# 120 Gallon Tangayanikan



## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Background:

Constant perusing of the PriceNetwork.ca Aquarium Classifieds section is a bad thing. It can only lead to loss of precious cash with all the deals one can find. One of those days, someone posted a nice Hagen 120 Gallon for sale. I instantly fell in love with the tank. However, I am new to the hobby and just started up a 29 Gallon planted which I had already spent quite a fair share of money on. So I decided to hold back and await for someone to jump at the sale.

Two weeks later, the Aquarium fever has taken me in full force. I had somehow managed to convince myself that my next tank will be Marine. I kept talking about it that my wife was also convinced and expected me to do so. I kept on checking the 120g on sale and saw that the seller had a lot of nibbles but never anything concrete. I finally couldn't fight the fever and sent an inquiry to the seller. He lowered the price for me and still included some Tangayanikan Cichlids with the tank.

In my mind, I was going to turn the tank into SW but I also didn't want to say no to the fishes. After thinking about the situation over and over, I finally came to my senses. A Marine tank would be too much for a newbie like myself at the moment. I also looked at the cost of setting up a tank and it was quite astronomical. So I decided to take the fishes and setup a Tangayanikan tank.

I had setup to pickup the tank on a Sunday afternoon but I had nowhere to put the fish in. My only choice was to put the tank together once I brought it home. So I started browsing PN once again looking for items I will need. Rocks and substrate were the most important. It was actually a perfect timing for the rocks. I picked up 130lbs of Rose Quartz from someone and for the substrate, I picked up 150lbs of 3M Color Quartz "Grade S". I had also picked up an Eheim 2250 filter with overflow from the person I got the rocks from.

So on the Sunday, I borrowed my father in law's minivan and my brother in law drove it and helped me pickup the tank, stand and fishes from the seller. Once we got it home, my friends had arrived at my house and helped me bring it up the front steps and into the house to where it is right now. I immediately did a quick cleanup, put in the eggcrates and setup the rocks. Once I was happy with the result, I started putting in 100lbs of sand. I didn't realize that would be enough. But I guess it's good to have extra for backup.  As the tank was filling up using the Python (w00t!) I went outside to BBQ for my friends. Once it was filled up, we fired up the Eheim 2217 and Eheim 2250 which was a long story on it's own. After 4 hours, I decided it was good enough and put the fishes in the tank.

This whole process was rather quick, tiring and I was barely awake. So I didn't bother taking any pictures.

Enough rambling for now, here are the pictures I took the next day.



















The overflow/skimmer is located on the far left. It does a great job of cleaning the surface of the tank. The water flows into the 2250 and the outflow is on the far right of the tank generating quite a strong current from right to left on top. The result of this is a good flow from left to right at the bottom. For some reason the previous owner had the inflow of the 2217 near the surface. I will have to replace the tubing and put it lower.

I took some plants from the 29g. There's still more to come but how planted should I make a Tang tank?









From the right side.









From the left side.









The fishes were already sleeping in those pictures that's why it looks empty.

Last but not least, the pair of filters that clean up the tank. Eheim 2250 on the left and Eheim 2217 on the right.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

I LOVE IT!!! What a score! Woot! Thanks for posting photos of the entire tank, it's really impressive!

Cheers & Congratulations!!!

Tabatha


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

*Fishes!*

Now on to the inhabitants.

I inherited Lamprologus Brevis (Kigoma) shell dwellers and Neolamprologus Pulcher "Daffodil" with the tank. It seems these guys are used to living with each other. They don't bother each other and the Daffodils usually hang out by the shells and the Brevis just hang out beside them.

Lamprologus Brevis (Kigoma)









Male + Female pair?









This one buried the shell the next day. Now guarding it.









Neolamprologus Pulcher "Daffodil"

I was quite reluctant about these guys after reading about their behaviour on Cichlid Forums. They're supposed to be very aggressive towards other tankmates when they pair up. Well, after 2 days, it seems a trio took shelter on the large rocks to the left and started chasing anyone that went into the area. There's still plenty of room on the other half of the tank though. 




























With just the Daffodils and Brevis in the tank, it looked quite empty as they are always by the rocks or at the bottom. I needed some fishes that would occupy the top part of the tank. After reading through and checking out various types, I decided on the Cyprichromis which are peaceful and are schooling.

Cyprichromis sp. "Leptosoma Jumbo" (Kigoma)










Very colourful when they want to show off.


















I noticed this last night. Black stripes?









That's all the inhabitants in the tank right now. 8 Daffodils, 6 Brevis and 7 Cyps. I will be picking up 9 Julis on Sunday.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Tabatha said:


> I LOVE IT!!! What a score! Woot! Thanks for posting photos of the entire tank, it's really impressive!
> 
> Cheers & Congratulations!!!
> 
> Tabatha


Thanks! I am quite impressed with the tank. The glass is very nice and it's the 1/2" Hagen glass. Now I need to do a really good cleaning of the inside.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

gunnerx said:


> Thanks! I am quite impressed with the tank. The glass is very nice and it's the 1/2" Hagen glass. Now I need to do a really good cleaning of the inside.


Everything is absolutely perfect! You make me want more tanks!


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Tabatha said:


> Everything is absolutely perfect! You make me want more tanks!


The sentiment is mutual.  You don't know how close I was to picking up the 90G Osaka.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

gunnerx said:


> The sentiment is mutual.  You don't know how close I was to picking up the 90G Osaka.


No way! LOL! We need new pics of the tank, it's changed a lot! Maybe this w/e.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Tabatha said:


> No way! LOL! We need new pics of the tank, it's changed a lot! Maybe this w/e.


