Clearseal 500 litre Aquariam-Do I need a mat?

paddy147

Just taken delievery of a new Clearseal 500 litre Aquariam.

The pet store says that there is no need for a mat between the tank and cabinet,but theres a sticker on the tank from Clearseal themselves,which states that a mat must be used with the tank.

So whos right and whos wrong then?

And what is best for using as a mat and where can I get 1?

Many thanks.:)

cichlid child

You are better of putting a layer of styrofoam between the tank and the cabinet as it evens out any imperfections that the cabinet may have and leaves the tank sitting level.

paddy147

cichlid child wrote: »

You are better of putting a layer of styrofoam between the tank and the cabinet as it evens out ant imperfections that the cabinet may have and leaves the tank sitting level.

Thanks,can you tell me where I can get a length or roll of it?

The pet store where I got the tank,had no tank mats left in stock,when I asked them for 1 earlier on this afternoon.

Another customer,in the pet store, said that Chadwicks builders providers have loads of it in stock,as he got stuff for his tanks off them before.

mcdoogle

B&Q do some sort of a styrofoam roofing (?) tile that's bout 25cm x 25cm, I got some of these for my tank and they worked well, they're bout 5-8mm thick. If you stick a layer of these between the tank and cabinet it will as the previous poster said help level out any irregularities in the cabinet. I think it costs bout €14 for the pack.

cichlid child

Yes buy it in woodies,atlantic homecare or B&Q Do not buy a mat in your petshop it will cost a packet.

paddy147

cichlid child wrote: »

Yes buy it in woodies,atlantic homecare or B&Q Do not buy a mat in your petshop it will cost a packet.

Tried BnQ in Airside,but they were out of the stuff.

Just spoke to my girlfriend whos the fish keeping expert (I only know how to catch them from a beach on a rod and line) and she says that Woodies in Coolock and Finglas have the exact stuff.

Id say that you are right indeed,as in it costing a fortune in a pet store.

Woodies her I come so.:)

godtabh

paddy147 wrote: »

Just spoke to my girlfriend whos the fish keeping expert

Not many of them around! Lucky you I'm barley allowed to have a tank

paddy147

godtabh wrote: »

Not many of them around! Lucky you I'm barley allowed to have a tank

Shes big into landscaping,garden design,gardening,allotments,also the fish keeping thing and shes into pets too.

She has several tanks in her house,so I decided to get a tank for my house.:)

paddy147

BnQ and Woodies didnt have anything in stock.

I got 3 sheets of 1/2 inch thick by 4 feet long/2 feet wide polystyrene sheet from Newtown Building Supplies for a mere 2 euro.

I presume that this will do the job perfectly?

Hope so.:)

cichlid child

yep that will do the job.
Goodluck with it she is going to love you...Another tank for her to play with.:)

paddy147

cichlid child wrote: »

yep that will do the job.
Goodluck with it she is going to love you...Another tank for her to play with.:)

So the 1/2 inch thick stuff will be ok to use under a filled up 500 litre tank then??






Shes going mad to get it setup,but she knows that she has to take her time setting it up.

She says that the tank should be slowly filled with water over several days and small amounts of water at a time too.

Is this correct?

The tank is 500 litres,so how much water should I put into it at a time and how many fills should I do,to fill the tank up over a week long period?


Thanks.:)

godtabh

It's gona take a long time tonfill that up. For a first time fishnkeeper it's an ambitious project!

paddy147

godtabh wrote: »

It's gona take a long time tonfill that up. For a first time fishnkeeper it's an ambitious project!

I wont be keeping it or maintaining it,my girlfriend will be looking after it.:)

But she will show me,over time,what to do and how to do it.


Im looking forward to looking at it at night time,and the fish flying around in it,with the room lights off and just chiling out with some music or the tv on.

