lduncan

for example, that huge 6 meg photo you uploaded you can access at http://www.nzreefs.com/sites/faysmarine ... oject4.jpg Layton

When you login and go to the "Members Area" you get a list of "Choose File" buttons. If you click on those you can choose files from your computer to upload to your webspace. Once you have chosen a file or files, click the upload button, then after a few moments it will tell you that the files have been uploaded, and it will display their names on the left had side of the window. You can then access the files you uploaded by going to http://www.nzreefs.com/sites/login name Like I said the script isn't exactly user friendly at the moment.

Ok, got installed a pretty crude script which will do what I want for now. I'll clean it up and make it a bit more user friendly as I have time. To setup your sub site go to http://www.nzreefs.com/sites/ Layton

There were some really curly questions in there. Layton

84%, Senior Reef Chemist. Also spotted a mistake in the answers (which has been corrected) when I did it at the beginning of the month. Layton

I think some encrusting monti's can pack more punch that any acro. I had a frag fall onto one, and lost about an inch of it over night. No sign of any damage to the monti. Digitata's are just weak Layton

Yeah, that sort of what I was looking at doing. Having a structural trim around the front with the glass glued to it, and have the water pressure seal it like a gasket. Layton

Some time yes, often no. Best to avoid it. Layton

I you want to see more photo's of Royal Exclusiv's construction methods check out my website: www.nzreefs.com I've been playing with Apple's latest free software iWeb for the last hour, and updated my website. Warning, it's not optimised for dial-up. Layton

Rocks absorb whatever they are sitting in similar to a paper towel in water. If you have rocks sitting in a sand bed, they absorb the nutrients which are stored in the bed, this can fuel problem algae. You could end up wondering why you can't detect phosphate in the water yet the rock is covered in nasty algae. If you have a water gap between the rock and the sand, then there is no absorption taking place (until the sand bed fills up and starts leaking) Layton

Low iron I think. The mounting is the thing that worries me, this is how royal exclusive do it: That's 45mm (3 x 15mm opticlear glass laminated). I may need to chat with someone at royal exclusiv about the best way do this, hopefully they will help me out. Layton

Weldon 10 I believe is the adhesive for bonding pvc to pvc and pvc to wood. The only problem is that I haven't found anyone that stocks it. Layton

Multiple big ones.

Roughly 1/4 to 1/5th the price. But probably more importantly, it's going to be more workable (in terms of drilling holes etc) than a completely glass tank. Plus, i would have to get something similar even if I go all glass for the bottom. Layton

I got some prices this morning for rigid PVC. All are per sheet (2440 x 1220) Industrial Grey (Mulford / Universal Plastics) 4.5mm $106.97 / $128.52 6mm $158.68 / $189.00 8mm na / $257 10mm na / $317 White (Mulford) 4.5mm $95.75 6mm $134.26

You'd have to strike oil first . Better start drilling.

I wouldn't be sleeping at night, i'd be working to pay for it! :lol: Layton

Excellent, i'll be in touch soon and sort out what i'm after and what it's likely to cost etc. Layton

Cool, Warren if you see this, your input here would be much appreciated. The pvc lined plywood with steel frame is looking quite attractive at the moment. Weldon 10 apparently is the adhesive to bond rigid pvc to both itself, and to the ply backing. Looks like i'll be checking prices for pvc and ply tomorrow. It will be going on a concrete floor of the garage. yeah if I added sand that's how it would be. Ideally there would be enough flow under the rockwork to stop sand getting under it at all. Depends how clean you run your tank. The PAR from 250 watt 10k bulbs is pretty close to that a couple of meters below the surface in tropical reefs, so there is more than enough light put out by them. I really think 400's are overkill. Definitely in-wall. Layton

I don't think you want to do that. Copper will leach from the rock for ages after, you won't be able to put it back in a reef. Layton

Just been checking out the Royal Exclusive website (makers of the BubbleKing skimmer) They have probably the top aquarium construction company in the world. What interested me was their construction methods. While my tank isn't really a large tank, it was interesting to see how they create the monsters they do. It seems that for a lot of their tanks they use pvc panels glued to a base (whether it be concrete or plywood). This is the construction of a 28,000 litre private aquarium in Kuwait that they did: a smaller 6m^3 tank: The more I look at this website, the more I think I might go the composite route. I like the idea of pvc panels over the more common epoxy paint over ply type construction. I'd really like to see how they mount the glass panels in however. Layton

As far as substrate is concerned, i'm undecided. I always thought that I would have a shallow sand bed, and have the flow setup under the rock to blow out and crap, and keep the sand well vaccumed. Now though i'm leaning towards the barebottom look, with white HDPE on the bottom. So I guess what i'll do is start off BB with the HDPE and then I can always add or remove the sand later. Layton

Yeah, nodle down here has done the skylight thing, so i'll have to check out his tank, and see whether I like the look of the sunlight in it. The main thing I worry about is losing control of the colour and look of the tank. Layton

:lol: I was talking to Tim at CC today about pricing the new tank. They have some huge clown and white cheek tangs out of QT which would be perfect for the new tank, just a little too early for them.

I'm guessing around 20k all up. But it doesn't seem as bad when you don't spend it all at once, and never keep track of it :lol: The main determinate of size was monthly power usage estimates. My absolute max limit was $300 / month. I think it will be less than this however, as i'll be going with mostly 250 halides instead of 400's. Layton