Obsidian's 100 Gallon Tank

[Obsidian]

Hello,
I decided I would do a journal about my 100 gallon tank. I think it will be the most concise way to ask for some advice and keep those interested informed. I will be taking pictures along the way!

First Questions:
1. What is going to be the most convenient and efficient way to heat this tank? I have noticed very few heaters seem to be made for a 100 ga. I am wondering about putting 2 300 watt heaters in, one at each end. Is this a good idea? Bad Idea? Not necessary?

2. Filtration: I do not have money for a canister filter right now. What would be recommended? Again I am considering 2 HOB, one at each end, to help with efficiency.

3. What substrate would be best for Cichlid's? I am thinking Tanganyikan.

[fishbguy]

Again, congrats on the find.

1. If you are going to have a sump, put it in the sump, if not, which I am assuming is the case, I owuld put one in both ends.

2. I would put a penguin 350(the one for 75 gallons) on one end, and a penguin 250(the one for 50 gallons) or another 350 on the other. But I would deffaintly save for a canister.

3. For cichlids, I prefere gravel, actually, for any fish, I prefere gravel, because it is so much easier to clean and much less hassel. But for just about any ciclid, I would say sand, aspacially for tangs.

Can't wait to see pics!

Andrew

[Dr_House]

I recently set up a 100 gallon tank for a pair of Oscars. I'm using 2, 250 watt stealth heaters, one on either end of the tank and they are doing a fine job. The benefit to two undersized heaters is that if one "sticks" on, it won't be able to boil your fish.

As far as filtration, I would recommend going with the Penguin 350 on both sides. Typically it will only save you a few bucks to go with a smaller model, and the more filtration you have, the better off you'll be. A lot of people I know are very fond of the AquaClear HOB filters, too. I have no experience with them myself, but those who I know recommend them above the Penguins.

As far as substrate, I would agree with sand for Tanganyikans, especially if you plan on including any shell-dwelling species.

[fishbguy]

I forgot about price, for me, a Pebguin 350 costs about 40-50 dollars, and the next size down, costs me about 30-40 dollars. And because you are going with cichlids, Deffaintly go with the 2 350's because they produce alot of waste. Also, African cichlids like the current.

[fishbguy]

double post...sorry

and BTW, I am one of those people who recomend Penguins over Aquaclears..lol

[flamingo]

If your going with two HOB filters, you might as well go the extra mile, and get a canister, etc. You'll be paying a little more, but not a great amount.
Though, if you do go with HOB's, I would suggest using an Aquaclear paired with an emperor. Good water flow and filtration

[JustOneMore20]

I agree, if you are going to get 2 HOB filters, you might as well splurge on a canister. Big Als is selling Rena XP3s for $90. Which is a pretty good price IMO for a good filter. I would still add either another smaller canister or a HOB to the tank later on, but the single XP3 will be fine for awhile. You may want to add a powerhead with it though for more water movement.

[neilfishguy]

I would run two emporer 400s

[Obsidian]

Wow that is a really good price for the Rena, at my Petsmart I just priced the XP3 for 180 bucks.

[Obsidian]

Okay I ordered things from Big Al's which really helped a lot. I ordered a Rena XP3 and an aquaclear 70 HOB for the filtration. I ordered 2 visitherm 300 heaters, one for each side, and a python 25. I bought one from Petsmart but I am going to return it because the price difference is mega huge.

I need to pick out what my substrate will be. They didn't have many options at Big Al's, but one option is a Cichlid sand they have. I will consider that. I need to figure out where to get some rocks from as well. I am thinking I can get those locally and boil the heck out of them.

Now to wait for the goodies to arrive!

