David R

Tbh I would try avoid feeding any mammalian protein to my fish.

There is no other option than the timber frame, except maybe a steel frame. A glass box filled with water needs an even foundation to sit on, ply or mdf or poly won't provide that by themselves. Actually, the other thing you could do is pour a small plinth of self levelling concrete, though that would be more hassle than a timber frame...

*edit* It's 43W vs 50W, so 7W difference 7W * 24 hours * 365 days /1000 = 61.3kwh per year saved, or ~ $10.50 depending on how much you pay for power...

I'll try post updates of significance here too.

Yes. :sml1:

Finalised the sump design yesterday, from left to right it will have a large settling chamber to catch the coarse waste, then up to six 50mm thick sheets of Poret foam (I'll start with two 10ppi and two 20ppi and see how that goes), then some additional bio media (pond matrix and bioballs) then into the chamber with the pump and heaters. There will also be a drain for automated (or semi-automated) water changes.

In a tank your size, absolutely.

Just normal variance IMO, I have one with much finer spots than the other. Time will tell I guess.

I'll probably have a bunch of flat schist-type rocks to get rid of in the not-too-distant future if you're interested. But as nudge said, how big is your tank?

Cheers Dan, the width is awesome! Get in touch if ever you're up this way and come check it out.

HA!! And I can't wait to see your comm of violet fusions and super reds...

Most certainly!! What did I do differently this time round, other than bigger of course! Drains - two 50mm drains, one set lower than the other and adjustable with a ball valve so it can flow as a full siphon while the other handles the rest. The two drains should be able to hangle around 5000GPH flow, which is 10x turn over and more than double what I intend to run! Sump - more mechanical filtration, and in stages too. I'm planning on having an easy to clean pre-filter before the socks, as with the last set up I needed to clean and change the socks every three days to avoid over-flowing them! Stand - far beefier and more rigid, with diagonal gussets in the corners. Same low height for optimum seated viewing. Background - even 3d background made from mortar was no match for the plecs and starting to show signs of wear, so this time I've simply painted the back black. With nearly 4' of water in front of it I didn't feel the need for a fancy looking background. Those are the main things that spring to mind, but there is probably more. Henward is right, you're always learning and changing things. One thing is for sure; this tank has even more reinforced my love of wide tanks, I don't think I'd ever own a tank that is as wide as it is high again.

Hmm I hadn't even thought about the receipt! The thing is this tank cost a lot less than it probably should have as Greg was able to source some large 15mm offcuts, if it had to be made with new glass then the cost would have doubled at least. Greg will make the sump in his shop, it will only be about 6' so not too difficult to transport! There will certainly be the potential for at least semi-automated water changes, a drain in the sump at the "normal" level which can be opened so new water can be pumped straight into the tank. This could be made more automated with either a continuous drip or a tap on a timer if I desire, but with a group of big messy plecs I think siphoning is always going to be part of the program, no matter how well set up the filtration is. The other consideration is that we are reliant on rain water, so over the summer I'll need to monitor closely the amount of water the tank uses. I certainly won't be doing big water changes just for the fun of it!

Cheers! and nudge when it is all stocked and up and running you (and anyone else) are welcome to come check it out. I'm always keen to talk fish with anyone similarly enthusiastic about the subject.

Where did you get them from? It's the kind of thing I'm looking for to light my big tank. I'll be interested to see how you find the colour given that it just says "white", hope it isn't too yellow.

We were going to speak to the insurance company today about something completely unrelated, so I'll mention it to them then. Putting a drain in the concrete slab would be very difficult now, bordering on impossible. The floor wouldn't be sloped for the water to run into it anyway. I certainly would have done it if we had build the house ourselves! Fortunately with the layout of the house the only areas it could flood are the garage, laundry and the single downstairs bedroom (currently my brewing room!), the rest of the house is all upstairs.

What are the specs? Colour? Wattage?

rabid the floor is just a regular concrete slab floor, the weight scares be a little but at the end of the day it's no different to a large 4wd/SUV being parked in the garage. I think manatee are pretty cool, I've certainly been called worse!! :lol:

A diet high in fermented malt is key to attaining such a size quickly! :lol: And yes, tewnty-or-so wild-type discus in a blackwater environment would be a dream come true for this tank, along with a few geos and the arowana of course. I'd be just as happy (maybe even more so) with the Altums Henward posted on the FNZAS facebook page this morning, and I may have to track down a breeder of the 'Peru Altum' scalare to get a good sized group in the mean time.

