smidey

when i was in the granite game we had a plastic bottomless pot with a ribber sealed bottom edge (can't remember what it was called) that you placed around where the hole was to be drilled & filled it with water for keeping the drill bit cool.

& let us know when you are going to do it so we can come & watch

i have found trophs are quite calm fish until it comes time to compete for breeding rights then it is all on. Even after a weaker male has submitted & is no longer challenging he will continue to be chased & damaged by the dominant one which is why it often ends in death.

what i do have in a four footer (1200x500x500) is a group of 17 (i think) pembas that range from 3cm to 7cm & they get along fine with plenty of rock work. that would be a better idea than a 3 footer but without going to 5 or 6. I doubt that they will be ok as adults in there but for now they are breeding plenty & there has been minimal damage to any fish so it is a short term solution to getting them out of their previous slightly smaller tank (1050x380x450).

IMO a small colony of ikola will be very difficult to keep alive. I have not kept ikola specifically but everything i have read about them is they are the most aggro of all trophs. 3 foot is too small for adult fish but would work for fish up to 5 or 6cm, i had trophs is a 4 footer & i realised that was too small for them once i put them into their 2.0m tank. the more length the better, i know it is not always practical or possible to get big tanks but 4 to 5 foot should be the starting point & that will allow you to get more of them. they seem to be "travelling" fish in their nature. they basically do lengths, often in a school of my tank & that seems to keep them happy. when they were in my 4 footer they were always at each other as they were constantly near rivals.

:lol: could be a relevant comment if you were talking about his son you have done the right thing Carlos. just relax & let it run its course, you are not the one performing an offence so don't stress.

i guess a 30cm high & wide tank would be perfect for all plants that grow up to 29cm or less right? that would mean the lighting was more effective than a tank that had 60 or 90cm of water for the light to travel through. horses for courses

if it is a 270L tank a bucket per day isn't going to do much. Do a 25% change which may make a difference. combine a couple of changes over the next 5 days or so with the filter doing its thing & it should clear up (without knowing what caused teh cloudiness) You will need to monitor the nitrate & ammonia levels so getting a test kit is a must, that or get some cycling fish that you don't mind loosing as the liquid cycling stuff may not be perfect at kick starting your tank. what fish are you intending to keep?

a craft knife or razor blade would remove it no problem.

a hood like that, closed will stop the fish from hitting the floor but there is still a chance of it getting stuck between the top of the tank & hood.

what are you going to do for lighting? on my 2.0m tank i have a 5 foot fluro sitting across the back half so those lids won't be able to be lifted. how about attaching some slide bolts with silicone?

was the enclosure closed or open when you got home? is it indoors? was the door still locked? is there any evidence of entry by someone else?

the verticle support is far more than is required but it definately needs diagonal braces, like this in both directions to prevent the stand from racking in either direction.

the fishing up here that i have heard of hasn't been the best in the last few weeks either, maybe linked.

F1 has always been a dodgy sport

new house, cylinder & plumbing is more efficient & you have a monthly bill of $400 i thought my $275 was bad.

not all houses are next to a creek i like the idea of using LED lighting & alternative water heating which would cut power usage significantly. hot water heating is usually around 50% of household power consumption.

ah ok, i did not know that. 40% reduction in power? lord help us if the have to kill off the practice of brazillians

the L046 is about to become much more expensive i think

how many lumens are these things? i had a brief chat to a mate who owns an electrical supply store & he came to the conclusion that 5 or 6 rows (cannot recall exactely) of LEDs were required to match one fluro tube which made it really expensive, ie: a five foot fluro tube = 25 or 30 feet of LEDs to achieve the same lumens.

so your after a 3 foot tank, in that size i would go with an all in one as that will be much easier for you, buy it, place it & fill it. If you go for a custom made one you will need to build a stand & hood, it will cost a similar price either way & the custom one will only look as good as the excellence that goes into making the stand & hood. A custom tank does give you the ability to have specific sizes, if you wanted an extra deep or tall tank then that would be easier. each method has their own advantages & disadvantages.

50 is not old & 16 is legal??

what size are they now?

how much would that tank cost to run for a year? $30 per month maybe?

:lol: brilliant