Reincarnated aquarist

Hey guys,


I have not been very active on this forum for the past 6 months since I sold my tank when I moved into my new place. I guess it's mostly because when I saw all the beautiful aquariums on here, I wanted to kick myself in the head. But by some divine miracle my brother in law has grown tired of his tank, and after some bartering I have managed to make him a deal. Now, it's not as big as my previous tank, but at least it won't make my tiny flat look cluttered and I'll be able to keep my beloved eels again!

So, reintroducing SHiBBY, master of DIY. With my newly fully outfitted garage you can bet I'll be customising the cr@p out of this new tank!

Stay tuned!

 

Nice - glad you are back .. you do know that you need to post loads of pics ... we seems to be short on pics these days.

 

Well, take a look at my profile. I have loads of pics, as well as the construction/repair shots of the tank I'm landing!

And yes, I have a soft spot for spiny eels... they are like little water dogs!

 

Welcome back Martin!!! Remember,I'm just round the corner if you need any help....

 

Welcome back Martin!
It's nice to have an "old" hand back!
+1 for you...

 

Thanks guys! I hope that I can just pick up where I left off.

And Ill be sure to give you a shout Mr. Knowles!

 

welcome!!!! glad to have you back !

 

I thought I'd throw in a few of my old pics, for those who don't know what I used to have before...

This was my sump for my 4ft tank. Together with my UV steriliser, it could run for 2-3 weeks with hardly any fluctuation in water parameters. Solid as a rock!



Here is a shot of the tank from the ons side to the other; an attempt to capture the clarity of the water. It was truly crystal clear.

 

Awesome sump! You had a Deep Sand bed in there? Very interesting. There are a whole bunch of theories as to why a DSB is not very effective in a small size, but clearly yours was working like a bomb. I am very interested in the idea of a DSB with fresh water. I think the Anaerobic bacteria are more beneficial to our tanks than normal Aerobic bacteria, but they all have their place.

 

Well, although the effectiveness of a DSB in a tropical tank is still highly debatable, the pictured sump was HIGHLY effective. Whether part of this can be written down to the contribution of the DSB was never established.

I'm getting my new 180l this coming weekend. No doubt it will be at least 2 months before it will see any water, as I need to redesign the plumbing, get another UV steriliser from China, replace the rear glass panel, remove the unreliable syphon overflow and replace it with a decent one, as well as implement my new ninja inlet which should create a nice surface flow directing debris toward the overflow without disturbing the water surface. Don't worry, I know the surface is supposed to be agitated, but this wil be achieved by a secondary pump on a timer... I'll draw some pictures.

 

@SHiBBY, welcome back to TASA, really missed your inputs and ideas. Eager to see what you are planning to do with your 180l baby!!!!

 

Yes, "baby" indeed compared to what I used to have. It's so much easier keeping a large volume of water stable. I'm dropping to about half the volume I used to have, but this one is in a display case to it's a bit easier on the eye...

Tharr she blows! That's what it looks like...

This sump will require a complete replacement. It's in very good shape, albeit not very good size. The 11th commandment: "Thou shalt over-filter thine aquarium"

That's what it looked like before it was emptied, being prepped for transport from Centurion to Waverley, Pretoria.

 

Hidden Agendas

It seems that my hidden agenda x-ray vision malfunctioned temporarily... My brother in law decided to (very discreetly) list his tank on BOB instead, and obviously sold it...

So no tank for SHiBBY

 

Uber sux Dude....

 

Yes indeed... I broke my golden rule of not getting excited over stuff that wasn't written in stone, and it bit me in the hind again...

But fear ye not, for cometh hell or high waters, I will get another suitable tank!

 

@SHiBBY - Well,with your love of customizing stuff...you now have a prime opertunity to "pimp this build" to hell and gone.... Remember,I'm just around the corner if you want to hash out some ideas....

 

Thanks man! As soon as I have some cash lying around, I'll meet you at Brewers for a beer and we can discuss what would suit my new place...

 

Sorry for digging up old cows, but I just thought I'd share the following as it's still really in context with this thread:

I have moved down to Cape Town since my last post, and now reside not very far from Gert

It's been almost two years, but...



Tadaa! Built that hood myself out of marine ply! This one is about two weeks from seeing water!