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So most people would know me more for bettas, and the shrimp club, but i rather fancy some endler guppies. We have a few strains currently, and Maddie is hoping to get even more strains soon. Gold Leopard, but recently found out it is actually gold tiger as it is stripped rather than spotted on the body. Japanese Blue Neon Tuxedo Pink Platinum (really really poor photo)

this is one of my nice blues from the carbon rillis really like the colour hope the link works http://s1301.photobucket.com/user/Paul_Minett/library/skf/blue%20carbon%20rilli

Nice job! I used the same racks from bunnos. I also added black melamine as cladding. (Had bunnos cut the sheets and just bolted them to the racks, it adds that finishing touch to the project and the melamine is not that expensive and comes in diff finishes)

A small teaser and update. Finally I will have something substantial to show you guys (and gals) and will show ASAP. This has been a long time in the making and has been a work of patience and frustration. I don't think you will be disappointed ;)

Actually, not counting this time! More girls have berried! Moved the bb an reds to their own tank now, berried mummas now in their own nursery tank, and all the blacks in their own tank! Now just enjoying staring each day!! But yeah 17 sleeps to go!!

Worked it out :) just can't see Exact scores lol

Ok, here is my entry. It's not as fictitious as you might think. I have had these ideas for a very long time. But as you will see, only funds have been holding me back. JayC. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My ideal display for fish or shrimp tanks isn’t as common as the rack system. A 4 tiered, 3 tanks wide rack (and repeated) is common sight in the Local Fish Shop. This system of displaying livestock is great … on a limited budget and with space restrictions. Gone are the days where your Local Fish Shop’s display layout is considered the height of style. C’mon, let’s admit it. The system of displaying fish, tanks, and goods in your LFS has not changed since … 1978, or even earlier? The way forward for display is to start thinking about being more “showroomâ€. I am sure you know what I mean by that, too. Rather than being another room that mimics your LFS, if expenses were not an issue, then why are we replicating the fashion sense of a LFS who have not change their interior decorating habits since the 70s? Let’s go out on a limb henceforth and think of the possibilities. I won’t be focussing on what is going in the tank, we can all dream up the most exotic shrimps (Sulawesi) or fish that will go in these tanks, rather where and how the tank itself will be displayed. Since a rack system is used as a display unit in the traditional LFS, so here begins the journey of the modern aquatic showroom and how it should/will be. Though I call it a showroom, it will still be my personal display but is open to anyone wanting to view and buy. Let’s start with the location. We are looking for a special location that … no matter what the temperature of weather is doing outside, it is going to vary by no more than 1 degree. I’m looking for a location that I can control lighting a 100%, no influences from light sources from the Sun causing unwanted algae growth. Right now, you’re thinking … “What??!!!â€. The answer … underground. With that unlimited funding, we are going to look for the ideal location underground. It could be an abandoned underground tunnel/subway. An ex-nuclear missile silo. A secret WWII bunker. Might even be the underground car park of an old building somewhere. Whatever it is. Ideally floor space will be around 30m x 200m. Here is a picture of my ideal location for you to visualise. The cavernous floor space is fitted with warm white flood lighting for a boutique ambience and a few (only a few) colourful mood lights. Lighting in an underground location will play an important role, not only will it provide the light needed to function and work in, but it will set the mood and ambience for viewing and relaxing in, as well as the occasional party. The entire 6000SqM area is climate and humidity controlled. Being underground, keeping tanks to a chilly 22-23deg C is not going to be an issue. Temperatures will fluctuate very little this far underground. There will be no mountainous levels of racks in this converted tunnel/warehouse, where the topmost tanks are near impossible to see unless you are a giant. And where you’d break your back trying to view the bottom most levels of tanks. No. Instead imagine individual Opticlear crystal glass tanks between 2-4 ft in length lining the side walls of this warehouse. Each tank is its own central focal point. No competition between the tank above or the tank below. Like viewing art in an art gallery. The wall (canvas) … But with tanks like these along it’s breadth (the art). Imagine a similar amount of tanks on the opposite wall. Maybe something like this… Along the rear end wall of this sublime underground location, is going to be a massive 20m (w) x 5m (d) x 3m (h) pool, um I mean tank. I’m going to borrow an image from the old ‘scape fu himself … but imagine the tank bigger … with the dimensions above. Plumbing: Plumbing for all tanks will be custom made and installed along the walls, and behind the tanks. Each individual tank (except the giant tank) will have two canister filters, running to … not hoses, but stainless steel pipes and ending in glass inflow or outflows. Each individual tank will also have a separate lighting system, hanging from the ceiling