MeioFormiga

I'd love to do that, but dismantling it completely and putting it back together is beyond my skillset! I'm following the reseal thread pinned in the DIY section. I don't know if I'm correct but you can see age in silicone by how discoloured it is, I figure the silicone in between the panes hasn't been exposed to water/salt and has a much longer life span than the silicone that's in the corners. Although when having done this in the past the space in between the panes was tiny on all the seams, this tank has such large gaps between the sides and bottom pane I'm unsure.

Turns out the old corraline is not too bad to remove, old fashioned elbow grease and a razor blade makes it go away. The top piece of trim came off without any effort and looks like it's identical to the broken bottom piece, so I can swap the 2 pieces for support on the bottom if needed. From the way the tank was put together it looks like the bottom pane of glass is supported by the trim. There's a pretty large gap in between the sides and the bottom pane filled with silicone, about 3mm on the side by the corner that I cleaned up tonight. I'll put up some pictures tomorrow so the pros can see it. I have to say, resealing a 10 or 20G tank is alot different than resealing and scraping clean a tank this large. Several hours and I figure I still have 4 times that still to go. I"m wondering how well the new silicone will adhere to the old silicone on those large gaps. I know it will adhere well to the clean glass, but is that going to be enough? I'm still contemplating replacing the front pane for something not scratched all to hell, but this project is going to take some work as it is!

The tank I picked up yesterday has one corner broken on the bottom trim, I can see that causing problems for me down the road. So I guess the question is, remove it, or will putting on styro compensate enough to ensure even support for all 4 sides? I like the look of trimless, but on the other hand it's not hard to hide. But does the trim offer any structural support or is it just cosmetic? Now as far as the old corraline, will the old standbys vinegar and salt remove it?

Ouch picked up some GE Silicone I at Home Despot today for $4.35/tube. It'll do the trick, thanks though.

How is this project coming along?

are you using this for an aquarium application? cause i bought some the other day from rona, that says right on the label that it is good to use with aquariums. Yes I am! So Rona it is, thanks for the response colby82!

I've used before in BC, but not yet here. No idea where to start looking...

Nice pictures. I've yet to take decent pictures of my fish. Keep updating, interesting project!

wow.

It did, but with what's going on in another thread plans changed. Just picked up a 50G tank, after that is set up then it's look for zebras, burmese or queens. Thanks though.

So who's got Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki in Calgary? Still scheming for another larger setup, but want to keep this tank setup as is. Been reading at loaches.com forum for a couple of days and these guys fit the bill (should be fun to watch too!)

Zebra loaches it is! And plans for a larger tank!

I think I need to do some googling! Ok, are all the dwarf loaches odd or hard to find? I'm also finding multiple sites telling me 36" tank is ok for Yoyos, and then 48" or bigger later. Example. Along the lines of what thegrandpoohbah says. I'm ok with that if Yoyos are, and it means an excuse to do a large tank again in a 1/2 a year to 2 yrs. :thumbs: So anyone have info on dwarf loaches? Are there dwarf loaches that are not endangered where they originate from? How come Franco's didn't tell me about these? Does anyone agree with Yoyos or Queens?

So bamboo, sand, round river rocks, mopane(?), clams naturilish biotope? Different, interesting though. With the powerhead - run some pvc the length of the tank, with an inlet on the opposite side. Makes for more of a linear flow - like a river.

What are the 3 cylinders?

I like this one.

Cool, do you have any experiences with these guys? They're one of favourites to watch, always look for them when I go to a fish store. Out of the 2, Queens or Yoyos? Are they gonna eat my wood shrimp?

I'm on holidays right now, managed to catch light coming on and discovered everthing covered with tiny snails. So after talking to the kind folks at Franco's - I've decided that I want a small school of loaches. Queens or Yoyo. Currently 30 breeder (33 gallons?) is stocked with 1 gold nugget, and 1 big wood shrimp. They peacefully coexist, and tend to hang out in the same cave area at the same time. Lots of wood with lots of little hidey holes, 1 slow growing sword (might move it out of tank if going to be molested) and lots of Windelov fern. 1 AC300, and a MP600 for movement. Is this realistic to have a small school of Botiine in there? 3, 4, or 5? Is that too small of a school? Will I be taxing the filter/biological capabilities? I'm very slow to add livestock, and tend to be over cautious about these things. I don't like losing fish, and want everyone to be happy.

In my AC300 I use just the sponge like RD, and then loose ceramic biomedia (I like the eheim ceramic balls!) You can fit more of it in there if it's not in a mesh bag, and I think it's easier to clean. Dump it into a bowl siphon some tank water in and swirl it around, drain & repeat! Done every 2 months around here. I've been contemplating looking for a finer layer of spongish sort of stuff for sparkly water, but that means more frequent cleaning.

Hmmf, the offer is fantastic, but I've decided to upgrade, gonna retrofit and put either compact flourescent or t5 with reflector in there.

I've been thinking about this thread for a while. Whenever I do a higher tech tank I seem to fight one kind of algae or another nonstop. I always suspect there's a lot not mentioned when you see the crowded with plants perfect planted tank pictures, with no algae. However I've had 1 smaller tank with just lowlight plants going nonstop in one incarnation or another for 4 years or so, and never have algae problems. Sand, lots of wood, java fern (I like windelov), a sword or 2, an oe crappy single bulb light strip, over filtered with an extra powerhead for no deadspots in anything longer than 2 feet, and very understocked. Current small tank 3' 30+ish something gallon up and running for about 6-7 months, nothing at all for algae. No discernable trace. So it is possible. Just not nearly as much fun! Eventually the bug will bite me again and this tank will turn into something larger with algae.

Cool! What kind of bulbs? I like to do my research!

They might, but will they still work in that ancient fixture I have with that ballast & starter combination? How would I go about figuring that out?

Older tank and canopy, the OE light setup is more than adequate for this tank. And now it's time for a new bulb, F24t12 30" something appropriate for plants. Not finding anything after a couple days of looking and calling around. Any suggestions, aside from ordering online?

Lot's online from multiple sources in Canada, but where in Calgary?