New 130gal Tank Build...

I guess I'll park my thread here because I'm not sure where else to put it. Ok so I am relatively new to keeping aquariums and I recently purchased one for me (I have a10gal that I maintain for my girlfriends daughter.) I've come here in search of better people in the community since I was booted from another forum site for telling some guy, that only ever felt like making himself feel smarter, not to comment on my thread anymore.

Well anyway I started my build a few weeks ago... I got lucky and cycling only took a couple days since I used the gravel that came with the tank and was still wet when I loaded it into the tank (that's all I can come up with as to why it was such a short process for me.) The tank is 130gal (72"x18"x24") that came with everything but a stand and fish. It has an under gravel filter system that's the whole bottom of the tank with 4 powerheads (of unknown flow rate because the labels are all gone.) I bought 2 new 300 watt heaters for it because the ones that came with it were little and having trouble warming the tank up in Michigan on the verge of winter. Originally I really wanted to do freshwater rays but decided that I really wanted this to have more than just a few fish, be brightly colored, and all in all something visually appealing to look at.

I'll make the progress to this point brief...
Here is the tank on the stand that I came up with, it will get covered with a façade to make it look better in the dining room, but this is the cheapest and easiest way to get something rated for the weight (the shelf is rated at 2000lbs before I added the center leg.)
removed

With the cycle complete I decided that I wanted to add a fish so I wouldn't had to keep adding ammonia so I added the little black shark from the kids aquarium since he was about 4" and needed a bigger tank anyway (I hear he can get up to 2'.) Anyway I made up a little cave for him (which he doesn't use, he'd rather wedge himself up behind one of the powerheads) out of some rocks that came with the tank. Also I added a blue mystery snail (btw I don't know why but he has tons of new growth since making his way to the new tank, maybe because the tank was filled with the hose which doesn't run through the water softener therefore has lots of minerals in it, that's my theory.)
removed
removed

I've made more progress than this but I am making my own décor for the tank (at least the main piece.) Here is the arch that I poured out of A/B polyurethane foam. It will be coated with concrete then sealed in epoxy once I am done shaping. Its about 50" long and 16" tall. I've built a few caves that you can see using pvc pipe as inserts so I don't have to worry about weather or not I coat the whole inside of the cave. Due to the buoyance of this particular foam I will have to add weight (probably just more concrete) to holes I've bored out of the back of the structure.
removed

On Friday I visited a fish store and came home with a few new friends to add to the tank. 4 Bolivian Rams to be exact. I asked the guy if he could do 2 and 2, well after acclimating them and getting them in the tank it looks like he messed up and gave me 1m and 3f. Oh well they will be pretty no the less, I'll have to keep an on them if he decides to pair with one of them. Here's the best pic I got of them so far:
removed

Anyway that's where I'm at so far. Any questions, comments, and concerns are welcome, although try refraining from comment that are just to make me feel dumb and to show that you know more than me. I'm looking for friendly feedback, I don't mind being wrong just try not to be a jerk about it. Sorry had to be said. I look forward to seeing what you guys think and sharing my progress...

 

Welcome to Fishlore,

That's going to be a beautiful tank when you finish.

You won't get unpleasant behaviour here. People here tend to follow my grandmother's advice: "If you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything". They will raise a shout if you don't have the best interests of the fish in mind, but it's done politely.

[edit]
Having just looked at your profile, may I suggest that you use some of the fish in the 10G to stock the big tank. That 10G is seriously overstocked.

 

Wow sounds like you got a big project but it should be fun

 

[edit]
Having just looked at your profile, may I suggest that you use some of the fish in the 10G to stock the big tank. That 10G is seriously overstocked.

Taking that advise a little bit I moved another fish to the big tank, the Clown Loach. Since I know that he is going to eventually be way to big for the 10g. If the snails make a return then he may have to go back to get them back under control, since that's why he was purchased in the first place. The pleco may get removed and taken to the store and replaced with one that stays smaller also since I don't want him in the big tank. I will say this though all the fish have been in there for about 8 months and haven't seen any problems, actually the Molly is pregnant again...

Anyway thank you for the welcomes. I got to work on the arch a little last night.

Shaping is done. Here is the final shaping before concrete.
removed

And since the foam has a buoyancy of about 58lbs per cubic foot (and its about 3 cubic ft) I'm bored out a bunch of the foam from the back side and got it down under 2 cubic ft. Those will be filled with concrete.
removed

I did start filling it with concrete last night but didn't get a picture. Once the holes are filled I will start painting it over the whole thing. One other note I went with the new crack resistant Quikrete that has a slight amount of flex to it, I don't think it will really matter much but I'd rather have a tiny amount of give...

 

Looking good, I like the gorilla shelf for the tank. I have those out in my shop with several engine blocks on them. They will handle the weight.

 

That looks great.

Keep us up to date on the build. It's nice to watch tanks develop.

