# 210g African cichlid show tank (starting to come together)



## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Well my dreams of owning a 210g African show tank have finally started. I've bought the sump, overflow box and made the stand. Last thing is to buy the tank and light. Drill it and start setting it all up. This tank is going to be the tank of all tanks.

My plan is to drill a hole at the 50% mark on the back of the tank. Add a ball valve and plumbing. It will be attached to my bathroom sink behind my tank, for quick 50% water changes. I will also be running hot and cold lines to the sump to make it nice and easy to refill.

The sump I bought is 5 1/2ft long. It's 2 separate sumps joined together giving me tons of room for bio media and whatever else I decide to put in there.














Tank will be a brand new Aqueon 210g. Drilled at the back to accommodate my overflow box.

Overflow box is Synergy Reef







This overflow can handle 2500g/hr. I'm hoping to hook up the emergency pipe to the 50% drain pipe behind the ball valve so the tank can never be over filled as Ive had a few overfills on my current tank. Hopefully that will work out.

Return pump I haven't decided yet but it will be big and move a lot of water. 
Hydroponic store by my house sells them so I will most likely be buying it from there as I've found they are way cheaper there and they will let me return it if I'm not happy with it.

The stand is custom made by my buddy. It's oak veneered MDF with solid oak trim. Stained dark. It's a show piece on it own. Most of the wood was free so the build only cost me $200  the stand has soft close hinges and they are hidden. She's a beauty!














As for lighting I'm still trying to decide but I'll st likely be going full spectrum LED. This will be a planted African tank of course, so trying to find a light that works well for fish and plants has been a little tricky. A build in timer is a must.


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## Otolith (Jan 24, 2012)

Sounds amazing! I'm assuming the sumps will be joined after going into the stand as you're unlikely to slide a 5.5 foot sump in if it is already fused. If you are using direct water lines into the sump how are you going to control temp? Can't wait to see it all in place.


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## Plumberboy (Jun 2, 2014)

Stand looks fantastic Justin. Looking forward to being a 'hands on' part of this project!


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## Rogo (Mar 1, 2015)

Sigh. Now I have "stand envy" and feel like I should beautify mine... way to go, making more work for me. All kidding aside, that is a really nice stand. I look forward to seeing pictures of the set-up.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Otolith the lines to the sump will only be used when filling the tank. Other than that thy will be just like normal faucets. Turn them on to fill. Turn off when full. Some people have suggested a constant drip system but for now I'm going to try to keep it semi simple. Yes the sump parts in 2. But the Centre cack brace on the stand can be easily removed if it was one piece.


Plumberboy.  You have your work cut out for you. I'm hoping you can produce the plumbing I'm dreaming about.

Rogo. Thanks for the compliment. Me and my buddy built the stand in 15hrs start to finish in his wood working shop. He does this for a living an it top notch in his trade. I will post more pictures once I get the stand in my garage.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Beauty of a stand there Justin. Great idea of building for ease of maintenance as it just ups the enjoyment. You can easily do a auto wc or drip system as you have plumbing already there. 

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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

tony1928 said:


> Beauty of a stand there Justin. Great idea of building for ease of maintenance as it just ups the enjoyment. You can easily do a auto wc or drip system as you have plumbing already there.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


Thanks Tony. Ill have better pictures of the stand soon. At the moment its in Hope so I need to get it home and stain it one more time as it didnt turn out as dark as I wanted.

Drip and auto top off do take it to a new level. At the moment I still enjoy working on my tank so almost no maintenance scares me. LOL. I will read more about Auto top off and drip as the build progresses. I'm hoping king eds has boxing day sales on their tanks this year.


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## Daryl (Jun 1, 2010)

Looking good!


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## kim86 (Sep 5, 2012)

So goooood!


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

jbyoung00008 said:


> Thanks Tony. Ill have better pictures of the stand soon. At the moment its in Hope so I need to get it home and stain it one more time as it didnt turn out as dark as I wanted.
> 
> Drip and auto top off do take it to a new level. At the moment I still enjoy working on my tank so almost no maintenance scares me. LOL. I will read more about Auto top off and drip as the build progresses. I'm hoping king eds has boxing day sales on their tanks this year.


