Inactivity On Site.

[Pegasus]

Well, I joined this site about a week back in the hope of finding a responsive group of members that would "post" regularly about their fish. It was not to be it seems.

What is wrong people?? You have a good site here, with varying subjects, and yet you don't use it. Some of the "Recent" posts are dated 2001.

There are people out there that want to know about your fish, your funny experiences, your happiest and worst moments, your first spawning, your first tank, or even how old your granny is if she keeps fish.

I recently posted an article on rearing brine shrimp, and the only response was from Caryl. The same article posted on an offshore site was read by over two hundred members in less than a week.

The membership here is small, but in order for a site to remain viable it needs your input. It doesn't matter if you just keep a few guppys, or you keep thousands of fish, you must have "something" to tell us.

Come on members, get your fingers working, lets have some posts to read.

I would prefer to read some positive responses, not negative ones. :smile:

Bill (Pegasus)

[Pegasus]

Thought this might be of interest, and hopefully inspire some writers.

Hi Members

Don't really know if you are looking for home made "all glass tanks" but here goes, the info might help someone else also.

I built 100/s of A/G tanks some years back ranging from 12x12 to 72x24x24, with no disasters, and NONE of them had top strips as you see today on all the tanks.

First make yourself a gig from a piece of flat board about half inch thick, the size of which must be bigger than the base size of your tank. Nail 1"x1" strips to this base to the exact size you'll need for your base glass. (No side bits, just the four strips on the base) Find a place where it won't be moved for a day or two before you start work.

One important factor in all glass tanks is absolute cleanliness, ie, no finger marks. Clean your glass first with meths, or white spirit.

Take note when cutting, or getting the glass cut, that you need the front and rear sheets to overlap the side pieces, so that when assembled the edges of the sides don't show in the front view. Personally I prefer the upper parts to sit on TOP of the base glass, but both methods work here. If you're getting it cut somewhere, check the measurements before you accept it, they may not accept a return.

Obtain a good quality Silicone Sealer, and make sure it is from a reputable brand and used for GLASS, as many aren't. Building Sealers WON"T WORK.

Stand your front and one of the sides into your gig ensuring that they are dead square. Hold together with sellotape in several places. Now assemble the remaining side and back in the same manner ensuring all is square and well taped to hold into position.

A "Chalking Gun" as used by builders is idea to apply the silicone, and you'll need a cartridge of silicone if you intend making more than one tank.

Cut a nice angled (45deg) opening on the cartridge about a quarter inch down the nose. This will give you a nice "Fillet" of silicone as you apply it. It takes a bit of skill to use the cartridge gun, but don't worry, and don't rush it.

Start by sealing the bottom first, then the front and sides. Aim for a good clean "fillet" on each seam, and try to get all seams even. Myself personally, I wait around for half an hour till the silicone just starts to skin, then gently wipe my finger up each seam thereby creating a smooth seam. A little "no no"

Don't try to dress the seams up with a knife, or similar object, as most seams are almost invisible once the tank is filled. The other point is, "Don't Rush the job, and don't be in a hurry to fill it, wait at least three days, more if you can.

Any sharp exterior edges can be dressed off with an old oilstone or something similar, and again, just take your time.

Glass thickness.

I'm a bit of a daredevil, and in the late sixties was one of the pioneers in the UK for starting the all glass tank craze. My shop was filled with old rusty angle iron tanks of all shapes and sizes, so I built around 60 for the main shop, and umpteen more for breeding. I then sold several hundreds to shops and individuals around the country, and only ever had one returned, but that’s another story.

For up to 24x24x12 I used 32oz window glass. For my breeding tanks, tanks that were not on show, I used Greenhouse Glass, (much cheaper) For anything up to 5foot I used 1/4 plate, with cast glass on the base to save on costs.

My final creation was a six foot by 2foot by 2foot, all in 3/8 plate glass, (Recovered from a shop window that got smashed locally)

If you visit your glass supplier you'd be surprised just how much glass they throw out, ie, bits with a tiny obscure mark on them, which in your case would suit the base etc.

Final words.

Make sure you stand your A/G tank on a firm solid surface with a thin (1/2) styrene pad on the base. Don't place heavy metal hoods on A/G/Ts as they expand and contract with the temp differences. I made several 4foot x4foot by 4foot tanks of WOOD, if anyone is interested.

Best of luck, hope this helps.

Pegasus NZ.

[ This Message was edited by: Pegasus on 2002-03-23 19:11 ]

[cees]

Hello Pegasus,

Welcome to the New Zealand fishroom.

Thanks for posting that article on brineshrimp.

Pegasus, don't be disappointed with the lack of responses and the small number of new posts. Looking back over the last year a typical week would have 1 or 2 posts and the occasional 'hot topic'.

The site itself logs about 80 visits/day with an average page view of 8/visit.

I too would like to see more activity but I'm not complaining. I guess New Zealand is still 'small town' and this is about as much 'involvement ' we'll see unless we get a real promotion boost. Next month the site will move to a new domainname.

The way the site is going now I'm not throwing in the towel yet.

[Pegasus]

Thanks Cees,

I sure do hope you DON'T throw the towel in, the site is great, and I had already read your posting on the domain name and logo comp, along with most of the other postings.

Coming from the UK some thirty years ago where the hobby was about the second most popular at the time, I may have overstepped slightly, but I'm sure there are heaps of members out there with good advice that will attract both newbies, and in my case "oldies" back into the hobby.

Many thanks.

Pegasus

[Caryl]

As they say, "You can lead a fish to brine shrimp but you can't make it eat!"

It seems to be all sorts of clubs suffering a decline, not just fishy ones. All we can do is try our best and if others don't participate then there is not a lot we can do about it.

Fishkeeping hit its height here 30 years ago too Pegasus with 4 times the club membership of today. I understand from my English friends that they are having similar problems over there with declining membership and no-one willing to help. People are just too busy these days and having to go to club meetings seems to be 'just another damn thing I have to go to' to many.

I must say I am very disappointed in the lack of FNZAS input to this site. They are missing out on a great site to promote themselves. I will have something to say to them at conference this year, which is being held in Napier.

Don't give up hope! I am waiting to see more entries in the logo competition and manage to visit this site most days to see who has said what.

[cees]

I contacted Kelly (perhaps he will join in here again) about the site and fnzas.org.nz.

(At the moment that domain name points to this site as well)

This was part of his reply:

"Nothing seems to be happening in the FNZAS at the moment but we have a meeting in Hamilton on 13 April and I will ask the exec then and let you know".

I'd like to encourage whoever attends that meeting to have a serious look at the website issue. There is I think a real opportunity to add value to the FNZAS and the aquartium hobby in New Zealand in general.

But, as Kelly also said to me"

"if the members are not going to use it then it is useless."

There are in my opinion two types of 'use'. Active and passive. This site gets reasonable 'passive use' at 80 visitors/day.

Active use is what's needed. Active use will grow and become self sustaining once it reaches a 'critical level'. To reach this 'critical level' the site needs quality content. I can only supply the tools and limited content.

My plans? I'll always have this forum operating in some form. It's a personal hobby. Perhaps it'll grow, perhaps not.

Oh well, it's early in the morning. We'll talk again later