 

Thanks guys. I am just hoping that the arch doesn't turn out too artificial... Most of the shaping is the natural foam shape since I did it in multiple batches. I thought the different shapes looked like rocks so I just went with it instead of carving everything by my vision. I am planning about maybe a few plants here and there on the arch itself and maybe a couple substrate plants, I really like the hairgrass as background plants and some mosses on the rock work would look good. The arch is going to be positioned far left in the tank and the right side of the arch pushed as far back as possible. I'm thinking of adding a cool piece of driftwood to the right end in the front. We'll see I guess I may change my mind once the arch is in place...

 

Looking good, I like the gorilla shelf for the tank. I have those out in my shop with several engine blocks on them. They will handle the weight.

Welcome to Fishlore.

I have no personal experience with this size tank or these type of shelves, but my initial impression is a bit of concern. There does not appear to be much bracing to prevent side to side collapse. These shelves are designed to have multiple shelves installed. With only one in the dead center of the uprights, it just appears troubling to me. If It were me, I would add a bottom shelf and one at the top for added stability. I'm sure they would come in handy as well.

If that does not fit into your plan, perhaps add some 1x3 diagonals to the rear of the uprights. That would make me more comfortable.

Good luck on your project, you make me jealous.

 

Welcome to Fishlore.

I have no personal experience with this size tank or these type of shelves, but my initial impression is a bit of concern. There does not appear to be much bracing to prevent side to side collapse. These shelves are designed to have multiple shelves installed. With only one in the dead center of the uprights, it just appears troubling to me. If It were me, I would add a bottom shelf and one at the top for added stability. I'm sure they would come in handy as well.

If that does not fit into your plan, perhaps add some 1x3 diagonals to the rear of the uprights. That would make me more comfortable.

Good luck on your project, you make me jealous.

Thanks for the welcome. I do appreciate your concern. The original plan was to have a bottom shelf except that was before I decided on the 4x4 on the bottom. All 3 upright feet have a lag bolt all the way through the bottom (well except they are inset so they don't stick out the bottom) so that is essentially the bottom shelf you're talking about. The center support isn't even suppose to be there but I took an upright and chopped it down and welded a flat plate on top to spread the weight across as many joists as I could. So side to side collapse would have to rip the lags through the 4bys. I do plan on chaining it to the studs in the wall at the top too asap, more so it couldn't fall out but would also assist in side to side.

 

New fish! So excited to find this tiny guy at a local store. He is itty bitty right...

 

Bristlenose? Very cute!!

 

Yes longfin bristlenose. He is exactly the pleco I was looking for. A little smaller than I was thinking but I was just happy to find him locally.

 

Was going through some boxes in my basement and came across some of my old Legos. I thought to my self perfect temporary décor so the fish feel like they have somewhere to hide...
removed
removed

I figure the arch is still a couple weeks off so they needed something for the time being...

 

Here's a couple decent pictures of a couple of my rams. Poor lighting but...
Correct me if I'm wrong on the sex but the only difference I see is the pointy analfin on this one. I've been saying this is the male:

And this is one of the females:

 

So not sure why but apparently my Ammonia has spiked. I am so thankful for my little snail because he has been very inactive the last 2 days and when I searched that online it came up as possible ammonia poisoning. I checked over the weekend and all checked out good. Well upon checking today it is between 4 and 5ppm. Not sure what could have caused the spike. I'm doing an about 75% water change as we speak and I will check again tomorrow. The only other reading that rose was ph went from about 8 to about 8.4. Nitrites are zero and nitrate are somewhere between 0 and 5 ppm.

 

With ammonia levels holding steady the last few days since the spike I'm happy. Had to move the clown loach back to the kids tank because he wouldn't leave my snail alone... Everyone seems fine. Moved the male balloon Molly and white female lyretail Molly down to the big tank yesterday.Stopped in at petsmart today to find that a lot of fish were on sale. Including my danios (for 50 cents a piece) that I was wanting for a school. So we came home with a mixed school of 17 short and longfin, zebra and leopard danios. And the girlfriend made me buy 2 more mollies, she picked the lyretail Dalmatian mollies, so 2 more females.

 

I would look into drylok for your sealent. Its a waterproof latex based concrete sealer. I have used it on all of my backgrounds. It can be colored with concrete dye. Also it won't mess with your ph like straight concrete will.

Also I wouldnt add to many fish at one time it might be where your ammonia spike came from. Usually adding about 3 fish at a time is best then wait a few days and add some more. It lets the bacteria levels build back up to handle the increase in bio load.

 

Yeah I've heard drylock. I'm gonna look into it. I'm definitely going to seal the concrete with something.

The ammonia spike came the other day. The fish came hope today. Ill be doing small daily water changes to keep the ammonia in check over the next couple weeks.

 

Looking good! Danios will love that tank, lots of room to swim. I like the homemade deco rock. I can see a nice fish light hanging from that rack w/ black chain.

