tank. By grouping them together I was able to add some more nice greenery to the tank. So far just adding florish and keeping the lights on 12hr per day has been keeping the plants looking good and helping the new little plants grow well.

[TigerBurge 2,375]

Your stuff looks awesome.

[Drifter 851]

Thanks. Just did some re aquascaping in the other tank (Mbuna one) today as well. Pretty happy with the layout in this one for now.

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[Drifter 851]

Managed to get quite a bit done tonight. All three back panels are now carved and textured and have the first coat of drylock on them. Still have to build the two side panels to cover the sides of the tank but those will come after the back is all done that way I can integrate the filter intakes into the corners of the background and side panels to completely hide them all the equipment from view.



Couple shots of it mocked up in the tank now





Now I'm painting the whole thing black that way I can go back over it with dry-brushing drylok coat again and then start shading and highlighting. The black will stay in the crevasses and add to the 3 dimensional look of it.

[Drifter 851]

Rolling along very well now after a ton of work today. two full coats of drylock and a coat of black over that on all three pieces. Then two dry-brushed coats of Drylok to give it the base rock color with black depressions. After that I did some more dry-brushing with dark brown to simulate some dirt, as well as some dark green to simulate some algae. Then dry-brushed some white highlights on all the edges and raised portions to make the rocks look worn so it give it some nice depth to the rocks.


Some pics of it mocked up in the tank








Also started working on the side panels which will hide the intake tubes for the dual FX5 filters. Once the side panels are done then all that will be left on the background will be to coat it all in Pond Armor 2 part epoxy which seals it to durability and then I can start working on the cave lighting, tank lighting and substrate etc etc. This big background was a lot of work but I'm very pleased with the way this one is coming out.

[Diddums 4,346]

Looking good old man, you really have a knack for this!

[Drifter 851]

Been working on the side panels and some lighting tonight. This is the first side panel, as you can see from this pic taken from the rear of the side panel I'm building angled "rocks" which will have an opening behind them that will have the intake tube for the filters so it's all concealed with only the strainer of the intake open to the tank.


Here's the left side panel carved and the first coat of Drylok applied.


The lighting I am doing for this tank since it is an odd size will be four dual T8 48" fixtures mounted side by side and one in front of the other so it lights the entire nice well. I bought two of the fixtures today and currently have them filled with Daylight spectrum 6500k bulbs. Once I pick up two more fixtures and some actinic bulbs each of the fixtures will end up with one actinic and one 6500k in them.

Here's a shot with just two of the fixtures lit up.

[Drifter 851]

Still a ways to go, still shooting for water/fish by Thanksgiving though, but getting closer every day now. Said panels are now all done. Just have to pick up some "Pond Armor" to seal the whole background with and then I can final install the background and side panels for good. Next job will probably be framing the edges of the tank window with some nice finished wood and getting the "cave lights" hooked up.. Here's the current state of the tank/office. It's amazing that a 7ft long by 31" tall tank can actually look so much smaller in a picture lol
 






 


Really starting to look forward to getting this up and running now.

[TigerBurge 2,375]

Your stuff is absolutely amazing!

[Drifter 851]

Your stuff is absolutely amazing!

 

Thanks bud, I really appreciate that

[Jason 1,245]

Sooooooooo white or black sand? Lol

[Drifter 851]

Yep white brother. I think the white will reflect the light better since the tank is so deep. Plus white is the natural color for them so I went that route.

[Jason 1,245]

Yep white brother. I think the white will reflect the light better since the tank is so deep. Plus white is the natural color for them so I went that route.

Cool.

You ever check out the pool filter sand? Way cheaper than pet/lfs sand.

[Drifter 851]

Yep the white sand I use is actually called "paver sand" grit #20 from Home depot. It costs me $3.49 per 50# bag and is the exaxct same thing as the white sand most pet shops sell for $25 per 20lb bag

[Drifter 851]

Picked up some 1x3 select grade pine the other day and got that all sanded smooth/stained and poly coated now and installed to add a nice finished look to the window for the tank.





Still have to pick up some Pond Armor so I can seal the whole background and then final install it into the tank but no where local carries it so looks like I am going to have to order that this week.