Caryl Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Not having bought a new tank for years I will check with local glaziers tomorrow and see what the going rate is for tanks these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Caryl, > I use it to keep my spawning mops floating in the killie tank. Did you say the 'K' word? Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 I did, but we can't talk about it here as it is off topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Hi Kerry, A method you can use other than the suggestions is a fibreglass shell. You create this by draping fine net curtaining over a fine wire mesh frame. Punch it and push it to get a basic shape you need, then apply two pot fibre glass resin to the whole surface, and perhaps inside as well so that you completely seal it. A safe paint of some sort can be added to the resin to give you a base colour, then further applications could be added using a different colour mix to give depth and so forth. Caves and shelves can be formed prior to sealing, and a jig would need to be made the size of the tank rear, or to suit your needs. Although only a few mill thick, a shell of this sort is incredibly strong, and yet is very light. It would then need a good soaking before being used, but could be worth the effort involved. Happy Days, Bill (Pegasus) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerryO Posted February 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 Well, after losing the first race, My wife and I went of to Hollywood Fish Farm to lift our spirits. What a shop!! If you haven't been there yet, put it on your list. The first thing I really noticed, was how much more vibrant and attractive the marine fish are compared to the tropicals. I belive it takes more time, equipment, and skill to maintain a marine setup, so I'm not going there yet. Oneday though. My secondhand tank is on again. 3' bay window with external power filter, air pump, light, heater/themostat, food, test kits etc. Will look at and probably pickup tomorrow, Sunday. I'm still not sure what fish I want, and will probably start of with some schools of the cheaper fish. I know the general advice is to start with the fish you want and setup the tank to suit. I'm going to be an awkward so&so and setup the tank I want, then buy the fish to suit. I saw the Malawi tank with the polystyrene painted background, and that's the way I'm going to go, but in a different style. I went to Eden Stone and Water World to check out the different rocks and schist. It quickly became obvious that there would be to much weight, and rubbish will accumulate in behind. My plan is to get a large block of polysterene, the width and height of the tank and 200-300mm thick. I will sculpture this down, tapering in towards the top of the tank, to look like layers of schist, with terraces and caves. Then I will coat it with epoxy resin, using a hard old brush to scratch horizontal lines across the layers of schist and to form a tough skin. Then I will paint it with acrylic paints, (cut the whole panel vertically into three sections to be able to fit it into the tank) and finally coat the whole lot with translucent Pond Paint (51.00 per 1 Ltr at Hollywoods) to seal it. As I will be getting a power filter with the tank, the idea of hiding the heater in an under bench trickle filter will be scraped for now. That can come latter. As for planting, well that's another whole story. Cheers, Kerry. PS. will be photographing as I go. If all is successful, will setup web page to show others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 15, 2003 Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 KerryO said... > My plan is to get a large block of polysterene... This may seem obvious but don't forget that polystyrene wants to float... > I'm still not sure what fish I want, and will probably start of with > some schools of the cheaper fish. Just remember not to try and add them all at once. Your biological filter will need time to establish. Get half a dozen (or so) of one type of fish, add them, and wait a couple of weeks before adding the next group (either more of the same, or a different species). I'd also get some algae eating species as well as some type of corydoras to help clean up left-over food (make sure they get fed as well though). Sounds like you're well on the way though. Good luck. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 Regarding Andrews comment on polystyrene wanting to float. Yip definitley - that's why it's important to have a piece of polystyrene the height of the tank, so that the top bracing stops it from bobbing up and away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerryO Posted February 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2003 I'm still here, I bought a new 3' tank at Jensons today. (Jumbo on sale) I've picked up a Fluval 303 for 16.00 on Trademe, and I've got the heater. I'm going to build the top cover for the light. What lighting will I need, I have a sparkie mate who can get me any bits that I need. I won't be able to fit a 3' tube in the lid so I will have to go with 2'. One of the second hand tanks that I looked at had a single 2' tube 18W, and the guy reconed that it was too much light as he had a lot of algae growth, if he left it on for more than 2hrs a day. (though his room was very light where he had the tank) When I look through the forums here and overseas I get the impression that I would need 2 x 36W tubes minimum. I plan to have a lot of plants, and I also don't understand the difference between growlux and uv lights. I like the look of Dwarf Gourami's, are these fish ok to have in a well planted tank, and are they much trouble to look after? Thankyou, Kerry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety Posted February 23, 2003 Report Share Posted February 23, 2003 How deep is your tank ? Lumens drop pretty quick in deep tanks. You can't really have too much light... you can have too much light and not enough c02 or too much light and not enough fertilizer, its just a balance. If you get algae build up its just due to the plants not being established and too much nitrate in the water (my outside pond is in full daylight and is as clear as a bell). The usual is about .4 - .5 watt per litre for tropical but if you have a deep tank that won't work. I actually use less than that and plants grow out the top of my tank but they grow REAL slow. Also get some Siamese Algae Eaters. They will eat any extra algae growth and keep your plants healthy. Bulbs are a compromise.... they will help your plants grow OR bring out the colours in your fish... you choose. Growlux provide less lumens than standard tubes therefore you need more. The spectrum is also biased