chimera

Here's a couple of shots of the back of the display tank. Rennovating the front of the house now so the perfect time to reduce the size of the new ensuite and walkin wardrobe (going in the foreground) and have a nice large fish room (I even went with 3x2 for framing rather than 4x2 to squeeze every extra bit of space I can get!!!) Second shot is a side-on view showing how much space I have to play with. There is about a metre from the back of the tank to the new wall, so I reckon a foot deeper with the new tank should still give me enough room to walk around. A false (raised) floor will be built around the new tank so it's easier to access. Im also putting a cavity slider in otherwise a standard door wouldnt open over the false floor. The cavity slider was purposely positioned too so that the new tank can be walked straight in through the laundry door (far right of top pic) and directly into the fish room without worrying about corners!!! I've decided to spend a bit more now and put marine ply up on the walls in this room. I used standard ply in the sump room and polyurathaned it, while this has done a reasonable job there are areas where the salt has almost destroyed the ply. I am also considering using aqualine gib. The sparky has already wired up for a light plus a big extraction fan Because the room will be smaller than it used to be there is more chance of over heating so the fan will have battery backup plus a temperature controller if the display tank goes above a certain temperature. I also made sure the window (shown bottom pic far end) I got in this room was one that slides up for easier access from the front deck outside. The particle board floor will be sealed with a sealer (forget the name of it, but its the stuff that is part of the new building regulations that is used to coat bathroom floors or any wet areas, kind of like a fibreglass resin from memory?) I'll probably run the sealer a few inches up the ply walls just incase of a major leak plus put a drain in the centre of the floor The hot water cylinder is getting moved elsewhere so the tank can be accessed from all sides. Anyways enough rambling, heres the pics:

Im going to die when I'm older. Maybe sooner.....not too sure.... Just a confident feeling I have :-?

3rd question down... http://www.arowana.com.sg/faq.html

where on earth did you get that theory from?!

potentially good prices, indicative reserve for blenny... http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/show_member_listings.asp?member=20925 yellow peel angel clown bicolour blenny speaking of which, i cleaned out my fish room on the weekend and found my bicolour blenny that went missing a few months back dried up on the floor must've done the big fishy jump!

yeah price probably about right - I didnt see the measurements of it til i re-read the link. they grow so damn fast though! my one is going crazy

$50 for a staghorn? what is it gold plated too ben???!!!

and time

if your anemone splits, my hands are up first!!!

i see very few in mine. if you brew up a batch, i'll take a few

berlin and red sea skimmers, gotta love it average prices.

should have gone to mico around the corner and got their discounts not alot in it though. i asked plastic systems for 25mm ball valve was last one left when i was there a week ago. told them i usually got mico discounts but they were closed, got ball valve for $30. cant remember if thats a good price or not. anyways you are right, plastic systems has EVERYTHING you can possibly imagine - massive warehouse of goodies i could run riot in there especially when i do plumb up my new tank :lol:

so true. and filter wool is still GREAT to use every now and then to take out solid (larger than skimmable) matter from the water column. i wrapped a stocking fill of carbon in a piece of filter wool and my water is the clearest it's been in ages.

that's also a mathmeticians rule of thumb for the area of a circle: pi r^2 so much simpler

what's the difference? (without bothering to google search it myself )

it's really your only (safe) idea other than adding an overflow. you could still consider an overflow if you're good at siliconing underwater

you work in an old persons home ira? :lol:

i think you will find this is the case. i got one off trademe, only cost me $30 so thought i'd see how it went. its a queen turbo ts2000. waste of time. i put it on the refugium and also ran a deltec in the sump. i emptied the deltec about a dozen times to this things once and the deltec holds 10 times more skimmate than the queen. dont get me wrong it does skim, but you'd get more skimmate turning an old mans underpants inside out and shaking the sh$t out of it.

ahh hahaaaa! not ugly just psychotic

yup both sides, smear a thin layer of silicon over both sides (much like putting a head gasket on a car) AS WELL as having the 'wad' of silicon around the thread of the tank valve (in the hole). lick ya finger and rub the excess silicon off (its not going to do anything anyway) and it also smooths it out. works a treat. silicon goes hard all around the gasket creating a wider seal than you could potentially otherwise get. my gaskets dont move at all. not even the slightest amount. they are held firm once the silicon dries. you could get a bad seal with just silicon as well as a gasket - highly unlikely with either though. make sure there is no moisture in the hole so all the silicon sticks firmly to the glass and valve. so i wonder why the sell the gaskets with the valves in the first place? must be cheaper than providing a tube of silicon i guess my logic with the gasket is it creates a buffer between the glass (solid) and the tank valve (solid) By using only silicon, you have to be careful you dont over tighten the valve or its a possibility you squeeze out all the silicon creating a solid-solid join (or an air bubble which can cause movement) which is what you DONT want. so go mega more overboard on the silicon than under and wipe off what you dont need. who knows, i cant see any major negatives with either method.

i used them, pies didnt so personal preference i guess. i would use them again but NOT by themselves. get your holes drilled oversize (not too tight but not too loose, say a 3mm either side) so you can fit a bead of silicon around them. i also rubbed silicon over my rubber gaskets too, seals them better plus they stick to the glass so you can get them just right position. dont overtighten them! you dont want the gasket squashed, only moderate pressure. remember once the silicon dries its as strong as the glass so its the silicon thats doing most of the work. i see the gasket more as a barrier to hold the silicon plus a backup seal (again, so long as you silicon around the gasket too)

yes its a queen and it is CRAP. even with large pump. i got one cheap which i played around with. dont even waste 10 seconds of your time with it.

:lol:

half of $3700 is $1850 dude! got it slightly cheaper than that coz the exchange rate was good but still a bargain. its a damn good skimmer and its already stripping out crap like you wouldnt believe. i expected it to take a few days to bed in!

1. yes definately. 40mm down and you wont have any problems. that can handle heaps of flow. mine is t'd off to 25mm for the skimmer and remains at 40mm for the continuation of the pipe into the fuge 2. only required for the return. use 40mm drain pipe for down flow as its the cheapest stuff you can buy (and is never under any pressure anyway) its even cheaper than 25mm drain pipe! 3. yes but there are two types, non-pressure and pressure rated solvent. i use pressure rated for everything.