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Posted	eheim experts wanted
06-03-2006 19:34 by tony mcculloch	forgive me for asking so many questions but for a long time i have been reading your forums,but not had a fishtank. now i have a tank i want the best advise. I have bought a few large tanks but at the moment i am setting up a 6"x2"x2" malawi tank. I have an eheim eco 2233 external and also an eheim 2215 external and was wondering could someone advise me to which one would be the best to use. i dont want to use both on the one tank as i have other large tanks to set up.cheers.
06-03-2006 19:53 by yanton	I'm not an expert on Eheims, but great idea to set up a 6x2x2 for rift valley cichlids. Thats just what I have - superb. Is yours open topped? Mine has an arcadia luminaire for lighting. currently it contains: Usisya Peacocks (wild pair) Chilumba Peacocks (wild pair) Red top Fuelleborni (wild pair) Red zebras (5 wild) 6 Mwipimbi Frontosa Ahli (pair) Red Empress (male) Copadichromis (maginficent wild pair) Labeotropheus Firecracker (2 males) Copadichromis Pleurostigma Kande (3 wild) Aulonocara Stuartgranti Hansbaenschi (wild male) ... and a few more bits and bobs.
06-03-2006 20:22 by tony mcculloch	hello bud. just in the process of painting the back with blackboard paint, will clean all the gravel tomorrow and build a lid, maybe even get some water in there. i used to have the same size setup and the same malawi set up, top to bottom with tuffa rock, it was fantastick. not to sure of names of fish anymore, i did have happlichromis obliquadins, blue morri,johanna johnstoni, venustus,yellow labs(my favourite), aulonacara, the usual different coloured zebras, several of the more expensive sinadontis and so much more. never had a problem breeding any. hoping the stand i have built is strong enough to take the weight?????. i assume that the light you have is the best for bringing out the colours of the fish, i like a subdued light that leaves the tank on the darker side but the fish stand out. I also have a tank that is 43"26"26" and i am putting nothing but frontosa in,about 8, should be great. will keep you informed of the progress and put some photos up.cheers
06-03-2006 21:46 by Ray	Hello Tony,I dont think either filter is big enough for the set up you are putting together,the Ecco2233 is rated at max tank 40 galllons and the 2215 at 70 gallons max,together you might be ok as rockwork displaces a lot of water,but Malawis are usually kept in large concentrations to minimise aggression and overfiltering is the norm. I agree with Yanton that this is a excellent size of tank for Malawis,they can show their behaviour and colour to the maximum,good luck and let us know how you get on,nice to have another African lake head on the firm(the best fish in water )
06-03-2006 22:04 by tony mcculloch	cheers ray, will see how i go with the 2215 for now and will probably also put in the eheim internal that i have. like i said to yanton, i used to have the same setup and the eheim ex and eheim int was pretty much the same as what i had then, along with a regular syphoning of the gravel and removal of 20% water change. i agree they are the best fish, and i will not keep anything else.
06-03-2006 22:06 by tony mcculloch	ps. will post some photos tomorrow and show the process of my tank being set up.
06-03-2006 22:55 by tony mcculloch	heres a photo of my tank being painted at the back with blackboard paint. some people might be horrified with me doing this but i have tried loads of different backdrops in the past and this one has never failed to please me.
07-03-2006 08:30 by yanton	keep us informed tony. looking forward to hearing about what fish you choose.
07-03-2006 09:35 by tony mcculloch	hello yanton, we are limited around here for malawi, they dont seem to be to popular. there used to be an aqua store in liverpool that used to sell every cichlid under the sun ranging from a few quid up to £75 for a pair of wild Aulonocaras.if i get time today i might take a drive down and see. otherwise i will be stuck to what is available.know i want a pair of obliquadins and some yellow labs.
07-03-2006 11:59 by MC	Tony - I've got some yellow Maylandia Estherae and 3 x Ps Socolofi to start your tank with if your interested. They are free to a good home I live in Middlewich, Cheshire
07-03-2006 12:36 by tony mcculloch	that would be great bud, i live in southport so i dont know how i could get them here. just put tank in place, so far so good.******** myself that the stand will collapse.
07-03-2006 12:52 by yanton	tony, i'm a bit worried about that stand - is it sturdy enough? does it need some cross braces?
