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Two questions.........


polgara

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I have just got a new 6 foot tank. :wink: I want to use it for my bigger tropicals. My questions are:

1) What size heaters or heaters should I use? I do have one 300w will this be enough?

And 2) I would like to put a nice big piece of drift wood in it, where can I get one? If I get one from the beach what would I need to do with it?

Thanks all :D

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I can't be sure on heater size but I can say that I would think you would need more than 300w to heat a six foot tank. Also it could pay to have a back up heater in the tank.

Driftwood. I have recently collected some from the beach. I soaked it in water until it sunk. When this had happened i transferred it into a chlorine bath to remove any micro-organisms on it. From there it gets cleaned again and left to soak with an airstone in the tank in order to remove any chlorine. then add to a tank.

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300 watts would probably be ok, kinda borderline though. On a tank that long it would be preferable to have a heater on each end. So, you might as well grab another heater and put them on opposite ends of the tank. Makes the heating a bit more even, though, it's not critical.

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Hi Polgara, and welcome :)

Totally agree with the above.

600wats sounds a lot, but the heaters will work half as hard to maintain the heat, so therefore won't be on as long as a single one, plus as above, if one fails you don't lose your fish.

Nice to see some pics once you get it all set up :)

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Everyone else has answered the heater question.

Driftwood: I collect mine from the Hokitika beach by the river mouth. A lot of lovely native hardwoods come down there, espcially rimu and rata,and they are already waterlogged. Can't get much on our beach as it is mostly willow and other scrappy stuff and you can't use willow in tanks as it is toxic I believe.

I just give them a good rinse and a scrub and drop them in the tank. Never had a problem so far.

Check the driftwood for signs of rotting. If big bits of it break away in your fingers then don't use it.

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Caryl, not too sure about your statement about willow.

As a breeding medium, killiphiles often use willow root.

I would think if there were any toxins in it the would be more concentrated in the roots than the tinber.

Also rats, rabbits,chinchillas, all love to munch out on the willow branches.

What'cha reacon.

Alan

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You could be right Alan. I just remember reading somewhere that willow was toxic to fish. Intrigued me as most streams have willows in them.

Chris there is nothing wrong with having 2 heaters in the tank. They will only switch on if the temp drops below their setting so it is not costing you any more. Handy if one dies too as the other will keep going with no harm to the fishes.

Just remember, if you need a heater in a hurry, pinch one from the 3ft! :D They aren't mini ones are they (150s)?

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Thanks for all the info so far. Now I have another question. I am thinking of gettin a stand for it, but what would be the cheapest type to get made, steel of wood??? Also does anyone know anybody in Hamilton that do this as cheap as poss.....................thanks again :P

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If you want cheap then concrete blocks are an option. I've just made a stand for a 4ft by 2ft tank from these. The blocks are placed in the corners and in the middle with a double layer of particle board over the top. A fabric curtain can be used around the outside to hide the bricks. My stand cost about $40.

Back to the heater question, I agree with the 300W being a bit borderline. My five footer has a 300W only and if the room temp gets too low (ie <10 deg C) over night the tank temperature drops a couple of degrees until mid morning when the room warms up again. The room is insulated now though, and the room temp stays above 15 deg with the tank temperature stable at 25 deg.

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Midas said...

> If you want cheap then concrete blocks are an option.

I've used concrete blocks (a couple of dollars each from the local

Placemakers or equivalent) for several years on tanks up to and

including 48 x 24 x 24 inches. I can see no reason why you couldn't

go bigger if blocks were used as supports in the middle as well.

Make sure your floor can handle the combined weight. Use polystyrene

between the particle board and the tank too.

Andrew.

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This is something that we ended up talking about last night. The weight!!! We live in a old wooden floored villa, and were thinking that the weight of the tank full will be about 1 ton. Will our floor hold that? LMAO Oh dear I am beginnin to think I have done the wrong thing buying this nice big tank.

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Hi Polgara,

If possible look under the house.

The Tank should be positioned in the room so that it spans several beams... and does 'not' run in the direction of one or two beams.

The beams (the 8"x4"'s or more .. big strong fellas) need to run like so...

! ! ! ! ! !

! ! ! ! ! ! MAIN BEAMS From Under The House (Full Lengths no gaps as sketch)

! ! ! ! ! ! Running North to South

! ! ! ! ! !

And the tank needs to run like so..

