Rory

I agree, i managet to pinch off with one of my mums spare slate tiles! Cost $0.00 Shist might be hard to find lying around in hamilton, its mostly volcanic there isn't in??? any way you could make cool hiding structures out of concrete, driftwood, etc etc I must admit making hiding structures look good is harder than you think. But good luck and make sure you post some pics!

cheers guys

Well i've got a 20 g tank, yeah i know its small but its good in a flatting situation where your moving around all the time... Anyway its a fresh water tank at the moment but i'd like to convert it to a saltwater tank. I have lights and i plan on getting a canister filter sometime this year, the one peice of equipment i cannot get my head around is the protien skimmer! Why the hell does this peice of equipment cost so damn much!!!! Do i need one for a 20g tank? Are there any alternatives? I was looking around at diy skimmers and came across this: http://www.planet-reef.com/diyskim.htm In particular this one here: Is this not cheap to make? Would it be possible to make this for say...$50??? Why don't freshwater tanks need skimmers? What im getting at here is the fact that im a broke student and need to work around these expensive problems, any advice would be great. Thanks guys, i'd love to join the dark side (saltwater) but so far the price of things has been holding me back. :-?

How much to make that skimmer TM? I'll try anythin ONCE!

so can this not be done without a chiller? i was hoping to avoid the big $$$'s Say if i collect my live stock in Kaitaia (the far far north) and keep it in a non chilled tank in wellington? Would that do ok?

Basically i want to know what equipment i will need. Is it the same equipment as tropical minus the heater? What about live stock? Can i just get anything from the coast? Do you use a chiller? I must get warm in some of thoes rock pools in summer!

I'm thinking of making a cold water marine tank but can find very little information on theis. Has anyone done this? Are there any resources anout doing this?

Any of these available in welly? I also have a MEGA bba problem. Rory

...i really dont think you need tarps on the carpet. Unless of course your planing on spilling alot of water. As for furniture i remember someone here saying that you can get cheap old benches (kitchen benches and stuff) off trade me. Its worth a look see. Good luck with the fish room!

Just to add, i've never seen my clowns at the top of the tank! so they might not swim through the pipe..

Haha :lol: this sounds so... human!

Im using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. So far i've found NZ paint stors to be VERY unhelpful! I was trying to create a 'piano black' finish for stereo rack I was making but every store i went to didn't know what a piano black fish was so i ended up explaining what a piano looks like ("ultra high gloss, and the blackest shade of black you can get"). In the end i just gave up cause no one could help me. So if anyone knows where i can get paint for a piano black finish in NZ PM me! Hope the paint hunting goes well for you!

How about funky orange?

:roll:

Or darker

It looks GREAT! I love the cabinet! (giving me ideas here). I think you should paint it a dark wine red colour! Maroon. Something like that. Will go with all the natural tones you have and i think it would look nice against the dark green in the tank. Anyway it looks good.

i THINK i saw some at a local fish store here in welly. In Miramar i think... I may be wrong but im sure it was the same fish.

You should check in your local paper for old posts or beams from demolished buildings. Some can be accuired quite cheaply and look better than anything else. You could keep it under $100 if you have the patience to wait for a bargin to roll around.

Yeah i think i'll go with a metal frame, make life a lot easier! I've only ever made small things out of matai and they never smelt, but they were only small boxes. But isn't it the nicest looking wood!

Hey ya all. I'm looking at getting a serious tank at the end of the year and i'll be making my own cabinet for it. Possibily out of Rimu or Kauri, but ill make it out of Matai if i can get ahold of some at a good price. Anyway i was wanting to see if anyone here makes there own cabinets, if so post a pic. Im after ideas. Cheers Rory M

Great series goin on here. When i get home from uni i always look at this topic for updates! Its great! :bounce:

Wow! Thanks for the offer guys, this is great! i'll be in touch

Hey ya all. I'm after some Glosso in the wellington area. I'm happy to pay for some, or i have a fighter and pleco i'd be willing to swap! Cheers Rory

i wired a couple of thoes things up to a 12v adapter and they are not very bright at all, your best bet is the LED option. Unless your neon is huge

If you can do a deepish dive and get a hand full of brachiopods and get them to live in your tank you would be a legand! I've found brachiopod shell on the east coast of the far north (Cancellothyris hedleyi. I think) Oh and if anyone has any in their tank i'd be interested in coming around for a look sometime!