Yes it's a completely different ballgame when you can barely reach the back of the tank with your 2' long PVC siphon!! I'd certainly never attempt a planted tank or anything that requires much in the way of maintenance with a tank this size, a few big bits of driftwood plus some rocks and sand will be the extent of the aquascaping, I'll leave plenty of floor space free for the plecs and geophagus.

The ones I saw at Mt Roskill are tiny too. Pretty cute but would soon grow up to be belligerent little buggers I imagine.

For those not following my thread on MFK I thought I'd share the pics from the building of my new tank yesterday. It is 2400x1200x700 and 15mm glass. So the build went off without a hitch really, it was the first time I've ever watched a tank being built, and of course I was doing more than just spectate! Despite Greg the tank maker having two stitches in his hand from an altercation with an angle-grinder the previous evening, he made the three hour drive up with the remainder of the glass and we set to it, with my father helping out with the moving and holding while we got the base and sides in place. A little over four hours later it looked like this; My wife has a few more construction pics on her phone, I'll upload them later when she gets home. Back panel painted, bulkheads in place, lines masked up for the black silicone. Sides going on. Looks great as a rimless open topped tank, maybe I could only fill it half way up... The overflow ended up being a little bigger than I had anticipated. Originally I had planned for 400x150mm, but the previous day when I was collecting the glass from his shop we were looking for a piece of tinted glass to do the job and found one that was 470 wide, so I said don't bother cutting it down. Then when he arrived yesterday he reminded me with the euro brace and the 150mm wide overflow I'd be struggling to get my hand into it if ever I needed to rescue something. Good point, so we increased the width making the final size 470x200mm. I guess it is a good thing having a larger area for the water to flow across, I had specified the overflow be 50mm below the height of the back panel, but forgot to take into account the 15mm thickness of the euro brace, so there is only a 35mm gap between the top of the weir and the bottom of the brace. The previous day after getting the ply and poly on the stand we had done a bit of dead reckoning to pre-drill the holes for the overflow drains. The holes are 60mm and the pipe is about 55mm outside diameter so there is a little leeway, however once the back of the tank was on I had a look thru from the other side and was pleasantly surprised with how perfectly it all lined up. This is the spot in the garage directly behind the tank where the sump will sit, eventually encased in an insulated cupboard. The two holes on the left are for the drains, the one on the right for the return. The room where the tank is isn't huge, I took this standing on a trestle outside the door to show the couch in relation to the tank. I'm planning on spending a fair bit of time down here, which is why I wanted the tank at eye level while sitting, here's the view from the couch. Luckily there is this little nook under the stairs which will allow me to get far enough back from the tank to get the obligatory 'full tank shot'. And last but not least, the one you've all been waiting for... Sorry I couldn't convince my wife or someone more photogenic than I to pose in it... :redface: Overall I'm very happy with how it has turned out, really glad I opted for black silicone at the last minute, and very appreciative of the work Greg has done despite the doctor suggesting he has a couple of days off to let his hand heal. The size of the tank fits the room perfectly IMO, there is enough room to squeeze down either side of the tank [just, will be good motivation to reduce my waist line I think!] and the width and height look well proportioned for my tastes. So now we wait, there's some pretty thick joins there and I want to make sure the silicone cures completely before filling. I also need to finish my plan for the sump and get it to Greg ASAP. Might not be much to update over the next week or two.

kinda heavy too....

Very! Would be interesting to know how many came in. Did anyone else get one? Let me know if you ever decide to sell it!

Jack there are many ITs that look like true Siamese, but the key difference is the number of bars on the base of the tail. This pic shows it more clearly; With IT the last bar comes down across the base of the tail and then there are two other smaller bars, with the ST there is only the last bar and one other. You can see it clearly with the pic of the massive ST I posted before. Here is a pic of my old 'false ST', had the big stripes like a widebar, but can still see the two bands on the tail. The other side had a different pattern.