Jump to content

New 4ft Mbuna tank setup with photos


Bananalobster

Recommended Posts

Hi there,

A while back I asked for some advice on setting up a mbuna tank...

After some good advice I have pretty much finished it, now just to cycle and add fish!

Now for some photos... (First time uploading photos so I hope this works).

The cabinet itself:

PBl9MGB.jpg

The filter (Aqua one CF2700 Nautilus):

3OFdtRu.jpg

The lighting (16w 120cm long Beamswork LED unit:

7DmW0jI.jpg

Quick shot of the holes drilled for canister filter intake / outlet at both sides:

SeEWed7.jpg

Planning / placing rocks:

T6OWQUn.jpg

Sand and rocks all in ready for fill:

NmtRvnV.jpg

Full tank shot, ready to go:

iupFYjn.jpg

Phew! And that's as far as I have got so far. Tank dimensions are 120cm long, 45cm deep and 55cm high.

Stock is going to be Electric Yellows x10 and Demasoni x20... If anyone knows of any electric yellows nearby that are ready to sell Im still looking for a source.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks :) the filter I was a little concerned about with the silica sand and the fact that it's rated for a 400-700L tank.. But I'm glad I did it. The rocks I couldn't tell you, got it from a landscape supply place in rotorua and apparently it's fromma quarry in Hamilton that's all I know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the aquascape those rocks are awesome, nice natural looking setup gonna look great when you get ya fish in. No probs with the filter hosing by the looks. Try forum member "mycoolmc" he may have some yellows, was selling them a while back

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks nudge, was meaning to pm you and say there was no issues actually sorry and thankyou for the help, lots of room in the end!! Il see if I can get in touch thanks for the headsup, itching to get everything finished now it's all set up haha. I didn't make the cabinet myself but it was custom built by a cabinet maker in Auckland, really happy with the finish they did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

great setup indeed, clearly have spent a good amount of money on it and it really shows. well done!

one thing, from the pics it looks like your using a jebo heater? if so, from experience i recommend not relying on that for very long. I had a few of them when i first started keeping fish and they all (about 4 or 5 of them) failed between 12 & 18 months and when working properly never kept the tank and a relatively constant temp. When they failed they stayed on so it may cook your fish so i'd recommend getting a eheim/jager heater. Would be a shame to get a year down the track and have it ruin your livestock.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

***Update***

I have the first lot of fish in, everything going smoothly so far... Really happy with the filter, enough current to keep everything moving and the fish happy but not the whirlwind I was dreading. Some algae forming on the rocks which I quite like (and so do the fish!).

7ctiZc7.jpg

YIRqyOb.jpg

jdoPuFB.jpg

oyIdkjb.jpg

COtAwql.jpg

FulaHoM.jpg

Sorry for the quality, they are taken off a phone. Lots of glare and terrible focusing lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brilliant work, looks great, no doubt there will be an increasing number of happy fish faces peering out from the rockscape soon.....

As a matter of interest, how are you finding those lights, I kept looking at em on trademe, but in the end I've ordered some from satellite in the USA.... But pondering beam works for my non mbuna community ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great looking tank. I love the look created by having lots of small independently placed stones giving the tank a much larger feel. This is only improved by the very large boulders used.

Great stuff. I look forward to seeing it brimming with Demasoni and Red Top Trewavasae.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi everyone!

Been a bit slack with the next update, I have had a baby in amongst setting this up with more fish etc.

Alot more algae growing on the rocks now, but the trewavasae are doing an amazing job at keeping the glass and filter inlets/outlets clean!

It's also great to watch the fish grazing on the rocks as what I assume they naturally would be doing in the wild.

I have been very happy with the lights, they dont heat up even after a full day of being turned on, and are plenty bright enough. If they were any brighter it would be too much in my opinion.

The filter is doing a great job, but I think in the future I will be putting in a wave maker to get a stronger circular flow. I could probably solve this by changing the position of my spray bar to go from one side of the tank to the other but aesthetically I like it where it is.

Here are some pictures of the tank in all its algae glory lol, plus the new arrivals. Thanks Likoma for the fish which all arrived happy and healthy :)

jiIJw2k.jpg?1

Vcv2UgC.jpg?1

aNRFFXf.jpg?1

gtQtpy3.jpg?1

M4c0iAZ.jpg?1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...