 

Finally got some time to work in the arch... The holes bored out if the back are filled with conrete that I pored last week. I started coating the arch with concrete.

It should be dry tomorrow and I'll flip it up and start doing the bottom tomorrow.

 

Nice! I like that arch you're making, hope to see more pics as it comes along and eventually goes into the tank!

 

Ok update time... I'm still coating the arch, but its all about doing as much as possible then wait for it to dry then roll it over a little and do more.

I've learned that I have a problem. I can't help myself when I see the fish I want...
So I was at petsmart the yesterday and found these:

Its a bad picture but these are my new pair of GBRs and a few plants I bought to make another hiding spot in the tank.

And I am super excited about this:

All I can do is a pic of her in the bag because she hides most of the day in the jail on the Lego fort (probably because its kinda like a cave.)

 

More work on the arch. Got the underside done today.
removed

An old paint brush does wonders when it comes to blending the old and new. Hopefully done coating by the end of the week. Never know though because I can only coat the side that's facing up, and with the odd shape I have it means I'm going to have to reposition it a few more times and wait for it to dry...

A little video I shot of feeding the tank an algae wafer:
video removed

I swear everyone in the tank loves these things. Also I notice that after they eat it the Rams color is improved for a little while (it may just be all the hormones flowing because they are all fighting over it.) Honestly the only 2 that don't get any are the ,1 that should, Pleco and the Knife. Heck even the snail gets in on the action if he's close enough...

 

Taking that advise a little bit I moved another fish to the big tank, the Clown Loach. Since I know that he is going to eventually be way to big for the 10g. If the snails make a return then he may have to go back to get them back under control, since that's why he was purchased in the first place. The pleco may get removed and taken to the store and replaced with one that stays smaller also since I don't want him in the big tank. I will say this though all the fish have been in there for about 8 months and haven't seen any problems, actually the Molly is pregnant again...

Anyway thank you for the welcomes. I got to work on the arch a little last night.

Shaping is done. Here is the final shaping before concrete.
removed

And since the foam has a buoyancy of about 58lbs per cubic foot (and its about 3 cubic ft) I'm bored out a bunch of the foam from the back side and got it down under 2 cubic ft. Those will be filled with concrete.
removed

I did start filling it with concrete last night but didn't get a picture. Once the holes are filled I will start painting it over the whole thing. One other note I went with the new crack resistant Quikrete that has a slight amount of flex to it, I don't think it will really matter much but I'd rather have a tiny amount of give...

How do you shape it? Do you use foam boards or the spray kind?

 

The majority of the foam is a 2 part liquid polyurethane foam. That I poured into a cardboard mold. A few of the parts are Great stuff spray. The beauty of the foam I used is that it took multiple batches an a lot of the rock shapes are natural shapes the foam made when it was expanding.

 

Do you mind sharing the brands you used. I want to make sire I get the correct ones.

 

Do you mind sharing the brands you used. I want to make sire I get the correct ones.

No problem. This is the stuff I used. My main reason for using it is because it was something left over from a different project. Mine was the 4lb density.

http://www.uscomposites.com/foam.html

There are a couple benefits. First and probably most important is the fact that it is polyurethane great because it means that once cured it should be pretty much fish safe on its own (just incase you miss a spot when coating. Also it is a good hard foam for carving and you can pour it into molds. And in my case it came out looking pretty cool on its own.

There are also a couple drawbacks. The main one I ran into was the fact that this stuff is very buoyant, the 4lb like I used is capable of floating 58lbs per cubic foot, so you want you use little of it. This is something that I realized after the fact and is the reason I had to remove so much of it out of the back of the structure. If I do it again I would use something, for filler to make it not so buoyant, to pour the foam over in the mold to take up space. The other thing you want to make sure is that you don't get this stuff on anything you don't want it on because it is impossible to remove once it dries. So that means all disposable mixing bowls and stir sticks and buy a roll of painters plastic to mask your room off. Another thing I just remembered is that this stuff dries up pretty smooth. So if you want to use the original shapes that it dries to, and use concrete to coat like me, you want to at least carve off the smooth surface so the concrete has something to grip to.

Disclaimer: I am new to doing this stuff for aquariums and am kinda learning it as I go so don't take the things I've said or done as gospel, but for people who are also new it may be a good place to start. As I go I will let everyone know the things I would have done differently...

 

Thanks so much. How's the project going?

 

Thanks so much. How's the project going?

No problem.

Well it has been a while since I've updated. It is coming along. Its a slow process... A little concrete, wait a day, then rotate it a bit and do it again.

 

Oooh I see. I can't wait till it's done and set up in the tank. Lol I don't know why I'm so anxious and its not even mine

 

Lol glad someone else is anxious with me... Hopefully it'll be done by the end of next week. I'm off work all week so lots of time to work on it.
Then seal and paint it and probably a week or 2 to cure b4 it goes in the tank. So probably just after the new year...