reef13

you definitly want to put something there if you want your fish to stay in the front especially if you don't have good access to behind the background to get them out if need be. Or you can just have it so they swim freely from in front and behind the background and they just come and go as they please. just as long as the fish doesn't spend all thier time behind it because that kind of defeats the purpose

I tried finding some kind of mesh too i ended up just cutting a piece of plastic and drilled lots of little holes and glued it to the back of the background where the hole comes out, works well good flow

If you cant get it in there in one piece you could just cut it into 2 or 3 whatever you need to fit and stick it back together. you could easily cemix over the cracks and then resin to blend in those parts with it in the tank if you can see them. I didn't have to cut myn but if you get hold of si_sphinx he made a real nice one and had to cut it to get it in there i'm pretty sure and it looks good.

i assume your going to concrete or resin it or whatever. You should really be fine, if the heater was pressed hard against the back well maybe it may melt but i wouldn't think so. What i did was cut or melt a bit out of the back where you want the heater to sit so it doesn't touch the poly at all. once you have concreted it you can melt or cut out alot of the back no problems as you have a solid base on the front you won't go through

I had a tiger oscar for 4 years in an ar850 about 165 litre, I got him from a baby he had 2 plecos in with him. Eventually yes i think he was too big for the tank so i rehomed him. But as for his 4 years in my tank i think he was very happy i used to give him all sorts of toys he played with, i taught him to roll over for food he turned upside down for food he would jump about a foot out of the water for his food when i took the hood off and held the food up he was cool, although yes this did get very wet. So i think it can be done and they can be happy but ideally yes you would want a bigger tank.

Yeah tropheus are cool i think i'm going that way in my 700litre project

you have a waterfall really who gets to have a waterfall thats awesome

Did a couple of layers of epoxy resin today and a good coat of sand came up quite good looks a bit dark but its still got to dry properly, just got to cure it now then i can put it in the tank and fill it up http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10287.jpg

simon i was just going to use sand from the beach is that a good idea? figured it might add a goldish tinge to the red i have. Wouldn't have a clue how much to put on tho was probably just going to go for a light sprinkle, also how many coats of resin did you do?

I can help with sourcing poly, can even get the whole template cut out with the hotwire so would mean the back was just 1 big solid piece, which is what i'll do next time. I just have to drive to cromwell but will be going up soon so if you want some let me know what size and how much you want and i'll get it all at once.

Hi everyone I'm currently having a 700litre tank built and want to put a nice 3d background in it. So i decided to build a model one to go in one of the 2ft tanks i have to get the design and some practice before i do my big one. Just thought i post some progress pics as i know i like seeing other peoples work and getting new ideas. si sphinx has written a good instruction guide on how to build one of these its actually really easy and didn't take that long so more people should give it a go youll be suprised at what you can make. I started with a poly bin, cut off the bottom to use it as my backing then just glued random squares and chunks of poly onto it where i wanted it to look like rocks. I then spent an hour or 2 shaping the chunks with a spoon yes just a normal spoon, and this is what i ended up with http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10199.jpg http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10203.jpg I have put a side on and an overhanging rock in the top corner as eventually i would like to get the illusion of a rock cave type thing. http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10207.jpg http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10208.jpg Have now coated it with cemix and i used a dark brown oxide to give me a slighty reddish looking rock. looks realy good photos don't do it much justice as the red doesn't really show not sure why,probably because i suck at taking photos i just point and shoot. but heres a pic anyway http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10284.jpg http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10285.jpg Am coating it with epoxy resin today with a sprinkling of sand to take away the shine i'll put some pics of how it looks later today

Shouldn't really matter as long as it is epoxy resin, i am currently doing the same thing and am using ADOS epoxy all purpose resin its a 2 part and i got it at mitre 10 mega was about $50 for a 500ml. First coat has gone well doing another one soon have taken pics will post them soon

Have also read quite alot of people having trouble with the lighting systems which put me off, they have a warranty but thats not the point. Also the black filter box inside the tank houses a digital ballast for the lights which is very good but gets hot and may affect the water temperature. I am only going on alot of research i have done, someone who owns and uses one may have a better or different opinion. and yes you would want another filter also

juwel rio 400 i was quoted $2145 with cabinet and the Juwel vision 450 was quoted at $2920, I know these are availible in Invercargill somewhere in dunedin must have them or be able to get them. Nice tanks but i decided it was cheaper to get 1 built and will be much bigger.

I'm wanting to fill it with a group of demasoni i think they'll look good

yeah 4 yellows, a lumphead,and an ice blue zebra. The sharks going and the convicts are in another tank now, they wont stop breeding So just a start

Invercargill. think i changed it

thanks. yep its 165 litres, Just need a few more friends in there and il be pretty happy with my first go. Already got the ball rolling on my new 500plus litre lake tanganyika setup which i want to home some cyphotilapia frontosa i think they are awesome. Caught the bug i guess!

Hi everyone have just noticed that alot of people have some great pics of thier tanks so i thought i'd post one of my first malawi tank http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10177.jpg Just some nice white sand and a mixture of rocks, and Some coral rock and limestone to help with PH

cool tank, Your demasoni look nice.

first malawi tank http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy13 ... C10177.jpg

nothing hes a loud mouth with nil respect for people who helped build his sport in our country, he couldn't even hang around for the press conference to say anything . he had to go get his concussuin checked out a real fighter with pride and respect would have acknowledged being beaten and did that edit:suphew later. Not saying tua is a world beater just far better thatn cameron could ever aspire to be

Cameron was lucky he lasted that long, its insulting to david tua that people even compared them in the same league, and he wanted to prove it quickly and undoubtably. Remember david tua fought great fighters he went 12 rounds with lenox lewis. cameron couldn't even get close enough to spit on lenox lewis if he wanted too