New Year, New Tank - 75 Gallon Cichlid Setup - DIY Stand

Well here it is on New Years day, the newest addition to the growing insurance hazard that is my Aquarium hobby. The only shot I have is during setup. Still need the FX4, lids, temp controller, and light to arrive and then I'll get a final set of photos up of the tech, aquascape, finished stand, and give you a sneak peek at the auto water change system.

Going to start this one off with a pure ammonia cycle, then it will be a Central/South American set up. I'm going to split up my current 38 Gallon Cichlid tank and leave that one as a Lake MalawI setup. Everyone does fine now as Juveniles but I really want to make sure I get the full enjoyment out of Cichlids without having to manage aggression all the time.

Plan for this tank is going to be Firemouths, Texas Blues, Jack Dempseys, Green Terrors, Convicts, Geophagus, Electric Blue Acaras, and Pearls.

More pictures to come soon. As always, keep on swimming.

 

Well here it is on New Years day, the newest addition to the growing insurance hazard that is my Aquarium hobby. The only shot I have is during setup. Still need the FX4, lids, temp controller, and light to arrive and then I'll get a final set of photos up of the tech, aquascape, finished stand, and give you a sneak peek at the auto water change system.

Going to start this one off with a pure ammonia cycle, then it will be a Central/South American set up. I'm going to split up my current 38 Gallon Cichlid tank and leave that one as a Lake MalawI setup. Everyone does fine now as Juveniles but I really want to make sure I get the full enjoyment out of Cichlids without having to manage aggression all the time.

Plan for this tank is going to be Firemouths, Texas Blues, Jack Dempseys, Green Terrors, Convicts, Geophagus, Electric Blue Acaras, and Pearls.

More pictures to come soon. As always, keep on swimming.

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Nice! I’ll be building a diy stand later today for my 40 breeder.

It was only 15 dollars for 6 2x4 and nails *screws*

A premise stand is 80 dollars at my petco.

DIY rocks!

 

Nice! I’ll be building a diy stand later today for my 40 breeder.

It was only 15 dollars for 6 2x4 and nails.

A premise stand is 80 dollars at my petco.

DIY rocks!

I’d use at least some screws. I hate nails though and never use them so I might be biased. Screws do hold much better though.

 

I’d use at least some screws. I hate nails though and never use them so I might be biased. Screws do hold much better though.

I agree. Screws will hold better and are easier to install anyways. Also you don't have to worry about them popping out and causing a snag or even worse, creating a pressure point under the tank and then end up stress cracking the tank over time. The King of DIY ended up with a pebble under a corner of his 125 and it blew it apart over the course of a few weeks...a freaking pebble! Like that I can countersink the screws by 1/8" or so and know they aren't going to go anywhere if the wood gets damp and expands and contracts over time. Boxes of 2.5" external or decking screws are perfect. A small box runs ~$4 and will be more than enough for the build. Also the yoga mat hack is a lifesaver and great piece of mind for a softer layer between the tank and the hardwood ply top sheet.

 

I’d use at least some screws. I hate nails though and never use them so I might be biased. Screws do hold much better though.

Oh, did I say nails? Lol I meant screws!

I wouldn’t use nails either.

I agree. Screws will hold better and are easier to install anyways. Also you don't have to worry about them popping out and causing a snag or even worse, creating a pressure point under the tank and then end up stress cracking the tank over time. The King of DIY ended up with a pebble under a corner of his 125 and it blew it apart over the course of a few weeks...a freaking pebble! Like that I can countersink the screws by 1/8" or so and know they aren't going to go anywhere if the wood gets damp and expands and contracts over time. Boxes of 2.5" external or decking screws are perfect. A small box runs ~$4 and will be more than enough for the build. Also the yoga mat hack is a lifesaver and great piece of mind for a softer layer between the tank and the hardwood ply top sheet.

Lol I meant screws. I saw the king of diy’s video. It gave me anxiety just watching it.

 

Nice group of fish. The cichlids of my childhood. Only thing I’ll say is if your planning for all of them your going to need a bigger tank . Take the Dempseys and green terrors out (maybe the blue too) and you should have a relatively peaceful tank. But again some of them get big. Looking forward to more pics!!

 

Welcome and l look forward to following along! I’ve always wanted to keep firemouth cichlids!

 

Nice setup I’d like to follow along as well to see the finished pics. The stand looks great simple straightforward n sturdy. Are you going to put a 2x4 in the center Incase u decide to add doers or something later or keep the wide open look?

 

Nice setup I’d like to follow along as well to see the finished pics. The stand looks great simple straightforward n sturdy. Are you going to put a 2x4 in the center Incase u decide to add doers or something later or keep the wide open look?

