# Finished freshwater marine tank



## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

It's the moment you've all been waiting for, I've finally completed my freshwater marine setup.
I won't ramble on, the pics speak for themselves:
























































Feeding frenzy.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

O wow! Very good job! clam looks damn near real!


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## fishytyke (Oct 21, 2006)

i know there is always one who doesent like what you do but, what made you think this tank was a good idea?, 

1, that mix of fish will never work, those mbuna can and will move much faster than that poor angel and will rip it to bits.

2, there is no way you will keep the ph in that tank anywhere near 7, i'm guessing around 8.2ish

3, why oh why do people still think its ok to use dead coral skeletons as decorations? (if they are plastic i appologise)

4, the haps in there will get to approx 10", and will inhale those tetras.

a quote from jurasic park (just because it can be done, doesent mean that it should).

i am just being honest, if you dont want to keep the fish as they should be kept, dont keep them at all.


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Hey fishytyke welcome to FF.

I dont agree with you on your points of why the tank (except for the use of dead coral skeletons). The reason why i disagree is because with the proper knowledge it can be done successfully. 

Also your 2nd point about keeping the pH at ~7 is more of an opinion on his abilities which is really not based. If you knew CichlidMan you would know that hes more than qualified to experiment with projects like this


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## fishytyke (Oct 21, 2006)

how can anyone be qualified to keep 10" haps with 1" tetras, or angels with mbuna?

the fish may survive, but i personally dont think they will thrive

keeping the ph in that tank anywhere close to neutral will be a constant battle and the ph WILL fluctuate

i just dont see the point in

a) this mix of fish

b) using rocks which will buffer the ph and then manually trying to lower it.

i'm all for trying something new (within reason), but i'll admit i'm struggling with this one


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

fishytyke said:


> i know there is always one who doesent like what you do but, what made you think this tank was a good idea?,
> 
> 1, that mix of fish will never work, those mbuna can and will move much faster than that poor angel and will rip it to bits.
> 
> ...


Hi, welcome to Fishforums. I appreciate you wanting the absolute best for a tanks inhabitants, however I would not keep any of those fish together if there was any chance of one being bullied.
Most of the fish have been in that tank for over a month without any problems.
The pH is around 7.5, I managed to acheive this by using CO2 injection.
I introduced all the peaceful fish at the start:
angels, gouramis, tetras, livebearers etc
And then after a few weeks introduced the cichlids, barbs etc.
This prevents any aggression from getting in the way, and it stops the cichlids from getting off on the wrong foot.
Actually, the dwarf gourami, kribensis, angel, mollies, and swords are always the first ones to feed, and do not take any nonsence from the cichlids.
The only problems I had in the tank so far are from the betta(siamese fighter). The first day he got his fins stuck to the inflow of the power filter which nearly killed him, and then for the next week he was being harrassed and nipped by the barbs.
You will be pleased to know that his fins are all healed up and he has staken out one of the soft corals as his territory.

Most of the corals are plastic, however the white ones are all skeletons which I have either had for over 15 years, or in the case of the two larger ones at the top, I bought them second hand from the free ads. Why should they come to waste?
I am hoping to get many years of enjoyement out of my unique ecosystem, and hope that I do not encounter too many problems on the way.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

I know your experience in fishkeeping is pretty long compared to the average keeper. And I know your knowledge on said fish is pretty extensive. But I still think it will end badly. I could be wrong (it happens quite often), but I see the chance for success of this tank is very minute. Keep us posted because you and I both know, 1 month isn't a very long time...............


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

PH IMO doesnt matter, it may ur more delicate species like in plecos the L183 are known to have liver failure i believe it is when PH is too high, they dont adapt well to higher levels. But most of the fish he has in there are very adaptive to what his ph is, coming from just north of chicago area can say there has been countless species bred in high ph and hard water, plecos, angels, discus, bettas, tetras, etc. 

If it wilds trying to bred you may indeed need to mimic their wild habitat but most of the species he has in there are prolly tank bred which over so many freakin years of being in the hobby world, they've evolved to adapt to the waters and are more adaptive then their ancestors in the wild. 

K that's the longest post ive written in a long time, time to go hit the smirnoff and kick back and think about and try to understand for myself what i just said.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

I will say that this tank does offer a splendid visual impact, at the very least.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

If things do go wrong, I know that CM will remove the fish if they need to be moved.


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## i have crabs (Apr 30, 2006)

now all you have to do is add salt and cool fish


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2007)

definatley not my taste, but that doesnt mean it wont work. first thing that came to my mind when reading this thread was....since when do we have to keep ph in the tank neutral???? IMO only time to mess with ph is whne you have a very sensitive species or are trying to breed somthing that breeds best in different conditions. barbs actually seem to make good tank mates for some cichlids, electric yellows, some of the aulonocara, etc. assuming you have a school of the, it looks really nice. and i also would assume that Cichlid man knows what he is doing... when the haps start growing its easy to put them in a larger tank. Even though the decor isnt to my liking, you have a very intersting tank,a nd good luck with it


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## K.c. Guppys (Dec 28, 2006)

I was curious, what was the overall cost for this. Not including tank,filter,heater,and fish


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

The rocks, corals, anemones, clams etc cost me over 200 pounds, which is around $400. (We do have a pound signs on our computers, it's just the one on my keyboard doesn't work lol)
If you bought it all from a retailer it'll probably cost you twice as much.


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## sonofbreeder (Jul 17, 2005)

what size tank is that?


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## MarineFish (Mar 6, 2006)

im guessing a 55 by size portionment (dang i can't spell) and the fact he said it was 4 foot


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

Cichlid Man, that is beautiful. I would love a tank like that in my living room. Since I can't do a tank like that, do you mind if I borrow your picture to put on my desktop background? lol


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Thread being moderated now. If any problems arise from this action, please feel free to contact me.


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

Umm...I have a problem with that, Damon....I'm not sure what it is, though...once I figure out what it is I'll let you know. Just kidding.

That's pretty neat, CM. I don't really care for fake stuff, but it's still pretty cool looking.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Buggy said:


> Cichlid Man, that is beautiful. I would love a tank like that in my living room. Since I can't do a tank like that, do you mind if I borrow your picture to put on my desktop background? lol


Sure, no worries.
The tank is about 100g. It's not a regular 4 foot.


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## Daniel1 (Aug 30, 2006)

it is really pretty and a nice idea...i just have a question..have you seen any signs of agression from any of the fish?


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Daniel1 said:


> it is really pretty and a nice idea...i just have a question..have you seen any signs of agression from any of the fish?


None what so ever. Sometimes I come down in the mornings and find a few nipped fins, but these usually heal up within a few days.


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