07-03-2006 12:53 by tony mcculloch	I want to put the gravel in now, but should i wash it first.it came out of a tank set up with axolotl and as far as i know its not contaminated in any way, just dirty. i suppose the prospect of washing so much gravel by hand is a little daunting
07-03-2006 12:56 by MC	Tony - wash it or regret it is the motto. If your setting up for Malawi's then play sand is by far the better option, it aint expensive but does need a thorugh washing
07-03-2006 13:01 by tony mcculloch	it seems solid yanton and its bolted and screwed. the timber is 2x3 and as you can see the legs have two pieces of timber screwed together on each leg. we will soon see. if it does go then i will turn my entire living room into a tank, filled with tears.haha
07-03-2006 13:11 by tony mcculloch	I tried play sand in my last tank and found it very nice to look at but it soon got****** and i found it difficult to do my water changes, but the ideas are good. went to see if that aqua store was still there, and its not, but bought to huge pieces of volcanic rock on the way home. thanks all you guys for sharing my setup with, its great, and a new experience, appreciated. oh and by the way, were all siting on the floor now, haha.
07-03-2006 13:35 by MC	Tony - you might be interested in this site dedicated to Malawi keepers. Its run by a guy in Merseyside and a few others on here are also members http://www.malawikeepers.com/index.php
07-03-2006 14:57 by tony mcculloch	yes, seems i have already registered with them. not looked at the site in great depth yet.I assume wild caught malawi are better than your average shop bought as they are not interbred?
07-03-2006 17:32 by tony mcculloch	well the gravel is washed and in the tank, I have put in the ocean rock which was probably heavier than the ruddy tank. was wanting more rock than this but that was when i was going to use tuffa, think i will settle for these 2 monsters, with maybe the odd piece scattered around. what do you think?
07-03-2006 17:33 by tony mcculloch	trust me they dont look much on the photos, but they are massive.
07-03-2006 17:34 by tony mcculloch	ready for the water.
07-03-2006 17:43 by tony mcculloch	I will be ready soon to set up the external eheim filter. when i got them i cleaned them out and have left them full of tonic salt and water to kill of any disease, would it do any harm to run it with the salt solution in or do i have to rince the solution out before using? cheers. hpoe you enthusiasts have not abandoned me?
07-03-2006 18:28 by Ray	Hello Tont,I would wash the tonic salt away,don't know the composition but Malawis do not tolerate ordinary salt,Rift salt is fine though.I think a lot more rocks are needed,you said the last tank you had was reefed right to the top,if you want to keep Mbuna a lot of territories will be needed.I have been setting up a 60 gall tank today and it will be interesting to compare our methods,any idea of what fish you want?
07-03-2006 18:41 by tony mcculloch	I want everything ray.whatever i can afford with the wifes wages haha. with regards to the rocks i am concerned about the weight. will wash the filter out now as dont even know if it works. i also have 6 75 watt and a 200 watt heater, what do you suggest?
07-03-2006 18:43 by tony mcculloch	sorry, that is 6x 75 watt and not 675 watt. how are you doing with your setup? and how many gallons does 6x2x2 hold.
07-03-2006 19:03 by Ray	I would use the 200 and a few of the 75s, how about breaking up those great big lumps and building them up in a reef,I have just filled the new tank,I used limestone from a garden centre and flints and ocean rock,my substrate is silver sand.A 6x2x2 holds about 150 gallons.
07-03-2006 19:27 by tony mcculloch	you will have to post a photo for us to see. cant bring myself to break them up as they are nicly shaped and full of holes for the fish to hide. the tank is now full of water and the stand is holding out(phew). how long will i have to wait before i introduce the odd fish. a mate of mine is cuitting his 4 ft tank and giving it to me as i got him into keeping cichlids about 4 years ago, he has red telapia(not nice) some blue zebras( not very blue) a couple of young yellow labs, a multipunctatas angelica which used to be mine, and a lovely venustus. would you move any of these fish on as they are not all malawi, are they?
07-03-2006 19:52 by Ray	I can not get whole pics to load on here but will try tomorrow.If you can get the filter media from your mates tank you can get going as soon as your filters are running and the water is a right temp.Why not use his fish to get the system fully mature and take it from there,bear in mind though that Venustus are mean hombres and adding new fish could be difficult,I would chop them all in at a later date apart from the Labs,and put as large a group of youngsters as you can afford at one time,you will have a couple of months to find types you really like that way.
07-03-2006 20:01 by tony mcculloch	what do you mean by" using his fish" to get the system fully mature.
07-03-2006 20:07 by Ray	Sorry, I mean put his fish in your tank and let them mature the system,it usually takes a few months for a tank to settle down,if you can use mature filter media you can start stocking the tank straight away.
