[ngo911]

Update on Page 4, Oct 4, 2010

Thinking of re-doing the cave wall with the right materials. Does anyone have experience using a black aquarium safe silicone?

I finally have a few minutes to post some quick snaps of my new setup. The rock formations are just temporary, until I finish my cave wall. After that, I will remove the rocks and get a nice chunk of holey rock to free up some swimming room.

There are currently about 16 P. Saulosi (3 males, 11 females, 2 juvies), 1 cobalt blue, 1 small gold nugget, and 1 fully grown bristlenose.

Can't wait to finish the cave wall! Anyways, enjoy the pics

 

[clintgv]

Nice fishies . I agree on the holy rock. I think they will like it more .

 

[neven]

Nice work so far, are you plannin on making the wall all the way up the back? or just part way and having another form of diy hardscape continuing on?

 

[ngo911]

The wall will cover the entire back. The picture only shows half of it, the other half is in the garage. I had to break it up in two halves so that it would fit inside the top holes of the tank.

 

[Mferko]

pretty cool, looks good
make sure you file the edges where the metal was cut so its not sharp

 

[tony1928]

Be careful with using sharp rocks. I know that my big peacocks used to injure themselves once in a while when they are chasing each other. Scrape an eye, stuff like that. I always try to use nice and smooth rocks now. Nice idea on the rock wall though.

 

[jay_leask]

what kind of rocks are you using on the back? i seen that project on a web site and thought it was a cool idea.

 

[ngo911]

pretty cool, looks good
make sure you file the edges where the metal was cut so its not sharp

I didn't bother to do that because all of the edges will be against the side of the tank or next to each other. The circle cutouts will be surrounded by the rocks as seen in the pics.

Be careful with using sharp rocks. I know that my big peacocks used to injure themselves once in a while when they are chasing each other. Scrape an eye, stuff like that. I always try to use nice and smooth rocks now. Nice idea on the rock wall though.

Yea, that's why I am giving my feather rock I bought, wayyyy too sharp. The rocks in the pic are just temporary until I finish the cave wall. The rock used on the wall isn't too sharp, and is pretty soft.

what kind of rocks are you using on the back? i seen that project on a web site and thought it was a cool idea.

I'm using black lava rock from a landscape supply store in poco. Only 2.25 for a pail, which I think I will end up using all of for the wall (48" by ~20"). I am following this guide Do It Yourself Aquarium Projects

 

[Diztrbd1]

nice looking tank, I like the cave idea, thanks for sharing

 

[ngo911]

So I (mostly my gf) finally finished the cave wall... but it was disastrous. I thought I could put it in while the fish were still in there, but ended up kicking up a lot of sand. Bad judgement call on my part. It became so cloudy that I could barely see the fish. At that time I noticed they were breathing very hard as well, and many were either listless at the bottom or gasping near the top. I then got out the 20g and set it up and transfered them in there.

Thinking that I had kicked up toxins buried in the sand, I checked the ammonia and nitrite and they were both at zero. This leaves me to believe that something in my cave caused them distress. It was either the lava rock or the 100% silicone I used. Either way, I think I will be scrapping this project, which really sucks because it ended up costing quite a bit for everything, not to mention the amount of time I (my gf) spent putting it all together. The worst part though is the hard I caused to the fish.

Unfortunately, by the time I got them into the 20g, it was too late. 1 female and 1 juvie died yesterday night and 1 male died today. There are a couple of females that look in very bad shape. They are just lying on their side gasping, moving sporadically once in a while. It appears as though my other 2 males and about 4-5 females have recovered for the most part. I found out during this ordeal that some females were carrying fry as well. My gf almost cried because she grew really attached to them in such a short amount of time.

In hindsight, I would have never started this project and just spent the money on some nice pieces of holey rock. It sure did look good though. I am hoping I can find another 55g tank only for cheap, as I do not trust this tank anymore.

Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading.

 

[tony1928]

I wonder what it could have been. How long did you cure the silicone? Also, where did you get the lava rock? Just trying to help narrow it down, I can't think of what it could be except whatever new stuff you put in.

 

[airbaggedmazda]

did you use metal gutter?

 

[airbaggedmazda]

If its metal gutter I think it would be the painted coating to protect it from the water, in the diy they used vinyl.

 

[Diztrbd1]

What silicone did you use ? Was it GE silicone I or II or something else?

 

[jkcichlid]

no need to buy a new tank Just empty it out, clean it up good, and it will be as good as new.
I would be more concerned about my filter material being contaminated. Just replace it and clean the filter good and you will be good to go

 

[ngo911]

I wonder what it could have been. How long did you cure the silicone? Also, where did you get the lava rock? Just trying to help narrow it down, I can't think of what it could be except whatever new stuff you put in.

What silicone did you use ? Was it GE silicone I or II or something else?

I used GE 100% Silicone II. I had read it was aquarium safe. I let it cure for 2 days. The lava rock was bought from a landscape supply store in PoCo. I had to shovel it into a pail by myself, it was sitting in a huge pile they had outside.

did you use metal gutter?

If its metal gutter I think it would be the painted coating to protect it from the water, in the diy they used vinyl.

I did use metal gutter.... I had read through the DIY a couple of times still missed it. It never even occurred to me that gutters were made of anything other than metal.... That must be it.... ARGH

no need to buy a new tank Just empty it out, clean it up good, and it will be as good as new.
I would be more concerned about my filter material being contaminated. Just replace it and clean the filter good and you will be good to go

Thanks, I may do just that if I cannot find a replacement tank soon. I picked my current tank up dirt cheap but it is acrylic, bulging in the middle, and has a few good scratches so I wouldn't mind replacing it anyways.

Thanks for the quick help everyone.

 

[Diztrbd1]

the GE silicone II leeches ammonia and methanol(I believe) if you read on the tube it should say it on there. I think if you let it cure for a couple weeks it's ok. As I never emptied my tank just did alot of water changes, 6 weeks or so later I have no more fish deaths. I read alot about it after all my fish died, there was alot of debate about it. I used the GE II black and only let it cure for 2 days also. The silicone II has a mold/mildew preventer in it (which GE silicone I doesn't have) and that I believe is what caused my problems as well. I could be wrong but I would avoid the GE silicone II and if you do , let it cure for a week or 2.

 

[eternity302]

Sorry to hear that man!!! Must suck!!
Cheer up! Not ur fault, lesson learnt right?

 

[Smiladon]

Very sorry to hear about this disaster. This shouldn't discourage you from DIY stuff though. Hard work is never wasted, you always get something of use out of it. This time its knowledge for you.

 

[eternity302]

One thing i'd like to mention.. at least you lady appreciates your fish alot more now right? And the two of you spent some good quality time right? =) CHEER UP!