David R

MAF/DOC/ERMA actually need grounds to do things like that?? I thought they could just change their minds about stuff for no valid reason, detain people at airports when ever they feel like it, confiscate legal animals etc etc.... :lol:

The 5' looks like it could use a lawn mower!!

Nice little tank Phil!!

There is unlikely to be a big "temperature swing" because of warm weather anyway. If the tank does heat up above its usual temperature it will do so gradually enough that it won't bother the fish.

Not sure if we get any others, but a leopard ctenopoma would be an ideal addition to an african riverine tank, as would a school of congo tetras. Buffalo heads are another possibility, but I'm not sure how fast they grow, so you may want to get them at a large enough size so they don't get eaten as the senegal grows. I'd recommend getting a few senegals for a tank that size, 3+ would be good. And if you haven't already seen it, Annes Polypterus Primer should answer almost every question you have: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... hp?t=65770

Dip the whole stand?!?! Or you mean dip the steel, then grind the galv off to weld it, then hope it doesn't rust around the welds?

Diagonal bracing will be taking the load in an earthquake more than the 4x2 legs. If it doesn't have that then it doesn't matter how many legs its got.

Hard-plumb it with Marley pressure pipe.

My loaches are loving life at 29-30C, although I usually run their tank at 27C so its not that big a jump...

Gymnogeophagus balzanii? Apisto pair?

I got 5 from 5 with my Gymnogeophagus balzanii, and out of the three beardies we bought at least two of them were males, probably all three.

You've obviously never tried buying fish from Animates....... Yes I know there are a handfull of clued-up staff that actually know a bit about fish, but most of the staff I encounter seem to be working there because they like cute fluffy things and couldn't tell a cardinal from a catfish.

My steel stand is already showing signs of surface rust through the paint. Its the first and probably the last steel stand I'll own. I've made my own timber stands in the past, and will do so next time we move and transfer the 65' tank that is currently on a steel stand to a timber one. There's few things I'd suggest though. Neither plan has any triangles. If you're going to screw ply onto it to cover it then don't worry as that will brace it. Second, what are the dimensions of your tank? If its made from 4x2, that stand looks crazy overkill for the size of the tank. My 5x2x2' was on a timber stand with six legs, and I notched the top of the legs to sit the horizontal support on.

Carve some polystyrene, cover with plaster, paint.

Could be protein film, I get a build up of it in the sump on my 5' from all the meaty food I feed the aro and bichir. I use use an ice cream container to skim the top layer off about once a month (longer if I forget).

Get some uarus, they love it!!

Beautiful! More pics please!!!

Ours loves beans when Hannah hand feeds him, otherwise he often ignores them if we put them in his bowl. Try putting a mix of mealworms and beans in a bowl for him, the movement of the mealworms might help.

Probably better to get on the phone to actual quarantine facilities and sort out the costs first, rather than asking a bunch of people who aren't in the industry. Another thing would be to make sure the fish you want to import can legally be brought into NZ, here's the list: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/ ... ic.all.htm

Scleropages formosus, green asian arowana.

Oops! No offence to anyone from here who posts there, I've only browsed it a few times, and it was during the build up to the election so there was a lot of political threads full of seriously flawed logic, confused arguments etc. I gave up pretty quickly...

My video of my ornate and big fire eel has had nearly 7300 views!! I just uploaded this one today, its up to 29...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com the DIY forum and Photo and Video Lounge should keep you busy for hours! Stay away from the TradeMe forums, I swear that I get dumber every time I read them...

Sounds like trouble to me. a 4cm thick piece of timber won;t do that much, the stand I designed to hold my5x2x2' on a timber floor had 6x2 on edge across the bottom of the three pairs of legs to spread the load over the three joists it was over. Even with a specially designed stand I'd be reluctant to try it, just look at the water height vs footprint thing. At the very least you would want to get someone who knows a bit about engineering to look at reinforcing the floor. Better safe than sorry IMO...

They certainly aren't common!! http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... p?t=201081