Warren

Clear breach of the rules, one month Ban imposed.

The glass thickness calculator assumes front to back bracing as well as a strip approx 100mm wide running full-length of the tank (both front and back). There's a different set of formula's to calculate the thickness or safety factor if no bracing is used. For a safety factor of 3.8 with no bracing you need 10.43mm glass and it will deflect by 1.66mm in the middle about 1/3 of the way up. So you could remove the centre brace but the safety factor will be about 3.5. This is still much higher than most aquariums...

How much for 2.0mm polycarb as it would do the same job?

Yip, folding the edge helps a lot but it will still sag a little over time. The bigger the edge the less the sag. If you have space, the small extra cost for the extra material will save a lot compared to polycarb. I had no idea it was that much more expensive!! How much does it cost to add a fold to the perspex compared to cutting it and glueing the strip on (as it has to be folded when hot doesn't it?)

If it's for lids for tanks then perspex is not the best. It tends to sag and every few days you have to turn it over so it sags back the other way. Polycarbonate (or Lexan) is better as it's almost as clear but does not sag. It also does not break if you drop it.

All sides except the front and top are fibreglass over plywood.

It was set up for a short time but I quickly discovered I'd bitten off more than I could chew... It now lives at the Nation Aquarium as the NZ Native display tank.

Go here: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewto ... k&start=15 A tank this big will cost well over $5K to have made. I made this one for $1.9K and it's the size you want. The most expensive part was the glass at $1K for a piece 2900 x 1000 and 19mm thick. I got the steel for approx $250 as scrap metal from a couple of the local scrap yards. The 38mm plywood (2 x 19mm laminated) was free from packing crates at work. The fibreglass was done by a mate for $400 and the painting I did myself for $200. The rest was for screws and silicone (22 tubes to seal the front glass in).

Will see you there. I'm on the 08:30 sailing tomorrow morning. As long as the ferries are running and they don't smash up my car with a train I'll be there!! Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Yeah Pupuke is good too. Don't get to the North Shore very often and tend to forget they're there. Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Jansens is also pretty good. Hollywood's do specialise a bit more but both shops will go the extra mile for you if you ask for something (unless it's impossible to get...)

You can also get colour 96 (still 6500K). These are higher colour rendering tubes due to a more even spectrum. They look exactly the same but have 5 spikes in the spectrum instead of three on the colour 86. Over-all, the colour 96 is a more even spread and plants grow noticably better under them. Most electrical wholesalers sell them but they are about twice the price of colour 86. They may not stock them either but will be able to order them in. I used colour 96 tubes for about 8 years before switching to metal halides. Use Philips or Sylvania TLD96.

The gas is probably hydrogen sulphide. It you stir the gravel a bit to realease some bubbles, snif them as the pop at the surface. It will most probably smell like rotten eggs... It is poisonous to the fish. A good gravel clean will remove the worst of it. You can keep gravel cleaning weekly to remove the organic matter causing the problem or create flow in the gravel by adding under gravel heating or some kind of filter. Probably easier just to clean every week with a typical gravel cleaner. You'll need to suck section of the gravel up and let them swirl round in the vacuum tube until the water runs clear through the gravel. This way all the muck and most of the gas will get sucked out of the tank... The reason it's happened is most likely buildup of organic matter due to not cleaning the gravel. The gravel clogs up and anaerobic activity makes the gas...

If the scratch is not too deep you can polish it. I've successfuly removed scratches with metal polish and a buffing wheel.

Nah, let it roll on and repeat again and again and again and again grrrrrrrppttt. 8)

Actually, it's a very good thread. If you cannot see the difference between what has gone on in this thread and what has happened on the reef central thread then this is the problem... I see no arguments about silly trivial numbers that pretty much mean nothing on reef central. All I see here is pointless arguments about a couple of numbers and the whole point of the thread has been lost/destroyed instead of being helpful. Surely it's plain to see the difference... (He sits shaking his head in disbelief).

Crypts are well known for melting. Many plants leaves turn to mush when the leaf dies, is damaged or is shead...

I'm not having a running fight. I'm simply expressing my displeasure at having to intervene in many of the threads or pointless weak arguments between the same member or few members. I fail to see what use these silly arguements are and what they accomplish. Of course, every now and then there are some valid points but what you have to wade through to find them staggers me.

Yup

Oh, just give it a rest... :roll: :roll: :roll:

So what! At least he's trying to help. Looks like what he's offering is better than the results from kits and most likely helpful to most people. Just let it go and accept it's not perfect... :roll:

Lduncan, I wish you'd stop being so disagreeable and argumentative all the time (it would appear you can't help yourself). The marine threads would be better for it. While your posts are sometimes mildly entertaining they are generally destructive. Unless you can actually offer constructive criticism (and offer it in a nice way), please don't bother and let everyone else get on with it.

If you are going to share the restaurant's details, please send them by PM only. To be totally PC and abide by the site rules, even a businesses information is not allowed to be posted.

It will weigh approx 87kg if made from 10mm glass and has bracing round it's top edge.

8)