A NIGHT BY THE AQUARIUM: Lake of Africa

Every project has its story, bear with my chattering (or ranting) again.....

Two months ago while my home was undergoing messy renovations, during which I have no proper place to rest comfortably, I spend several sleepless nights on internet, doing some research (mostly marvelled at other people huge cichlids aquarium). It was also because I missed having a piece of nature at home.

Having made my confession heard, my patient wanting an aquarium broke on Labour Day when I drooled upon Qian Hu's cichlid show aquarium, see photo here..

Without a 2nd thought, on a rainy day with limited supply of cab on the road, I managed to lug home an 18 gallon tank -measuring 60cm L x 45cm H x 30cm W.

Given my extreme tight budget while trying not to compromise the concept of Lake Africa and wanting my new scape to have several basic features too and still able to blend the work into my Zen home....blah blah blah.... (that was a lot of consideration to make).

I made several trips to different LFS - tapping my cash card incessantly on local bus meter - checking on items price list, suitability of rocks types and substrate to use. I also kept my eyes opened on economy accessories, especially lightings, external canister too (can only wish) and a new Ikea stand which I was already familiar with.

Fortunately, I was able to grab my first purchases at good bargain, last 5 available Tufa Rocks weighing a total of 6kgs. Seashells were an accidental finds, during my other grocery trips, adding an aesthetic touch to my project.

Since this was my first attempt on rocky aquarium, I let my instinct took control in the shuffling, stacking and several hyper frantic wall-knocking incidents, when the rocks fell off my grasp. The end result, luckily with no glass crack lines, was a "stunning" looking cloudy mountain .....

Then, I mobilised my loyal Eden 501 canister, as I said I would in my previous post, things started to look better. Crystal clear solution was added for immediate water visibility to aid seashells placement, few were deliberately cracked to create a sense of imperfection and caves creation.

Plants were optional, but I chose crypto for added privacy among the hiding places. The mini clay pot, is pure imaginative touch of native african dropping their pot while fishing in Lake Tanganyika, Victoria, Malawi or whatever.

The process of water aging has started before they became fit for the livings. Now, the next question remains, what kind of cichlids should I put in there? That will be another story for another day

Anyway, here is the finished piece of my cheap & humble work. Should I name it "HAHA" tank? The giant cockle clams look like they were laughing at each other.