# Rohms new home



## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

about to buy a Rohm from pedro at aquascape so i went to the store to buy a 20gal Long tank for him. i didn't want to spend insane amounts of $ on a tank since i would move the rohm to a 55 once the pygos get moved to the 240 on the way end of this summer.

here are a few pics of the tank its self and the backround im workign on. Its still a work in progress but i would like to thank (killarbee) for the idea and motivation to do this with my tank.


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## TC3modena (Apr 23, 2005)

lookin good so far, keep the pics commin


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## JAC (Jan 19, 2004)

What are the plastic pipes sticking out of the foam for??


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

the plastic pipes are for 2 reasons they will sit flush against the concrete with a plastic mesh attached to things cant clog it and 1" will stick out the BACK side to allow water to pass through to the HOB filter that the intake wont be seen, its also to prevent the greatstuff from from pluging the holes i already cut in the foam board. I am settign it up so the outtake falls right past the fixture.

im also makign a lil ledge on it so i can have a java fern sittign on a rock shelf and a small cave for the rohm


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## pinchy (Jun 3, 2004)

nice tank


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

tank was only $23 after tax cant really beat that the 30gla was $43 figured hell once i move the rohm i'll make this 20gal a guppy breeder to make food for my rohm and pygos.
update on progress

on the left there is a ledge that i can put a live plant on with a sand bed. and yes my rohm will have his own cave


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

what are u doing with that stuff


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## Dr Exum (Nov 6, 2004)

so you are gonna put that in your tank???? is that safe??? (the chems)


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

Dr Exum said:


> so you are gonna put that in your tank???? is that safe??? (the chems)
> [snapback]1015354[/snapback]​


it will be coated over with concrete then cured with water softner salts and water changed out 2 times a day for a week to "wash the cement" so it wont alter my PH.

if you look at killarbees tank this is the same thing he did.


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## AnKleBiTR (Mar 31, 2005)

CTREDBELLY said:


> Dr Exum said:
> 
> 
> > so you are gonna put that in your tank???? is that safe??? (the chems)
> ...










The cement will seal everything and won't leak any chemicals into the water after it's cured. Here's another LINK to a DIY background that uses a simular technique.


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## JAC (Jan 19, 2004)

Very nice man, I like your idea. I might give it a shot sometime, I need to find out if the sell something similar to "great stuff" here.


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## killerbee (Aug 18, 2004)

thats alot of work for a temp tank, but progress is looking good. Good luck


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Should look great when it's done, look forward to seeing it


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## JAC (Jan 19, 2004)

What will you use to paint the concrete?


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

it turned out WORSE than michael jacksons last nose job.

i got the wrong cement its got to MANY rocks in it and its not a smooth sealer based texture i was looking for. with the large rocks in this cement u cant see the outlines of the great stuff at all to get a rock formation. so sunday its on to home depot again to buy more great stuff and the right cement and start over.

its a lot of work for a temp tank yes but i rather try this on a small 20gal scale then to try my 1st on my 55 or 240 this summer if i ruin the tank oh well thats $23 down the drain and i didn't buy the rohm yet so no harm no foul, woudl suck if i tried it on the 240 and was sh*t out $550 if i messed up.

Update: i stabbed the cement with a screw driver for a few mins to make it crack, it was nto totally dry yet. when i get home from work i plan to take the cement i have not and put it in a sifter to get rid of those large rocks thats preventing me from gettign the consistincy i am looking for to allow me to "brush" the cement on. well kepp u posted on what way worked best. (killarbee where is ur damn write up i can use it right about now)


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## Cobra (Sep 25, 2004)

What are those pvc pipes for?


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

Cobra said:


> What are those pvc pipes for?
> [snapback]1016575[/snapback]​


see post #4


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## pinchy (Jun 3, 2004)

this sure seems like a lot of work


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

update: after realizing that there was TO much rock in the concrete i chizzled it off the backboard and then used a sifter to get rid of the rock. im putting a thin layer down to get a base coat to build upon once it dries. tmorrow i will go to a art store and buy a dark red chalk powder to mix in with the cement giving me a deep red to resemble lava rock. i figure sand red lava rock backround and a black rohm will look nice.

it sure is alot of work but i rather see the outcome on a cheap 20gal tank then to screw up my 55 or even my 240 when it arrives


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## TC3modena (Apr 23, 2005)

keep the pics commin, its lookin pretty good so far


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

didn't get an extream amount done yesterday as i stumbled upon the thread with captian P and P-trek.

that my friends IS the BEST read i have had on here, i laughed so hard i almost pissed my pants. check out P-trek if u havent.


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

new updates. i used concrete coloring (like a powder) and got a dark red color to resemble lavarock. think the red rock wall and natural color sand once my rohm gets his black color will look pretty damn good. even now with the silver and red eyes will look great.

ne ways heres new pics cut the PVC pipe off and sanded it down so there are no rough edges. foudn it easier to use a dremmel tool for that step.


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## Fresh2salt (Jul 16, 2004)

looks good


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## amatheum (Oct 26, 2004)

wicked idea mate.


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## BrandNew (Mar 8, 2005)

Nice colour on the background. Might have to try that out myself. You havent got a rough list of what you needed have you?


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

update: project abandoned.

after doign all this damn work and puttign it into the tank i saw that after i moved it far enough forward for the inlet pipe the lowest point of the rock wall took up 35-40% of the overall length of the tank. sure it woudl look cool as all hell and bad ass but i thought it to be cruel for my rohm to have a tight ass tank. so new plan is to do a DARK blue painted backround and white sand so both colors accent his red eyes and black scales more. i'll post pics when i bring him home on thursday.

PS couldn't make up my mind on a rohm or brandti so i decided to get both. Brandti will be in a 10gal for 2-3weeks till i build a stand that can hold both the rohm and brandtis tanks on it in a side by side config the temp 10gal will have a black backround with white sant to accent his golden brown/green colors.

i DID however cure the rock wall and all and PH was through the roof my salt water kit could not read it. if u plan to do this get water softner salts to cure the concrete faster and get the crap out of it that makes ur PH go up. if u SKIP the curing process expect PH readings of 12+


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## EZmoney (May 13, 2004)

Sorry it didn't work out.... that was a great idea though!!!


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## killarbee (Jan 23, 2004)

CTREDBELLY said:


> i would like to thank (killarbee) for the idea and motivation to do this with my tank.
> [snapback]1015086[/snapback]​





CTREDBELLY said:


> (killarbee where is ur damn write up i can use it right about now)
> [snapback]1015695[/snapback]​


No thanks bro, i'm sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted it. It looked okay imho








My tutorial thingy will be done in a few weeks or maybe longer because i have a busy schedule goin on. But once done it'll be good







.. with the right spelling and grammar


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## JAC (Jan 19, 2004)

Very nice man, are you going to coat it with something or is the concrete/color powder safe for the fish?


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

JAC said:


> Very nice man, are you going to coat it with something or is the concrete/color powder safe for the fish?
> [snapback]1021351[/snapback]​


yes its totally safe aslong as u fill and drain the tank over and over add water softner salts to cure it.

but as i said i abandoned the project cause it takes up almost 50% of the width of the tank so a 20gal tank only leave my rohm with 10gal of actual swimming water.

in the end it looks good but the small space may stress him to much leading to a sick unhealthy rohm which is not the right thing to do.


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## weidjd (Feb 13, 2005)

Black background with white sand is the best. I like you idea with this. I think in the right size tank the idea is great.


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## CTREDBELLY (Apr 8, 2005)

the brandti will go in the black backround tank the rohm in the dark blue i dont wanan put a black rohm on a black backround so all u see is floating red eyes


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