# 600g Re Due To R.b.p Paradise



## cmulawka

After Closing A thread I had started on another site and getting Negative Comments On doing Fresh Water not salt water I decided to Start A new thread on the Build of a 600g 10 ft R.B.P tank, to post ideas and info.


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## Murphy18

Sounds like a great project and i cant wait to hear about it!


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## Brian762

i cant wait to see it!!!


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## cmulawka

On my recent troll through Craigs List I found a 600g 10 foot tank for sale. I checked it out and found it was preatty scratched and some seam damage but decided to jump in It came with a acyrlic sump and for $1400 how could I go wrong for a Brand New one Retail is around 10 thousand.


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## cmulawka

I used 3m adhesive remover to get any glue and some paint off from the previous owner.


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## BRUNER247

Welcome! N that's gonna be one badass saltwater tank. Jk. That's gonna be one sweet rbp tank.are you planning on mixing up the pygos?or straight rbp? Can't wait to see 30rbp in it. Ill definitely be watching for updates.


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## cmulawka

I started with 20 that I bought as Babys I am now down to 12. They are now all atleast 4 inches. I am very limited with what I am able to get ahold of I actually had to do a 20hr drive to get these there where being keep in a 240.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS

Where do you live that you had to drive 20 hours to get natts? That's like driving across 5 or 6 states.


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## cmulawka

Steel stand is 1 1/2 square 4/16th thick. All welds are beveled and double pass. The corners are all doubled up. All welds are bevelled and double pass. The whole thing was then painted with rustoleum.


















































































Well 10 there 10 right back. Nc

Next I flipped the tank upside down and sanded it with 1500 on a electric square sander.I then buffed it with a rotating car buffer with polishing pad and compound.Using medium speed and doing it a couple times got the tank looking new.




























Next came the testing.


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## cmulawka

Plumbing done and also got My new Reeflo Hammerhead Gold Pump in I did a wet test and this moves some serious water I also have three horizontally mounted 1 1/2 check valves. I was worried the would not close fast or rattle shut like the old 540 but I think the extra size and tank height shut them fast.


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## cmulawka

Next I sheeted the Stand and Canopy made of 2 x 4s with some 3/4 blondewood plywood. I also added a back frame to hold it tight onto the steel stand.


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## cmulawka

Next I broke down and bought a Biscuit jointer. Figure I could use it again. So i build some 8 inch pillers.































































































































now stained and on to the floor reinforcement


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## cmulawka

ok here is the door I have to go into to get under the house it is about 2-2 1/2 feets tall










The position on the new tank is above beams that run parallel. The first beam closest to the block wall/ garage wall sits half way above the foundation. So I got a 4x4 post and cut it down to fit in underneath so any weight would be transferred directly to the foundation.










Next I put a sister beam next to the first Jager I25 super beam. I could only get one onto this one seeing that it was against the wall. The next two I put sister beams on both sides on the beam. Then to brace everything I ran Five 4x6 treated post perpendicular to the Super Beams At each end of the tank front and back and then evenly spaced within its area. The beams the extend out 5 feet to catch the third beam out just for alittle added support. Under neath each beam is two 180,000 pound house jacks. Placed on a solid concrete block dug and set into the ground and leveled. To finish I sprayed the metal jacks down with lube to reduce/ prevent rust and put screws into the top plates as a precaution to stop the jacks from moving or shifting.

All of this was done on the opposite end of where the door is located. So there was about a 35 to 40 foot belly crawl to get to the work site.
Also a 4 inch pipe in the way




























And here where I am right now I am expecting custom made doors I ordered from Raw doors .com.

Everyone is move to the new tank and it is running great.


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## cmulawka

For the backround I hung a Black peice of Faux leather from the fabric store about 30 dollars.It was the only thing I could think of big enough. I had success fully bred RB's years back in new york but cant remeber how old or how big they where. Also I would like opinions on weather to keep the 12 and be happy or try to mix maybe another species in?? If even possible ? Also any questions about the build???


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## Lifer374

cmulawka said:


> Also any questions about the build???


HOLY sh*t....

That about sums it up for me. Nice Job!


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## MPG

I seriously lmfao'd so hard when I saw you swimming in the tank.

I would definitely add some more though, and I assume money is no object with motorcycle and welding kit, so I would grab some 4-5pirayas/terns and 6-7 more reds minimum.


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## cmulawka

Ha money definately an object. Just choose to spend on some things rather than others.


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## BRUNER247

Damn looks awesome! You've inspired me to get crackn on the 535gal. I would definitely mix more pygos. I'd go with 6-10 cariba & 6-10 terns n call her finished.


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## FEEFA

You have done a great job with everything, thanks for posting the progress.

The finished product looks awesome but I would personally ad another 6 reds, I myself prefer single pygo tanks over mixed.


