I bought this aquarium used in March 2002 along with an identical one and a 153l one. All three were part of the second version of my small aquarium rack.
Technique
The aquarium is filtered by a blue filter sponge of 40x40x5cm with an air-driven pump tube positioned along one of the end walls. It is heated by a 100W Via Aqua steel heater with a separate sensor and external temperature regulator. The lighting consists of half of an 18W fluorescent tube mounted above, as well as a single 5W energy-saving bulb that provides a twilight-like light before and after the main light turns on. The light is controlled by two weekly timers.
Interior
In June 2004, I decided to convert the aquarium into a Tanganyika rocky coast aquarium. The interior featured my first homemade background, three limestones, half a coconut shell (for the benefit of 3 Ancistrus), and two Cryptocorynes. The substrate was fine sand, grain size 0.3-0.7mm.
When I moved the Tanganyika cichlids, I removed the background, and now the interior is more sparse, consisting only of a few coconut shell caves.
Planting
Currently, I only have floating plants in the aquarium, along with a large clump of Java moss.
Usage
The aquarium has been used as a species tank for my multifasciatus, various American cichlids, and as a brooding tank for larger Malawi cichlids. Later, it became a species tank for J. transcriptus and currently I use it as a grow-out tank. I have moved my transcriptus to my new 148-liter which they have shared with my N. similis, a group of Cyprichromis leptosoma "Tanzania Neon" and a group of N. leleupi.
