Aquarium support / storage

[miles_hot]

[matt]

Kribensis in particular are usually ok if you limit it to a male and female (or more females to males and you're prepared to take out the females that don't pair with the male if they become a persistent target). They can be a little spikey but tend to direct it at other cichlids. Even then they chase a little and then just stop and carry on about their busines. By comparison to, Angelfish (another cichlid and often touted community fish) they are less grumpy. I also have Keyhole cichlids in the same tank and other community fish. The Keyholes are even less grumpy than the Kribensis. By contrast... many other cichlids are NOT suitable for community tanks.

Personally I've found that a little, well balanced, territorialism is a good thing for a tank.

[miles_hot]

[rocksteadyeddy]

Just a note but i've just had a quick browse through the post and should mention you only need foam under the tank if its flat bottomed which will be the case if its a custom size but if its of the shelf tank then it will probably have a trim round the bottom the tank sits on ( a floating base ) in which case the foam can cause problems.
Being a new member and a relative novice to woodwork nice to find a post I may have some incite into having worked in the aquarium trade for 10 years or so, its nice to feel useful!

If it helps, your plans look more than strong enough to me having seen some of the ridiculously flimsy looking stand companies sell with there aquariums I would say yours will easily take the weight. If you can I would definitely stick clear of mdf though.

Hope some help, mad me feel better! good luck!

[miles_hot]

[matt]

You don't normally need a foam/polystyrene layer with a framed tank because the glass base is lifted off the cabinet surface by the frame. If, however, the glass base is in contact with the surface then the foam/polystyrene ensures the base is not subject to any undulations in the surface which set up stresses in the glass and usually cause it to crack - sometimes months of even years later.

[rocksteadyeddy]

Sorry, in answer to your question, yes with a custom made tank you will need to use foam, or polystyrene. It is unlikely it will come with a tray (as before mentioned - floating base - the whole tank sits on a plastic trim all the way round keeping it floating by 8-10mm of the top of your unit) If you haven't had the tank made yet ask them for the base to be made double thickness if they don't as standard that way you shouldn't have any problems at all.
I was thinking afterwards my tank is approx 60-70 gal and the unit thats been sat on for the past 5 years is really only three box section columns made from (I know what I said! ) 16mm MDF witch are about 16" x 4", with a piece of 16mm ply sat on top! id post a picture but the tank looks a state and what can I say..... I'm embarrassed!!

Oh and I meant to say "you better start stocking up on algae pads now!!" Or you could go marine they like the sunlight but you would probably need a chiller unit.

Keep up the good work!

[miles_hot]

Update

The ply turned up today - excellent speed of service from Lathams as well as very patient with my questions. The 18mm oak both sides ply looks lovely - I'm already sorting out which bit will go on the top surface

I have some concerns about the 12mm and 6mm which I hope you can help with:

1) the 12mm ply (oak on one face and balancing veneer on the other) has what seem to me to be pretty big patches on the back - 2 very obvious ones being 15"x5" and 28"x9". They're not an especially good match to the surrounding area and seem to have staining from the tape I assume was used to hold them in place


2) the 6mm sheet appears pretty bent - when I propped it gently against an 18mm sheet of MDF it touched at either end of the 8' run but was nearly 3" off the MDF in the middle. It also sort of popped into and out of position as the side which was on the floor moved around.


My questions are:
Assuming that the 12mm board is actually a BB grade (Shaun rang me up on Monday to confirm the order and I thought he said it was a B grade however it is entirely possible he actually said BB) is that sort of size patch normal? If so how the hell do I deal with it and allow my draw sides to look OK (assuming I can't avoid at least some of the patches - which I don't think I've got a hope of doing

Is the degree of warping in the 6mm normal and if so how do I deal with it? If not I assume I just ask them to collect it and bring me a better bit?

Many thanks

Miles

[big soft moose]

on the second - that degree of warping is regretably common but it doesnt mean its acceptable - they contracted to supply you with undamaged goodsand you should definitely ask for a replacement.

with the former - if you are making drawsides can you work arround the patch so that it is in the "waste" ? - failing that i'd return that as well and ask for a better grade
_________________
money talks, and thats no lie
I heard it once, it said goodbye !

[miles_hot]

OK - long over due progress is being made now

I screwed some oak to a gash bit of ply from a previous project and attempted to route it off flush.

As I only have the fixing screws that allow me to attach the router to the metal base for use in a router table I am rather constrained to rather thin material for the based of the trimmer jig - in this case 4mm handboard. To stiffen things up I screwed a oak 1cm x1cm strip:

I initially made the cut out far to small and had trouble getting onto the edging strip:

However having widened that it sort of worked in that the edge was nice and flush with the edge of the ply but because I could feel it slightly bouncing it left marks on the edge:

I need to invest in longer screws - anyone know if the axminster kitcontains the longer screws I need to attach to the dewalt as I am a little unsure what size screws it is using?

more updates after my last day with the current client (and a lack of role to go to - anyone need a really good project planner / manager?) will mean that progress should be swift now

Miles

[big soft moose]

what you need mate is a router table - i'll bring that top over in the next few days but you'll still need a phenolic plate
_________________
money talks, and thats no lie
I heard it once, it said goodbye !

[Chems]

When you said Dewalt did you mean the Triton? Cause if you did I fix the triton to my table and have done for over 2 years with the supplied quick release bolts which are just M6 bolts if I remember correctly.

A bit of sanding should bring out those "bounce" marks if your careful. Don't worry about the bending of the 6mm stuff, it will be fine once you put it in the drawer bottoms.

[big soft moose]

[Chems]

That was weird I thought the picture was a triton when I looked at it. Never mind me!

[miles_hot]