Show me your aquarium

[Lim]

Rarely a days go by when i don’t look at my IKEA Kalax stand with suspicion. It’s just cardboard I think!

One day I’ll move it

[techguyone]

Lim said:

Rarely a days go by when i don’t look at my IKEA Kalax stand with suspicion. It’s just cardboard I think!

One day I’ll move it

Kallax is pretty tough, but it's good to remember that it is essentially compacted sawdust and coated paper...

I have a lot of em here for storage purposes, but I'd not want to use them for anything heavy on top.

What size tank do you have on it?

Remember 1 litre of water = 1 KG weight, let alone weight of glass, substrate etc.

Edited by techguyone on Monday 18th January 10:40

[S11Steve]

marksx said:

I'd reckoned on 500-600 kg with the stand. Probably why my house cracked

Before we had our behemoth system installed, we had to replace 6 of the standard 2x8 sized joists with 6x8. The structural engineer needed the approximate weight to do the calcs;

Tank - 300kg
Cabinet- 175kg
Rock & substrate- 175kg
Water - 1300kg
Lights and pumps - 50kg

In the end he used 3000kg as a force, allowing us a bit of "upgrade capacity".

I was having a close look at the unit yesterday during a cleaning and maintenance session - some of the wooden cabinet is starting to blow, so I guess it is time to start thinking about that upgrade to a steel framed unit.
It doesn't look like it is going to collapse any time soon, but it does appear I'm closer to the end of it's lifespan than the beginning of it.

But the thought of a tank swap on this scale is not filling me with enthusiasm.

[Lim]

techguyone said:

Kallax is pretty tough, but it's good to remember that it is essentially compacted sawdust and coated paper...

I have a lot of em here for storage purposes, but I'd not want to use them for anything heavy on top.

In addition to weight and water damage risk, Kallax is vulnerable to sheer forces, so I've braced it as best I can.

But I wouldn't do it again. Moving fish tanks is a PITA!

TBF though its worked fine so far. Probably 150 kg

[CharlieCrocodile]

Where's the go to online shop for all things fishy? Wife is looking for an aquarium for her clinic, I'm a bit of of date on it all, seems the PFK forums no longer exist.

[Turn7]

CharlieCrocodile said:

Where's the go to online shop for all things fishy? Wife is looking for an aquarium for her clinic, I'm a bit of of date on it all, seems the PFK forums no longer exist.

My preferred suppliers....

https://www.aquacadabra.com/

https://www.h2oaquatics.co.uk/

https://charterhouse-aquatics.com/

[anxious_ant]

Question about bubbles or aeration.
My 145L is fairly deep. I run an external filter which is rated is above what’s required so I get fair good movement in the water.
The outlet sits under water level to keep noise down and thus don’t create bubbles.

I have a spare bubble maker but I’m not sure if it’s needed.
What are your thoughts?

[S11Steve]

In a marine tank, bubbles are a contentious subject - yes it oxygenates the water, and can also help cleanse and direct organic matter into the skimmer, but it can also cause a lot of salt creep and evaporation which can send chemistry balances out of kilter.

In a tropical tank - I used to have a bubble wall, and the fish were more than happy with it, the plants did well, the filters were healthy and I didn't encounter much in the way of algae problems.
It was a covered tank, so evaporation wasn't so much of an issue, and freshwater is far more forgiving chemically than saltwater

[anxious_ant]

Mine is a tropical tank. My last filter setup has spray bar which does create some bubble, but now it’s only a funnel.

Just wondering if there is any benefits to bubbles in a tropical tank of there is adequate water movement.

[otolith]

I run an air pump on my cichlid tank, but it has a huge amount of ocean rock in there. I have a bubble curtain pipe buried under it to avoid an accumulation of debris in dead spots, to improve gas exchange, and to move water over the ocean rock which acts as a massive extra biofilter. I don't run on on my planted tank because it would outgas the CO2.

[anxious_ant]

otolith said:

I run an air pump on my cichlid tank, but it has a huge amount of ocean rock in there. I have a bubble curtain pipe buried under it to avoid an accumulation of debris in dead spots, to improve gas exchange, and to move water over the ocean rock which acts as a massive extra biofilter. I don't run on on my planted tank because it would outgas the CO2.

Good point, my tank is planted.

[Turn7]

All airstones do is provide surface agitation, which is required for gaseous exchange.

Using a power filter, you can either run a spraybar or just set the outflow at surface level to break up the water surface.

[anxious_ant]

Turn7 said:

All airstones do is provide surface agitation, which is required for gaseous exchange.

Using a power filter, you can either run a spraybar or just set the outflow at surface level to break up the water surface.

Thanks for the advice
My external Fluval filter does create some surface agitation.
I can adjust it so it’s partially submerged to increase the agitation.
I suppose a sign that more aeration is required is when fish starts gasping for air?

[Turn7]

anxious_ant said:

Turn7 said:

All airstones do is provide surface agitation, which is required for gaseous exchange.

Using a power filter, you can either run a spraybar or just set the outflow at surface level to break up the water surface.

Thanks for the advice
My external Fluval filter does create some surface agitation.
I can adjust it so it’s partially submerged to increase the agitation.
I suppose a sign that more aeration is required is when fish starts gasping for air?

Pretty much, although that can also be caused by other issues.

Dont over stock/over feed and keep water changes regular, you shouldnt really have any issues.

[lufbramatt]

Snapped some quick pics of my Madagascan rainbows as the light was catching the tank at just the right angle. I’ve had these guys about 2 years and their colours just get better and better as they get older- whenever I’ve seen these in dealer tanks they look all washed out and grey.

[Turn7]

Very nice !

[HustleRussell]

I decided that this year I’d get stuck in again having last had an aquarium 13 years ago.

I had a pretty specific idea of what I wanted and have been researching and accumulating bits and bobs but had not progressed any further than that.

However a friend was emptying his tank for a house move / going marine so I found an extra £30 for this quarantine tank from Facebook marketplace.

I took a couple of hillstream loaches and a couple of amano shrimp, and more importantly(?) some dirty filter media, water and substrate.

Edited by HustleRussell on Sunday 21st February 22:43

[105.4]

We should be moving into a larger house soon.
I have a Juwel Lido 200 that I bought new about 2 years ago but I’ve never got round to setting up but intend to do so when we have a bit more space.

I’ve also been browsing used Juwel Vision 450’s on eBay.

Is there anything I need to look out for?

I understand that the Juwel tanks have a date stamp on the hood to signify when they were made, (assuming that the hood is original). How long do these tanks last for before seals start to fail?

There is also the weight factor with the bigger tanks.
Tank, cabinet, sand, rocks and 450 litres of water must be in the region of 500-525 kg !

Forgive my stupid question, but would the floor boards need to run parallel to the length of the tank, (left to right), or from the back of the tank to the front?

Would it be wise to place some bracing in the floorboards under the tank?

Forgive my stupid questions, but I’m not an expert of large aquariums or building regs.

Thanks in advance.

[otolith]

I’m trying to work out how old my Juwels are. I think the Trigon must have been early 2000’s and the Vision 260 maybe 2008-ish

[105.4]

otolith said:

I’m trying to work out how old my Juwels are. I think the Trigon must have been early 2000’s and the Vision 260 maybe 2008-ish

15(ish) years. That’s a good innings.