I've got some 5mm wood paneling cover the sides and front now. I screwed it to the sides and am going to use magnets to attach a full length piece to the front so I can access the filter easier. Also might build in a shelving system so I can store equipment on one side and the filter and a small quarantine tank on the other.

The magnetic cover idea comes from AQUAPROS YouTube, the stand was built using methods outlined by The king of DIY.

 

Wow that’s a great idea with the magnets and actually your idea for the shelving and such... it’s gonna look real nice

 

Best part is that when I had the guy at Home Depot cut the paneling he messed up the cuts on the original piece so he had to grab a bunch of other pieces to get me what I wanted. The woman at the counter was too lazy to figure out how much to actually charge me so she gave up and just let me have it for free

 

Randomly researching since I have the time while the tank is cycling. Anyone have any knowledge or experience with Blue Acara? I know they are South American but will the Dempsey and the Terror bother it? My choice is either to let him make the move to the 75 with the other South Americans or leave him in the current tank. The only issue is that the current setup will be a MalawI environment and the pH will be 7.5+. hmm

 

Here is the almost complete setup. Just need the light to arrive on Monday as well as the lids.

 

All moved in. The South Americans are finally in their new home.

 

What did you end up stocking it with?

 

It’s got 2x Firemouths, a Jack Dempsey, Green Terror, Texas Blue, and Blue Acara. I may add a Convict and a possibly a Pearl Geophagus to finish it off.

 

It’s got 2x Firemouths, a Jack Dempsey, Green Terror, Texas Blue, and Blue Acara. I may add a Convict and a possibly a Pearl Geophagus to finish it off.

I haven't jumped to the cichlid world yet so I have to vicariously live through others tanks. Post more pics once they settle in and good luck with them all!!

 

It’s got 2x Firemouths, a Jack Dempsey, Green Terror, Texas Blue, and Blue Acara. I may add a Convict and a possibly a Pearl Geophagus to finish it off.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but your planned stock is going to be a disaster in a 75 gallon tank when they grow up. Near guarantee death and no space.

 

Sorry to rain on your parade, but your planned stock is going to be a disaster in a 75 gallon tank when they grow up. Near guarantee death and no space.

That's why I was hesitant with the additional Convict or Geophagus...I'll probably just stick with what I have for now. The Dempsey and the Terror will probably end up as the tank bosses some day but I'll deal with that when the time comes. They are all 3 inches or less at the moment so it'll be a while and as a last resort, if the community doesn't work, my LFS cut me a trade in deal for store credit or species swaps in the event of aggression issues.

 

That's why I was hesitant with the additional Convict or Geophagus...I'll probably just stick with what I have for now. The Dempsey and the Terror will probably end up as the tank bosses some day but I'll deal with that when the time comes. They are all 3 inches or less at the moment so it'll be a while and as a last resort, if the community doesn't work, my LFS cut me a trade in deal for store credit or species swaps in the event of aggression issues.

You have a better shot since they're growing up together, but it's probably going to be pretty overstocked down the line regardless, but like you said you'll be able to adjust as necessary. Good luck and enjoy the new tank.

 

Tank looks good and the fish are small. It may work out. What is the whitish fish in the center? What kind of thermometer is that on the wall to the left? Like the bucket the fx4 is in . Hey it’s the thought that counts . I would add some bigger pieces of drift wood. Just to make more area for fish to claim. Less eye of sight the better. I would say the fire mouths may be in charge there. Being there’s 2.
I still think the terror is going to be a problem. I’d replace him for a pair of geophagus. They’re earth eaters so they will be sucking in the sand for food kind of like a cat fish to help keep the bottom clean.
jmaldo breeds blue acara and may be able to help with there temperament.

 

Tank looks good and the fish are small. It may work out. What is the whitish fish in the center? What kind of thermometer is that on the wall to the left? Like the bucket the fx4 is in . Hey it’s the thought that counts . I would add some bigger pieces of drift wood. Just to make more area for fish to claim. Less eye of sight the better. I would say the fire mouths may be in charge there. Being there’s 2.
I still think the terror is going to be a problem. I’d replace him for a pair of geophagus. They’re earth eaters so they will be sucking in the sand for food kind of like a cat fish to help keep the bottom clean.
jmaldo breeds blue acara and may be able to help with there temperament.

The center swimmer is the Blue Acara. After the move everyone kind of dropped their colors for the time being so I've been keeping the lights down and dosed with Stress Guard and some of my Quarantine meds just to keep immunity up and cut the risk of any stress related disease outbreak. This was a big move since they will now be in their ideal water params opposed to the previous tank which was more suited for true Africans.

