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spec.
Owner:
Tony Englund, Sandared (50 km outside Gothenburg),
Sweden
E-mail:
orchis@home.se
Amount of tanks and tank sizes:
1 x 1000L stretched out for superior predatory
malawi's, 290cm long 4 x 220L, 1 x 300L, 3 x 70L, 2 x 540L= 11
tanks
Racks:
Mostly wooden constructions made by myself and
a few ordinary aluminium.
Heating:
All heaters shut down during summer. In winter
only the basement aquariums contains heaters.
Lighting:
Individual lights for all tanks. Most of them
with tubes but a few consists of low effect "tubed bulbs"
used in ordinary indoor lightning.
Filtration:
All aquariums use powerheads at different flowrates
filtering through 10ppi filtersponge in a bunch of more or less
inventions of my own.
Electric installation:
All though I am an educated
electrician i have the most basic installations made by standard
cabling and timers. The only real installation i've made is central
separated on/off-switch for lights and pumps/heaters.
Flooring:
In the basement it's concrete floor. Upstairs
wooden floors (damn that day i close the water too late).
Substrate:
All aquariums are loaded with substrate. I use
two sorts, Swedish sand called "Rådasand" at 0,4-0,8mm
and crushed limestone. Both work fine, but with heavy circulation
the Rådasand swirls around a bit.
Interiors, (plants rock work):
As far as my fish goes along with plants, I really
want some. But the fact is that almost no plants can stand the
fish. For the making of caves i'm always trying to use as "natural"
stones i can find in nature. With brown/yellow sand I try to find
brown/yellow stones. With the crushed limestone i use sandstone
as it looks pretty much as i think it would do in
nature.
What could have been done better?
Probably all of it. I've been planning to drill
holes in all my tanks to be
able to use a central filter and automated waterchanges. This
IS going to happen as soon as I get my real aquarium room done
(the pics show my temporary place for aquariums).
Do you have a show tank in your livingroom?
Well, to call it a show tank or breeding tank
wouldn't fit. I've decorated them with backgrounds i try to keep
them as eyecathing as posslible, but still i have some of my best
breeding groups of cichlids in them.
Fish
What cichlids do you keep?
Champsochromis caeruleus, Labidochromis caeruleus,
Metriaclima estherae,
Metriaclima lombardoi, Nimbochromis venustus, Protomelas taeniolatus
Fire
Blue, Protomelas taeniolatus Hinderi (Red empress), Sciaenochromis
fryeri,
Altolamprologus compressiceps, Cyphotilapia frontosa, Aulonocara
jacobfreibergi "mamela", Cyrtocara moorii, Dimidiochromis
compressiceps, Dimidiochromis strigatus, Fossorochromis rostratus,
Placidochromis phenochilus, Pseudotropheus saulosi, Tropheops
sp. "chilumba", Neolamprologus brevis.
Your favourite fish in the room and why? (only one individual)
Sciaenochromis fryeri, the most beautiful fish
that also have a really nice behaviour.
Last fish purchased: Champsochromis
caeruleus, Dimidiochromis strigatus and Fossorochromis
rostratus
Nr. 1. on your wish list:
At the time i have the species i want. (more to
come for sure ;)
Maintanace
Waterchange frequency:
30% each week.
Method of waterchanges:
Here's the trick. I went from standard garden
hosing to 2" hose. The time used for water changes shrinked
to about 1/3.
Smart gadgets to help working the room:
Not much really. A floor that can stand a few
litres of water makes life easier.
Foods for fry and grown fish:
Shrimpmix, cyclops for the youngsters and Hikari
pellets. Thats it and it works perfect.
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