King Ed will usually have their tanks on sale for Boxing Day. I haven't seen a boxing day where they haven't had tanks on sale. I think they used to even deliver it to inside your house for only $50 which is awesome. Glass is so expensive now compared to just 5 years ago.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Finally got the stand home from Hope. Im most likely going to stain it a little darker to match all the other wood in my house. It does look great the way it is. I was excited to fit the sump underneath to see how it will look. Looks bad ass. Slowly coming along. The picturesecond not working. I'll try again in a bit


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

Pardon my question but what is MDF ? I've heard it somewhere before but don't remember. Nice stand btw. Subscribed.

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## knucklehead (Dec 27, 2013)

mysticalnet said:


> Pardon my question but what is MDF ? I've heard it somewhere before but don't remember. Nice stand btw. Subscribed.
> 
> Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


medium density fibreboard


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

The stand looks pretty good the way it is. I find that you can really see the grain better when its a bit lighter too.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

As knucklehead said. It's basically saw dust glued and pressed together. Than a thin layer of white oak is glued to it. To be honest it's probably not the best for fish tanks but it was free and all the exposed edges are capped with a solid piece of oak. The last stand my friend built me was oak veneered plywood but it's $100 a sheet. 

Tony I agree but it just doesn't match anything in my house. It looks awesome though as is.


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## Rogo (Mar 1, 2015)

jbyoung00008 said:


> As knucklehead said. It's basically saw dust glued and pressed together. Than a thin layer of white oak is glued to it. To be honest it's probably not the best for fish tanks but it was free and all the exposed edges are capped with a solid piece of oak. The last stand my friend built me was oak veneered plywood but it's $100 a sheet.
> 
> *Tony I agree but it just doesn't match anything in my house.* It looks awesome though as is.


The stand looks very nice. Get yourself a good realtor and everything will sort itself out.


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## Daryl (Jun 1, 2010)

jbyoung00008 said:


> As knucklehead said. It's basically saw dust glued and pressed together. Than a thin layer of white oak is glued to it. *To be honest it's probably not the best for fish tanks*.


That's what I thought when I read your post, but then I looked at the pics and saw that you used it to wrap a wood frame - so you're fine structurally in the event the MDF gets water logged.

I have a commercially bought veneered MDF stand for my 75g. It doesn't have a wooden substructure, but it's held up fine.

Your stand is gorgeous.


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## cpat83 (Sep 1, 2015)

MDF isn't the best option for anything that is near water, haha... but it will work just fine. I would recommend to prime all exposed MDF surfaces to provide some level of moisture protection, if you really cared. Easy to do when you have the full sheets laying around before you start cutting to size.

MDF also weighs a ton, but it is definitely a great finish material as it is very easy to work with for multiple purposes.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

cpat83 said:


> MDF isn't the best option for anything that is near water, haha... but it will work just fine. I would recommend to prime all exposed MDF surfaces to provide some level of moisture protection, if you really cared. Easy to do when you have the full sheets laying around before you start cutting to size.
> 
> MDF also weighs a ton, but it is definitely a great finish material as it is very easy to work with for multiple purposes.


Yeah, you do have to be careful with MDF around water for sure. That being said, even my Red Sea tank stand is built out of MDF but it is extremely well sealed with a very heavy duty and very hard laminate/coating over top. I had trouble putting screws into it without drilling first. I think if anything, be very careful with any standing or pooling water and make sure you protect the base/bottom of the stand.


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## lebon (Oct 8, 2012)

Really nice stand there! May I ask where you obtained you haps & peacocks?


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

lebon said:


> Really nice stand there! May I ask where you obtained you haps & peacocks?


I've bought a lot of them from Petland Poco. They order from Spencer Jacks. A bunch are from The Wet Spot in Portland. I brought some back from Golds in Calgary. A few are from Fish Addicts in Langley. A few are from random LFS and the rest are from other Bcaquaria members.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

New stain job on the stand. Looks better with the darker stain. My buddy will be over tonight to seal it. I put a deposit on a 210g tank at king eds. I'll be picking it up before the end of the month


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

Nice stain job! 

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## Rogo (Mar 1, 2015)

Yeah, I guess re-staining the stand to match the house was a more viable option than selling the house and buying one that matches the stand.  It looks great!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Rogo said:


> Yeah, I guess re-staining the stand to match the house was a more viable option than selling the house and buying one that matches the stand.  It looks great!


