henward

proposed size formine is 3m by 1.2m wide x 90cm high but im thinking now, options, 15mm glass is much cheaper apparently. MUCH cheaper. so considering 80cm whcih would drop it to 15mm with a safety factor of 2.4. according to the calculator, its not the width its the height right. 80 is pretty high, comparing to my current tank, its quite high. 1.2 is deep as well, shame its only 2600 litres compared to 3000. see how it goes i suppose. its all bout the bang fo ryour buck 10 cms height wont add much to the dynamics of arowana comm - its the width that makes the difference.

what are the dimensions of that again? i read that the tank is also very dependent on bracing along the length of the tank. this would help the strength of the tank, allowing for thinner glass?

True, i guess i would attempt to do that. my last sump and the 1200 was perfect, no flooding, drains perfectly as the right speed. so it isnt impossible.. but in the event that i screw it up:D

yeah, cost vs volume the volume cannot be ridiculous i would have liked 1000 gallons approx. but i think 3k litres is the optimal balance with cost vs volumne. as for the drain box with drain at the bottom. that could be a winner. so really like an over flow but the water goes into a box before draining. could work. i want to set it up so the water flows into 4 socks, the socks then can be replaced easily one by one. so the water from the drain box will split into 4 pipes. hard to explain i guess:D image in my head cannot always be translated into words .... thank goodness but a drain pipe like mark said could work too. or pipes with many holes drilled on it. so cant clog - but has rapid draining capabilities. i dont want any accumulation of water in the tank so when there is a powercut , then it overflows the sump. if the sump is outside, then doesnt matter. I am leaning towards ply more and more

See your point.. Personally i like the look of a cool sump lol But yes... Plastic tubs are viable..

I am thinking how i would do an overflow on tis ply tank? do a standard over flow as if it was glass? OR a hole on the wall, with a drain? but suction on that will be quite massive ? danger to fish?

haha well, actually, i think it will be reall fun to build one! i am not a handy man but father in law is quite into this. so reckon it would be a cool project. I am considering a inbuilt filtration system, hidden at the back or side. OR a rack for the sump on the side... See how it goes. so its tidy. If the house allows for sump to be outside, id do that. way easier. but depends on the house i suppose. but the ply tank is appealing, at that size, it may be more cost effective.

Do you have to use the woven stuff or is it like a paint you put on? It would be much easier to get something you just pour or paint on a fiew layers as opposed to a fibre glass type thing that you have to put woven stuff on to.

yeah, if acrylic flexes, before you know it the glass on it will break. so no go there. I think i have to rationalise my expectation and go for a 90cm high tank. 19mm is fine. 3000 litres is still a good aro comm size. there are many plans on mfk, its basically a tub you are building and sealing the inside with resin or expoxy pond sealer stuff. now, where to buy that... is another question lol

thought so i mean the structure is ply. only the fornt is glass. cos its ply, the glass wont be completely exposed from the edge, there will be a 'rim' at the front so the front wont be 3m x 90cm in terms of exposed glass. though i will prob just get glass that size and put ot on the entire front of the structure.

considered that. but to glue that on - you would need perfectly clear glue, no bubbles... whcih is almost impossible if you lightly silicone the sides, you would get air in the middle that would condense the air in there... it would need to be an absolute vacuum. so... stuck again! but, in saying that, i think going for the 3m x 1.2 x 90cm is the best optin, its still very high, 3000 litres.... i would just need to put it on a very short 'stand' to make it eye level for when you sit on a lazy boy... (i have 2 set to go in front of the tank) thats why i wanted 1.2 high. but 90 is fine, i just have to make up the 30 cms up and build from that. but the safety factor? any comment? 2.5 to 3?

depends on the size of the house i get and the lay out. but that calculator says 3m by 1.2m wide by 90cm high 2.5 safety factor at 19mm glass. What do you think? 2.5 safety factor is good right? if i rewduce the height to 85cm, then the safety is 3. is that much different. I weant the ACTUAL water height to be either 85 cms or 90. does that calculator take into account the height of water lost due to the glass or is it actual height of water? cos you always lose a few cms with glass thickness and stuff. OR should i let that few cm get lost so gives me extra safety?

I have already encountered a problem. 19mm glass is thickest you can get in nz! so.... my 25mm is really, impossible. i was thinking 2.4m x 1.2 x 1.2 ply diy build. but i think david is right, might have to cut it down to 90cm high. the rest of the dimensions can stay the same, even 3 metres is fine in length. that can have 19mm glass safely. i considered acrylic, but i would need roughly double the thickness of acrylic as to glass... (25mm glass, 40mm acrylic) and acrylic scratches easily with plecos. i asked the acrylic guys if i can use anything, they sid a 3M coating used for security is good, but not sur eif that can be submerged. I think i will have to redo my sizes.

OK, say a tank requires 25mm glass, if i use 19mm 'toughened' glass, will that handle the pressure? or is toughened only the surface and scratches or is it actually harder, stronger and tougher and able to handle more pressure?

Haha i misread Fish reptiles I feed to my arowana. Good food for them

Bran and vege

with the recent shortage of mealworms, i am back at breeding mealworms, refining my technique to avoid mites. starting out with 2000 strong culture. i am going for a 50,000 to 100,000k strong always available mealworm culture eventually, approx taking 12 months to establish this. turning my current 2k to beetles first. new techniques 1) using metal foil bbq disposable pans, i have a reptile 7w heater underneath, temperature is minimum 25c, up to 30c. 2) keeping humidity below 70% to ensure mites dont onset 3) microwaving brand before intro, regardless of course even supermarkets. 1 - to dry it, 2, to kill anything 4) less 'moisture source' like carrots, dont keep it topped up, give them days where there is no moisture source, bran has residual moisture so that should be ok. 5) keep breeding beetle tray and hatching tray all heated to the same method above. hope this works:D any suggestions?

This is the tank type i want. predators. large fish

not as agro of a feeder with out competition. he will go back to having tank mates when big tank is set up, but that could be a few more months! aro comm is teh goal. few silvers/black aros with him, dats, oscar, predators really

if its just algae, turn the lights off for a few days. do regular water changes?

Yeah from my 1200litre... All left are 2 suncats, 2 paerots, 1 small sailfin, aro!

We all look the same... What can i say

what you can hear in the background is rocket my parrot:D he is talking to me lol

yeah i have no idea, i too was expecting them to dull but actually have gotten more gold as they aged. id be happy if they get big , gold is a bonus. just want solme large big mouthed catfish i think im gonna have to get a choc cat in my future set up, a monstrous one! they see to try and swim with the aro, the aro doesnt do much about it. but looks cool, like a ramora on a shark:D

They were quick to get to 12 ish cms.... Then its a slow crawl from there. Cant wait to have them 25cms! We need more monster cats here! But extremely gold!