[Obsidian]

Well the "goodies" have arrived! I have much work to be done as the stand has a closed off back. So now I have to get an opening for the filter hoses, then I have to figure out how the heck to put that filter together. Dang it's big! (Rena XP3). Next step will be to clean it out a little better now that I have the python. I will also perform a more effective leak test now that I can easily fill it up. I'd like the Tanganyikan tank but the fish are fairly expensive so I may not be able to pull that off. So I will have to look into that a bit more before I commit. I may look into Rainbows, but I am not sure of their costs. It is just another colorful option I am considering. Something will work out nicely

[fishbguy]

IME, rainbows are pretty epensive if you get the good ones. At the lfs I work at, the sheapest rainbow we've ever had, is 5.99, for dwarf preacox. The larger species:yellow, turquoise, red irian, bosmani, splended, red tail, etc, are 8.99 for the small ones (1-2 inches in length), 18.99 for large ones (2-4 inches in length), and 28.99 for extra large (anything larger than 4 inches in length)

So they are expensive, but are worth it. We keep all of out rainbows in a heavily planted, with vals, wisteria, and crypts, 55 gallon. I love the tank, the rainbows are always swimming, and when you approach the tank, even if it's to catch them, they swim right up to the glass to greet you, then swim away as soon as the net enters the water

I highly suggest doing a rainbow tank, but if you do, there is one thing that you MUST to. Plant it.

[Obsidian]

I am not really ready to plant a tank so I am not sure about what I will do. I have filled the tank 3/4 full for a leak test. So far so good! And finally I have some pictures

Leak test

Pretty much the whole wall!

Before I cleaned it up

[JustOneMore20]

Its a beautiful tank and setup! I can't wait to see what you do with it.

[Obsidian]

I am hearing that Cichlids get aggressive when full grown and that it is likely for one or two of them to become dominant and kill off the rest of the tank. How common is this?

[emc7]

I am hearing that Cichlids get aggressive when full grown and that it is likely for one or two of them to become dominant and kill off the rest of the tank. How common is this?

This depends on the cichlids. Mouthbrooding Mbuna and some tanginikans like Tropheus are best kept in large groups to spread out aggression. Keep only 4 P. Socolofi or M. Auratus and you will end up with 1 male. Most substrate spawning cichlids (Angels, apistos, Laetacara, Julidochromis, kribs, jewels, convicts) will stake out territory when spawning, the key to success is to have a tank larger than their desired territory. So do your homework on each fish you are considering as the size of desired territory varies. Some South and Central American cichlids (convicts among them) are aggressive when first spawning and simply get bigger and meaner with age. Fish like jack Dempsey and Red Devil earn their names. If you see a picture of two fish separated by an egg-crate divider, that is to let them mate without letting them kill each other. So what you were told is true for some cichlids but by no means all. Its a matter of getting the right combination of fish in the right environment. Mbuna should have a tank full of rocks (go buy river rock from Pike stone center they are going bankrupt because of the drought here), Flat fish like discus or severum should have a tank full of tall plants. And the right size tank is essential. The #1 reason cichlids kill is that the tank is too small for the unwanted fish to get far enough away. So you have a lot more options than most first time cichlid buyers. As to how common it is for cichlids to kill all the tank mates, its too common. Pet shops sell Venustus, a fish that grows to a foot long and builds 3 foot wide spawning nests to people with a 10 gallon tank. So its only to be expected. Some cichlids like laetacara dorsiger are really wimps, but all cichlids defend their offspring and therefore are more aggressive that egg scatterers or livebearers that ignore their fry. The also have some of the most interesting behaviors to watch. Cichlids communicate with each other and their fry by both changing color patterns and fin and body language. When threatened, a mother (or a father in some species) mouthbrooder opens wide and all the fry swim in. S. american substrate spawners call their spawn with a few shakes of the lower front fins (angels have long ones, apisto females have black ones) and the fry swim in formation like a flock of birds. I might hesitate to give a child in the "everybody is friends" stage a cichlid tank, but if I set up a 100 gallon, it would definitely be cichlids, though it would take awhile to choose which ones.