Lol. I don't have wood in the house like cabinets etc... It's wood furniture like the dinning table, other tank stand. The stand before was out dated. Light wood grain is old school.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Well the stand is finally complete. It was almost done a few weeks ago but my sanding job in between clear coats made a mess of the stain job so the whole stand had to be re sanded. Thi mistake turned out for the better. The finisher at my buddies work finished professionally for free  The stand looks outstanding


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## Daryl (Jun 1, 2010)

N i c e ! ! !


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

A little update. I bought 4 aquaray LED lights with controller. I may only use 3 but we will see what happens. It looks good so far. I need to paint the back of the tank black and get ready to drill holes for th over flow.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Lights look awesome. Thanks Tony. So close, yet so far! The picture s is with 3 lights not 4.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Haha, no problem. Glad you can get some use of out them. Don't stare directly into them for too long!


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## Daryl (Jun 1, 2010)

Any updates?

I'm still in planning stages - I keep flip flopping between putting the synergy reef overflow on my 135g tank, or just upgrading to a 180g (I really like the 2' x 6' footprint).

I did speak to a plumber who is going to install a laundry service behind my tank for $375. That way draining & refilling the tank will simply involve turning a couple of valves!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Hey Daryl. I'm very close to having the tank running. I just need to install the overflow and plumb everything. I bought all the bulk head fittings. The sump is on my garage floor holding water to check for leaks. I will post some pictures soon. I had to put the build on hold because of my Mexico trip and engagement. Now that I've dealt with all of that. I'm hoping to have it ready by the end of the month.

I'm doing the same as you with the laundry setup. I think it's the best way to do it. $375 seems fair. Worth it in the long run


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## KTown mbunamani (Jan 1, 2016)

You'll love the drip! :bigsmile:


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Drilled the tank on Friday. Reef Savy Ovetflow is installed. It looks awesome. Returns also installed. Getting closer and closer to having it all done. I will post pictures soon.


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## m_class2g (Apr 21, 2010)

jbyoung00008 said:


> Lights look awesome. Thanks Tony. So close, yet so far! The picture s is with 3 lights not 4.
> View attachment 113465


Nice looking stand!


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Looking forward to seeing more Justin! . Especially want to see how your filtration is gonna be set up 

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## Daryl (Jun 1, 2010)

Can you post details/photos about your plumbing? I have so many questions since I basically plan on doing a similar set-up:

1. Did you drill any extra holes? Like say at 50% for water changes, or even lower for draining the tank?
2. If so, did you use the same size holesaw that you used for the overflow?
3. Were you going to run your returns over the top of the tank, or drill holes to return through the back?


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Ive tried to get some good pics but the light in my garage reflects the light off the tank. I Drilled 5 holes. 2 for the over flow, 2 for the returns and 1 at the 50% mark for quick weekly water changes. The 2 over flow holes are big 2 3/8" ?aka 60mm. The returns are smaller. Cant remember the size off.the top of my head. I decided against the drip system for a few reasons. 1. People who work on their tanks daily, have nicer tanks  2. My tank is planted so I add Equilibrium weekly because BC water has no gh. Drip wont help with that. 3 Im stuborn and like to do thins my way lol.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Ive started plumbing the tank. Well the plumber has lol. Im just his side kick. Things are coming along nicely. Im super excited that the end is near. Heres some pics.


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## Daryl (Jun 1, 2010)

So does your 50% drainpipe drain to your sump, and then from there does your sump overflow/drain into your houses plumbing system? I never would have thought of that, but I guess it would act as an extra fail safe... If all else fails, and your sump exceeds its capacity, it would eliminate the chance of flooding your house. I was planning on having the 50% drain lead directly to a laundry service in the wall behind the tank, about the same height as the 50% drain, but now I'm reconsidering having the laundry service much closer to the floor so the sump can overflow into it. That seems like a way better idea.

I'm curious to see how you get everything set-up and I'll probably have many questions!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Daryl I probably have as many questions as you do about the whole setup. Im fortunate to have one of the best plumbers I know over here building it all. The 50% drain does go to the sink but we are also adding a drain to the sump so I cant over fill the tank. Im not sure how hes tying the together but I dont think the 50% will drain to the sump. They will just share the same drain.

It should be running in my garage in the next few weeks. Come over and have a look before I move into the house. Its been a journey to say the least.


