1st Shellie Tank

[Cichlid Junkie]

I finally got a chance to go to the local landscaping place and pick up some rocks today and man, did I hit a goldmine!   Thanks for the heads up about that place J.B.  I got all of these rocks for $5...yes, you read that right.



Another view


I decided to drain the tank so I can do the rock work after they are done soaking in a 20:1 bleach bath which was after a good 45 minute boil.  Since the tank was drained, I rinsed the aragonite yet again.  I think I got all of the milkiness out of it this time, but we'll see how that goes after I refill it.

Here is a picture of the shells I picked up...just the standard turbos and whales eyes.  It looks like I got a sharks eye in there as well.



Needless to say, I know I will be playing the rock puzzle game to get the tank up and running again.  Speaking of which, here is a picture of the tank before I drained it.

[Sean]

wow looks nice!
I love tanks that look simple and clean 

I can top your $5. I get mine for free from the park 

[J.B.]

Lookin' good, Butch.  I cannot wait to see it once those rocks are in place, it's going to be a real stunner!  Speaking of the rocks, now that they're all laid out like that, it does look like a lot more than when we loaded them.  I almost feel bad about the deal...okay, I'm over that.    Hurry up and get 'em in the tank, man!

[Cichlid Junkie]

We did get quite a few of them in that plastic bag.  I just swapped them over from the bleach to a Prime bath for the night.  They will be ready and waiting for me to get off work tomorrow night!  Cant wait...I hope I get off on time tomorrow.

[twistedfisher]

i do too cause i wanna see it finished lol

[fish head]

Those rocks look awesome!  I've been wanting to hit some landscaping places too!

Many years ago I got a giant sack of big lava rocks for $7.50.  When I say giant, I mean like the size of a small person.  And when I say big, I mean between the size of a football and a big mac.  I drilled holes in a lot of them making great hide away caves for smaller fish.  They stack easy, look nice and become bacteria hotels.  I often move a few established lava rocks into new tanks to help establish them quicker.

But now after seeing all these more natural looking setups, I'm thinking... lava rocks?  Am I off the coast of Hawaii?  I'd love to score a big box of Texas holey rock, or better yet a bunch of dark lace rock.

Like Multies, I can take a walk in the woods and fill buckets full of sandstone and conglomerates, but they often lack drama in their shape.

I'll enjoy seeing pics of your tank when its ready.

[twistedfisher]

my negotiations with my Texan high school friend is going good on the holey rock front.


hope to have a shipment in a few months here so that i can spread it around.

[Cichlid Junkie]

I was able to get off work just about on time today and was able to do some rock work and I have to say, I love the way it turned out.  The rocks look awesome in there.  I know it is not a true biotope, but I think it looks great.  Out of all the tanks I've had over the years, this one is my favorite by far...and the water hasn't even cleared up yet!  Once it does, hopefully in a few hours, I'll take a bunch of pictures.

[Cichlid Junkie]

I woke up this morning to a crystal clear tank!  I got home from work and took some pictures.  The funny thing is that I didn't even try to get the sand to look like that.  I was just moving it around to partially hide some of the rocks and sit them on the glass.  After adding the water and it cleared up, it looked like this.   

FTS


Right Side


Left Side


 Let me know what you guys think.

[J.B.]

Very NICE, dude!  It will look even better, once you get your charges in there and they begin to set up shop the way they want it.  That's the best part of these fish, watching them work.  Well done!

[Sean]

To tell you the truth, I thought this was a 75G tank LOL.
Very nicely done!

[Cichlid Junkie]

Thanks for the compliments.  This was such a fun tank to do because it was so simple compared to the planted tanks I'm used to setting up.  I still have four of the  rocks left from the original purchase!  lol  I couldn't figure out what to do with them, so I just left them out and it worked out well.  Now if I were to get a bigger tank...

[twistedfisher]

yay looks awesome cant wait to see it with algae growing on it

[J.B.]

What's that you say...a bigger tank??

cichlid junkie's new tank

[Cichlid Junkie]

LOL...your killin me J.B.!  I can't believe that individual has over $400 invested in that tank.  I didn't know plastic plants, blue gravel and ceramic ornamentation cost that much.  lol...was that my outside voice...oops.