Trelize Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Hello All ! I have been lurking around the forum for ages now , doing my own research from other peoples tanks etc. and have now started the process of my own ! I have never kept Africans before so any advise given will be greatly appreciated :bggrn: I have ordered my tank yesterday and expect to have that and the cabinetry completed in about 4 weeks'ish so that I can then start cycling ! Here's what I am planning : The tank will be 1700mm x 600mm x 600mm - with 150mm full wall overflow on the left, so the actual viewable size of the tank will be 1550mm , Here is a pic of the planned setup. Sump will be in the left two thirds of the cabinet - yet to finalise my Sump design but have an idea of what I want to do and will ask for advice closer to that time . So The tank will be 612 litres and 1 meter off the ground I am having 3 holes drilled in the tank 1 main drain Durso ,1 emergency and 1 return I was thinking of 32mm Durso and Emergency but have been thinking I should maybe go 40mm ? Equipment planned : (please let me know if I am under or over compensating) Return Pump - Eheim compact 5000 or Tunze Silence 300 Heaters - 2 x 300w Jagers Water movement - Well this depends on how many pennies I have left ! Would love a Ecotech MP40 but will probably settle for a cheaper alt. Lighting - I will be going LED on this , just have not decided what yet ? So far I want Black Substrate 1-2mm Black Marble chip and was hoping for a Grey type rock alpine schist or Limestone . I am hoping to put in the following Cichlids - Electric Yellows - Yellow tail Acei if I can find them - Red Zebra - Peacocks - Demasoni - 1 or 2 Cuckoo Syndonitis - 2-3 Bristlenose pleco's I was thinking 40-50 Cichlids ? Will that be alright ? Anyways , I am real amped to get this going and look forward to the advice I will hopefully be getting ... :thup: T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Nice plan looks like you have done lots of research and have a good sound plan to start with. I can't comment on any of the sump stuff I don't use them but I am sure someone can help. I can comment on your stocking though and the only issues you will have is finding acei they are not in the country to my knowledge, and you may struggle to find good quality red zebras. Any peacocks you stick in there might get a hard time but might be ok in a tank that size, I would go with 5-6 cuckoos they are allot more social in a group and you will actually see them. You can easily do 40-50 in a tank that size with good filtration, for starter I wouldn't start with any less than 20 demasoni. Bristlenoses get a hard time but seem to go alright in african tanks too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Defintly agree with more Cuckoos and a big group of dems to start out with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Hey , thanks for the replies , so if I went with the dems what other Africans could I put in with them , I am hoping for a "Less aggressive" tank I did not know I could put that many Cuckoo's together ... don't know if I want 5 though ... maybe 3 ? Would that be alright or must they be in a large group ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 You can put the fish that you suggested with dems, dems can be quite agro but ok if kept in larger groups and in big tanks like your one. What peacocks were you interested in? You could keep one cuckoo if you wanted to but if they are in smaller groups then they tend to hide allot. My group of 4 is quite social though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 For the drains, look up "herbie" and "bean animal" overflows, basically you have one drain running with a ball valve so it is a full siphon taking the bulk of the flow, and a second drain that handles the rest of the flow. This system is silent (or near silent), far better than a single durso. If you're going for a full width full height overflow you'll have plenty of space. TBH I'm not sure if 32mm is enough, always better to have more capacity than needed when it comes to overflow drains! This thread has the maximum flow rates for pvc piping at full siphon; http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... Viewing%29 For the pump, I don't have experience with the Tunze, but I wasn't at all impressed with the Eheim Compact 5000. Have a look at Laguna, they're very quiet and very efficient on power (which can add up to a big difference in running costs long-term). Lighting, have a look at www.current-usa.com I can't recommend the Satellite + FW units enough. Looking forward to seeing the sump design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Hey Ryanjury will then look at a Dems and electric yellow startup maybe like a 15 / 12 mix then see what else is around , hadn't really decided what peacocks as yet , been keeping an eye on TM to try get an idea of good breeders ... Will definitely be going with a larger group of Cuckoo's ! David R I am going to look further into the drains , yesterday afternoon I did think that I might need to go for a 1.5" Durso to cope with the flow , I looked at some site and youtube clips about the Herbi last night it seems too easy ? just a straight pipe and ball valve with a back up ? Will look further into it today , I thought Durso was the way as it was a quite system ? Now , with the Laguna pumps and the Current lighting , do you order internationally yourself or is there a local distributor I don't know about ? T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 The herbie system is very simple, I'm running it on the 2000L tank and have one drain drilled lower than the other (coming out the back of the tank) and it is very quiet indeed. The key is to have both drains able to handle 100% of the flow from your pump (roughly), that way you will only need to close the ball valve ever-so-slightly to get the siphon running and the small amount left over will trickle quietly down the other drain. The Laguna pump I got from HFF, they didn't have it in stock so they managed to wrangle a good discount off the supplier so it was nearly as cheap as mail-order (and I'd prefer to support them where possible, plus it's always easier dealing with a local supplier for things like that if there are problems). The lights I got from www.kensfish.