# want info on DIY fish keeping to write a book durning down time



## ni317 (Jan 18, 2005)

I found out today I will be haveing back sugery in June right after I move in to my new house if plans keep going as they are .Well being that I will be stuck to doing nothing for at least 2 months.I still want to do something with fish sence any work will be left up to my helper and boyfriend.I am trying to get a laptop that has a larger hard drive and more ram as the one I browwed from my brother last winter stunk big time with getting on line or well much of anything really.
If you want to add info this is what I need 

Your Idea typed out best you can with detales 
First name so I can make sure you are the one listed for the idea 
City and state and if out of US Countey 
if you have a web site I will put it with you Idea and location 
I will look at evey site thats listed to make sure it safe for young fish keepers if its not I will toss your Idea out I want my 6 year old and 4 year old to be able to pick up the book when older and not have to explane why or what is on that site 
If you can add pics with you idea it will be a great help

I know fish keeping can cost a lot and I want to do this to more aless help others 
I am going to try to keep it small like 200 pages typed and paper backed to book to keep down costs it own not be worth it to make a huge book and hardback for someone trying to save $$$ fish keeping 

I will do my best to keep everyone who adds to the book up dated if you want to e mail your Idea pm me for my e mail address my e mail has a high spam block on it so a lot gets kicked out so if it takes a bit of time for me get back to ya please understand I have a spam box but get 1000 emails to it a day 
I hope this can be fun for everyone who adds to this and help everyone be able to afford to keep fish Diana


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## atltk (Feb 16, 2005)

From my previous post in the Discus section: pics can be sent if ya like

My DIY Discus Tank Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:05 am 
Download Post 


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I only recommend this for people with waayyyy too much time on their hands. If I had known how extensive a project it would have been, I might have reconsidered. First I completely cleaned out a 75 gal and cut large pieces of styrofoam to cover the back (in thirds). These were the base pieces. I went to a local crafts store and picked up a lot of odd-shaped pieces of styrofoam (this was the most expensive part, but even as such, was not too bad). Using silicone, I glued the pieces together and then went to town with an acetelyne (sp?) torch and a knife. After shaping the styrofoam the closest I could to what I was thinking in my mind, the process began of "painting" thin layers of cement on. I must have done about 10 coats, giving each one a day or two to dry (the last few coats I added different shades of cement coloring for variety). I HEAVILY siliconed the 3 pieces to the back of the tank and let that sit for about a week. For substrate, I used a thin layer of clay, a layer of a 1:5 mixture of peat moss to potting soil (additive/chemical free for everything is very important for discus), and finallly a layer of pebbles. The worst part about everything was sitting there for two months watching a tank cycle and not being able to put anything in. So after that period, I began planting, and about 6-7 months later I added the first discus. I now have a happy family of discus that love to explore and hide around the caves, plants and other weird miscellaneous things I added.


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