lotofish

Update to my Echinodorus planted tank I have removed the 2 large E. amazonicu on the right and replaced them with a E. uraguayensis. The large E. amazonicus on the left has had a major trim and I have added another E. osiris on the right. Also have new LED lights to replace the old fluorescent unit. The dwarf neon rainbows are the new comers and the 4 clown loaches. Unfortunately the clown loaches have started making holes in the plants so they will have to be moved. Tried feeding them more greens but they still go for the plants.

While I was on Holiday in the UK we spent 3 days in London so I could not pass up the opportunity to visit London Sea Life Aquarium. This is part 1 - Behind The Scenes Tour YouTube Video http://youtu.be/7B8ex8rUj2c More videos and picture to come in the following weeks. Enjoy the video

Looking forward to it

Filled the tank up for the first time today to stress test the stand. All good, solid as a rock even with a good nudge. Only freshwater at this stage which I will used to do water changes on my other tanks this weekend.

You can PM me on the forum Cheers lotofish AKA valray

Hose and all the fittings came from Waterworks Irrigation in Auckland

Fit for purpose :thup:

We need a picture with all the office lights off

The big ones are Echinodorus amazonicus

Build version 2................. :digH:

Because it turned out stronger than I expected once the panels were screwed on. Gluing and screwing did the trick and not the slightest sideways or back and front movement no matter how hard I pushed. I even measured the diagonals then tilted it up on the bottom left edge so the bottom right edge was at the top. Cool balancing act. Measured the diagonals again and there was no movement. The stand itself weighs almost as much as the empty tank. With the tank on top there absolutely no shaking this stand.

Asked a strong friend to help lift the tank onto the stand.

I have been playing with some plumbing ideas today and think I will go with the following. I have decided not to go with PVC throughout as I prefer more flexibility to make changes. There will be 3 drains like the one shown from the overflow to the sump one of which will be a backup and 2cm higher than the other 2. I will use black spiral hose between the overflow attached piece and sump fitting. The return is as shown but the fittings may change depending on the return pump I use. The ball valves on the 2 T's will have couplings so I can connect the UV Steriliser and other things like in-line pH, salinity and TDS probes. I did not have any 40mm PVC to show the standpipes properly but at least you get the idea. I hope to post drawings of the overflow boxes within the next week.

Correct, I will unscrew the side panel and slide the sump in on some polystyrene.

Another progress update.......... This week I painted the inside face of the panels and top board a slightly lighter colour than the frame. Next I screwed the panels and top board on to the frame Lastly I painted the outside black The doors will go on at the very end as I am still deciding if I should fit some narrow drawers along the top. Now onto the good stuff: Design the overflow and plumbing in and out of the sump Clean the sump and remove all the internal glue. Fit the glass for the compartments. I am also considering a movable partition made from acrylic with a groove on the edge to fit an O ring seal. I think that would be awesome if it works. Re-seal the sump and then clean/sterilise the tank and sump Next to plan the plumbing so I can drill the holes in the tank and sump Then plumb it in, install the equipment and give it a test run to look for leaks. Anything I have forgotten before I get to the really good stuff?

Great that things are moving forward with the club and looking forward to everything getting sorted so I can join. :f77:

Build update......... Next step was to plug all the holes on the inside or that is not be covered by a panel as I do not want the screws to rust. Cut, notch and fit the base board so that it is flush at the back and later I will use Rimu to make a front edge to the board. Then the panels for the back and sides. Each panel will be cut 2-3 mm larger and then cut flush with the router flush bit as shown below. Cut a fit the back panels, then make them flush with the frame. These are done in 2 parts so I have a gap for electrical and plumbing. Next I lay the frame on its back, slightly raised and route a 45 degree taper to the top edge on the base just to give it a nice finish. Secure the side panels and route them flush to the frame and back panel Cut and glue a front trim to the frame which will be flush with the doors. Cut and glue the front edges to the base board Screw the top down and route the edges flush This is the frame with all the panels in place Now the painting starts. First removed the top, back and side panels and paint the frame. This week I will paint all the panels (inside and outside) and screw them back onto the frame.

Thanks, more pictures coming soon. If I had more time I would have used proper jointing like mortise & tenon, lap and dado joints. The Kreg system works as long as you use a quality wood glue like titebond premium II.

Not as a profession unfortunately but I have be woodworking for at least 20 years

Finally time has come to start my SW build. First the stand which will support my 660L aquarium and the 300L sump. The stand will be made from recycled Rimu that I have de-nailed and panned to 46mm x 93mm. Tank size is (mm) 2000(L) x 600(W) x 620(H). Sump size is (mm) 1300(L) x 530(W) x 515(H). Stand size (mm) 2028(L) x 632(W) x 1120(H). The frame will be glued and screwed. Sides and back will have 9mm MDF cladding glued and screwed. Top will be 18mm MDF overlapping sides and back. Sump will sit on 20mm plywood board. Tank and sump will sit on 20mm polystyrene. This is the sketchup view without the cladding or doors. First to the wood pile to select some straight de-nailed timber. Then to the planner. Next I cut everything according to the cutting list. Then I drill the holes using the Kreg kit so I can screw the frame together Once all the drilling is complete it is time to assemble the frame In my case I had to use cardboard shims under each corner until each of the 4 pieces were perfectly level because the garage floor is so uneven. I ended up packing 4 shims on the right and 9 on the left then 1 extra under the front. Once level the based was glued and screwed together checking each corner for square and measuring cross corners. Next I repeated this with the top and assembled on top of the base since that was already level. Then I secured the 4 uprights upside down onto the top frame and made sure each one was square and level Next I centred the top on the based and marked the outside edge with a pencil so when I turned the top over I could see were the uprights should be secured. Glue and screw uprights to the base. Lastly secure the last 4 uprights and the 4 horizontal bases. To be continued.

Because these rock are very porous it is necessary to boil them and hope that you kill any bugs that live deep in the rock. I say hope because after water blasting and boiling I still had a silverfish pop out of one of the holes when it was submersed in the tank. Little guy tried to swim to safety but the :fshi: got him :happy2:

Great job looking forward to seeing it in 6 months!

Any one have a leopard sword for my tank. I transferred my one to this tank and it is not doing well.

Good news :thup: