Bishop

I have looked for something that can use the sodastream bottles but all the guys at BOC ect say they don't have the parts and that I should buy what they have and use a fire extingusher ect ect. Do you have a link to anything that I could use? There are a couple of regulators on trade me but don't think they are compatible with soda stream. I would be more keen on the soda stream bottle option as I can get them for free but thought it was not an option.

Thanks, there were a lot of tacky handles to choose from but I think these have quite simple lines, similar to the stand.

Just different I think mate. The first stand I built could hold a bus I reckon, very structural. As this one is only holding 140kgs ( ish ) I can get away with a lot build wise. The ply is only 12mm. In hindsight I think It would have been cheaper and easier to use 15-20mm mdf and just copy the ada stand structure. @ cricketman = the glass is 6mm, around 7.0 safety factor. I have used the sellys silicone for all of my tanks but I am pondering switching to something more industrial. i am not worried so much about the glass braking but the seal itself.

Starting the stand... The wood Drilling for dowles Gluing parts together The main skeleton finished The top and back are on :smln: Doors :bounce: Filling in all my dents and scratches

So, inspired by si_sphinx's epic thread on his new set up, I have decided to have another go at building another set up. One of my filters decided to sprout a leak ( unnoticed for around 6 hours ) so my previous/current stand is swollen and looking very worse for wear. Time for a new set up... The plan... - Tank = 103 X 36 X 31 LWH. I was given a few sheets of glass that are this size. They have nice beveled edges and are in good nick so that is why the odd sizing. The Tank will be rimless/braceless , I have yet to test how much the glass will bend but it is quite low so I think I should be okay. Have lots of glass to play with to get it right anyway. - Stand = 103 X 36 X 700 LWH. - Plants = Glosso, Acorus grammineus " mini green ", Lilaeopsis brasilinsis, Ludwigia acuata, heteranthera zosterifolia " star grass ", riccia fluitans, Alternanthera reineckii "rosaefolia", Java fern, Java Moss. maybe drawf sag too, not sure at this point. And whatever else there is room for. :gigl: - Lighting = 4 X 39W T5. 3 10,000k and 1 14,000k. Because I am trying for a braceless aquarium I am going to hang the lights from the ceiling. - Ferts = Will probably use PMDD because trying to work out the ferts hurts my head, so I will leave that lesson till a later date. - Co2 = Might get the fluval 88g, anybody had any experience with these? are they any good??? - Fish = LOTS of Glowlight tetras, not sure what else. Wish me luck.

I have just been overseas and asked somebody to dose and look after my tank. They did all that but when I came back 2 steel blue rams were dead and the tank was half empty. Get somebody you trust.

Awesome pics Ira.

Stunning colours

He is one of my favorite actors ever ( especially working with George Lucas ) but I can't bring myself to appreciate Crystal Skull. Not sure about looks though. Either that or I can't bring myself to reveal a man crush in the interwebs.

even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ?

Does anybody really read this stuff? Seems like fun... Name- Rick / Spartikus / H3LLRA1Z3R3 Age- 30 Location-Palmerston North Ex CHCH Sex- Male Family- Engaged no kids :cofn: Getting married on 4th November :thup: Occupation- Freelance graphic designer + forklift driver ( for the wedding monies. ) Car- Alfa Romeo 155 V6 wide body Hobbies- Fish keeping, Art, Sleep, Nin-jitsu, Typography, Meditation, Computers. Fav Food- Asian cuisine Books- How to be a graphic designer and not sell your soul / Citizen soldiers. Fav music- Old School rap and almost anything else that is not on the charts. Pets- Kaos 1 3/4 year old Malamute and a cat. Fav Movies- Magnificent Butcher, Blade, Interview with a vampire, Star Wars. ( hard to remember them all ) Pet hates- Greedy people, Anybody else that has an opinion, Corporate Conglomerates, My Decline in fitness and the acceleration at which I am spending money on smokes, Txt Speak, Twilight series, War, the list goes on. ( and on ) Fav people- Ayrton Senna , Nelson Mandela, Jiddu Krishnamurti.

So he should he keep the lights at 2 bulbs 4-5 hours and add more JBL balls ? The tank is 200 liter i dont have a co2 drop checker, at first i thought it was the co2 but from two days ago i been taking out the co2 as the lights go out but fish were still going fine, ive got a air pump also running 24/7 the only abnormal thing i notice was i added two new mollies in 3days ago they are just extremely nervous always hiding behind things or under things when i come near even with the 1 female that was a total show off have gone hiding with them also. the Ph is a stable 6.6 or 6.8 for a long while, it was on 6 before i buffered it up about 3months ago, i do about 20-25% water change every week and sometimes wash the filter, i have a fluval u4 in there i changed the old filters out one by one over a few weeks as it was filled with muddly like stuff, even with new filter wool its still getting alot of those. i add about 5-10mls of PMDD cause im not sure how much i was suppose to add....yesterday when i check nitrite is at 0 and the nitrate is at 5ppm the kh i think its 50-100ppm, i think i will try increase the light hours and cut off most of the dying leaves and see..i cant really move all the rest of the fish as i only have a tiny 50liter spare so i wil try quickly set it up and see..

Okay, to me it sounds like the tank has been thrown out of sync and you have more problems than just sick plants. What Liter is the tank? Do you have a co2 drop checker? or Can you test the PH and KH? If you can't test your water quality I would take a bottle of your tank water to your local Animates and get them to run a full test. You will need to test for ammonia and nitrates as well to be safe. How often do you water change? How much PMDD are you adding? I would get your fish to a hospital tank/spare tank if you can, this can cause more bio load issues for you tank but at least you will save your fish. The algae issue is just a balance issue, You can fix it by making minor adjustments to your co2, light and nutrient dosing. It does take a while to get it right though so patience is the key here. By turning the lights down you may have stopped the plants from utilizing the fish waste and nutrients in the water column so as well as not getting enough light the plants can't get the nutrients they need. 5-6 hours a day is half of what the plants need. In other words, the JBL balls you have are doing nothing right now. I suspect the fish might be dying of lack of oxygen, what is their behaviour like? ( The live ones I mean ). Personally I would do a water change, 40% ish, turn your lights on for 10-12 hours a day and add your dosing drops as you were. Deal with the algae for now that is minor in comparison to dying plants and fish. ( I add my PMDD daily because I feel that keeps the nutrients constantly available ) What ever you do just try to keep it regular, making drastic changes will have big consequences. Also I would cut of most of the dying leaves the will be hurting the plants as it will be trying to revive a dead cell. If you leave your fish in the tank then do a gravel vac and another 20% water change in a week. Try to answer those questions above as there might be some thing easier or more sinister at hand.

I would love a few if you have them spare :smln:

I would get some JBL fertilizer balls/sticks or something similar. Give us some details about your set up? Do you use Co2? how many Watts per gallon ect and we might be able to help some more

Camera, settings? ect. Some of those are brilliant.

I have a nasty habit of rushing things mixed with a perfectionists hindsight, not a good mix. Looks really good from here and great to see lots of updates and photos. Will definitely be looking over this thread when I build mine.

Black doors look good, Are you pleased so far?

Is this for the aro tank? what size will it be?

I think there are the basic rules to follow for something like this ( 2-4 wpg, 30ppm co2 ect ) but in my experience, even if brief. You can just work around what you have. If you have 2wpg then you just adapt your ferts n maintenance accordingly. I think the point is that so much attention can easily be wasted on trying to replicate something else when the tank is trying to find its natural rhythm. Lots to read on the subject out there just have to look in the right places For myself personally I think the key is layout and filtration, if you get the layout wrong healthy plants and clear water only mask the ugly layout to the untrained eye. I tried to aquascape my tank last month but didn't put enough thought into it, now it just looks "nice" and rushed rather than beautiful. Also less plant types. Personally I find it difficult not to add 100's of different specimens but the key is minimal. Sooo... less is more and practice makes perfect. Any moss if you can get the nice stuff, otherwise xmas and java moss will suffice. Java ferns and needle leaf ferns also.

Heaps of different types of hinges out there, some are quite pricey but I guess it depends on what you want to do vs what you can do. i.e. hidden hinge vs display hinge ( ornate art deco hinges mite look nice on that ) For my doors I just found something that was the same height as the bottom of the door and rested the doors on that, then I held the hinge in place and marked on the door and the base where the holes were and drilled a tiny hole. Worked perfectly except I cut my doors with a hand saw and they were a little uneven :sml1:

agree. Really impressed and a bit jealous :cofn:

I would say all black with maybe white or silver handles. IMO the white would stand out and distract from the tank a little.

I am just going to leave this here...

:sml1: