BB Conversion Complete

[Cosmo]

First, a caveat.. the tank sits in a very dark corner so the pics aren't the best.. tried to clean them up some, plus, I may have had the wrong filter on the camera... and, I shot the still w/ the camcorder that has a very slow shutter.. but for the most part, they came out ok

For any who read my thread "today is the day" , this is the end result of Plan C, which is the interim till I can get to Plan A again...

short recap, coverted my 180 gravel bottom to a BB w/ only Driftwood - due unforseen circumstances, Plan C has all 22 fish in the one tank temporarily.

Shots w/ fish were taken at dinner time, so the little floaters you might see (if your eyes are good lol) are Hikari Blood Worms :)

First pic is their temporary housing while I did the work, 11 went in this one, and 11 went in the sister ship in the basement. They lived in here for about 18 hours and came thru it pretty good :)

[Cosmo]

an inside view of their condo :D

[Cosmo]

The clean tank facing into the corner, canopy removed

[Cosmo]

another angle, facing out into the "library"

[Cosmo]

tank is filled, canopy back on, but just airstones (and filters in the cabinet of course) plus the driftwood inside

[Cosmo]

a closeup of the big malaysian driftwood.. (note the little nylon legs attached w/ ss screws so it would stand :) it was either this, or cut it down considerably which the wife wouldn't allow :D ) also, the prefilter on the cannister intake and the one on the wet/dry

[PaintballFan07]

lookin good. Must have been a pain to scoop out all of those rocks.

[Cosmo]

ok, everyones back home.. well, for some it's only temporary. There's 4 pairs in here that will be moving back downstairs in a week or two into their own little private love nests :) (in the upper left corner you can see where the staircase cuts off the view of the top corner of the tank.. we had to measure carefully and had the canopy made so only the front half opens so it would fit )

[PaintballFan07]

tank is filled, canopy back on, but just airstones (and filters in the cabinet of course) plus the driftwood inside
How long has your driftwood been submerged. I have sum that are still floating in my tank that has been in there for about 4 or 5 months now.

[Cosmo]

a shot from the end of the tank looking in... light was a little better and you get a glimpse of the oak cabinet instead of the previous black shadows :(

[Cosmo]

next, tried to get a few shots of the fish but they weren't really cooperating.. especially with slow shutter on the camcorder gettint the pic I wanted was tuff.. this is a Wattley Platinum Gold(approx 7 inches)

[Cosmo]

next is the lady RT who's mated with the big Male RT. She's about 5.5in, he's about 8in. The PB below her is the one I refer to as my PB Dragon.. something about the way he looks lol

[Cosmo]

A head shot of the female domestic RSG.. mated to a big male RSS.. couldn't get him out of the shadows though :( ... at least I think it's her.. lol

[Cosmo]

getting to know the new neighbors part 1

In the center is the Semi Royal Red from brew.. flanked by the Snowflake, Red Melon, the female RT, and I think another one bought years ago as a Red Melon, but.. he's more Orange but has a beautiful black "halo" around his Dorsal and Anal fins. The Male RSS is hiding in the shadows behind the Wild

[Cosmo]

getting to know the new neighbors part 2 (don't think he liked me in his face like that... lol)

[Cosmo]

last one.. if it comes out this time :o

[Cosmo]

Hey Paintball, thanks :)

Actually, syhoned most of the gravel out over a period of weeks using a 1in ID vinyl tube with a hard tube stuck in the end (like the lift tube of a UGF).. was rather easy that way... the last few handfulls were a pain though LOL

The driftwood was pretty much dry when I started filling the tank.. they're all either African or Malaysian... they've been soaked and sanitized previously but were dry now... they're supposed to sink w/o presoaking. Having said that, I have a beautiful African piece that's about 3 ft long that I had fashioned a "bridge" by wedging the thin end into the gap of the malaysian piece shown... as the tank filled though, the darned thing started floating on me :mad: I had soaked this puppy a long time previously and it never did stay sunk... darn shame :(

Jim

[Cosmo]

tried cleaning this one up.. I have to bring the resolution way down to fit it in the forum :(

[Cosmo]

Next weekend I'll try and setup some lighting.. it's a beautiful cabinet and it's a shame these pic's don't do it justice.. some better lighting with the fish would help too...

sooo.. apologize for the lousy photography, but hope you enjoyed the show

Jim

[funkyfish]

dude u have some nice fish if u ever get tire or taking care of them let me know there sweet :D

[jdellman]

Cosmo- You have a lot of very nice fish, but I have to say that the photo of the one-


next is the lady RT who's mated with the big Male RT. She's about 5.5in, he's about 8in. The PB below her is the one I refer to as my PB Dragon.. something about the way he looks lol

is amazing. It is honestly the prettiest fish I have seen. I hate to ask (b/c it shows my ignorance), but what does RT stand for? Also, where did you get it, and where can I get one?

