# My new 120G African Cichlid Tank



## Explorer guy (Sep 12, 2011)

Ok, this is my new obsession... the 120 gallon 60" wall of wonder! Eheim Classic 600 canister filter (I wanted the new fancy schmantsy computerized one but the fish store guy actually talked me out of it...IMPRESSIVE) and a jager heater (I went with bigger is better theory on both of them...just in case I um....go bigger?!) Lighting upgrades to come soon, and after a couple weeks of fidgetting and aquascaping, I'm ALMOST there.... mind you one is never there when it comes to how it looks! In my almost 25 years of fish keeping, this one by far is the nicest yet.... and I've tried to avoid being half a$$ed! There's nothing worse than a really nice tank that looks half a$$ed! I mean sure, if bright blue and green gravel and a bubbling plastic treasure chest that opens and closes is your thing, by all means.... but to me.... I like to try and keep the hobby looking more on the natural side of things. Now, YES... I have a lot invested, but I also know how to do it on a budget- there were many years I spent doing this with very shallow pockets. Even now, with a couple extra quarters in my pockets I still refuse to pay inflated Big Al prices for silly things like rocks. With a little research (the power of Google!) you can save hundreds, especially with rock decor. Recently I made a trip out to Humber Nursery- you can buy decent size boulders of lava rock, featherstone, shale, etc. for like....$10 a boulder. Smack it with a hammer a couple of times and voila.... for $20 you can have your outfit done.... which woulda cost you $200 at the B-A! 
Now sure, I'm a sucker sometimes for oddball stuff, but it is totally possible to do it on a budget. Aside from my tank investment, which I decided that since I was going to do this thing this big, I wanted new, wanted warranties and well...needed everything... but as for the interiors of my tank, here's my breakdown of investment-

Limestone- picked from Tobermory almost 15 years ago.... 3rd tank it has been in!
$0!

Substrate- dug off my own beach back from lake St. Clair 10 years ago- rinsed it extremely well on an old screen from a sliding glass door with the hose.... 2nd tank it's been in.... $0!

New tank...needed more gravel, so I actually bought some- 2 big ole bags from Big ole' Al's.... $36 plus tax.

Featherstone and Lavarock- friend's family own's garden centre...turns out he upgraded to a 75 gal. and was picking for his own new set-up.... asked for a lil extra! FREE!!

Plants- well, I cheat and I use fake- I just don't have the patience and the time to grow em real, and well--- if I get bored I can move things around like nothing! I originally bought a wholesale lot of ebay about 6 years ago- I got 30 plants for $25.... assorted sizes and types. 

Cool round balls... couldn't resist something a lil uniform for a change, they were $4 a pop at the Big Al. so $12.

Driftwood.... fark. lets not go there, hot darn that shyte is ridonk. $60
It's such a must though... and well.... I'm experimenting right now with some finds of my own. 

A couple new plants here, a couple new plants there.... it's possible to make it all look good though for under $100 bucks if yer resourceful. If not, you end up like the rest of us with $9,753,229 dollars and fifteen cents invested in this addiction. LOL. 

Anywho.... I've rambled enough!


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## absun (Aug 28, 2011)

nice layout


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Yeah it looks really nice, especially for the price point.

Those look like some really big Marimo!


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## Explorer guy (Sep 12, 2011)

Will Hayward said:


> Yeah it looks really nice, especially for the price point.
> 
> Those look like some really big Marimo!


Lol...well....with this setup there wasn't really a price point. I'm entering the "thousands" section on the project now.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Welcome to the addiction, 

if you want great plants and save a lot of money try out fish club auctions

here is a link http://www.caoac.ca/calendar.html I think they are worth the drive

I really like your setup good work


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## Explorer guy (Sep 12, 2011)

Thanks I'm always surfing online looking for stuff. I've since bought the canopy that matches the stand and new lighting. Soon to add some more wood, need to pickup some stone to keep it weighed down... I'm actually thinking of bringing a couple pieces of tile home from work since I could drill a hole and use a stainless steel screw through it.


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