rio 180 tank journal - number 2!

Some of you may know that I did a journal showing my stages of dividing my rio 180l fish tank into five to house four boys and a sorority of girls too.

Well, My idea was something like this:

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I was told to do sections 16.5cm and the female section at 33/34cm, which gave the boys just under 6g each and the girls 12ukg.

It then looked like this (near enough final pic):

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Then, I got permission from Kev to go out and get a second 180, as long as I got rid of the 125. I managed to get a bargain rio 180, the newer style one with T5 lighting, feeder flap and new style cabinet. All for £100!

I didnt get any pics of it before being prepped, but here is the beginning of another rio 180 journal

kev used an eyeliner pencil to draw out the measured lines on the OUTSIDE of the tank before using the juwel silicon to stick the sliders in place (I had major difficulty finding them this time too - had to get 12mm ones!)

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that would be side one completed, and working on side two:

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It has been left to stand overnight, and hopefully nothing has slid and moved, and wont need stripping out! Will update with more pics tonight as I go along

I am not having sand in this tank as I have found it shows MORE dirt, is harder to clean in smaller tanks (was ok before I divided it), and turns blue with treatment! Due to this, once mkII is up and running, I am stripping off mkI and putting in gravel too.

mkII rio will be running on an eheim pro II (2028) filter - set up I will also show later on

If there is enough interest I will follow through with this journal

haych love it,
everyone loves pic`s well done
i thought your last tank looked awesome
so im guessing this will be even better
yes keep the up dates coming
and good luck!!

great tank Haych! It looks wonderful! keep us posted. The other tank is gorgeous!

Ohhhhh exciting!!!! Cant wait to see how it progresses and develops (especially decorating)!

yay! a new tank!! looking forward to seeing the progress!!!

thanks guys

I'll have some more piccies up later on

I didnt wanna spam the boards if no-one was interested

piccies everyone loves to see them
im never bored!!

I love pics! And it helps me, so I know how to complete one of these! My honey says after we move I can buy more tanks!

I think this is a great thread I love seeing tanks like this as it gives me inspiration to go tankhunting hehehe.

Would love to see more pics

sorry for delay guys, had my sister over making me car hunt! (and squishing my 8 week old neice too :love: )

Have had some issues with the sliders, as I could only 12mm, and the aidas rattle around in them, so have had to put silicone up the middle of the slider and sope the aidas stuck - which they didnt completely. had to also put a HUUGE blob on the top of the aida to hold in place.

This has made me several days behind on the tank due to having to wait 24 hours each time for one to dry!

After the tank had been divided I had to stictch two pieces of the aidas together as they werent big enough. I just used a simple loop stitch and holds together nicely

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all aidas in:

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setting up the eheim:

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The eheim motor head has gone, so I had to put the ex700 back on. Not my ideal situation but it still can filter 180 tank, and as bettas arent huge bio loads it shouldnt be too bad.

The heater that came with the tank is the original juwel one, and I'm not a huge fan of them as I never know what the temperature is, so i went and treated myself to one of these:

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the tank back on its stand with gravel in:

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with water and plants:

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I have to add a backing, and shave the coconuts, and then add pics of the new girls from Tilly and my new boys

It is looking absolutely yummy hon! Well done

wow!!
looks forward to seeing the pictures of the fish!

that looks great haych! i like the black gravel(it is gravel right?)

it is gravel - cost £30 to do that tank, and I still have two bags left over for the other tank - which may not be enough

wow this tank is looking great
cant wait to see it filled!!
p.s also a big thank you to your
loving hubby
just said to mine look at all the help
her lovely hubby has done to help!!
i got cheeky look at all the help i do for yours!!

Looks great! Can't wait to see it up and running. With the coconuts, are they already hollowed out at the store, or do you buy them fresh? Just wondering!

I buy them and do them myself.

I drain out the milk, saw in half and hollow out with a screwdriver.

I then sand down with the zester part of the grater, and leave to soak for a while (I didnt do that once and I had white slime everywhere in the tank )

The tank looks amazing!