Disco Dan

Piranha are on MAF's list of restricted species - you will not find any in NZ since they pose a hazard to native fish if released into NZ waters.

Hey Pete, indeed! Cheers for that, was going to check out mitre 10 playsand but pool sand sounds better! Cheers! Nice tank, but you bought it? Bet that cost a packet! Remember I got my glass tank for $100 and the wood for the stand prob another $100.... Your selling it? Misses would have kittens if I got another tank, but how much you want for it? Just finished my new pine stand and hood, waiting for the varnish to dry as we speak

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Hi there, kept many styles of aquaria over the years but have just about finished constructing a 36"x18"x18" tank for an Amazon Biotope. Does anyone have some inspirational pictures? Or links to famous tanks of this genre? In the past I have always used my library of "practical fishkeeping' magazines - pretty much every single issue from about 1995 - 2009 Anything new, new techniques etc? Filter will be external Ehiem 2213, substrate heater with some form of plant substrate with sand on top (Always wanted to give sand a go!). This will be my first tank that runs exclusivly on fluro T5's - previous tanks have all been run using household 3-4 50w halogen spotlights - which give a yellowish light but never had any problems growing even the fussiest plants but the algae loved it too! Heres a few pics of current setup...

I have come across this once before on a new piece of wood (all the others are well over 15 years old). If it is a fungus you will be able to see the 'smoke/pores' release into the water when you rub your fingers over it underwater. If so you need to remove the wood and leave it in the sun for a few hours get it really hot in the sun and turn it. Then boil it on your stove for at least 10 minutes - make sure it is fully submerged. Boil longer if your other half is out In my case it was a symptom of poor water changes allowing a build up of the fungus and originated from the newly introduced wood. Another option is if the wood is brand new (from a shop) it may have some chemicals or dust etc in it, but that would have been removed on your initial boil when you got it home. If it has been in there a while and just started doing it, then that points to fungus. Do you have any wood grazers? ie bristlenose plecs? Do they avoid that wood and graze on the others?

Not quite. I used to use the soda stream bottles about 10 years ago when they were a heck of a lot cheaper. I got a regulator that fitted the bottle and fed the gas to a diffuser inside the tank. Very cost effective and handy - I could swap bottles at local supermarket during my grocery shopping!

DIY stand would only probably cost you about $150-$200 for the cost of the wood. Time to build about 2-3 days. As long as you can cut lengths of wood accurately and know how to use a battery drill you could make one. I would offer to build you one, but could not offer any guarantee. Mine have never failed but if I built you one and it failed you would probably not be covered under your insurance! Opens up a bit of a can of worms risk wise so better to be safe than sorry. I tend to over-engineer things and find they outlast anything shop bought. You could ask a builder for a quote for a 4x2 box frame to your dimensions then just screw plywood to it and varnish it? Find some nice moulded kitchen cabinet style doors at a scrappy and just screw them on? I hate paying other people for things I can do myself, hence why most of my furniture I have made myself. Fruit bowl not big enough? Whip out the lathe... New TV? Get the saw out and make a new stand.. etc etc Good luck !

Your estimation on total weight seems a little light, however the floor should take the weight. I suggest you talk to a professional builder/engineer to make sure though. Personally I would build the stand myself. It is really not that difficult and as long as you have a basic understanding of weight distribution and bracing you will run into very few problems. I have included a couple of pictures of the stand I am currently making, it is far from finished so please don't poke fun at the wonky doors! They were hung just to take the pictures and also in the pictures it is shown on blocks but sits flat on the floor. This stand is for a 36x18x18" tank. Constructing such a stand is very basic - as you can see it is 2X4 wood into two frames (top and bottom) with uprights at the four corners, middle front/back. For the cross bracing I have used 7MM plywood screwed to the back and sides. You can of course add 2x4 cross bracing if you wish but the plywood is up to the job in this case. The top I used 15MM marine grade plywood for a solid flat base that will accept getting wet. I then used some square stock to create shelving inside. I am in Waitakere too and your more than welcome to PM me and come round to take a look. I have built a few stands before so can give you a few tips if you wish.

Yeast based CO2 generation is very cost effective when setup right. I have used it for over 10 years in all my setups. One pearl of wisdom I will say though on DIY versions: Fluid trap. If you get the mixture wrong your yeast mixture will travel up the tube and enter your aquarium. The yeast will then multiply faster than you could imagine and turn the entire tank cloudy killing everything in it. You can make a fluid trap very easily: Jam jar - make two holes in the lid and put silicone the tube around each hole. That way if fluid travels up the tube it will have to fill the jam jar up before it is able to travel up the other tube to your tank.