stand rebuild and new set-up so far, PART 1

ok so a good few shots of the latest project thats been eatin up my days off and most evenings.

yet to get the plumbing sorted, a few more plants to go in and of course the fish moved back in to their new home...

the water damage to the old flimsy stand



the DIY stand. note the corner that allows the overflow plumbing




the final dry run (tank on ground for ease of access)


filling the tank ready for planting, after laying down the substrates. the bucket in the tank has lots of little holes in it so the substrate does not get kicked up (i know, i'm a genius!)



the plants. the grass and other plant (i think dwarf baby tears) were a nightmare to seperate



initial planting. this changed as i got new plants


how it looks today. good growth after just a week especially the grass, echinodoras and hygrophyllia (centre)

Joey thats a great run down of photos looks very nice Tanks are crackin well done Regards Johney

Excellent thread,very impressed. Loving all the tanks!!
Keep snapping,Im liking this thread alot!

Gavin

cheers. its just the one tank going thru all the stages. there is less than 1/4 of the pics up that i actually took, showing alot more detail but i thought it'd just put everyone to sleep with 5 pics of the same stand from different angles and a whole load of waffle from me!

more pice to come in part 2 (around 1 months time)

a few details of the stand construction:
wood used was 40x75mm standard b&q timber. 14 x 2.4m lenghts @ approx 7euro a length
there are full height verticle supports inside a top and bottom frame, with extra verticle supports between the frames so no load is put on the screws
wood was treated with cheapo homebase clear varnish to try to keep moisture out of the wood
3/4" ply was used on the base and for the top to spread the load. excess from the sheet was used on the back for rigidity and insulation. 40euro a sheet
the top and base was covered with 1/2" aerobard for insulation and to spread an even load, and the base sheets help protect the ply against splah damage

the design idea took a good while to plan out as i had to have the overflow pipes and sump in the correct position, and the stand is nearly a foot higher than the original which is better for viewing inside the tank but means the overflow pipes now need extending

the stand also acommodates a 35l shrimp tank, and has a shelf to hold a 20l qt tank (so the wife wont give out about looking at anymore than 1 tank when the cladding goes on)

Whats going into it Joey? And are you keeping the other tanks in the pics also?
The bogwood is super by the way,nice arch on it.

Gavin

Hi Joey,
you are nearly there.Looking good.I know how it feels.Are you working Wendnesday or do you have time to come to the meeting.Regards,Tim

Looking great joey well done and its the same level as the other tanks now..nice

Did you get that post I sent down to you...



Mark

Good job Joe Evan though I had a sneak peek
Al

@ mark: yeah cheers

@ tim: will do, i'll call you in the afternoon for a favour...

@ alan: sshhhhhh! you weren't supposed to tell!

@ gavin: was gunna wait till the final "reveal" but since you asked i have the following already to go in:

9 denisonii barbs
6 clown loach
3 archer fish
1 rainbow shark
1 plec (unidentified but a small species)
5 cory sterbai + 3 baby sterbai
4 siamese algae eaters (picked up today and in qt tank - cheers alex)

i will be getting:

4 barilius canarensis (on hold for me)
3 polkadot loaches
3 zebra loaches

yes its highly stocked but i was contemplating getting some tiger, ruby and golden barbs but think its enough with the above

very nice Joey
fairplay man

Nice one,Id of avoided the SAE personally but the rest sounds interesting.

Gavin

I have never kept Archer Fish
I didn't think they would do well in a Freshwater set-up being a Brackish water fish
i might try a few ?
I'd love to keep them due to their unique hunting style
have You ever had any problems keeping them in Freshwater ?
maybe a very long drip feed on the initial introduction is the key ?

Really nice framework, I love the look you are getting from the Girl on the seat on the right, It cracks me up !, we must be, to everyone disinterested in our Hobby, the craziest bunch of weirdos on the Planet, second only to Model Railway Enthusiasts !!

Great job !.

Kev.

des wrote:

I have never kept Archer Fish
I didn't think they would do well in a Freshwater set-up being a Brackish water fish
i might try a few ?
I'd love to keep them due to their unique hunting style
have You ever had any problems keeping them in Freshwater ?
maybe a very long drip feed on the initial introduction is the key ?

I knew a guy that would run some lengths of string across his brackish Tank , he'd then let crickets etc walk across it to get the Archers to " shoot " them off, it was great fun to watch, ants were even better but you needed to flick them before they reached the end or you'd have them loose in the House.

Gav in FFF has a lovely set-up in the Foyer with Archers, Chromides and Figure 8 Puffers.


Kev.

Yeah wonder if the Archer fish are like many other brackish water fish,in that they will survive in the freshwater esp when young,but perhaps not thrive as they get older. Getting them to feed may also prove difficult,the barbs will wipe out the food pretty quickly,and if it passes the archer,dont expect them to go after it.
It interesting though,Ive not seen Archer fish in Cork before,looking forward to some good pics!
Youve a nice plan though,good coverage for all areas of the tank.

Gavin

i have had no trouble with archers in fresh. they were sold from a fresh tank and growth has been good, feeding is good and colours are strong (they sometimes darken when stressed - only doing it alot in holding tank due to small space)

feeding is fun but bloodworms on a stick led to bloodworms and water marks on the wall behiind the tank

i have read up too much info on archers, all confliting. they can go fresh to brackish and back thru normal hunting etc. some say they breed in fresh some say brackish, and they grow up in the opposite. they will not do marine like some brackish puffers, so i'd guess salt level is not overly important long term but i do use a pinch of tonic salt in water changes just to keep them happy. seems to work. sometiimes they will take shrimp from the mid-bottom level if they spot the ones that got away, and are aggressive hand feeders often jumping to take the food from fingers before it reaches the water

bloody mental fish, i'm sure you would love them des!

and yeah i get looks and comments from the boss and her friends (boss not in picture) as the place was upside down and back to front for a few weeks. not much better now but has improved and wont be long till all tools etc can be put to rest

Lookin great Joey. Nearly all finished. I see u have some beautiful Carlow granite in there as well. Plug, plug. May drop over to ye when its all done.

Mick...

you are more than welcome mick, my house is always open to guests
it wont be fully finished for a while but should be up and running and stocked within a few weeks

and dont worry the big thankyou list was coming in part 2

Well done Joe, it's looking great so far and with plenty of detail, thanks.......................Tom.

quick updtae:

all plumbing is sorted, DIY spray bar will be tested (in the bath - she's gunna go nuts) and somehow i'll figure out how to fit it in place...

should have it running in 2 days so will be able to start part 2 next week. plant growth is amazing now but pond snails have been spotted even though they were dipped in very concentrate snail killer before planting

The loaches will take care of the snails so you have food ready for them already!!!

Gavin

aye well i hope they eat these - therw in MTS i had in the sump for them and the lazy fat beggars never touched 'em

Hi Joey,
This is a great build and setup, its really impressive.
Both the stand and the tank.
You'll be making your own furniture next !
Just shows a little planning goes a long way and a lot of planning goes even further.

Your tank is lookin great Joey, lookin forward to seein part 2. How are the plants comin on, what gravel you usin?

Cheers John.

looks very well mate congrats

You can't bate a bit of good DIY with a schtick! Looks great! That ain't gonna rot with the gauge timber you used!

Nice work