David R

^ mine too. Would love a school of about 50 in a big south american tank....... 8)

They're trying to sort out a heirachy, get a few more of them so you can see some proper group dynamics...

I'll bring a heap of it back up when we do the mission this winter, hopefully will be able to recoup the gas money....

Yes there are.

I'm pretty sure you can, I wouldn't expect to see it in the shops as its a bit boring for most people. I'm planning a mission down country this winter to stock up on some big pieces. Failing that I'll just find some teatree I like the look of at the inlaws farm, cut it down and leave it soaking in my parents unused swimming pool for a while... Great link Snookie!!!

Wood, sand and rocks. Would love to end up with something as natural looking as this, maybe with a bit more wood and less rock http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd49 ... C_2369.jpg [pic borrowed from "nutty" on MFK]

No plants because of the uaru and severums. Have thought about adding a school of tetras, might do an experiment with some neons once its all up and running. As for the aro, if/when blacks are available again there will be an arowana in there, but until then its just the cichlids and plecos. Sorry for the hijack Al!

I'm not sure which would be better, but it would be easier if the end of the tank wasn't hard up against a wall and had room to run power cords for lights and return pipes etc concealed inside the cabinet.

Just updated the MFK thread: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... 793&page=3

\ Hah is that top left one supposed to look like domo-kun or just coincidence??

You can still have an all-male community with out the hassles of breeding...

Its about 450L less than my 8', closer to my 800L 6', so I guess it depends on the turn over you want to run. I'm running a Laguna 7500 (~5000lph at the tank height) on the 6' and one hole with a 32mm RXP bulkhead keeps up fine. You'll probably be fine with just one hole of that dimensions, sorry I can't remember the actual size, but if you go to plumbing world and get the fitting then the tank maker can drill the right size hole. Make sure they give you a good discount (even better if you know someone with a trade account) as they're bloody expensive paying full retail! Sumps are by no means a new thing, I'd be a little worried if the tank maker isn't familiar with them. Is your tank going to be hard up against a wall at one end, or would you have room for plumbing to stick out the end and be concealed?

Size of the holes will depend on the size of the pump, I use 40mm waste for my plumbing, and 32mm RXP bulkheads. I've only got one on my 6' tank but two on my new 8'. You need to decide how much turn-over you'll have through the tank and go from there. The overflows need to be big enough to handle the flow, and the sump needs enough space so that when the power goes off it doesn't overflow. DIYing the sump with an old tank could save a bit of money, and the guys building the main tank should be able to help with the sizes of the holes etc.

I think it is a good idea, $3k won't buy much advertising, and even if the business goes belly up [worst case scenario, hopefully not!] you can keep your dream tank. But as bulldogod said, if your coffee isn't up to scratch people won't come back regardless.

I saw one for an 18 litre tank that said something like "huge tank" in the title, I left a comment saying "the bucket I use for doing water changes is bigger than your tank, and my tanks aren't huge by a long shot!"

Was that the big one from the place in Glen Innes??!! Damn, he was a beauty...

Honestly, if you're got a hacksaw and can make measurements to a reasonable degree of accuracy, its so easy to do the plumbing you'll wonder what the fuss was about, I actually find it fun! I'm sure there are people in Christchurch who have done it before and would be glad to help in exchange for a free coffee. With the return, I'd suggest drilling another hole in the bottom of the tank next to the overflow and running it up through there, along the length of the tank inside the hood, and have it coming out at the far end. Has the tank been built yet? Rather than doing the perspex thing and cutting slits, I'd suggest using tinted glass for the overflow (its usually cheaper too) and getting some overflow comb from the LFS to silicone on. That way you can easily remove it for cleaning. I've never actually run anything on my overflows, and the only fish I've had go over were eels (fire and tyre track) and small tetras. In my 6' I siliconed a piece of glass in just above the water level so the gap is only about 10mm for the water, too small for any of my fish to go over, except for my tyre track who some how managed to squeeze through.

I'm getting a bit like that too, I have no problem with people keeping big fish in suitably large aquariums, but the biggest fish in my 1400L won't be much over 10".

I saw some funny pics on this topic with an 8 year old kid acting well beyond his age, but alas its far too un-PC to post here....

Or more if your tank is heavily stocked, up to 10 times turnover isn't unheard of on heavily stocked tanks. Why do you want them to be breeding in a community tank? I would have thought all males would be the way to go, but I don't know much about african cichlids...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=45185 http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... y.php?f=29 <- numerous threads about sumps there For the overflow, I'd suggest drilling a hole in the base of the tank so you can still have it hard up against the wall, and make a trapezoidal overflow on the end wall (shaped like this \_________/ ).

what are the actual dimensions on them?

Tower takes up too much height, plus I want to have the sponges submerged for more effective mechanical filtration. Water will be sprayed onto the media via multiple spraybars or a large drip tray with holes drilled through it.

Probably just guys collecting bichirs... http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... 1227225081

Done similar things before, here's a few ideas; pic of team name in graffiti one member of the team arrives at the finish wearing a dress and/or g-srting kidnap a member of another team pic of someone behind the counter at a fast food joint pic of a letterbox with 123/69/666 some other notable number on it etc Try not to make too many challenges that require spending money...