Look at what i just got.

comando489

I will be putting a bunch of cichlids and maybe one or 2 oddballs.

I will find sand (can i get it from like toys'r'us? like playsand?) and then i will have a bunch of rocks at the bottom.

I think i will paint the back of the tank black with sprat paint (what should i use to clean the glass b4 i spray paint it?).

and I got all of it from walmart for like $250 and that is not bad for a stand and a 55 gal long and all the stuff that comes with it (filter, lights, heater, nets, food and more!)

tell me what you think about what i am going to do with it!

Lupin

Nice tank. What cichlids are you planning to keep? Mbunas?

Amphitrite

Very nice looking tank indeed! It would be good if you could post step-by-step photos as you set it up.. hint hint

comando489

lol ok i will from now on...

i have a 20 gal right now filled with a bunch of fish so i am going to trade my old fish for the new cichlids :(

i'm really going to miss my BGK because i don't think he will be able to be happy with cichlids in the tank with him

but i already have 20 gal of good water and a nice old filter full of good stuff and even a bio wheel so it shouldn't take me a week to get the tank set up :D

Lupin

Keep us updated.

comando489

i still have to look into that a little more, i know that i will end up going with cichlids that have bight colors like yellow and blue

it really all depends whats at my LFS and they have a HUGE selection of cichlids.

AND to top that off my water comes hard around here in buffalo NY so i don't really have to mess around with that, i think it is right around the correct PH

jones57742

Ok: you asked so here it goes and all I am trying to do here is save you $'s and grief.

Cichlids are very, very aggressive fish.
IMHO, I would post the types which you are "thinking of" and get comments from the forum members before spending $'s on the fish.


Nope: "play sand" will not work: the sand in an aquarium must be "uniformly graded" which "play sand" is not: "play sand" will mostly compact very, very densely but will have "pockets" in which the anaerobic digestion bacteria will produce methane gas.

.
This will not work as you anticipate.
Please do not paint the inside of the glass as this will kill your fish.
Painting the exterior face of the glass will not work either.
IMHO I would go back to Walmart, you local LFS's (Local Fish Stores) or PetCo (or similar major retailer) and find a background which you will enjoy.

Please, please do not "get me wrong here".
Once again all that I am trying to do is to save you $'s and grief.

IMHO if I were you the "first thing" that I would do is search this forum for "cycling" and once that you have reviewed this information repost with questions.
Also very short and "to the point" treatises describing cycling are set forth at:
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cycling.htm
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bio...a/aa073199.htm


TR

BTW:

1) Please note that placing fish in a tank which contains tap water which has not been dechlorinated will kill the fish.
2) I have searched the Wal*Mart site and cannot find the aquarium which you purchased.
3) I have found that keeping fish is a very nice endeavor: I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.

beetlebz

Jones, for some reason almost everything my local walmart has is NOT on the website! not my tank, or filter, or filter cartridges, or even the plants i bought to go in it. Im guessing walmart's stock goes by the store and is not uniform across all of them. Which sucks because I have to get off my fat backside and drive the 5 minutes rather than ordering the cartridges off the net

but for the record, I was going to search walmarts high and low to find the 55 gallon long i hear everyone buying from there :)

willow

hi
lovely tank.will watch this thread carefully :)
cichlids sound great,don't forget about them burrowing
in the substrate,they can cause a landslide,glass and rocks
good luck with whatever you choose.
i think that if anything happened to my barbs,i would go back to
keeping those wonderful fish. :)
*cough cough*anyone want some barbs.*cough cough*

blueblue48

man i wish i had the money to buy a great tank and a nice stand like that.