[Cosmo]

Thanks funkyfish and jdellman :)

RT stands for Red Turquise ... mine are both Whattleys but there are many good sources... keep an eye on the boards or check w/ some of the sponsoring breeders.. They are beautiful fish :)


Jim

[jules]

Very nice Cosmo. Beautiful tank, look forward to seeing more pics.
Is that the Wattley Gold in the center shot above?

Julie

[KIWI13]

Wowo Cosmo, thats a great bunch of fish you ahve there, I think I counted around 14 of them and how many gallons is your tank???

[Howie_W]

Congratulations Jim!

Thanks for posting all the pics. You must be relieved...I think we started talking about this project back in the late 50's... ;)

Ofcourse you do realize I'm now going to be counting the days, (patiently waiting :book: ) until you get some plants in there!!! :grin:


Howie

[Cosmo]

Jules.. thanks :) I think it's the Gold, but it may the the Wattley Snowflake.. difficult to tell


Kiwi.. thank you :) there's actually 22 in there right now with 8 slated to move downstairs into breeders within the next couple weeks.. it's a 180 gal and I got it way overfiltered to hold the load in the interim

Howie... How'd I KNOW you'd be commenting on the live plants ?? lol Besides, think it was the early 60's not the late 50's we first started talking about this :D The wife still wants phony plant's tough :( I'll see what I can do to sweet talk her :)

Thinking if I can get some shots on a weekend with some sun coming in they may come out better... I'll check it out this Sat.

Thanks all... it's been a real job getting all this done but I'm really happy with the results... still a way's to go though lol

[Cosmo]

BTW.. the Tangerine and the Yellow & Gold in the last two pics came from Cary Strong as 2.5 inchers last October... grew pretty well didn't they ? Love them Eheim autofeeders :)

[KIWI13]

You should be proud of yourself. I would give anything to have a tank like that. Hey you dont export to france do ya, ha!h ha! just kiddin. Well its worth a try atleast. I LOVE YOUR FISH. I will bestarting off with 6 lil ones and if they grow to look half as nice as yours , i'll be a happy man.

[Cosmo]

Hey Kiwi... thanks again, the fish are a labor of love for me as much or more as they are a hobby so your very kind comments are really appreciated :) The little ones will grow, then you'll add more, and more, and.. pretty soon you'll need bigger and bigger tanks too... take you time, take good care of them, and don't forget to post your pics so we can admire them as well..
Jim

[Robin764]

Wow Cosmo!
That's gotta be the nicest BB tank set up I've seen! You don't need plants....it's gorgeous! All those purty fishies just adding to it as well! Berry Nice!
*drools*
Robin

[tpl*co]

Wow, what size tank is that? It's beautiful!

[Stephish]

That's what I call a labour of love. Great job Cosmo, and lovely fish.

[Carol_Roberts]

Very nice fish :)

[PaintballFan07]

hey Cosmo, where did u get those large tree stump sized driftwood at? I would like to purchase on for my tank as a centerpiece sometime soon.

[Cosmo]

Paintball, I got it a local LFS in Chicago.. you can order Malaysian driftwood online from drsfostersmith.com but you won't know what it looks like until you get it.. I got my African pieces there and they're both pretty flat.

This website seems to have a great selection, but I've never ordered from them. I bookmarked it after someone else on the forum posted it a few months ago.. http://www.aquariumdriftwood.com/driftwoo.htm

Thanks Carol :)

Jim

[Cosmo]

tpl*co,

It's a 180 gal ... 6ft X 2ft X 2ft - thanks :)
Jim

[Northwestcoastdisc]

nice tank set up with beauitful fish!

Duncan

[PaintballFan07]

Paintball, I got it a local LFS in Chicago.. you can order Malaysian driftwood online from drsfostersmith.com but you won't know what it looks like until you get it.. I got my African pieces there and they're both pretty flat.

This website seems to have a great selection, but I've never ordered from them. I bookmarked it after someone else on the forum posted it a few months ago.. http://www.aquariumdriftwood.com/driftwoo.htm

Thanks Carol :)

Jim Thanks for the website, Jim.

[ed8t]

Cosmo,

Well worth the effort for a beautiful display and some very nice fish!

[Tad]

Jim,
For an old guy :p , Your moving right along with some great plans...love the tank and your fishes ;)

regards,
Tad