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## Daryl (Jun 1, 2010)

Sounds good! I will certainly take you up on that! Let me know when you get it going!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

I have most of the plumbing done now. I installed an emergency drain on 1 of the sumps to prevent over filling. It ties into my 50% drain which isnt fully finished yet. I painted the pipes in the back black. Im using a 1600 gph pump and may increase to a bigger 1. I have it fully running in my back yard which was a good idea for access and water leaks. Im currently finding ways to quiet it all down as their was some vibrations. The main return from the over flow is noisy. My next task it to quiet that down. Ive seen some trick on youtube to help with noise so far Im farely happy with the synergy reef overflow. Although they didnt include some U pipes you need and a breather valve would of been nice since its needed also


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## smccleme (Aug 20, 2012)

I'll be interested to see if you go through the same process I did with filter socks Justin. I found they plugged up way too quickly. Having to change them out every couple days grew old fast. I've been running poret foam for the past few years... I squeeze them out every few months. Quite a bit less work


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Thanks for the tip Steve. We will see how it goes. The pump is a little noisier than Id like but Im ready to move the 210g into its new home and out of my backyard. Going sump has been a huge process in itself. From drilling 5 holes, to plumbing it all. Its been a huge learning experience of trial and error. Id also like to take a moment to give a BIG SHOUT OUT!!!!! and Thank you to one of the best plumbers I know PLUMBERBOY. Without you this tank wouldnt of happened. My dreams of owning a 210g show tank is 1 day away from being complete. SO STOKED!!!!!!!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Despite having Knee surgery on last monday. The tank setup went forward and Im very proud to say my tank is up and running in my living room. At last  After some fine tuning and patience, I finally have it running with no water sounds. The pump is still vibrating a little more than Id like so Ill be working on that soon.

I wasnt happy with the overflow at the start, but now Im liking it. One thing I really like is how small it is in the tank and how you can barely see it. I have a 2200gph pump powering this system and the over flow has no problem handling it. I covered all the rear pvc pipes with pipe insulation. Probably overkill but I didnt want to have to drain the tank and move it to try to correct something, later.

Plumber is coming over later in the week to finish off 50% drain and to run hot and cold water hoses. 

The fish are loving the tank, 6ft is the way to go.

Pictures soon to come. Broken camera phone  I have to dig out the old digital camera LOL


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Congrats Justin. Looking forward to seeing your masterpiece. 

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## Daryl (Jun 1, 2010)

Awesome! Congrats! I still wanna take you up on the in person viewing & run down on the plumbing. I'll bring the beer.


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## cichlid (Jul 30, 2010)

Great thread, congrats on your dream!


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## mrbob (Aug 9, 2012)

Congrats Justin on your dream tank cant wait to see it as well!!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Daryl said:


> Awesome! Congrats! I still wanna take you up on the in person viewing & run down on the plumbing. I'll bring the beer.


Daryl Im off all week. Pm when a good time for you is to come over and check it out. You will want to see all the ups and down of the over flow


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Mr bob. you are also welcome to come over and see this setup. I need to start gathering some more beauties. Wet spot visit is coming soon


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

A few pictures of my sump setup from the day of setup. Other side of my stand, hold the sump for bio media. It has 2 different types of bio. The top half of it is a trickle system, while the bottom half is full with water. For those that dont know, a sump system setup like this, will grow both types of good bacteria. I will try to post pics of it soon. Its as full as it can get with BIO 

A good article on bio media and how it all works together http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/water/71-autotrophic-bacteria-manifesto.html


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## Dou (Dec 4, 2015)

Great inspiration and crazy pipe work (makes me wish I was a tradesperson). One day I will be able to have a backyard and I'm hoping I can do something just like yours - except I'd like to turn the entire thing into a hydroponics set-up and grow my own veggies to eat... Then technically you don't really need to do that many water changes since the veggies will use up all the nitrates.


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## Sidius (Mar 25, 2012)

This tank is even more amazing in person. The fish, the aquascape, the sump was all well planned out and the fish seem to love it. I'm jealous buddy


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## Plumberboy (Jun 2, 2014)

Yeah. Me too. How about some updated pics, and a fish list!!!!


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Awesome! I prefer stained stand way over painted stand.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

I will post some pictures in the next day or two. The tank is going great. My stock list is ridicoulous. I will add the proper names later and add the rest of the fish later. All Africans are male.

