CodKing

LED unit is a chinese import. Should have made my own really. Thanks for the comments. You're right on the money buzzy, that's exactly what i'd like to do. I'll do some mock ups during the week and post some shots.

Some tests API Freshwater master kit, seems to give readable results. pH 8 - 8.1 Has dropped down from 8.2 over two weeks Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate <5ppm Extra API kits: Calcium 400ppm Started out at 320 and increased over two weeks, is this normal? Hardness 150 ppm KH/GH Salifert Phosphate <0.03ppm Salinity 1.025 Turns out that critter I took a photo of is solid Touched it and its stiff as a board.

Hmm good question Tank: $100 Heater: $40 WM-015: $30 LED array: $80 Salt: $40 Test kits: around $200 I'd say Refractometer: $40 Sump tank: $10 Canister: $50 + another $50 to recondition Base rock: $20 or 30 Everything I got on the cheap or second hand. The glass for the display tank was a good score, that price included the silicone. I think the most taxing thing of all has been time, but I've loved every min of it. Always reseaching, always got an eye on trademe for bargins Expenses I'm expecting include up to $500 odd for a skimmer if I need it, a few hundred on chems either adding or extracting, and a couple hundred or so on a return pump and plumbing for sump setup. Then.... live stock!! Who knows what that will freekin cost me!?! :bounce:

Some kind of spag worm or something? It's probably about 5 or 6mm.

:oops: 280mm, still pretty skinny Found a critter on the live rock, uploading picture...

Thanks. Can't wait to aquascape it! Length: 1000mm Width: 300mm Depth: 28mm

I've finally done it, well started it anyway. Water is in, live rock from spoon is in (thanks spoon!) even gave me a bit of red macro:) What's in there.... Fluval 150W, I plan to add another good quality heater as a backup when the sump is ready. Resun WM-015, big fat pump on the left. It's okay, arrived with a broken shaft :an!gry thanks to spoon again for spare parts! Blue Planet Tankmaid 700, great pump when you take of the filter parts. got it in the for cycle process. Two the misc filters, one 300l/hr with media, one 600 without just for more flow. 40mm bracing around the entire tank ensures superb water retention during earthquakes I can give the table a good ol' rock and lose bugger all. Plans: To have about half that rock setup to the left and a small chunk at the other end. It will be quite open and empty. Not sure on live stock yet but I would like some inverts. Crabs would be epic. Probably go for coral sand but I'd like something a bit bigger than 1 - 2mm so it might be a mix of that and a bit of DIY smashed up baserock. Got a canister filter which will house more liverock if I need it and chem absorbers. Will rig this up with circulation in mind. It holds almost 10L so this will help with stability and thinking a spraybar above the water line might help cooling in summer..? Sump is 50 something L, will house heater and some mechanical filtration, I want to keep the sump very simple and only add things as I need them. If anyone can see something I'm doing crazy wrong or crazy right, please let me know! Resun WM-015 Awful build quality on the LED array, yes that is a wooden top!

Super, that looks a lot more tidy and simple. I thought 3 was a bit of an overkill, especially sice my sump is almost as big as my display. Thanks for the pics! :nfs: (tank) :thup:

Just thought I'd add, there are plenty of ways to paint glass 'properly'. The only issue for us aquarium painters is the wrong side of the paint needs to be visible. This stops us from using the right primers and undercoats. Plus UV radiation degrades these types of paints over time so they wouldn't last as intended anyway. Even if we weren't so concerned about it lasting forever, not many non-etching primers are black or blue as these require a different type of base to obtain such a dark colour. If you do want a colour you can obtain from a white base I would personally use Dulux Primerlock, they might not recommend tinting but it does work.

Anyone used this method? http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1310585 Thinking I might downsize the pipes and do this one myself.

Been a painter for 10 years and found that just about anything will stick to glass, the three factors that affect how well are... 1. How it's applied 2. How clean the glass is 3. Traffic on the painted surface after you've finished. Brush or roll shouldn't matter as the paint in contact with the glass is what you will be seeing. If the glass is nice and clean and many, thin coats have been applied, the paint film will conform to the surface of the glass. In any circumstance many thin coats are better than few thick coats. Most people consider a thick paint to be a good paint, most pros will thin every product between 5 and 10% whether it be acrylic or enamel. Theoretically, enamel is better to use for glass. Acrylic films tend to shrink much more than enamel, sometimes with amazing tension. If you've ever painted a window with nice new putty in acrylic paint, you've more than likely returned the next day to a wrinkled surface which eventually cracks, thats the acrylic shrinking Once glass has been painted if the surface doesn't get touched then you're generally okay. It will almost always chip or flake if it's enamel and peel or rub if it's acrylic. All in all, anything will work. a small foam roller is great and remember, lots of thin coats with a good drytime in between. (a fan heater can speed this up but not too close with acrylic or it will shrink too fast) Elastomeric paint is what it is generally known as here. Fairly expensive and usually you can't get test pots appart from Lumbersider (I think they still do them...) Not strictly elastomeric or latex but these are the brands that fit that type: Resene: Lumbersider, Sonyx 101, X200, HiGlo Dulux: X10 Weathershield range Hope this info helps Feel free to hit me up for anything paint/industrial coatings related

How's your setup coming along mate, any progress?

I've been searching the internet for weeks looking for a paragraph like this! Thanks :happy2:

All I know is glass on glass is a recipe for disaster, you gotta have some sealant between the panes.

:-? The tank is @ 23C as I've got a couple of plants in there. I might try him in a cold tank by himself and see if he breathes easier. Thanks for the input all!

I'll give him every chance I can. I guess he gasps because his gills are damaged, I hope at least they get better. I might try a sort of 'mole map' and compare in a few weeks, see if there is any progress

Thought that might be the case. He seems happy enough, pretty sad to see him so beat up.

Over the whole earthquake period I've had a Celestial Goldfish go through hell. The poor guy has black ammonia burns all over him and some of them don't seem to be clearing up, even after a good couple of months. He happily eats and hangs out with the other fish. He does however occasionally gasp at the surface for long periods and then goes back swimming happily again. The tank has plenty of surface movement and large airstone on at all times. Water parameters have been perfect for at least 2 months. Is there any hope for him, or can ammonia burns be permanent?

+1

Yep, Sikasil RTV. Any hardware store and most pet stores, have seen it as low as $7 and high as $25

Mate, once again a bunch of super info. Thanks very much! Prolly a month before display hardware starts arriving so I've got plenty of time to get things started. If you've got some rock to spare I assume I'd want to get my rock to a similar state before combining yeah?

I bought a fairly large chunk of coral rock from organisim a few weeks ago for a bit of and experiment and now I want to use it in the nano I'm planning. I've been doing a bunch of reading but can't seem to find a nice and simple guide on what to do to prepare the rock for use in the tank. I'm looking for info as basic as what water, what salt, temps, adding anything like ammonia. The rock was soaked in fresh chlorinated tap water for a couple of weeks and has been sitting dry now for maybe another couple. Thanks a bunch!

Epic, still one colour to go in yeah, violet? Duh, just re-read it :nilly:

Ah well, another $20 component that will collect dust in the garage! Gotta love impulse buying :-? Heh, it'll look something like this http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=191046

Dang. I saw a pic of it with someone handling it, maybe they had tiny hands heh. How big is big, got an idea of measurements? I went purely on the pic I saw. For $30 shipped I'll prolly get one of those too! Gotta love the exchange rate at the mo Love that skimmer review, ha ha great laugh