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A Home For Archimedes


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#1 tunagirll

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Posted 27 July 2014 - 11:42 AM

In the one or two *cough* times I've been past Aquotix to pick up gear for my one or two *cough* tanks, I kept cruising past this fella and ultimately I just couldn't resist making him the latest member of the family :)

 

So I picked up a nice secondhand 3x2x2 and set it up. Since the original Archimedes was Greek and I couldn't put live plants in, I went with a Grecian theme for the tank - well for as long as he leaves it looking like that! :D

 

So here is the tank in place, cleaned and water tested etc. It's in the office, so Archie will keep me company while I study my geology :) It's been sitting there a few weeks, since I had to focus on getting my mum's community tank up and running properly - discus (enough said).

 

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The all important background - found a fab picture of some old Grecian ruins that looked like it would fit in with an aquarium look nicely. I've posterised it, printed and cut and pasted it onto cardboard for a mockup. If it comes up great, then I'll have it printed as a proper poster at Snap. You can posterise any image, there are plenty of freeware apps that will do it for you if your printer doesn't have a poster mode. It just needs to be a high enough quality that it prints out looking okay.

 

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Mockup done, trimmed and taped onto the back. Looks promising!

 

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Appropriated mum's cache of lovely flat white rocks - plagioclase with a little biotite here and there. geology finding practical use :) Mixed some white/cream gravel with a few handfuls of natural to give it some texture and a lived-in look.

 

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Add lots of fake plants. A few 6" combos in the front, and I found some little plants that matched the flowering plants in the background to help make a 'transition' from image to tank. Last but not least, a mat of fake grass, cut into various shapes and sections and wedged into nooks and crannies.

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A quick stop to connect the very large filter and fittings. The heater is on the side of the tank so the background isn't obscured.

Time to fill up!

 

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The next morning :)

 

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The tank reeked since I didn't clean the hoses while it sat there a couple of days, so hopefully tomorrow it will clear up, otherwise I'll have to clean them and go again! Put in a few floating plants to help break up the light so it's not too bright in the tank between the new light and the white gravel. Put in about 2ppm ammonia to check that the (cycled) filter is still okay after a few days sitting. With any luck it will be showing fully cycled in the new day and I'll be ready to bring Archimedes home :)



#2 Mattymak

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Posted 27 July 2014 - 12:43 PM

Nice :) well done!

#3 tunagirll

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Posted 27 July 2014 - 01:28 PM

Thank you! Really excited with this tank setup. Now I'm just looking for some greek pottery/vase miniatures from around that time period to seal and pop in to help finish decorating the tank.



#4 tunagirll

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Posted 28 July 2014 - 09:16 AM

So I rushed to the tank like it was Christmas morning, but alas the ammonia was still 1ppm - it's being processed but Archimedes won't be moving in today! At least the funky smell is gone :)

 

In the meantime I've been cruising through ebay looking for antique grecian vase reproductions to put into the tank. I'm currently researching the best way to seal them for the aquarium.

 

I'm also keeping an eye out for a decent size chunk of grecian-style column to put into the tank as 'rubble' but that's proving to be a nightmare, since whole plinths are pretty expensive to demolish just for column pieces - and there's the material they are made from as well to consider.

 

I also will have the background picture printed and laminated for the back. The thick glass notably dulled down the image so I am going to see if they can print it vividly so that it has more impact.

 

I'm also concerned that the tank is going to be too bright, and just looking into a few options to take the edge off - the floating plants help a little, but not enough for my taste.



#5 sajica

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Posted 28 July 2014 - 09:21 AM

Silva, a few coats of clear pond sealer will do the trick to seal ceramics and rocks. The tank looks great and I know he's going to love it.



#6 tunagirll

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Posted 28 July 2014 - 09:46 AM

Silva, a few coats of clear pond sealer will do the trick to seal ceramics and rocks. The tank looks great and I know he's going to love it.

 

That's fantastic thank you sajica :) Any idea of what brand or where to get it from?

 

I like my pets to have a nice environment, he will have lots of things to play/push around/destroy if he gets bored.


Edited by tunagirll, 28 July 2014 - 09:48 AM.


#7 Mattymak

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Posted 28 July 2014 - 10:06 AM

I like my pets to have the best homes too :)!
Well done with this, so far so good! Looks great

#8 tunagirll

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Posted 30 July 2014 - 01:01 PM

Archimedes is in his new home :)

 

Picked him up yesterday and the Aquotix staff as always charmed me with many warnings to make sure I look after him and don't overfeed etc etc so with promises of photos once he's settled in I was out the door with our new family member.

 

He settled in almost immediately and already with a day gone past, he's starting to colour up (was on hold in a darker tank). He seems very happy with his new digs and is spending his time patrolling the tank, doing somersaults and attacking various items of offence (mainly the floating plants). He's also already begging for food every time I come past; I can tell it's going to be a nightmare resisting the urge to give him a pellet every time he makes sad faces.



#9 Mattymak

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Posted 30 July 2014 - 01:56 PM

I feed my fish like yours A LOT lol dont think i can overfeed him, glad he is home now!

They tend to settle in pretty quick these guys :D

 

Pics  pics pics!



#10 Shane-o88

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Posted 30 July 2014 - 06:27 PM

Yeah I feed mine heaps too they eat lots, look forward to more pics. Good looking fish

#11 Michael the fish fanatic

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Posted 30 July 2014 - 07:59 PM

+ 1 for pics,

#12 tunagirll

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Posted 30 July 2014 - 08:38 PM

I'll have to charge up the proper camera and take some decent pics instead of using the crappy iphone one



#13 Michael the fish fanatic

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Posted 30 July 2014 - 08:54 PM

Cool

#14 Sarrixx

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Posted 03 August 2014 - 08:31 PM

any update photos?? nice fish



#15 tunagirll

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Posted 03 August 2014 - 09:16 PM

I'll have them just snowed under, have a horse in surgery tomorrow so pretty distracted ATM

#16 malawiman85

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Posted 04 August 2014 - 09:41 PM

Hows the horse?

#17 tunagirll

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Posted 05 August 2014 - 07:14 AM

Hows the horse?

 

On the road to recovery, thank you so much for asking :) Went and gave him cuddles after work so I was late feeding the aquatic kids at home! $5k would have bought something nice....!



#18 malawiman85

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Posted 05 August 2014 - 10:57 AM

5k... Ouch.



#19 Redevilz

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Posted 05 August 2014 - 11:01 AM

Sorry to hear Tunagirl. I hope your horse has a speedy recovery :)


Edited by werdna, 09 August 2014 - 08:53 AM.
Cleaned thread as per T&Cs - Werdna


#20 tunagirll

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Posted 09 August 2014 - 02:31 PM

Apparently I'm not allowed to share my new pet with you, sorry guys.






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