Where are the updated Osaka pics?


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

What a great tank nice job nice pics too. Hope mine looks half that good when I get it done Pat


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

pat3612 said:


> What a great tank nice job nice pics too. Hope mine looks half that good when I get it done Pat


Thanks! I'm sure yours will look great too!

I took some updated pics today. I added a lot of Java fern and a driftwood with Java fern on it. Such a small dw shouldn't make a difference in PH. I'm still waiting to get my 2nd light. So pardon the darker sides.  I took these at midnight so the fishes were sleeping.










Here's the updated right side.









View from the side.









Closer look.









Overall view of the "new" area.









I will be putting in watersprite this week as that's actually found in Tanganyika.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Wonderful! I cant get enough of those Kigoma... :3


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## th3ha1og0d (Apr 19, 2008)

That tank is an inspiration.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Haha, it's really nothing special. I was quite rushed in putting it together. I would have liked to have taken more time in setting it up but I just didn't have the luxury. I guess it turned out better than I thought. As long as the fishes are happy, then I'm happy.  I'll post updates tonight.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

You did a great job. Just wondering what lights are you using have to get some new ones for the 100gal are you using fertilizer Thanks Pat


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

I just picked up a 6ft AZOO triple PC light from Aquatic Designs on PN and it's quite nice. I'm going to retrofit my cold cathode moonlight into it. I'm using Seachem Flourish Excel, Flourish and Iron right now. I'm not sure if I will need other ferts.

I took a video of the tank. You can view it on youtube.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Completed retrofitting my new 6ft light with the cold cathode I got for Moon Lighting. I'm quite pleased with the end result. Here are the pictures.


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

Very nice.  It adds quite a bit of mystery to the aquarium.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

That looks great really looks like moonlight Pat


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Sexy time!


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Hahaha, I noticed a big difference with the moonlight on though. The fishes are out and about instead of hiding in the rocks. The calvus seem to enjoy it quite a bit and swim about in the open. However, the Cyps are also quite active and the males keep swimming back and forth. I will have to keep them guessing and setup the moonlight to be on at certain days of the week.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

It's been a while since my last update on this. The plants have grown out of control. The java moss and christmas moss have grown quite a bit too. The java fern are quite healthy and looking good. The fishes seem to be in harmony now and getting along quite well. I don't think there has been any other losses in the tank.

I really need to prune these plants.









The white dots on the sand are trumpet snails.









I really like the Christmas Moss. 









One thing I have noticed when I do a WC, there's no poop on the sand! Does that mean that the filtration is working properly? Do the trumpet snails eat the fish poop?


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## XbrandonX (Nov 22, 2007)

Wow your tank looks great! Good job.


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

gunnerx said:


> It's been a while since my last update on this. The plants have grown out of control.
> <SNIP>
> I really need to prune these plants.


Nawww. If the fish have room to swim the plants are just fine! More plants = more ammonia used up = more happier fishies.

Maybe not a AGA planted tank contest aquascaping masterpiece but beautiful all the same. I love green!


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Well, the plants are growing out of the tank.  that's the part that I have to prune. Actually, those large ones grow really fast. I actually have a 20lb CO2 cylinder with regulator and everything I need to provide the tank with CO2 but was too lazy to set it up. However, the plants in the tank are growing really well. I don't fertilize it ever and they're on 3M colorquarts substrate.


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

gunnerx said:


> Well, the plants are growing out of the tank.  that's the part that I have to prune. Actually, those large ones grow really fast. I actually have a 20lb CO2 cylinder with regulator and everything I need to provide the tank with CO2 but was too lazy to set it up. However, the plants in the tank are growing really well. I don't fertilize it ever and they're on 3M colorquarts substrate.


You know, if I were a petty person, I'd be jealous of your success with apparently such little effort...OK I may be a bit petty.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

looks fantastic Gunnerx!


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Just a short update on the tank. All traces of Moss has been removed from the tank. Hair algae was growing on them and took over the entire tank. When I tried to remove the algae, the moss came along with it so I just decided to take it all out. I think the fishes are happier now. I guess the moss didn't really belong in an Tanganyikan tank. 

I will have to take new pictures. It seems there's a lot of multiplying going on. I have more Brevis now, don't know when the new ones appeared. It seems I have more females now too. The Julies are breeding, the tiny little babies are very cute.  Some of the juvenile Daffodils are very pretty with long flowing fins. I lost a couple of the Cyps , they seem to be having issues breeding in the tank. The two remaining Calvus seem to be doing well. I think they're eating a lot of fry and are looking great. I will have to do a major cleanup of the tank then I will definitely take new pics.


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

I gotta ask where did you get the java fern like that'? ic an never find any decent pieces with the long root.

Also great looking tank looks much bigger then a 120 gal.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Tropicana said:


> I gotta ask where did you get the java fern like that'? ic an never find any decent pieces with the long root.
> 
> Also great looking tank looks much bigger then a 120 gal.


Thanks, I have a lot of cleaning up to do right now though. I bought the java fern from someone on Price Network. I was surprised by how much there was for the price I paid. They have grown much larger now too and looking better.


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## greenterror23 (Oct 20, 2008)

what kind of plants are the 2 big one? btw nice tank!


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## XbrandonX (Nov 22, 2007)

I'd LOVE to see some updated pics!


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

XbrandonX said:


> I'd LOVE to see some updated pics!


No updated pics yet. Plants took over then algae followed. I think I'm going to remove the big plants and just keep the java fern. Daffodils are multiplying like crazy and I think better without plants. Will have to do some major cleaning up and maintenance of the filters plus scrape the glass clean before I'll take some new pics.


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