07-03-2006 20:29 by tony mcculloch	so if i put his water, fish, filter, and tuffa rock, in my tank, that should be ok? putting his water in would be the equivalent of doing a 50% water change, something i have done before and got away with.
07-03-2006 20:44 by Linda Chenapa	Can I suggest that you add some plywood to the back and sides? This will help to made it stronger and also give you something to build onto, should you wish, such as doors.
07-03-2006 21:05 by tony mcculloch	hello linda, have decided to put some strong steel corner brackets on. it seems to be holding well at the moment, no creeks.
07-03-2006 21:14 by Ray	Yes putting all of the mature items from his tank will be of great benefit to your system also take a bit of media from your mates filter and put that in the new one to start it off,if you can transport that much water then do it fella,Lindas idea is very good I was going to suggest MDF as it is pretty cheap and can be stained and varnished.
07-03-2006 21:34 by tony mcculloch	the reason why i wanted an open stand is because my living room is very small, but i did think about making an enclosed unit before hand. happy with stand as long as it holds up, if it was going to collapse then i think it would have done by now. bit late now, water in and filters and heaters running. putting both externals filters in and a internal. my mate is giving me his internal that also has a built in heater, so may aswell use it.
07-03-2006 21:34 by tony mcculloch	the reason why i wanted an open stand is because my living room is very small, but i did think about making an enclosed unit before hand. happy with stand as long as it holds up, if it was going to collapse then i think it would have done by now. bit late now, water in and filters and heaters running. putting both externals filters in and a internal. my mate is giving me his internal that also has a built in heater, so may aswell use it.
08-03-2006 08:41 by tony mcculloch	Morning all. good news is that my tank is still standing and the temp is rising. going to put the other external filter in today, but was wondering if it was a good idea to have one at either end or should i have outflow of both at one end and inflow of both at other so as not to cause a current from both sides?
08-03-2006 08:41 by Alan	I would add a cross support to it as the stand looks like it could fall over length ways the bolts you have used will act as pivot points. 2 Cross supports at the back should be sufficient these could be fitted while the tank is full.
08-03-2006 08:52 by tony mcculloch	your right there allan. the guy who had it originaly had two 4 ft fish tanks on it, wow, daft question but how would i add these cross bars?
08-03-2006 10:17 by MC	On the bais of the joint construction all you should need to do is put another bolt 8" below the one shown and through both pieces of timber, do this on every joint. That should irradicate the possibility of pivoting as Alan mentions There again, you can also add the additional supports as I'm sure you will be adding more rocks as you progress. If you intend to keep Mbuna your two large pieces will not be enough and will become battle grounds for all the fish trying to claim territories
08-03-2006 11:01 by Alan	There are a few ways of doing it the easiest may be to cut a piece of wood so both ends are pointed. A mitre on both sides of each end should do it so it slots in snugly to the corner pictured and the corner at the bottom of the frame. If it is a snug enough fit it will not need any bolts holding it in place it may be sensible to take the tank off the stand while you do this but it could be done with the tank on the stand.
08-03-2006 11:03 by Alan	I personally would be reluctant to drill through the supporting braces but this would also prevent the pivoting.
08-03-2006 12:27 by tony mcculloch	hello. just got back with my bargain of the day, 4 more largish pieces of ocean rock, should make a difference, and then top up with fuffa with regards to the supports, how about if i put in place a piece of mdf, 20"x 72" right across the 3 legs at the back, and screw it on with maybe 4 good screws on each leg? glad you are all helping with stand, as am concerned myself.
08-03-2006 12:37 by tony mcculloch	I know this was mentioned earlier by linda and ray, question is, would it work?
08-03-2006 12:53 by MC	It would help but to give peace of mind (you've got a ton of tank there)the other recommendations should also be seriously considered
08-03-2006 13:17 by tony mcculloch	going to add strengthening bars at the back( one either side of the middle leg, and also the mdf. hope it dont collapse on me.
08-03-2006 13:56 by tony mcculloch	is this what you all mean by supports?
08-03-2006 13:56 by tony mcculloch	sorry, heres picture.
08-03-2006 15:08 by Alan	Yes thats what we mean this will prevent it from collapsing side way the backing board would help to but these additional struts will make most of the difference.
08-03-2006 15:17 by tony mcculloch	any better. cant do much more now as those blasted funds have run out. any suggestions or ideas would be great. will be getting about 30 pieces of tuffa on sunday, and some fish, so will let you know how i go on, cheers all for the good advise so far.