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## His Majesty

thanks for sharing this project. thats a huge tank and the setup is looking fabulous.


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## Guest

Nicely done and thank you for posting your step by step progress!!


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## Murphy18

All i can say is, WOW! Thats a crazy tank and you did an outstanding job! I'll be very much looking forward to updates, as i'm sure everyone else will


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## CLUSTER ONE

Awsome tank. Looks great wioth reds though you can add way more. Id look for some piraya if i where you and mayby some caribe and terns too. Shark aquarium, aquascape and Ae aquatics all often have these during the correct time of year. They are all inNJ and there is massive agression in Rhode Island i think it is.


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## cmulawka

Anybody have any good reputable places to buy from??? Or any for sale in near by states????


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## CLUSTER ONE

cmulawka said:


> Anybody have any good reputable places to buy from??? Or any for sale in near by states????


 Depends where you are in the states, but liek i said shark aquarium, aquascape, ae aquatics and massive agression are some of the best dealers you will find and will ship to legal states


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## Sacrifice

That's the tallest tank I've ever seen!!!! That looks amazing!!! How in the world do you perform a gravel vac on that beast or pick up leftover food from the bottom? You did an amazing job on the project and thank you very much for the step by step photos. That was awesome.

Sounds like you may have some trouble picking up some Ps in the "Dirty South"...maybe this is the reason for the 10hr drive.

This should be moved to the Pix & Vids section so more ppl will view it. This is amazing.


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## Sanjo Eel

Dream tank for many piranha freaks! Nice Job man







thanks for sharing!


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## cmulawka

Doors came in today. I was really suprised with the Great quality of the doors from rawdoors.net I stained them but they are a little off tone due to them being maple. I cut the openings out and I am in between the stand uprights but have very limited room. I can live with it because the hole thing sides forward. Here is a pic of the lighting also I have 1 standard 4 ft flouresent and 6 led pods that go under cabinets. I keep just the leds on when around the house and both when interested in viewing or feeding.


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## Johnny_Zanni

Nice tank dude.


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## cmulawka




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## Ba20

nice vid !


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## cmulawka

After thinking about today I figured I will just stick with the 12 I got and try to grow them out. Maybe hope for some babys. Does anyone know how old rbh have to be to start breeding??? also what is everyone feeding ???? I have been feeding mine jumbo shrimp and occasionally earth worms and krill


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## Ba20

tilapia stuffed with New Life spectrum pellets with a few drops of vitachem


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## rhom15

only one thing to say


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## Piranha Dan

That tank is nothing short of epic. Awesome job man.


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## Sanjo Eel

I would put another 12 in LOL. Lucky Fish!!


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## cmulawka

Here is a tour


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## TJcali

Bitchin man Fuckin bitchin


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## Ba20

Just curious and let me start by saying you have amazing wood working abilitys but why didnt you make your stand doors bigger ?


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## cmulawka

Well I didn't want to cover and hide the wood grain . That u can't really see. The doors are 20 inches square and the stand is only 30. Also figure it sit on a 2inch peice of foam . Bunch of different reasons but when planning I guess I just liked them that size.

Thanks for all the comments . I got the other thread closed after I called a guy a douche because he was like "all that work for piranhas . You should do some discuss."

Does anyone know.how old.or big these guys need to be to breed?


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## CuzIsaidSo

beautiful tank & excellent woodwork... I 'd add another dozen P's in there

Maybe a dumb question but...How did you get the plants in the gravel? it looks like you would have to get in the tank to do it

They'll need to be 2 years old to breed


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## Ba20

[quote name='cmulawka' date='10 September 2010 - 02:39 AM' timestamp='1284082774' post='2587836']
Well I didn't want to cover and hide the wood grain . That u can't really see. The doors are 20 inches square and the stand is only 30. Also figure it sit on a 2inch peice of foam . Bunch of different reasons but when planning I guess I just liked them that size.

Thanks for all the comments . I got the other thread closed after I called a guy a douche because he was like *"all that work for piranhas . You should do some discuss."*

That would of been a really nice reef system


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## cmulawka

I did get in the tank to put the gravel and plants in. But i do have about 2 foot tongs to fix anything or get stuff out.


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## cmulawka

Here are some pics of some of my first tanks. The first tank I had was a 75 Gallon on cider blocks and a black cloth covering them (no picsT. the second one I got was the one on the top right. It was something rediculous like 3/4 inch glass and was only a 6 ft long 180 but was real old and out of someones basement. The stand was just some 2x6 stained and bolted together. This is the tank my original school breed and I got the fry to live. After Moving out of state and getting rid of everything I purchased another 75 with 4 red belly that quickly turned to 2 and then 0 after a water change with a tainted hose.


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## zippa

In regards to your question on what to feed,Shrimp,Tilapia,and Catfish fillets are all good choices. Other treats include things like crickets,grasshoppers,meal worms etc.
You have plenty of room to add more fish to the shoal. Caribe,Terns,Piraya can all be kept with your reds. Watch the piraya though as they are notorious for cannibalism. Other than that great looking set up. Good luck, you are at the right place for any and all piranha info.


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## ICEE

nice tank man


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## CLUSTER ONE

cmulawka said:


> Does anyone know.how old.or big these guys need to be to breed?


At least 6" or about a year an a half old. Some p's will breed right at 6" some may breed years later and others may not breed at all.


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## RedneckR0nin

That is one bad ass looking tank for real!!!


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## AKSkirmish

Nice setup...Nice to see more and more big tanks comming around to this scene.....

Tank will be a pain to clean over the long haul....you'll get tired of that after a bit........

Cheers
AK


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## cmulawka

does anyone have some good pics of any piraya??? is there any known captive breeding ????


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## Johnny_Zanni

here are some pictures of piraya. Piraya has not yet been bred in captivity...


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## cmulawka

Huh is anyone house multiple ones in larger tanks?? theres has got to be someone out there. How is the natt bred so easyly and this species is not. Is anyone on here trying and how ???? Or do I have to step on and show what times is !


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## zippa

cmulawka said:


> Huh is anyone house multiple ones in larger tanks?? theres has got to be someone out there. How is the natt bred so easyly and this species is not. Is anyone on here trying and how ???? Or do I have to step on and show what times is !


 I don't know who here is currently trying to breed them but there use to be a member (mashunter) here who was working on breeding them with no luck. He really knew his piranha and could not get them to breed.


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## cmulawka

are any of his threads on here what was he housing them in ???? how and what was he trying.


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## Johnny_Zanni

If its the guy I am thinking about. He had 12 in a 600g tank. They would show breeding behaviour and then they would gang up and kill the female. I think.


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## cmulawka

I seen that the Piraya averages a larger size. Logic would say a tank for them to breed in would then arevage larger. Maybe its one of those things best left alone ??? Esspecially due to there availablity and price.


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## Johnny_Zanni

Basically its something people tried with fatal results. I think if it ever does happen it will be by someone who was not even planning on it. If you want piraya by all means get one or a few.


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## cmulawka

they look good but I just cant justify putting the effort into getting them.

Could some one explain all the skulls and title. what about all these award things on the bottom of post.


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## Johnny_Zanni

The more posts you get it will add skulls and your skulls change color.


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## zippa

cmulawka said:


> they look good but I just cant justify putting the effort into getting them.
> 
> Could some one explain all the skulls and title. what about all these award things on the bottom of post.


 Skulls=Post count.
Awards= Anything from time here on P-fury to knowledge of specific things like "breeding award" goes to successful breeders etc.

I am sure there are probably topics on breeding by mashunter on the forum but they would likely be buried 3+ yrs back.


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## cmulawka

?? If my shoal is all from the same parents isnt it like inbreeding or are fish different??? also i read some material on tieing moss to rocks and using spray bars to promote breeding is anyone using any of this and what???


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## leg89

ok the piraya breeding thing was tried by "oiseau bleu" which must be called bluebird i guess here. he's a French member who's actually way more active on french and dutch forums (he's from northern france). he does have a 600G but his is way wider than yours. dutch piraya keepers also tried for quite a while in tanks as large as 1200g and the result is always the same: female getting killed during the parade.

i would not suggest you try to get some. my first point is that your tank, no matter how beautiful it is, is not that wide. for fishes that often get to 14-16", and have a potential to go over 20", you need a bare minimum of 24" width and 30 is better. still, i haven't read the whole post, but your tank doesn't seem that wide (i may be mistaking though).

also, i have a mixed shoal and piraya are more agressive towards other speecies. mine killed my female natt while she was full of eggs. it's also always picking on others. i have 4 pygos in a 200g and it took few months for them to get used to the tank, but now the piraya will always defend his spot in the middle of the tank. no more casualties, but there's always a lil fight going here and there.

i know people who experienced the same thing: having a big mix shoal, everything going right, and then, having one pygo starting to kill the others. my shoal seems ok now, but it's a risk.

i'd be you, i'd stick with only reds, but that's my two cents.

really great tank by the way, and yes the wood work is insane!

congrats


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## cmulawka

Yeah just dont think Piraya are going to be for me but I would still like to do everything possibnle to get these natts to breed


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## JoeDizzleMPLS

cmulawka said:


> Yeah just dont think Piraya are going to be for me but I would still like to do everything possibnle to get these natts to breed


A lot of times, natts will just breed on their own... if you've had them for a year or two and they aren't pairing off and breeding, then you can start trying different things.


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## leg89

natts will bred one day...don't worry.

they usually do after a big water change, and people claim that it helps a lot when there's a storm outside


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## cmulawka

Ive known about the Water change from when my last pair where breeding. I think It also has something to do with feeding also.	I have large stone gravel so I would like to submergre some nice looking moss or something. Any recommendations where I can get some and what to use.


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## zippa

Java moss and about any store that carries live plants will have it.


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## CyberGenetics

Just saw this thread and thought id chime in by saying AWESOME JOB!!









And







at the pic of you swimming in the tank as well hahahahahah


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## cmulawka

Vince, Toronto nice! I use to live in buffalo ny traveled to Toronto for all kinds of sh*t. I use to take limos to the Warehouse for concerts. Any good fish stores up there. I will be at Niagara Falls in two weeks for a wedding.


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## hexbasher

holy lightning crapping Odin!...thats a tank...and here i am feeling like hot sh!t for getting a free 90g this past weekend....

love the woodwork


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## jayscollision

Amazing tank man. I know just looking at this its going to cost me, The custom acrylic shop near me are going to be busy soon lmao.


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## Onkiebonkie

Hey, nice tank! You probably mentioned it already, but what is the thickness of the plexiglass?


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## the_w8

good work and sharp setup...How wide is your tank?


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## cmulawka

its 1 1/2 thick and 24 inches wide


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## the_w8

Damn thats some thick glass! That tank looks less wide due to how tall the tank itself is.


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## cmulawka

after 3 failed attempts at a 3d back round I finally got something i was happy with. I had to glue 4 layers of foam together and used about 6 bags of concrete I then purchased some black sand.

here is it done not filled


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## Piranha_man

Dude, this project you're doing is absolutely insane.

When I'm really impressed with something on this site I use the







smiley... but you blow that yellow bowdown guy to sh*t!
I mean seriously... what you're creating here is hands-down the most incredible DIY aquarium set-up I've ever seen on P-Fury.

Can't wait to see more pics!


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## the_w8

I agree that is very sharp looking and keep the progress pics a coming....Can't wait to see her completely done with reds or whatever you decide to put in there.


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## 1rhom

Wanna come by and build me a 250G? Just curious!!


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## thundergolf

That tank is awesome!!
I currently have a 180 gallon with about 30 RBP's and some caribe and gold's. I am looking to reduce my shoal as its starting to get a little overcroweded. I would like to get rid of my red's. I thought you may be interested in adding to your shoal. If you have any interest let me know.


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## cmulawka

****************************************UPDATE******************************************************************

OK everyone get ready for this,

Lets start by going back to a week before ThanksGiving. After getting the old gravel out I bought enough balck moon sand to fill the tank. I put some feeders in to the tank to make sure the cement hardened and I could put the P's back in. I also redid the lighting with 2 T5's and 6 led pucks on each side I got a remote controll to control them all on and off from Home Depot were the Christmas lights were for $20.00...




























So with Family coming I moved the P's to the large tanks to get the 240 out from the middle of the living room. 
The next day I come home I am missing two. Huh Thats wierd they ate 2 I knew the 600 was warmer and they where alot more active but damn two more killed and eaten. So i just figured the heads made there way through the filter and were now in the huge amount of filter media that was in the sump and being disgarded. So tank is a little cloudy next day and I do a decent water change hoping everything will look good for the family. WRONG get home late from work the next day everyone is barely breathing 2 are dead floating and Im freaking out. I do another water change thinking that is the cement or ph form the concrete or something is in there that needs to come out. Little while later the remaining fish stop breathing and are dead. Now im f*cking pisssed!!!! I get everyone out and drain it But I can still smell dead fish WTF??? I get a hand mirror and look behind the tank. Bam the two original dead fish have swam into a 1 inch wide gap and gotten lodged behind the foam and back tank wall in a even smaller space.

So I am thinking now what the f*ck am i going to do I can get the fish out with out tearing off the whole back wal to redo it. Yeah and thats not going to happen. So I decided I will let them rott and try to get them out some how.

Family arrives for Thanksgiving What do they see a tank in shambles with no fish in there. 
It gets better my 10 year old Akita Bear needs to be put to sleep because of heath issues. So now everything is going wrong.

So where am I know,
I drain the tank I hook up a gravel vac tube and suck out the flesh from the two rotting fish. Nothing but two white skulls back there.I still need to fill the back with some black sand so that no other fish go back there and die. I painted the back so that anygaps between rock work are not visible. So I know have a empty tank.

So I am looking into getting more reds to put in the tank. I did make another purchase first this Oil Painting from some guy out in Oregon.

!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!**! R.I.P. Bear *!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!










Thundergolf email me at [email protected] we can talk further. Thank you


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## Piranha_man

I felt your pain as I read that.
It'll all come together... and it'll be totally cool when it's done.


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