of this exquisite location. Each tank’s lighting system will suit the contents of the tank, from marine to freshwater. Lighting will mimic locations from Atlantic to Amazon. And the overall lighting system will be controlled by a state of the art computer system (water cooled of course). Each tank is fitted with an automated water top up system, including drainage. The water changes can be performed via the plumbing running along the walls. That top up system will monitor and fill tanks from a preselected water source. Multiple storage tanks will be stored in this location with the varying parameters each tank inhabitant needs. We are not just talking about old plastic storage tanks either. Instead stainless steel, brewery grade tanks will be used. Tired from all the maintenance and viewing of the tanks? Along the left side of the tunnel walls, is a rest area. Complete with soft leather sofa equipped with a large screen TV, and a desk and computer (to check into SKF of course). No. Your eyes are not playing tricks on you. That McLaren P1 really is parked inside. I think it adds to the quintessence of the boutique showroom. Also bought with those unlimited funds. Can’t leave the baby outside, when the shrimps and fish are toasty underground. An additional artists impression of the overall floor space. The display cabinet: Another area of improvement and bringing the artistic display of the tank to the 21st century … is the display cabinet itself. Ye ole aquarium cabinet … let’s take a look at some examples. Takashi Amano did well to improve on the looks. Nonetheless, let’s take it one step further with an improvement on the looks and the function. Let’s start with the base of the cabinet. Each unit will be 30cm, and more are joined together to form 60cm, 90cm, 120cm, etc. length cabinet bases. There will be options for 80cm base units as well for those large tanks. You will note that each traditional aquarium cabinet in the pictures above has the age old cabinet doors opening to shelves inside, or in the case of the last two – no doors. Functionality of the old cabinets can be summarised as follows: Open the cabinet door and stick your arm in, in order to reach what you need. Visibility is difficult especially if that item you are reaching for is at the back. If your filter canister is in the cabinet, you have to bend, stretch and contort to work on the canister. It might be only slightly better with a stand that has no doors, but then the mess is open for all to see, detracting from the beauty of the tank itself. My design is nothing new. I did not invent the “wheel†so the say; I’m just putting the “wheel†to better use. The answer to the base cabinet is … one with drawers. Ah it’s so simple. I drew inspiration from my own experiences with my kitchen cabinets. We went from the traditional cupboards & shelves to ones with soft close drawers. Why the heck aren’t we using this for aquarium cabinets?! It’s not going to be cheap, but hey, someone said ‘don’t let money get in the way of this competition’. Top drawer stores your accessories, fish food, water conditioners, tools, spare parts, you name it. Bottom drawer stores your filter canister, sump tank, inline heaters, CO2 tank, etc. Need to work on the filter to rinse old filter media? Need to pull out the CO2 tank for refill? No worries, pull the bottom drawer right out and work on the filter or CO2 tank; out in the open. No more reaching under a cramped small hole that is your old aquarium cabinet. As it’s a drawer, the filter is now completely pulled out and you will have easy access to unclip hoses or connectors. The only caution is to allow for the extra piping length for the drawer travel distance. You will have the option to customise the colour, texture, and looks of the base cabinet by selecting various designs. You can even pick wood grain door and drawer panels if you want to go old school. All drawers are fitted with soft close hinges. Mmm, soft close hinges and drawers. No longer will your fish be startled as you accidentally slam those doors close. Number of drawers can also be customised, within reason. The cabinet top can be outfitted with a choice of wood, stone, laminate or man-made stones like Caesar at the user’s taste and décor preference. The height of the legs is customisable too. In fact, legs on the base cabinet is optional and only needed if height needs to be adjusted. Units that need to be portable for display in various locations can be fitted with castor wheels. Stylish castor wheels that will complement the overall look of your cabinet. Imagine being able to move your tank like the rest of your furniture. The rear of these cabinets will have enough openings to allow for various cables and piping in/out of the bottom drawer. All drawers are equipped with LED lights that light up when the doors are opened. We now have the location, the [huge] room, the tanks, plumbing system, cooling system, the modernised cabinets and of course, and the car. This is my ideal display showroom and “rackâ€. Welcome to 2014 and the new way of displaying tanks. We’ve come a long way from the Local Fish Shop. I end this tour with another view of the McLaren P1 … just because. And the fact that, we can draw inspiration from its form and function. It embodies the concept of the modern aquatic display room. I leave you to draw your own superlative synonyms between car and modernised aquatic showroom. Thanks for reading.

Il show you her booty :)

Well done.

truly amazing

Have you noticed, how slow the days have been going lately, seem to go on & on .