Silverfish

How would you do a weekly water change on something like that as a matter of interest, as I eye up the 8 foot alcove in my sitting room?

paddy147

Silverfish wrote: »

How would you do a weekly water change on something like that as a matter of interest, as I eye up the 8 foot alcove in my sitting room?

Hand operated or else electric pump operated syphon pump kit for water/fliud transfer.

Can be got in most pet shops,or any motor factors.:)


Old water being taken out of tank,goes into a garden hose (connected up to syphon pump kit with a plastic connector) and the other end of the garden hose goes out the kitchen french doors to the drain.

No mess and no fuss.

Simples.:)

P.S-The internal wall where the tank is,in my house,is 8 feet long,from wall corner out to edge of door frame.

paddy147

The entire Clearseal Aquariam setup,including external pump,filter,heaters,T5 lights,sand,rocks,wood,chemicals,temp sensors was bought out in Petstops newly opened shop in Airside Retail Park in Swords.

Got a brilliant deal on it after doing some friendly chatting and bartering on it.:)

Silverfish

Great stuff.

I was eyeing up a 1000L aquarium but it's going down like a lead balloon here, so that's one less problem with it.

Limerick Bandit

paddy147 wrote: »

Shes going mad to get it setup,but she knows that she has to take her time setting it up.

She says that the tank should be slowly filled with water over several days and small amounts of water at a time too.

Is this correct?

The tank is 500 litres,so how much water should I put into it at a time and how many fills should I do,to fill the tank up over a week long period?


Thanks.:)

Just fill it up!

Add some fish food to get the cycle started, you need to get some dirt in there to get it going

paddy147

Silverfish wrote: »

Great stuff.

I was eyeing up a 1000L aquarium but it's going down like a lead balloon here, so that's one less problem with it.

Trust me when I say this,the 500 litre tank is quite imposing and does make an 8 foot long wall look like nothing.Basicly the wall disappears.

My girlfriend would actually love an 800-1000 litre tank,but she and I have to be realistic and practical about it and the house layout.
The tank I got is made for the corner of the room where it is.

Also things like the floor stability would come into question with regards large tanks and flooring material and load bearings on any floor.Big tanks and displacements could and would potentially need floor reinforcement in order to hold the load bearing and impact weight on it.

I know that much from being in the construction industry myself.

cichlid child

Paddy I am unsure why she said only fill it a bit everyday?maybe to see if there is any leaks in it.
I would fill it so the water is about 2 inchs from the bottom leave it for an hour check to see if there is any leaks ..if not fill the whole aqurium.
It is better to put your rock work and gravel/sand in place and then your water.
As regards water changes as someone else metioned a pump and hose that would reach your sink is all you need.If you need a squeeze of filter dirt to kick start your aquarium pm me.

paddy147

cichlid child wrote: »

Paddy I am unsure why she said only fill it a bit everyday?maybe to see if there is any leaks in it.
I would fill it so the water is about 2 inchs from the bottom leave it for an hour check to see if there is any leaks ..if not fill the whole aqurium.
It is better to put your rock work and gravel/sand in place and then your water.
As regards water changes as someone else metioned a pump and hose that would reach your sink is all you need.If you need a squeeze of filter dirt to kick start your aquarium pm me.

Thanks for your help and advice.

I,ll keep you posted on how things go.:)

paddy147

Finally started getting this tank setup today.Got a specific rubber mat for the tank.

Started to get it set up this morning and afternoon.

All credit to my girlfriend and daughter for getting it started and set up,as they are the fish keeping experts,not me,Im just the money man..:)

Cookie_Monster

you mentioned in the other thread you're about to get a whole load of tetra and angels, don't forget to cycle it first.

And don't introduce loads of fish at once of you may overwhelm the filter bacteria and stress you fish (or even kill them)

paddy147

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

you mentioned in the other thread you're about to get a whole load of tetra and angels, don't forget to cycle it first.