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Thanks David What model Laguna did you purchase ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 David , I have been looking into the Current Freshwater + Led system and they do seem awesome ! do yoo think I would get away with one unit 48-60" or would I need 2 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 I got the Laguna PowerJet 11000, AFAIK they're the same pump as the MaxFlo series, but they come with all the waterfall crap for ponds. The MaxFlo wasn't available here but the PJ was, only downside was that I had to buy the adapter for the 40mm/1.5" return plumbing separately. I have two rows of the units on my 1200mm wide tank and I'm happy with the spread and intensity. With 1550mm length though you might find the ends are a little dim with the 4' unit but if you lift it up a bit it might be ok. Certainly the spread over 600mm width/depth would be ok with a single unit (IMO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 I was actually considering widening my overflow to 200mm so the viewing tank would be 1500mm , easier for more standard lighting and a wider overflow will be easier to work in I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 20, 2013 Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Yes it's a good idea to make sure you can get your hand in there if needed! I nearly forgot about that with my tank, luckily Greg remembered on the build day and brought a wider piece of glass with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 Could do a 24" and a 36" unit to cover more of the tank ? Do they connect together ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Not really, but if you look at the pics I posted you'll see how I've done exactly that with 4' and 3' units over my tank. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=63535&start=225 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudge Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Well your off to a great start, my advice would be weary of TM there is a lot of rubbish on there, it's not all rubbish but i found it better to try and by from breeders. There are some great breeders on this forumn or keepers who have a good idea of where to find good quality fish look forward to more updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Well your off to a great start, my advice would be weary of TM there is a lot of rubbish on there, it's not all rubbish but i found it better to try and by from breeders. There are some great breeders on this forumn or keepers who have a good idea of where to find good quality fish look forward to more updates. Thank you , I will try avoid TM , sound like trouble really , and it seems there are a few breeders on here that are willing to help anyways ... Not really, but if you look at the pics I posted you'll see how I've done exactly that with 4' and 3' units over my tank. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=63535&start=225 I spent last night looking into these units and I really do like them , just hoping that 1 row will do as you suggested david , also if they had a timer they would be great ! In looking around I found that Current is launching a "Ramp Timer Pro" that will give you more control over the units programming on and off , setting moonlight etc. so that would make it complete in my opinion ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 TBH I'm not sure if 32mm is enough, always better to have more capacity than needed when it comes to overflow drains! ... so , thinking 2 x 40mm bulkheads, 1 main and 1 emergency , still undecided on the "herbie" system , to be honest it just seems too easy ? I am going to look further into it though , as I said I thought Durso was the way because of noise . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudge Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 I got a chance to see davids lights they are awesome. Never really taken much effort with lighting but after seeing these i ordered some last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 Well your off to a great start, my advice would be weary of TM there is a lot of rubbish on there, it's not all rubbish but i found it better to try and by from breeders. There are some great breeders on this forumn or keepers who have a good idea of where to find good quality fish look forward to more updates. There are some good breeders that sell on trademe, there are a few guys who have very nice fish and breed in species tanks etc, but it can be hard finding out what ones they are. Generally the way the auctions are worded or photos in the auction can give allot away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycoolmc Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 There are some good breeders that sell on trademe, there are a few guys who have very nice fish and breed in species tanks etc, but it can be hard finding out what ones they are. Generally the way the auctions are worded or photos in the auction can give allot away. Generally you can tell as the good breeders will have photos of their own fish up there, not the first pic off google they find:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudge Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 agreed, there are some good breeders on there but there are alot of not so good breeders who don't breed in species tanks, i usually get fish shipped to me so i got stung a few times with fish arriving that didnt look like the pics they had posted, 1 of the drawbacks of not sighting the fish you are about to buy i guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 ... so , thinking 2 x 40mm bulkheads, 1 main and 1 emergency , still undecided on the "herbie" system , to be honest it just seems too easy ? I am going to look further into it though , as I said I thought Durso was the way because of noise . If you're going with two drains then definitely try a Herbie-type set up. Make one lower than the other and have that one adjustable with a ball valve so you can set it to run as a full siphon, then the other will just take the remainder, It really is that easy! I've sent you an email with the info I have on the Ramp Timers too, from what I've heard they are looking to ship them in October, and I'm guessing there will be a few of us ordering them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 If you're going with two drains then definitely try a Herbie-type set up. Make one lower than the other and have that one adjustable with a ball valve so you can set it to run as a full siphon, then the other will just take the remainder, It really is that easy! Yup , going with the Herbie as suggested , how noisy is it going into the sump and can I have the drain run straight Vertical into the sump or should it be at an angle ? Lighting , I am going to get a Current Freshwater + on my Dads Tropical system he is done with replacing tubes, he has an AR980 and I think the 36" Unit should go in there pretty well and please him to no end . I am waiting for my tank and cabinetry to be complete before I make a decision. reason being that I have received a quote for a custom build and I like it , its a little more but has 3W led system that will be a bit brighter also like to support local business ... :bggrn: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Depends on the design of your sump and what you're using as mechanical filtration. If you really want to keep it quiet you need the outlets below the water level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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