Read the toughest cichlid thread for what to avoid. Also avoid fish that are called "eye-biter", "scale-eater", "fin-nipper", "piscavorous". There are cichlids that make their living in the wild from eating parts of or whole other fish. They seldom make good tankmates for any other fish. Though dwarf-pike cichlids are very neat (fry-eating specialists, good for convict population explosions).

[Obsidian]

Well this project has been on hold for several reasons. The biggest ones being technical issues that had to be dealt with, starting with the fact that the cabinet is solid all the way through! That means that I had to punch a hole through the back so I could have the filter connected. I have now done this and need some advice. There is a small crimp in one of the hoses because I didn't go high enough with this hole (and enlarging it is a huge deal since I am working from the front, which means I am at full arm extension... major PITA). I need to know if this crimp is enough to be a problem or if things should be okay. It is a Rena XP3.



Here is the hole I punched with a drill and a jig saw in a tiny space

And the whole filter, right where it belongs


If its not going to be some huge problem I would rather wait on enlarging this hole. I will likely be moving this summer and would rather enlarge the hole then, when I can do it from the back where I will have easy access. The backing is like 3/4 inch thick, which is a lot! I thought it was just for show.... WRONG!


Now I have to fix the electrical outlet that this will all be attached to. There is a short in there and I am hoping it will be an easy fix. If not then this project will likely not happen before the move. The problem is I don't know for sure if I am moving and if so if it will be local or across state lines. I am trying to stay hopeful about staying local, which would not hinder me from starting the tank. If it looks like I have to move out of state I will have no housing guarantee and would not be able to keep the tank running. That would mean having to give any fish I put in there back if this happens. So that makes me wonder what I will do with the tank as well. I would like to at least get it running and put a gibbicepts (sp?) in it. It may not be much, but the lighting alone would add to the flavor of the room. The decorations would be nice, and the gibbi would have a place to hang out. I am going to ask for the gibbi in return for my zebra danio fry, so if I do have to give him back it wouldn't be a true loss financially.

[JustOneMore20]

I can't believe the project is on hold! JK. I know you wouldn't want to set the tank up just to have to take it down shortly after.

I think the small kink in the hose of the filter will be fine. It doesn't look like its bent too much, so it shouldn't affect the water flow much and I really doubt you'll have any problems with it like that. I'd just make sure the clamp is as tight as you can get it though.......better safe than sorry.

As for the Gibbi.........they get huge, just like Commons. Someone on another forum had a picture of one from a local aquarium.....it was atleast 2ft long. I know 100g tanks are huge, but I don't think that would be big enough for a 2ft long pleco. You'd have to make sure you could provide it with an even larger tank or find a new home for it when it got that large. I'd be scared of pleco that large....lol. Would be something trying to move that thing..... I'm sure you know they get huge though, but I just thought I'd share. I'd personally get something else that doesn't get quite that large. Atleast then you'd know if you couldn't get an even larger tank or rehome it, that it would be fine in your tank forever. And maybe it wouldn't get that large in an aquarium, but they have the potential to get huge and may be stunted eventually. Thats just one of those fish that shouldn't be in the aquarium trade IMO...like Common Plecos.

What about a Watermelon Royal plec.....they are supposed to get about 15": http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=337. Might be a little expensive though.....not sure how much they go for. Or a regular Royal Pleco would be fine. They'd need some driftwood to chew on though (same with the Watermelon Royal). But atleast it would get quite as large as the Gibbi.

[Obsidian]

Wow I was told Gibbi's stay at about one foot, which is why I wanted the gibbi. Sigh. I will keep looking.

[Obsidian]

GRAVEL!!!!!!!!

Silk plant that is suction cupped to the bottom of the tank, I know I am so clever!

Getting Exciting! WATER!!!!!

PYTHONS ARE AWESOME

TA DA!!! 3/4 Full to leave room for decorations. There are rocks just waiting in that creek behind my apartment. Come to mama!!! (I have some clay pots and shells for added decos as well)