Stocking my new 6feet tank

After a few fishing trips which were uneventful... we started "cheating" and using this new contraption to catch the midas cichlids! Nothing seems to work to entice them to take the bait, worms, mix chicken feed, guppies, prawns, even homemade lures! (which incidentally hasn't caught anything at all, lol!) Absolutely nothing !! :P So, seeing a few other anglers out there using this trap, we tried it ourselves. It's a simple net tied approximately 2 by 2 feet in length, tied to a weighted swivel! Cast it with a rod to where you think the fishes are and they'd get entangled in it! And that was the only way we manage to land them fishes! 

Culmination of 4-5 fishing trips! Jaguars are easier to catch though as they'd whack worms, fishes and nearly anything we throw at them!  

Backdrop looks good! Had to make sure i really put enough silicone (nearly 2  whole tubes) to stick the styrofoam to the back of the tank proper!

This looks a lot like your typical run of the mill tilapia but with really nice colors. Anyone has any idea what type is he? Been looking around and the closest i could find is that he's a blue tilapia, with a red tail. 

The community seems quite relax this time around. None being killed over territory maybe because they're all juveniles! 3-4 inches in size and none seems to be fighting for space as yet! Hopefully there's enough for them all especially when they start paring up and breeding!

Lastly we spotted this lil' guy in the garden! Doesn't look like your typical house lizard! A lot more like a gecko! Does anyone know what it is? 

Backdrop for midas haven 2.0

So following some sites online, I decided to try to create a backdrop for my new tank! Using styrofoam, lots of cement and silicone we'd have a nice inert backdrop for the cichlids to play n breed, hopefully. Here are a few links to follow with really good instructions. I had to tweak them abit as there are stuffs unavailable (or very expensive) in the Malaysian market, unfortunately.

http://www.aquariumlife.net/projects/diy-decoration/17.asp

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background.php

The rough idea is to cut up blocks of styrofoam, stick them together with silicone (i added satay sticks - bamboo skewers for extra strength) . Smear layers and layers of cement, wait for it to dry and lastly to be painted over with silicone!

What you'd need to start with is 1 large piece of 1 inch styrofoam and many smaller, thick pieces. You'd end up with something like this! 

After ensuring that the styrofoam is relatively dry and stuck, make sure the pieces are cut to size so that they fit into your aquarium. Here's a good time to make sure that each piece going into the aquarium is not too big too as many layers of cement, these things do get quite heavy! And do take note that each piece will grow in size after the layering too! At most, an inch away from the sides of your tank.

My problem after working on these pieces is that I realize I was too ambitious in trying to make a 3D backdrops with too many nooks and cranny for the fishes! It' really a lot of work to cement them thoroughly! This is the first layer of cement that went on. 

You'd need a bucket to start with! Add to ratio of 1 to 1 of cement and fine sand! I'd start with normal grey cement as it's cheaper! The first layer is suppose to adhere to the styrofoam so that the next following layers has  a better grip!

It helps to use an old brush and a trowel! Mix everything in a bucket with enough water to make it soupy enough that you can brush it onto the styrofoam. Dapping with the brush helps too. You would not need to be too meticulous with the first layer. This process actually takes at minimum 4-5 layers to really get it going.

I did mix a thicker sand ratio (1:3) to cement for filling up pockets in the backdrop so to add additional weight as well as stability to the styrofoam. One thing to realize is that styrofoam really is very buoyant and the heavier you make them, the less glue-ing is needed in the end (to the side of your tank). 

Here are all 3 pieces cut up and cemented with the first layer. If you'd notice, the left most piece is really huge! I should have reduced this in size as it took a group of 4 to lift it up and into the tank!

You'd also need a water spray bottle! Keeping the cement layers wet continuously helps strengthens it. I'd usually spray a layer of mist every hour after putting on a new layer, 3-4 times. Don't do it too soon as you may end up washing away your hard-work too! :P

In the end, for the last layer, i used the red cement to give the backdrop a lil' coloring. Do mix in some grey cement too as this gives it a more natural lava red setup instead of it being fire-red! :) Unless that is your thing :)

This being the first attempt at making my own backdrop, I realize that this does not look very natural! That and the pieces were really too big to handle by myself! I guess it's a lesson to learn, next time around :)

Oh yeah and this isn't the last step! The last thing to add is a very thin layer of silicone! This helps preserve and ensure that the cement stays inert. My fear was that cichlids and plecos being what they are, they'd slowly chip into the cement work! Adding that extra layer of protection helps the cement last longer! Total cost below :-

4 x bags of grey cement (mr4.50 per bag) = rm18

2 x bags of red cement (rm9.60 per bag) = rm19.20

1" 4x6 styrofoam backing = rm10

6x tubes of silicone! Yes, it took that many! (rm7.60 per stick) = rm 45.60

bucket of sand = FOC as i kinda flick that from a neighbor's house renovation project! :P

satay sticks were cheap as i bought a really huge bag years ago. 

What costs more was the time and effort for this endeavor! 

Beginning a new phase - Midas Haven 2.0

After clearing the older cracked aquarium, we went a-shopping to purchase a bigger 6 feet tank for the midas cichlids. Before the tank arrives though, lots of work had to go into setting up an outside pergola so that the tank will not get too much sunlight and turn into an algae tank! And what perfect time to convince the missus that we need more power tools :) So along we went to the hardware shop shopping for wood, a jig saw, bolts n nuts, paints n other stuffs. Here are a few pictures while waiting for paint to dry :)

If you'd notice behind the 6 feet frame is my old 2 feet tank! Which is now growing cabomba and a family of swordtails!! Thanks to a Siang's recommendation, i left them as is n it seems quite stable. No additional lighting, CO2 or even substrate. It's after all an experiment :) Below's the finish product. A small awning for  the tank. Total cost wasn't really that extravagant considering that it's all DIY-ed. 

2 x 2 inch wood frame = rm 20

the upper pieces were meranti = rm60

1 x can of Weathershield paint = rm 45

Nuts and Bolts = rm30

4 x 8 ' piece of polycarbonate = rm145

Oh yeah and of course i needed to tile the base of the tank which was previously grass!! So, that took time and effort too!! Doesn't every hobby, lol! Next, will be the new tank setup!! Decided to go with a home-made cement background :P Not very happy with it though!