The Thermometer is a Hygger 500w (which includes a temp controller (model H-925). I've really been loving the temp controllers for my heaters, they make it so much more efficient and cut down the on/off cycle issues that end up killing heaters in the long run. I run the Inkbird controllers on Hydor inlines on my other tanks and it works beautifully.

Haha yea the tupperware bin is a must after having some leaks during maintenance and other nonsense, original wood flooring does not like to get wet. It also traps any problem leaks and there is a WiFI leak detector in there with it to alert me, I then have a WiFI outlet on the filter that will kill power using an IFTTT script if a leak is detected by the sensor. With 200+ gallons of multiple aquariums in a 800sqft house built in the 40's my insurance company will probably already hate me so the least I can do is prevent catastrophe...and I'm a technology nerd so it's just more fun projects to work on.

Yea you called it. The Firemouths are definitely the current tank bosses, but yea, I keep telling them to watch their back, when the Terror and Dempsey grow up the tables will turn. That's a good idea, as much as I love the unique look of the Terror, I really love to watch Geophagus do their work.

 

Nice Job on the new setup. Just a short timer keeping "Wet Pets". Not sure of the compatibility of the inhabitants, but sounds like you have a plan if/when issues happen. I have kept and bred EBA with an assortment of fish, but nothing you have. Very docile fish except when spawning. Maybe coralbandit has some info he can share.

On another note can you post a link to the wifI leak detector your using.

Good Luck!

Learning all the Time.

 

I have never kept Centrals but think most of those are mean ..Mean on a different level of the EBA for sure ..
Good luck .

 

Since your a tech nerd. Would there be a way to hook up shut off valves to the intake and outflow hoses to shut them in case of a leak ?

 

Since your a tech nerd. Would there be a way to hook up shut off valves to the intake and outflow hoses to shut them in case of a leak ?

Yes. That was version 2 of the leak detection circuits. The product you would be looking at would be something called an NC solenoid valve. It’s an electronically controlled ball valve that closes when power is cut off. My plan is to have an Arduino controller that monitors a leak sensor, if the sensor detects water it triggers a wifI notification to me, kills the power to a 110V relay which kills power to the filter, then cuts off power to the solenoid valves on the input and output of the filter to close them and stop water from siphoning out.

 

Nice Job on the new setup. Just a short timer keeping "Wet Pets". Not sure of the compatibility of the inhabitants, but sounds like you have a plan if/when issues happen. I have kept and bred EBA with an assortment of fish, but nothing you have. Very docile fish except when spawning. Maybe coralbandit has some info he can share.

On another note can you post a link to the wifI leak detector your using.

Good Luck!

Learning all the Time.

Just search Amazon for Grovee WiFI Leak Sensors or there are some Ring Water detectors as well because I also have a Ring Security system.

 

Only issue with the Grovee sensors is they have a 100+ db alarm built in that scares the heck out of you when it goes off. I hot glued and taped over the siren cavity to quiet them down but its still loud. I need to go in and snip the siren wire because I don’t need the sound just the wifI alert.

 

Great, I already have a Ring setup.

 

Yes. That was version 2 of the leak detection circuits. The product you would be looking at would be something called an NC solenoid valve. It’s an electronically controlled ball valve that closes when power is cut off. My plan is to have an Arduino controller that monitors a leak sensor, if the sensor detects water it triggers a wifI notification to me, kills the power to a 110V relay which kills power to the filter, then cuts off power to the solenoid valves on the input and output of the filter to close them and stop water from siphoning out.

Nice can you put up some pictures. Maybe even start a thread explaining this for others. It is a great idea!! For people with canisters or sumps.

 

therealpatricksnyder , great setup with the South Americans. Please keep it thread posted with updates as the fish grow out.

Also, like 86 ssinit asked, if you get the Arduino controller working with the water alarms, please let us know. I am very intrigued with something like that.

 

It’s got 2x Firemouths, a Jack Dempsey, Green Terror, Texas Blue, and Blue Acara. I may add a Convict and a possibly a Pearl Geophagus to finish it off.

Firemouths are all bark and no bite, once a fish actually stands up to them they leave running. Hopefully you don’t end up with pair cause any pair of cichlids in community tank is an issue once they want to breed. If by Texas blue you mean the Green Texas cichlid your going to have some fun with it because they like killing everything for the most part. I wouldn’t do a pearl cichlid they grow large 10inches. False green terrors(gold saums) which is what you probably have are usually fine with Jack Dempsey but they will always be budding heads on who is in charge.