the-obstacle

Turns out Bunnings have sheets of 12mm ply for $40 each on the shore. The same thickness MDF was $50 so I'm in luck! Stand will be complete tomorrow and hopefully I can get someone to give me a hand siliconing the tank back together.

I don't think you're allowed to take them either.

Greg is 3rd one down the list - Tanks2u

Yeah but it'll be cheaper than $400 all up I'm sure. Sounds like Caryl has put you in touch with someone closer though so hopefully they can be realistic about their prices. Is there a business opportunity to move to Blenheim and start making tanks?

This is why I don't get the albino fish craze - they're freaks! the originals are so much cooler. My cockatiel was $30 instead of the $100 they were charging for the others at the breeders because he was the only one that was a natural patterning and people wanted the whitefaces or lutinos instead.

or take the filter to the spare tank with the fish while you're treating the existing tank and not have to re-cycle it

I have a full optiwhite tank in the lounge and while it's different it's not any better looking than the standard glass in my big guppy tank under the house that was bought as a sump. I suspect at 10mm you still won't notice the difference. I don't think we're saying you shouldn't - more that you don't need to. Have you thought about contacting Greg in auckland and asking about shipping?

Once again - awesome! I've never seen some of those plants before. I might be hitting you up for more cuttings to be shipped my way

Yeah, I was planning on sealing the mdf on both sides before screwing it to the stand just to be sure. To be honest I hate the stuff but the price of it versus poor quality ply wood of the same thickness means there's really no choice. Even with the cost of sealer it's still less than half the price of the equivalent ply. I've got a sheet of something that looks like concrete (asbestos maybe? i'm not cutting it just in case) that came with the original stand and as this is just a stand for the basement that might suffice for now.

3 months later I finally got around to finishing the framing of the stand for the big tank. It cost me ~$10 for screws and the rest was all just lying around the house from previous projects. The legs came with the original stand which was way too thin which explains why the base broke out of the tank. And yeah, ok, when it's finished it'll have cost a bit more but for now that's what it owes me. I might need to think about a little bit of bracing on the ends and maybe a bit on the back but i'd have to buy the wood for that at this point and that feels like cheating. I'll then add a bit of mdf/particle board to the shelf and top of the stand, a couple of licks of paint and I can then start on the tank itself.

you know you can just pour the contents of the bottles down the drain eh? no need to store them for later

They're fins are TWICE as long as other angels! Oh well, guess I don't have to pay $90 for a pair of average angels

Ahh, so have I been had and only just realising it?

I've been looking for angels for a while now and asked the question at the bottom of this auction http://www.trademe.co.nz/link.aspx?i=12144&id=349619400. The response seems weird to me - can anybody else back this up? I have a tank at 26 degrees for my pandas which is the top of their temp range and figured it's be fine for angels... was I mistaken?

Looks good - the tank will look great once the plants grow in a bit. The lighting should be ok for now but you might want to look at something a bit stronger once there is a lot of cover - as long as you'll be adding co2 and ferts to balance the light of course.

From what I have read the vertical option makes more sense with the co2 going in at the top and water flowing from top to bottom - in theory the co2 won't get out the bottom unless it's desolved into the water as it'll try to fight the water by floating up the cannister. It's now on my list of things to build and I'll be going vertical on mine with a few bio balls or noodles in the tube.

Thanks, I really should come back here more often. I've since found a few more pandas in the guppy tank that I use for my current overflowing plant stock. Clearly the eggs transfer quite happily. It's nice to know that they'll breed quite happily once they're ina tank on their own. I've lost 3 in the last few weeks due to my cockatoo pair having their first successful spawn - the female is a nasty little bitch when she's guarding her fry. Still - more new fish!

Yeah! that's the one. He ordered in my replacement 10mm base for me and had it pre-cut because he didn't have a tool for it at the time. He told me about how other glaziers used to throw away his 10mm+ tools because they were too heavy (blunt/dull) and they assumed they were stuffed. I must give him a call actually - I'll need some lids soon...

It looks truely awesome. I know what you mean about procrastination - I've done more on my tanks and stand in the last 2 days than I have in the last 2 months. Should be on track now. The socks look a lot longer than I expected. I guess I should look at mine a bit better. Did you try the 100 micron inside the 50 micron? Again - awesome! Well done.

Sounds great, good luck with the setup HFF have Aqua One CF 1200 filters for very cheap at the moment - 2 of those on there would be perfect until you get the sump setup. Gives you a bit of time to get it all right.

You need a heavier cutting tool for 10mm+. I had this conversation with a glass dude recently. (why can't I remember his name?)

Hmmm, maybe you're right... I can't remember any more. I really should have kept that email. I'm pretty sure it was the Ozelot X though. It looks exactly the same.

LOooks good. Avoid the SAEs if you can - once it's fuly planted and really growing you should be able to control the algae by controlling the light timings and fertilising well.

Nope, I got mine from Alan 6 months or so ago. I've upped the dose of comprehensive and stopped using excel and all of a sudden my tank has taken off.

Hey! I've got one of those at the moment. Not quite as deep red but pretty close. It's rad!