08-03-2006 15:20 by tony mcculloch	more rock.
08-03-2006 15:23 by tony mcculloch	nearly there. how is your tank coming on ray?
08-03-2006 17:32 by Ray	Hello Tony,it is coming along fine,going to put baby Ahli in tonight along with their filters and water,to mature the new filter,wish I could get whole pics to load.Your tanks looking good with the extra rockwork.
08-03-2006 17:53 by tony mcculloch	cheers ray. just put light on but think it may be a little to bright(never happy)its an arcadie grolux, put other eheim external filter in to, had few problems at first with the top being pushed off with the pressure, small flood, but reminded me why i stopped keeping fish haha. do you know when you keep bogwood in your tank, and over a period the water goes a nice tone of brown, well thats what i would like. you can use the tool next to the submit button to make your pictures smaller, or even set your camera( if digital ) to a smaller sized photo, i had same problem. what are ahli? got to sort out the 100 or so axolotl that i inherited with the tanks, they are hatching quickly.
08-03-2006 18:05 by tony mcculloch	ray, i know you told me how many gallons my tank holds, but how do you work it out. i have 2 more tanks to set up after this one, assuming i can get them in. cheers bud.
08-03-2006 19:02 by Ray	Ok Tony I like to have my tanks well lit,I am running four tubes on my 6x2x2,but it really is personal choice,I think Grolux is now called the Beauty lamp.Bogwood is not recommended for Malawi as it will affect the PH and make the water acidic so should not be used.Haplichromis Ahli now called Scienochromis Frieri,are a lovely Hap,look at the pic I sent dad is on the left.To work out gallons times the tank in feet then times by 6.25,or even easier use the calculation on the first page of this site,I keep forgetting it is there.Good luck with the amphibians some people might want a few on here,try the reptile forum
08-03-2006 22:12 by tony mcculloch	I. want to add stress coat to my water, but it is in us gallons, is it the same as a uk gallon.
09-03-2006 00:04 by MC	Read the instruction further it should also give it in litres but to keep it short, the recommended dose is 5ml per 40ltrs
09-03-2006 00:27 by tony mcculloch	yes i did that, read instructions throughout but was not sure, wasnt anything to do with the tank, needed to put baby axolotls in fresh water, fiddly little things. been looking through the site for malawis local, but dont appear to be any.
09-03-2006 00:43 by tony mcculloch	are you familiar with PSEUDOTROPHEOUS ELONGATUS USISYA, there are, or were some for sale, are they worth going for.
09-03-2006 10:17 by Ray	I saw some Usisya a few months ago,they looked a bit drab to me none of the black bars just a brownish colour,they were young though.Tony to convert gallons to litres multiply by 4.55
09-03-2006 10:38 by MC	Or you can go to the site homepage and use the calculators that are there, its a lot quicker than calculating yourself
09-03-2006 11:16 by tony mcculloch	morning all. the tank is looking great thismorning, had a sleepless night worrying about this *** eheim ecco, must have got up at every noise to check it wasnt emptying. if you are familiar with this model then you will know it is the handle that locks it in place, and yesterday when setting up,the pressure was pushing the handle out on itself and releasing the lid, what a worry. the tank has reached 26 in temp now so have to adjust the heaters, more fun and games. looked for this tank conversion on 1st page but cannot find it, even the wife looked and she had no joy, is it still there and whats its heading? cheers. ps , ray, never saw the picture you said about yesterday,ahli.
09-03-2006 11:24 by MC	Theres a link just above the basic calculators, temp, galls / ltrs etc Aquarium Capacity Calculator
09-03-2006 11:26 by tony mcculloch	will have another look, cheers MC.
09-03-2006 11:36 by tony mcculloch	great, found it. I was going to front page of website and not to the front page of fish. not to clever with computers and websites.cheers
09-03-2006 16:06 by tony mcculloch	I have a hiblow 40 air pump, big thing, dont think i will be using it on any of my fish tanks, do you know anything about them and do you think i would maybe be able to swap it for some malawis, or is it something i could use if i decided to set up a sump in the future????? should be selling my fishing boat on saturday, so hoping to have one *** of a spending spree on fish, cant wait, is there anywhere that you guys can suggest in the north west.
09-03-2006 16:08 by tony mcculloch	the word that was stared was the opposite of heaven, dont know why it was ***** out?
09-03-2006 20:10 by Ray	my new setup
09-03-2006 20:13 by Ray	Thanks Tony took your advice and altered my camera,cheers mate.

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