henward

tHAT IS SUPER COOL! man, even if its not planted inside the tank itself, just the sides. But cant have an over flow though ay? mmmmm looks awesome. how does one translate that to a large tank (3m by 1.2m by 70cm) and over flows?

yes, i forget, tank water. mmmm that could be an issue. in saying that, the tank water being full - should giv eyou plenty on a once a week or once a fnight wc regime? not sure, never worked with tank water before i guess lol

not sure what to advise, but i have seen that this media can be mixed with unfiltered water in terms of full of debris, it is designed so debris doesnt get stuck. in saying that, i have never used it. its supposed to be fast moving so debris or not, both should flow through.

yeah, i find that the postage at times costs more than the media. the cost vs reward to me is not enough if you could get it from another country with out shipping, ie visit in that country, awesome. otherwise, i will stick to bio balls and noodles/ceramic media. its serving me well. no need to reinvent the wheel so to speak.

i was thinking of that too but the cost of the media is a fair bit i found ordering it from ebay.

in your size tank and the stocking you plan on having. i think that your water change regime would be greatly reduced anyways. i would say maybe once a week 25%? or once a forstnight even. unless you have added more to the stock wish list. when gravel siphoning, i used to put the end of the hose into the sock, so i dont lose water, but recycle it. the sock takes the gunk for me.

awesome! yeah, im going black silicone too, looks better! exciting. love setting up a new set up!! it is like a mega xmas. new tank, stand and new sump!!!!!

what will be in this new tank? aros?

you will prob need to insulate that. very thin in summer during hot days, its fine. it willhelp heat tanks, but could over heat it. winter, cold will leech in rapidly but awesome!

I am leaning in this direction. but of course can and prob change with more feedback. more support bars under the tank to reduce the large spaces of glass unsupported (for peace of mind) i will use a thicker poly layer to cushion tank, but i MAY use a thinner play just under the poly against the stand to stop the poly from getting squashed on the stand too much. ply is there purely to stop the poly pressing beyong the support bars. thoughts?

:slfg: missed the links! found them:D will look at them now. oh ok. wow, kinda freaky! no bars in front, but looks cool cos i also want a sump under the tank. my dimensions proposed is 3m by 1.2m by 70ish cms. so it goes further out then long... wonder if the different dimensions will make a difference? the tank im proposing is approx 2600L, this one is about 2100L - 20% less water. but ill ask the engineering company if this is ok in his opinion, I guess, i want to be able to sleep at night haha... looks awesome with out the bars in front! at same time, i will hide it with a 'cabinet' eventually. sump can inserted through the side in my design.

Whoa, no supports on the front of the tank???? why? might bend! is that your tank?

So you are saying that all you need is the edges supported, the middle doesnt need supports? so in essense, havintg more supports in the middle of the base in ways of more square tubing would then increase safety even more? so, in theory. you can have a stand, say, my stand is 3m long. have supports every 30 cms or so. and have only a 20 to 25mm poly, no ply? that will be fine?

would love to see thsi full, who does thuis tank belong to?

Hi Warren, The stand i am looking at is 50 square tube steel stand. It is quite hefty. BUt i would like to you to elaborate on your comment above, sorry just having a hard time fully digesting it. so what are you suggesting? do you suggest, that i dont bother with the wood, just use poly bu tinstead, get the stand maker to make the gaps on the top of the stand ever 60cms? there is a supporting bar? is that better? deflection term you used, confuses me a little. could you elaborate :thup: I guess the question here is as well. there are 2 companies quoting me, lfs and an engineering place (rex engineering) who made my last stand. good work they did too. the engineering place, precision is key to them, i also stress that the stand has gotta be almost perfect in its levelness. the lfs one, they go through someone i dont know who but they go through these guys for all their stands. let me know your thoughts. if i can skip the ply and go for a 20 or even 25 mm poly to sit the tank on. the stand can have lots of support along the top to support the base of the tank. i can have heaps of support if needed, even ever 30 cms! cos the pipes will not come from the bottom of the tank.

particle board is half price. they can cut it to size too.

i guess i have to see hwo much particle board is vs ply. i got quoted for this piece (3000 x 1200 - 12mm marine ply machined both sides) $245 shipped to my house and cut to size. Ill see what particle board will be. the end of the day, this tank is gonna sit there for AGES. it will see minimal catching of fish. lids will be designed so even if the fish splash, water wotn leak front and back. particle board may be a winner if its much cheaper.

yes, i wont glue the ply, i will just place it on top. this will make sure that when it flattens, it can 'move' with the weight. then the poly too. thats what i thought, using it to not nly rest the poly on but to disperse more kinks and weights. the stand , presumably will be of high standard seeing its made by a reputable lfs. but yeah, its all bout safety. the base of my tank will be a total of 20 to 25mm glass. I am going for a 'braceless' bottom. soi willo have the base as 15mm glass, then another whole sheet to go on top of that to act as one giant bracing and slide that into the tank, this will give the look of no bracing but achieve the same if not more as bracing, also, this gives the bottom pane much more structural strength. so i am assuming that the tank mater will use 10mm to 12mm braching strips at the bottom. so i will use an entire sheet to brace the entire surface of the bottom (if that makes sense) suffice to say, this tank aint moving anywhere, heavy and strong base. but, safety is safety, the tank will eventually house thousands of dollars with of fish. no risks will be taiken i guess. PARTICLE BOARD: from what im thinking, someone said particle board will absorbe water and swell. but how will that break the tank. cos of the weight of the tank, the particle board will never push the tank up, all it will do is let the water absorbe futher into the board instead of one corner. does that make sense? should i use MDF? cheap, light. similar to particle board.

So you think i should just put a 15mm poly under the tnak? I can even go 20mm poly.... would marine ply serve no purpose under the poly? feedback anyone? lfs said that i really should have ply then poly for maximum buffer and safety

what does everyone think of 12mm marine ply with 15mm poly on top?

I am told, really, i need the following 1) both sides machined 2) treated or marine ply but to get both sides machined, only marine ply is available I guess ill be getting marine ply!

can i use MDF? i am thinking 12mm thick as i will be putting another 15mm of poly on top

or can i do 2 pieces they come in 2400 x 1200 i am thinking of doing 1500 x 1200 (2 sheets)

Not using jagers individually right now, all rigged to controller anyway. It was suggested that I could use the heating coils similar to a hot water cylinder.

I've used them before. i found Their thermostat is not as good but heating works fine.