I bought two 325 liter aquariums used in February 2003 including lamps, heaters, internal pumps and a rack. This aquarium was located at the bottom of the rack, and was clearly the most scratched. That was actually why I decided to try my hand at Malawis again, because since it was already scratched, it didn't matter with a lot of rock formations.
Technical setup
The aquarium was filtered by a blue filter sponge measuring 50x50x5cm with two air-driven pump tubes and was heated by a 300W Jäger heater. The temperature was usually between 26 and 27 degrees and the lighting was two 36W fluorescent tubes mounted in a full-length fixture (not fully covered, unfortunately), as well as a single 5W energy-saving bulb that provided a twilight-like light before and after the main light was turned on. The light was controlled by a weekly timer for the main light and a daily timer for the twilight light.
Interior
The substrate is fine-grained sand (grain size 0.3-0.7mm) and there is a formation of Faxe limestone, as well as a few other formations of granite. I didn't spend much effort on the interior, but I considered whether I should also try my hand at a home-built background for this aquarium, but it didn't come to anything.
Plants
The aquarium was primarily planted with Giant Vallisneria, Hammered Cryptocorynes and Anubias, as well as a varying amount of hornwort.
Use
I have only had Malawis in this aquarium and the aquarium has actually worked well for this purpose. Unfortunately, I have largely not been able to use the aquarium for photography as it was too scratched.
Status
I sold the aquarium and the rack where it stood in January 2006.
The aquarist's worst experience…
I experienced my biggest fear with this aquarium. One day at work, my wife called and told me (somewhat panically) that water was leaking out of the aquarium. I asked her to try to empty it and otherwise rushed home to inspect the damage and help with the cleanup. Fortunately, my father-in-law and mother-in-law were home and could help with the emptying and catching the fish. When I got home, the aquarium was empty and my annoyance grew and grew. In the evening, I was on the verge of giving up all my aquariums - the next day, however, it was "only" the two 325 liter ones I wanted to drop.
It happened on July 8, 2003, but I (fortunately) never sold the two aquariums (at that time), and finally, on December 2, I pulled myself together to start re-sealing the aquarium. I have written a short article about sealing leaking aquariums which can be seen under "Aquarium techniques". The picture shows the finished sealed aquarium - after a 24-hour leak test, it was set up again and is now filled with water and fish once more.
The experience repeats itself…
During the summer holidays in 2005, the nightmare repeated itself. I woke up on a Saturday morning where we had agreed to go to BonBon-land, but I just wanted to write a bit for the website first. When I had taken a few steps into the living room, I suddenly got wet toes - the aquarium had become leaky again. The fish were quickly moved to other aquariums and the water was drained and towels were laid out on the wet carpet. My dear wife was anything but happy and I myself was frustrated to say the least - it is not easy to distribute the contents of an overcrowded 325 liter aquarium into a handful of other overcrowded aquariums. This time it ended with the rack being sold and the fish stock being adjusted.
