scottscape

Done

Hi All, The tank I am working on at the moment. Over the last two weeks I have been adding fish. I really didn't know tonnes about cichlids so I have tried to stick to lake Malawi and got babies so I can see them develop into adults, the tank is +/- 350l 5 foot long. Next job this weekend is to pick up and change over the stands - I am chucking this one out by the way in case anyone in Auckland wants it(1500L x 480W x about 600H but not the best condition, though I do have doors for it) - and changing over the ballasts in the lighting as they are buzzing quite badly. (notice RODI unit I got shipped from the USA still in its box and skimmer which I also don't need) http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/7986 ... hlnqui.mp4 *Update Changed new stand today.

Awesome thanks

Hi All, Can anyone tell me what they have used to Aquarium backgrounds, and where to source it? Thanks in advance

No way you have to be careful about what silicon you use. There is aquarium grade which as you would assume is safe for aquariums, and a couple of other neutral cure more trade oriented silicons which you would need to double check on but can be much cheapper

I guess it depends whether he or she is hungry and likes plants. My bristlenose hasn't eaten any of mine, I have seen plenty of them in planted tanks. Your filtration will be fine, that really isn't much fish for a tank that size with heaps of plants. I assume by shoal you mean like 15-20 harlequins max. Just go easy on the feeding and take it slow setting it up.

A 700l/h canister filter? IMHO Provided we are talking about a freshwater tank, you will likely be fine, even without the wave maker so long as you haven't overstocked it. Especially with low tech and lots of plants. Use one level mechanical filtration, the rest bio. What fish are you thinking of? Aquatic mix will last a while.. not entirely sure exactly how long but I would guess a few years, the fish will provide nutrients for plants as well.

That's the way. I bought a uv unit after a couple of weeks of algae when I first set up my 130 litre, reckon if I had waited another couple of days it would have sorted itself out, I still run it but theres really no point once everything is balanced out. If you do want to get it, it wont hurt your biological filter because all the good bacteria in it is stuck to the biological media.

The second article was fantastic!

Your tank looks great! Those pictures have really sold me on the low iron glass for display sides. How many people do you need to lift that?

Like different lens fittings on each LED?

I think you are on to it, looks like that kind of setup to me.

Correction - the term may be 'slab', though I'm not entirely concerned because it will be heavy as anything regardless and wont notice a tank. Out of interest I looked under the building and the base of the apartment below was lined with w shaped steel. I didn't find out how thick it is so perhaps it is there for holding cables, pipes or insulation purposes. The engineering side of things is well beyond me.

Thanks for all the input. I talked to the property manager and the whole apartment building is concrete block. He is an ex builder and reckoned I should go as big as the missus would allow haha. 1500 x 600 x 600 would be awesome, though my $800 initial budget is now more like 3k. Totally worth it though. I'm going to make the stand out of pallet racking seeing as point loading doesn't seem to be an issue with concrete block, though I will run a 2x4 along the floor under it to save the carpet. Talking with a couple of tank builders. Quotes vary pretty wildly!

Sounds like you know a lot more about LED's then me! Looking at those prices do you think it would be significantly cheaper to build it yourself?

My property manager may know. Its tricky because to go off building standards is a bit of a risk when you are up around the higher tolerances which have been planned for with wooden structures. I know up against a load bearing wall the shear weight per joist is pretty safe within reason and I would say a rectangle tank no more then two foot high should be ok, but it really is all about how many joists I get across and how I spread the load. I would like to know exactly because if it was simply a case of building a cabinet for the sump to run along the wall beside the main tank that would be possible but 600kg + accessories still seems beyond what is sensible. I will find out if its concrete. If it is I will be very happy. Cheers

Is there a particular way to find out if the floor is concrete? I'm dubious about even filling my 350 litre tank until I find out

Hi All, Hope someone can give me some advice. Seeing as I am going to sell the tank I brought and go fully custom I am looking at making the tank 1500 x 600 x 600 so I have some more width to play with. Unfortunately(or fortunately!) this brings my tank up to 600 litres, which if i calculate right will end up around a tonne of weight including sump and everything else in my living room. I live in a modern second story apartment and sadly I think this is simply way too heavy to be safe no matter where I put it. Do you agree?

That sounds like the best plan I have heard of yet as far as lighting goes. How far away are you from ordering that? Are there any links to the product you are looking at? also how much will shipping be?

Any how much roughly will that cost?

I have a JEBO r250 whatever that means. Nothing in the tank yet I am taking this one very slowly. adding rock in a fortnight when I have saltwater, stand, sump and tank location sorted.

LED strips with drivers would be really easy, fast and low power usage, I am just a little hesitant because I don't have a good understanding of light output so don't really understand the power I need to be aiming for. Could easily spend a whole tonne. I have also read some things about high output LED's not actually lasting a great deal of time. I could easily retrofit at least two 120cm LED strips with reflectors under my hood, eight if I got rid of the T8 bulbs.

Thanks very much for your post Phantom, that's really good to hear. What is your total wattage for that setup? I really don't want to set up the tank just how I like it and then find I need to completely revamp the lighting, and at the same time upgrading the lighting with metal halide will cost a bomb and be total overkill. I really dont know which way to go!

Hi All, I am about two weeks from getting my tank stand, ordering my sump this week, have a skimmer and have worked through the plumbing so I feel like I am getting somewhere with my project. What I am totally stumped with is lighting - everything seems to be telling me metal halide is the only way. I would really prefer LED's but they are also costly and the information on them seems to say that they arent really a sure thing for doing the job as main lighting. the hood I currently have has 3 40W 120cm T8 bulbs which might suffice for a tropical tank but wont do anything for marine. I want to know - will retrofitting two more T5HO 120cm bulbs under the cover provide me enough light? If it wont I will have to get rid of the hood and that leaves me with seemingly having to buy a $1500 MH light set which will cost double what all the rest of the tank does and an arm and a leg to run. Do I have any other options?

Update: Got 350 litres of goodness in my lounge, however the stand has got some blown MDF so getting a new one made up. Looking at two weeks to put water in it. Going freshwater just got to get some inspiration for whichever way I wanna go with it!