Just took a look at it tonight and honestly pretty happy with how this one turned out. Fish are active, colors are showing well, no drama in the tank right now.
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week 12ish
Had a friend over and he said it actually looks like a real cichlid tank now instead of just rocks in water. Rocks have some light algae going on, fish are growing in slowly.
Grow-in progressPhoto Date
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water change
Did a water change, tested params after. Ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 20ppm, temp 78F. Tank still looks pretty empty compared to what it'll be, rocks barely have any algae on them yet.
After trim + water changePhoto Date
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first fish
Added the first demasoni today, 30 days after setup. Trying to name them but they all look identical so that's not going well. Calling the boldest one Steve for now.
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still cycling
2 weeks in and it's just clear water and clean rocks, no algae yet, kind of boring to look at honestly. No fish so nothing to do but let the cycle finish.
Cycling, still sparsePhoto Date
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filled it up
Water's in, filter's running. Rocks look way better wet than dry, weird how that works. Sand clouded up for a bit but settled fast. No fish yet, just looking at an empty tank now lol
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dry start
Got the rockwork stacked today, no water yet. Picked most of these up from a landscaping place near me, cheap and no sharp edges. Tried to build a few caves for the demasoni before they even exist yet.
