Hi From Tasmania Australia

Yeah I made that out of styrofoam and pond sealer I hope to gets heaps of growth over it will make it look really natural.

Well, I filled the tank with fresh water to wash off any residue from the pond sealer and silicon. I also installed a pump in the sump. It pumps out 2000lph and the sump works great.

My rock has been in the ocean now for just over 3 weeks so another weeks to go before I collect it.

Looking for a mid june start and go from there. I might add a few little shrimp to get the cycling going and test my levels every few days.

Next step is to set up the protein skimmer and custom make the lids so I dont have any evaporation or very little at all.

See how your temps go with a lid . i add about 1.5lts of fresh water a day in a 360 capacity I found the lids made my temps rise to much when I didnt have a chiller ..I used 100mm computer fans over the sump and DT temps stayed lower and I added about 3lts-4 lts a day back then..

Shrimp,snails, and some mud gets thing going ,Have you got a sand worm pump or yabbie pump..one or 2 foot deep samples work well ,gets the worms etc in..I collect it into zip top bags so placement is easy and doesnt cloud the water as much.

Thats not good news to hear I might have to hold off for a bit longer until I get my chiller. Do you use rain water for your water changes Andy?

I have just read that with having a temperate tank that you get alot of condensation on the tank glass? I was wondering how people cope with this?

How warm do you keep you room temps ?

If your keeping the water at 10-18°C then its not to bad ,colder temps yes its a problem in Summer or a hot winter house..I keep the room at 21°C and I dont have an issue ,if it real cold and the misses turns it up to 26+-°C then I get condensation which I fix with a small fan circulating the air around the tank..I also use thermo shield blinds on the back and sides made from 15mm HDF camping mattress.

thanks for the tip Andy got my pump today and just waiting on the skimmer to arrive the tank is stable at 18c with no chiller at the moment so I hope to start cycling in 3 weeks time and as soon as the chiller arrives I will start stocking the tank fingers crossed my pump does 2000lph and my water volume after rocks etc is roughly 200ltrs so I hope that enough.

Well hows it coming along ?

I ran in to a bit of difficulty as I injured my back at work. So I have had to put the whole thing on hold. Have had several procedures done on my back in the past few months and. It will be at least another year before I can continue on with this project.

I will more than likely sell this tank and make a 4x2x2 insulated plywood tank with double glazzing and have it closser to the ground as my back can not take the height of this current tank.

So its on the back burner at the moment but in 12 months time it will be a reality counting down the days.

Sorry to here about your Injury...My other passion is road racing Motorcycles so Im no stranger to the pain and discomfort of injuries mostly upper back for me and stuffed shoulders.. And my 4x2x2 tank and sump is set up for similar reasons but could do with some improvements.

Good luck and a speedy recovery ..

Sounds like we have very common interests, I have been interested in motorcycles since I was a kid my father use to ride and we would stay up to all hours to watch the moto GP races. Thest race I remember was at Philip Island with Wayne Gardner with him having a cracked fairing and the lead changing so many times. Have not seen a race like that for ages. I am surprised Casey is giving it up but I guess he has made his money and achieved what he set out too. And with kids and a wife why risk getting killed or ending up like Wayne Ranney or that Australian guy that got brain damage. What type of bike did you use to ride.?

As for my back it is healing slowly and I hope to have the tank up and running with in the next 12 months I am going to sell my tank and build a custom tank fully insulated with only a front glass panel and more than likely double glaze it as well. I meet a guy off this forum the other night he was a really nice bloke saw a few pics of his tank and it looks great.

Will keep posting pics of the build as I go

I am back on board again back is still stuffed but hould be starting to cycle my tank in two weeks time. Doing a Tidal pool Biotope at this stage until I get a chiller

How's the tank coming along.. ?