And don't introduce loads of fish at once of you may overwhelm the filter bacteria and stress you fish (or even kill them)

Thanks for the advice.My girlfriend is setting it up,as shes the expert,and not me.Im just the money man.:pac:

The tank will be drained and refilled twice now,before any plants or any fish are put into it.
My girlfriend placed in a 1 inch layer of washed soil,then an inch layer of some special soil feed,then another 1 inch layer of soil,and then she placed in 2 layers of washed aquariam sand along the front,where the bog oak is going to sit,all the back and sides will be planted up with different plants and there will also be a digital CO2 filter kit installed too.

Iam going to be learning how to look after this aquariam from her and my daughter,as they know alot more than i do.

They are used to keeping fish and are into koi carp too.

Cookie_Monster

Sounds fairly comprehensive so

Make sure you keep up the photos :P

paddy147

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Sounds fairly comprehensive so

Make sure you keep up the photos :P

I,ll deffo keep up with the pics.:)


Every little bit of advice helps though,thats how we all learn new things and if you dont ask,sure you wont know.;)

So thanks to all who have given me advice,and helped me on this forum,and its all good advice so far too.:D

paddy147

Making progress today.

Went back out to Petstop in Swords and changed the T5 lights for longer more powerfull T5s.Also got some more bog oak and letting it soak for a week in a bucket of fresh water to get rid of the tannins.

Silverfish

You can't see me right now, so I can only assure you I am green with envy

paddy147

Silverfish wrote: »

You can't see me right now, so I can only assure you I am green with envy

I got pushed out of the way and my girlfriend and daughter decided to take over and set it all up.I was left holding the camera.;)

Im not complaining though,as I wouldnt have a bloody clue where to begin.:eek:

Going to collect the digital CO2 kit and light reflectors at the weekend,and then sometime next week start to introduce some plants and the bog oak,once its cleared/purged out all the tannin and impurities in it.

Cookie_Monster

Make sure you soak the wood in boiling water to kill any snails and nasty stuff that may be living / dormant on it.

Also a good idea to rinse plants to remove snail eggs.Once they're in there you're stuck with them
There's some chemical that you can dip the plants in and then rinse them off, short term exposure does not damage them, but I cannot remember the name.


One more word of advice, the last guy I was talking to re plants in a shop suggested treating them exactly the same as animal re acclimatisation, in the bag floating and introduce water. Reduces any potential shock to the plants system, though not sure how important it really is. I'll be doing it from now on but on have very limited number of plants, a tank that size with lots and lots is a different story.

paddy147

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Make sure you soak the wood in boiling water to kill any snails and nasty stuff that may be living / dormant on it.

Also a good idea to rinse plants to remove snail eggs.Once they're in there you're stuck with them
There's some chemical that you can dip the plants in and then rinse them off, short term exposure does not damage them, but I cannot remember the name.


One more word of advice, the last guy I was talking to re plants in a shop suggested treating them exactly the same as animal re acclimatisation, in the bag floating and introduce water. Reduces any potential shock to the plants system, though not sure how important it really is. I'll be doing it from now on but on have very limited number of plants, a tank that size with lots and lots is a different story.

All 4 gas rings in my girlfriends house and also my house are lit up and we have the bog oak boiling away as best we can,cant find a big enough pot,thats the problem (lol).This should make the bok oak cleaner and get rid of any inpurities and also this will make it sink to the bottom completely.

I also bought some flat slate rock from a pet store this morning,so I will drill them with a 5mm masonary bit and then use stainless screws to screw into the base of the dead wood too,so that they will not float.Or I will just use clear aquariam sealent to fix the slate to the dead wood.

We are planting up next week and Im about to order a nice digital CO2 kit so the tank will be left with the plants and CO2 kit in it for a month to let them establish themselves,after a month,we will introduce some small fish,but only a few at a time.


Im just waiting for 2 different aquariam shops to get back to me with their best prices for the digital CO2 kit.;)

Picture time.