pics of my75 gal diy stand and background

[johnsiny]

so here is my first diy background. Styrofoam coated with quikrete surfacing cement. really a simple deign but it still took some time to put it together.
also built my first stand wich still needs doors, one day ill get to the doors.also going to do my first wet dry trickle filter. i have a 405 already i just want to try building the wet dry filter.
o and the ph is 8.6 after three full water changes. my cichlid sand will arrive tomorrow and then i will just about ready for some fish.
so is ph of 8.6 ok for mbuna cichlids?
ok i have $50 bucks for fish this week, anyone i can hook up with selling nice fish. pm me plz my lfs has nothing. thanks everyone:ty:

[jcdeng]

that is really nice!

[verbal]

very nice. That is a really nice looking stand.

[johnsiny]

thanks guys. cant wait for fish!!!!!!!

[Zippo]

I really like the fact that a LOT of people build their own stands etc. I always built mine that's the main reason i built a complete woodshop in my garage. No place to park a car but i can build anything in there. I like that stand as well as the background, congrats on a job well done. :clapclap:

[dsap92]

Very nice job. Details on your building of the stand and background would be great.

[zebra7]

what types of fish are you looking for John ?

[Tony]

Really nice job. :beerchug:

[triscuit]

:beerchug:

8.6 should be fine, but as with any fish/pH - acclimate them carefully. Make sure to ask the fish supplier what conditions they're in.

And, oh- depending on how long you've been soaking that background, your pH will eventually drop and the concrete finishes curing. Monitor it for the next three months. (When I did mine (55g), I added 2 pounds of salt and hot water, cranked the heaters, and then did water changes every couple days (with more salt) to speed that process along. That way I knew my pH wasn't going to be changing because of the background.

Do you know how buffered your water is? (GH, KH, and PH for your tap water (left for 24 hours) would be good information to have.

[johnsiny]

thanks again guys, i hope you guys know how exited i am to get this rinning my wife thinks im loosing my mind i just lmao, she still thinks im nuts.
triscuit thanks for the info, i think i will just let the ph go down over time and keep a close eye on it and hope it don't crash . i still have to get a gh and kh kit. ZEBRA7 i am going to keep malawi mbuna:runnningaround: im not good at tutorials so links it is.
background. http://youtu.be/_5Ng6GeF9mA
stand. http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/75g_stand/index.shtml
when building a stand all i can recommend is measure 14 times and cut once lol. o and zippo if i had a garage no cars would be parked in it eather haha, it would def be a wood shop.

[bassgenie]

The background looks very nice. Especially for a first try!

[foamerdave]

I see that you are out on SI. zebra7 (http://forums.eastcoastcichlids.org/member.php?u=383), SI Cichlids. Would be a great spot for you to get some fish. I have driven up from Bucks county PA to get fish from him. Very nice guy with fair (much better then lfs) prices, great fish (looks and health) and can be very educational about the fish he sells too.
Tank looks great.

[bassgenie]

I have to Agree with Foamer...As far as Cichlids are concerned, SI Cichlids is my "Go To" place on the Island for Cichlids. Anthony is a great guy and the quality of his fish cant be matched by ANY retailer on the Island. One time, I even named a fish I had been looking for for a couple of months and he already had them...