towards growing a plant. I think the grow lux has a wider spectrum towards the blue end so it may be ok for fish. I would stick with standard flouros, get your mate to give you about .5 watts per litre and you should be OK. (3 x 36w minimum) Hope this helps peety Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 23, 2003 Report Share Posted February 23, 2003 Dwarf gouramis are fine with plants and will look beautiful. Grolux encourage algae growth and I would not use one. We use daylight or bright white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerryO Posted February 26, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 Thanks for the answers, I am busy working on it. At the moment I'm busy building the artificial rock wall for the back of the tank, to hide pipes etc. I'm not sure what gravel to use in the bottom, my original plan was to use a darker small, smooth pebble, in order to hide algae staining, (as opposed to lighter colours) and to keep it visually low key so as to not detract attention away from the fish and plants. Now that I have started building my wall, I have found that it is very easy and attractive, to just have a natural looking rock, similar to moss rock that you would use for garden walls. The trouble now, is that the smooth dark pebbles would not look like they had naturally eroded, and fallen from the wall to the bottom of the tank. In fact it would look totaly phoney. I notice on the net that a lot of people use sand in the bottom of their tanks. This would look more natural with my wall, but to compound my problem further, I have purchased an Eheim through flow under gravel filter. While these don't actually filter anything, as they push the filtered water up through the gravel and supposedly dislodge food particles etc. The idea being that I could introduce air into the incoming water, and have random bubbles coming up from the bottom of the tank, for a visual effect. If I use sand, will this create small volcanoes in the sand, and dislodge it. Can I use a coarse sand to prevent this? Actually when I think more about it, the sand would fall through the filter grid and block it up anyway. Has anyone done anything like this, or got any ideas? Thanks, Mad Kerry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerryO Posted March 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2003 OK, I've done away with the under gravel filter, too much hassle, though I can see how it would improve plant growth by allowing air to directly reach the plant roots. My inlet spray bar is mounted vertical with the top hole over 100mm below the water surface, I can introduce air into this, as well as I will be having an air pump, so I should not suffocate the fish. Cool white Flourescents are the wrong ones to use for plants. Daylight would have been good, but they are no longer available in NZ. I have gone with Triphosphor, 4 x 20w for my 160 Ltrs, giving a medium plant growth light. I can add more latter if necessary. The consruction of my background is finished, except for a coating of translucent pondpaint. Available from Mitre 10 @ $40.00 per 1 Ltr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 2, 2003 Report Share Posted March 2, 2003 We bought 25 cool daylight tubes recently. Who said you can't get them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerryO Posted March 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2003 You will still find them for a while, but new regulations set by EECA have now banned the importation of common daylight tubes into NZ. The tubes affected are 33's 55's Philips 54's, Osram 10's & 20's among others. The reason is because of their energy inefficency. It is an effort to have them banned from offices, though they may still be available from pet shops, and will probably be known soon under a different name. I was told all of this by Lamp Specialties in Auckland, a major player in the game. Here is a link to the govt. dept. that is handling the situation, I didn't have time to dig deeper, and don't profess to understand it all, due to my limited knowledge on flouresent tubes. http://www.eeca.govt.nz/default2.asp?Ta ... tetour.htm Philips knew of this upcoming ban, and imported thousands of the tubes before the cut off date. So I imagine some sizes are still plentiful, but certainly not the 2' ones I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 3, 2003 Report Share Posted March 3, 2003 Because of their energy innefficency they're being banned? If they're worried about that they should be banning incandescent lights, not a less commonly used spectrum of flourescents. They seem to be at least as bright as the common ones, cool white? at a similar wattage too. Now, if they really want to save power they should disconnect Auckland from the power grid, then the rest of the country would have heaps of excess power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Posted March 3, 2003 Report Share Posted March 3, 2003 Ira! behave! Then I wouldn't be able to keep MY fish! :lol: AND - I'd be out of my job - I work in the callcentre for Mercury Energy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety Posted March 4, 2003 Report Share Posted March 4, 2003 Caryl, You bought 25 !!! You must have a lot of tanks or poor eyesight !!!!! I am jealous trying to figure out how many litres that equates to.... lol As a matter of interest do you stick with .5 per litre. I use less but some plants suffer, or can't be grown at all. Also what distance between tank and light. Also when the worldwide supply of daylight tubes runs out can I get some from you .... :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 4, 2003 Report Share Posted March 4, 2003 Peety, storage, not use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 4, 2003 Report Share Posted March 4, 2003 We use 4ft fluorescents, instead of incandescents, throughout the house and garage - all are double tubes so there's 16 tubes get used just there. Grant also buys them bulk for replacing old ones in local Telecom buildings in his work. I only have 4 on my 4ft tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis Posted March 4, 2003 Report Share Posted March 4, 2003 caryl have u got your other tank runing yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 Yes but not got the Africans yet. It is running with 4 goldfish keeping the filtration going. I need another trip to ChCh to pick up the fish which are now ready. Hopefully it won't be long now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kriber Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 What Africans are you getting into CHCH. cos I want to but them 1st!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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