Joze

if it were me I would abandon the project. no point trying to strengthen it when the base integrity is compromised.

buyings bulbs from pet shops...............guaranteed to suck your wallet, buy them from the same place they do...your local electrical supplier

whoops more to add, the ugf set up as a secondary filtration with sand filter as primary, possibly a double valve such as you would find on an auto pool cleaner and a small box weir. Come t think of it maybe I should put in a sand filter and a barracouda into the oscar tank

my plan of attack is a 1/4hp pump with sand filter rated up to 20 000 lph, possibly with variable flow rate. Beauty of this is that the filter can be backwashed and remove all the crap. This will be in an african tank 8x2x3 foot. So far in my head I have...bugger all, still figuring out the best way to have this tank landscaped and easy to clean at the same time. Maybe a sheet of clearlite as a ugf with the ability to plug into the pump and force water through the substrate as a high current, reducing the need to the 6 monthly lift and clean. My biggest thought on this is how to break the current down fr normal filtration.

I have plans coming along slowly, unfortunately the main tank will need plumbing with 32mm due to the size, I think a club trip to see what I am dealing with would be a good idea. The tank I have int he planning stages will be plumbed properly and will not be filled until I am absolutely sure on the layout. The biggest problem will be the pump size as I only know pumps as big or bigger. As for using a ballcock the best thing to do in this case is to use one designed for sheep as they are designed not to be damaged by livestock. They are also fully adjustable as to level. Before you put your foot in it pies I plumbed our pool and have had 20 odd years of water reticulation repairs under my belt.

farm supplies are also an option, they also have tamperproof ballcocks which you wont find in a plumbing supply shop

I have a couple of big tanks, the eight footer is empty and in the garage awaiting the results of careful planning and landscaping....and a piece of glass for the end. My five footer is 5x3x3, I use a step ladder, pool pump and pool vaccum scrubbing brush to clean, this stops fish from being sucked up and scrubs the tank. Unfortunately due to the nature of oscars its a bare tank. I would like to landscape it but at the moment thats not an option with the tempremental state of one of the filters (fluval of course) and the oscars themselves....thinking clearlite, coarse sand, and spa pool pump and filter here. The cost of setting both of these tanks up properly at the moment is prohibitive and I am waiting the good folks on trademe to stop getting greedy and demanding new prices for pumps.

one of my oscars lost an eye, he is in a tank on his own until it heals completely, I found the cause yesterday, one of the little buggers had smashed a floating thermometer in the tank. Turns out a visiting 5yo decided to change them and removed the floating pool thermometer I keep in there. Since I have been really sick lately its been an effort to go downstairs to the tank and the other half has been feeding and doing the water changes. Unfortunately he is not a fishy person and didnt realise that anything remotely breakable is a no-no in the oscar tank. Someone had even taken out the ping pong balls in the tank which were there to keep them occupied.

I cut mdf same size as the back, smother in pva and "wallpaper" it on, no bubbles, easy to remove and no tape on the tank, great if you have a tank and fitted cabinet as you can tuck it under the hood, if not a strip of dbl sided tape top and bottom will hold the mdf in place, but I guess it would swell as you can remove it easily for maintenence

bloody hell Ira I showed them to you. :lol:

dark can you get it out here? It can go in the pool over winter and leach to its hearts content. I also spotted in a marine equipment site this device for attaching coral to glass. Basically was a plate with prongs that fibreglass into coral on suction pads, all non metallic.

yup would like another but that can wait

thats the bitch we have 2 lounges and the giant gourami tank takes up a third of the second lounge. One armchair stereo and a giant gourami.

offer of a bed here for anyone on the travel btw. Kapiti Coast

mine is in a 5ft by 3 by 3 and its ok...not optimum but ok. She is around the 50-60 cm mark and weighs approx 8kg (thank god for knotless trout net with scale built in). Has a go at small children and got the cat once. Devours a lettuce a week and for entertainment value the kids go snail hunting and drop them in washed only. Will have a go at eating anything that gets anywhere near the tank. She is a baby pink colour (is that the red?) and is often mistaken for a snapper. The rods which once decorated the wall in that room have no been moved as it was very disconcerting watching people look at the rod and the tank. Never put their food ..even in a sealed container on the top of the tank.....I learnt this the hard way. They will jiggle the glass until the container falls in and then attack the container until it gives up the goodies. From what I understand her growth rate was an inch a week as a juvenile. As adults they are hideous to move and I REALLY recommend anethestising them to do this.

I promise to nag.....dont think Ira will sit next to me tomorrow

remind me to send Janey's email to myself Ira

I have a persistently brooding female and an infertile male (well not milting anyway), took the female and a known fertile male and put them in a tank on their own, I also took away anything secure that they could hide in, next week the terracotta pipes go back in.

hmm how busy is your dad

I use ftp in internet explorer just type ftp://homepages.paradise.net.nz/ then file and login with your password and username you will then get the directories come up.

ear ear Ira you forgot something..

http://www.automatedaquariums.com/index.htm

well hmmm.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ok

only positive thing I can say about the fluval is that it runs slow enough in the small guppy growout tank to keep the water warm without a heater and not suck up the fry. Tech specs fluval 404 $400 original cost, $600 parts credit card? over the limit

lemme near those planted tanks and guppies