___________

<<.............>> TANK Running West To East

___________

Pretty crude, but you can see that the tank sits "across" the beams... not along then.

A load bearing wall is designed to hold the most weight... often the roof... and will have solid footings under the house, such as ... a solid wall... or concrete pillars... or extra strong wooden piles... or... (you get the idea :)

The "load bearing" wall will be sat directly above these for the most support.

HTH :)

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Hi all...

I convinced my partner that i needed to move into an apartment with concrete floors so i could set up my tank (600L). Perhaps i was being a bit paranoid but the last flat i was in took the cake:

I awoke in the morning to the sound of the dreaded 'crack'. 3 garden hoses, redirected sumps and flatmates with buckets soon took care of the remaining water but about 300L must have escaped.

The landlord just happened to be around that day and stuck his head in, said something unrepeatable, and returned a half hour later with some carpet shampoo and a broom to 'make the most of it'!

It would appear that the load bearing wall and beams were not strong enough, and a further inspection (to which we did not invite the landlord) showed that the floor had buckeled under the weight of the tank causing the wooden stand to bend, and the tank to wake me up.

in defense of the house it was about 60 years old and not very well maintained on the underside...

I now have cut the tank down to the aforementioned 600L, taking nearly 25cm off its height in the process, and my 'old man' can whip up a very presentable powdercoated 75mm angle-iron frame upon request.

Combined paranoia and concrete floors seems to be working a treat, but don't go moving on my account! :)

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PHEW... I read this thinking it was Polgara's post, and the floor had given way :)

Sorry to hear about that Dark... Was it recent..?

The house we live in was built in the early 1950's, and was relocated and brought here.

The place is filled with tanks... three big tanks in the lounge.. then a rack of 12 two by 15x12's in one of the bedrooms plus a four footer, and there no floor sag at all thank goodness.

The rack is not against the wall either... it extends into the room :)

I'm trying to sqeeze enough space for a six footer I have my eye on... but it doesn't look promising. he he.

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about two years ago, it took me most of the time since then to get around to fixing the tank and getting a decent stand for it.

i don't like the sound of anything that pops anymore, as i was working this morning i heard a 'pop' as a glass in the dishwasher gave up the ghost. we don't even have a fishtank here! (yet... :wink: )

i'm still going with the concrete floors though...

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What are the exact dimensions of the tank. The weight can be fairly closely calculated from its volume. I've got a 680L 6-foot tank. It used to sit in the corner of the lounge against two outside walls. This puts 50% of the weight almost directly onto the foundation. I added one extra pile under the house on the corner unsupported by the foundation to support the other 50%. Your landlord will most probably be ok with adding a pile or two. They usually don't mind as you are strengthening the floor. Its more responsible than trying it and finding out the floor breaks followed by the tank falling over and breaking, wetting the carpet which then shrinks...

My 680L tank weighs about 1100kg including the stand.

As far as the log goes, you'll probably need to soak it to get it to sink. Its always good practice to soak it elsewhere to check if it is ok. If it starts to rot don't use it. It can take 2-3 months for a log to sink.

I've never boiled any logs found at the beach (the best place to find them). I go to a beach near a big river mouth. Check which way the natural current flows in the sea so you go to the right side of the river mouth (more logs that side).

I've always just give the log a really good clean with a wire brush, picked of any loose bark and tossed it into a barrel until it sank. Once sunk it can be checked for rotting bits. Once it stops leaking brown tannins it's ready for your tank.

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I was talking to my uncle about floors and tanks (he builds houses) - i felt a bit guilty that i contributed heavily to a tank being put in storage!

His suggestion: if unsure get a builder over to take a look at the floor and under the house, they will be able to tell you about how much weight you can put on the floor and where, and if you don't know a friendly one you may be able to get a free evaluation or even get your landlords preferred maintenance guy to come over on the landlords tab.

Hope that is a little more useful than my cop-out approach! :oops:

If you are still looking for a stand:

My father built my stand from angle iron, and he just happens to live in Hamilton - could be useful for you. The cost is usually directly relative to the amount of metal in it which depends on the size of your tank and the height you want it to be. I think they can get them powder coated, certainly painted and although I was sceptical that it would be a presentable item I was rather impressed when it arrived - I have pics in which you can see it if you are interested (and i'll stick them up for everyone else once i get around to paying for my domain registration...)

Anyway, if you are interested I can put you in touch with each other.

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