Bottom feeders
38 Petricolas Fair deals, Cypho
1 Blu Phantom Pleco Canadian Aquatics
2 Gold Spot Plecos Spencer Jacks
1 Albino Bushy nose Fairdeals
1 Long Fin Silver Tip Pleco Local
1 Zebra Pleco Spencer Jacks
3 Clown Fish Local

Peacocks
2 Lwandas 1 is the tank boss. Fair Deals, Spencer Jacks 
1 Sulphurhead
1 fire fish
1 hybrid
1 Red shoulder
1 orange shoulder

Haps
2 Malawi trout
1 Jalo Reef Wet Spot
1 Deep water Hap (electra) Spencer Jacks
3 Blue Dolphins( 1 male, 2 females) Wet Spot
1 Milimo
1 Fusco
1 livingstoni
2 White Blaze
1 Buccochromis
3 Yellow Blaze 
1 Parrot fish


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

Wow!! 38 petricolas!!! That must be something to watch!! Very nice! Can't wait to see the pictures!

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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

Yo Justin... long time no post lol.

Congrats on the tank upgrade.

Your last set of pics show up really small. I think its time for an update and some full tank shots.

I sold all my gear earlier this year but have a 220 sitting in the garage... hopefully It's up and running by summer


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

its been far too long since a tank update. Ill post some pics tonight. Ive lost a few fish over the years. A bunch are of my own fault. Tank is running good. Still loving my Africans and always looking for higher quality males.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 21, 2017)

Just scoured your journal and man that's pretty slick! I wish I had a house that wasn't the size OF my tank.... oh the things I would do. Looks really good. Looking forward to some pics!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

My tank at feeding time.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Apparently I need to download the video to you tube. The reason I'm not logged in anymore is because of the redicoulous password I have to enter all the time. I'm still on bcaquaria daily just not logged in and the enhanced view won't let you reset your password. I'm rarely on a lap top or computer to deal with it.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Here it is. I will post a video of the filtration system tonight.


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## Plumberboy (Jun 2, 2014)

Nice vid man! That Fossochromis is still my favorite.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Latest video with a better camera. Added aqua flora bulbs to help with the fish's color


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

I don't know why it won't work.


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

thanks for the update! I was wondering how your tank has been doing! I miss my african tank! do you still have petricolas? could not see them in the video! very nice tank

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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

jhj0112 said:


> thanks for the update! I was wondering how your tank has been doing! I miss my african tank! do you still have petricolas? could not see them in the video! very nice tank
> 
> Sent from my ASUS_Z01BDC using Tapatalk


Had 36 or 38. I did a water change one night. Tried adding a ph down to help my plants. For some reason the dry Ph down sunk to bottom and killed almost all of them. I was up all night trying to revive them with no success. It was heart breaking. I should of doses the sump not the tank. I was just testing the PH down. Haven't tried it again.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

jhj0112 said:


> thanks for the update! I was wondering how your tank has been doing! I miss my african tank! do you still have petricolas? could not see them in the video! very nice tank
> 
> Sent from my ASUS_Z01BDC using Tapatalk


I still enjoy my Africans and don't see me switching it up anytime soon. I've had them for 5 years now and still enjoying collecting nice males and watching them in the tank. What did you go to after?


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Still can't get it to work


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

jbyoung00008 said:


> I still enjoy my Africans and don't see me switching it up anytime soon. I've had them for 5 years now and still enjoying collecting nice males and watching them in the tank. What did you go to after?


Lucky you!.. I had to move to the smaller townhouse in Langley thus had to get rid 
of almost all tanks (had upto 7 tanks with 2 African tanks).

I now only have a nano reef tank. Wifey had enough of my addiction and would not let me have any more tanks! lol It's just that we don't have space any more.

Damn! I'm so sorry about the loss.. that petricolas were something!..


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Just got home from Portland. Visited the wet spot. came home with 6 new Africans all Males. Great store with a good African selection.


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## Bigpoppa1980 (Feb 15, 2017)

Beautiful tank what all did you get from wet spot 
Here is my 210









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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Bigpoppa1980 said:


> Beautiful tank what all did you get from wet spot
> Here is my 210
> 
> 
> ...


Your tank looks really nice. Good collection of Africans in there. Your lighting looks good.

I bought 
Aulonocara kandeense* "Blue Orchid"*
Copadichromis trewavasae** "Mloto Likoma"***
Cyrtocara moorii "Blue Dolphin"
Lethrinops sp. "Nyassae
Otopharynx	heterodon "Big Spot Tanzania
Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania"


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