# 70 Gallon Jack Dempsey Tank



## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

Well I finally got the tank and it will need some TLC before being used especially when it was suggested I do a leak test outside. Thanks, Richard. 
From the previous Royal Pleco owner, I got an undergravel filter set up. My question... Do I use it or do something else. Its gonna take some time until the tank will be inside. I need to sandblast the iron stand and refinish it and clean out the tank.

Thanks for help
John


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Congradulations........ It's doing the work thats half the fun


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

well I did the leak test and it passed now i have to clean off the grime. It looks like there was some sort of black material on the underside of the tank that has started to come off. Should I try to replace it with something else. i also would like to black out the back of the tank, what type of paint should I use? Could I use something with a texture or will that not show up in the inside of the tank?


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

just purchased a cascade 1000 from petco. They had 25% off all canister filters. Should I just run the filter on the established tank before the 70 is set up to go, or should I just use sponge filters to build up the bacteria load.

need input.
thank you
John B


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Run it on an establish tank, won't hurt a bit, make sure it a tank, that has no algae problems or anything else, as you will transfer those problems to your new tank. Also you can take a floss from a another filter and use that to seed this filter. If you use any bio-sphere or Cycle put it in the filter before priming it.


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

biosphere into the new filter before I place it into the established tank or before I put it into the new tank?


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

I won't do both, either add biospere to the new tnak or seed the new fileter with floss and running it in another tank, just give you choices IMO


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

excellent choices.
thank you


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## Kogo (Mar 14, 2008)

agreed, adding the new filter to your established tank, for a couple weeks, will cycle your filter and when you set up the new tank it will be ready for fish.

i would also think the biospira is not necessary if you run it on the old tank first.


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

Okay I Have a major problem....The stand I got is only 13 inches wide not the 18 needed for the tank.... Is there anyone out there would would need a 48x13 stand? or maybe a swap out. help Help


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Will I say we need to help you with that there tape messuring thing..... Not much you can do but find another stand. Still haveing fun right....LOL 

Anyway, when you get the stand and you ran you new filter got it all slimed up and ready to fill the new tank, do it on the day you do a WC on another tank or 2 and add 10 gals of the dirty water to the new tank.... At that point, you will pretty much be cycled, except for the colony growing to the bio-load so if you add the fish slowly, you will have 0 lossies


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

well after the 20% bleach solution cleaning, I still had that film on the inside glass, but when the glass was wet you could not see it, but when it dried it was there.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

is it a calcium build up, you should be able to carefully with will a glass tank cleaning pad, penm ples sells a kit cheap at LSF..... alittle elbow grease and and will be gone....


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

I got it clean... next question. Anyone ever hear of using a power head in reverse on on underground filter, to the prefilter pad would catch all the debris and force the current up through the gravel? i was wondering how feasible it would be to rig it up this way.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Will I have never seen a filter to go on the (normally) the is discharge side of a power filter, REv flow are generally used just to clean out the UGF plates. Like I said before Look into the heater cables if you want a water flow pushing out of the gravel. there more benifits to have warm water flowing over the roots of plants.....


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## Kogo (Mar 14, 2008)

whatever you do under the gravel will be dug up by the Dempsey's.

however, many people use a reverse flow UGF, and some use Under gravel jets to keep waste suspended in the water column so the filter can take it out.

I've never used under gravel jets before (just read about them on line), but in theory they sound like something you may be interested in.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

I have and do use them, I don't think it was a question of using a UGF in the traditional way, I thinking he wants to use them to keep water flowing around the roots of plants. However if you look at the cost of aquaclear 70 with rev. flow switch, it is cheaper to buy the hydro cabel system because you need two of them to make that work. If you are using an UGF and want to clean it out, I use the suction tube of a canister filter and by palcing a pvc cap on the other lift tube and letting it run for a day and then do it to the other side, I can get most of the gunk under the UGF plates.
Now you don't need the temp. control with Hydro system, as you can just plug the cable in, and they are sold in tank sizes. If you want to be able to adjust the temp a couple af degrees high than the tank water so you get that up lift of warm water you need the contoller. Let say you want to run the tank at 76 degrees you set it heat cables at 78 degrees. Now if the tank heats up to 80 degrees like is common down here in FL. it would turn off taking that heat source away, but if it plug just into the wall, it will just stay on. I just bought the system and read up on it so I have a good ideal of cost verses benefits, againest the powerheads with a new UFG system (17.00) and the cable system. I still set up that 70 gal, I just being lazy at this time because i don't want to move a tank that is in the spot the wife wants the 70.


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## Kogo (Mar 14, 2008)

J,

are you planning on planting the Dempsey tank?


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

nope. only anubias on driftwood and java ferns. Im looking for a light for the tank but everything is over 150 watts, so that kinda puts the wattage over 2 a gallon. Might place some large amazons to break line of sight, but the tank lay out should be mostly rocky.


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## Kogo (Mar 14, 2008)

those should work good with your set up.


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

just upon completion of the stand and my father caught the back of his hand with the sander and it took 15 stiches to close up the wound and I am taking him to hand specialist tomorrow to make sure there is no tendon damage. So for the time being the tank is outside catching tons of rainwater and the stand still needs to be sanded down and primed.
Will give updates.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Man i hope your dads OK......


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

he is doing fine... as he put it... its merely a scratch, even though blood was everywhere.


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## Kogo (Mar 14, 2008)

good to hear your dad is doing well, now get back to work! LOL


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

well i have the stand in place in the house with added support on the bottom edge to place my other tanks on. But I did find a crack along the one edge of the tank. When I filled the tank with water, nothing leaked. Should I be worried or should I try to seal the edge up?
thanks for help

I have pictures in my member folder.


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

well the tank is up and running, after I figured out how to use the python correctly. Now I just need to find enough power strips for that area. 
The tank will be a low wattage Cichlid tank. I will post pics tomorrow when I place the fish in there. I dont want to rush anything. I have already placed the new filter in there along with some gravel from an established tank...
Should I add the fish to the new tank if half the water in the new tank has come from the other tanks I am running now?


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

I look at the picture but couldn't make out the crack...... I can't say.....

I would give it a day to settle take readings and watch the nitrates... when you see them start to drop add a fish.... it maybe risky so take readings daily and male sure if they get to high you have the time to do a 20% WC.... Also here a trick witht the Python... I assuming you mean the sink attachment system.... the first WC you do, use the buckets and them mark the tank where the water line is, then the next time you just syphon intot the sink until you reach that line, flick the switch and fill the tank and your chems.


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

its not leaking now. I placed it towards the back, but in an area where I can get to it if i need to.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

*Do Not Gravel Vac The Tank let it get dirty for a few weeks and them rotate the vacing.....*


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## aconrad (Apr 30, 2008)

Hey did you use that 48x13 stand? I need a stand and that might work, lemme know.


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

I had to fix the stand. I added 5 inches to the inner braces and support for the bottom. so I have my 70 on top, a 20 planted on bottom and the canister filter for the 70 next to it. i will get pictures soon.


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## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

Well I forgot to upload pictures of the completed tank. Here it is. It houses 3 jack dempseys, 3 blue convicts and 1 friendly red terror/trimac cross.


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