Slate

[Mbuniac]

Does anyone have pictures of, or know where I can find pictures of tanks decorated with slate? I not great a coming up with original ideas, but I'm one heck of a copycat! :D
Thanks, Sam

[Rudy]

Mine is

It is in the gallery


www.cichlidgallery.com


It is not awesome but will give you an idea what it looks like

[Mbuniac]

I think it looks pretty good, and it does give me some ideas. Since you have some experience with slate, maybe you can answer a question for me. I have a hacksaw blade that is like a cable with sharp points on it. It says it will cut masonry, tile, concrete, brick and marble. Do you think it will cut slate or at least score it deeply enough that I can break it off fairly cleanly? Your 180 looks expensive!
Thanks, Sam

[Rudy]

I would take a chisel. Thats what I did. You get about 80% of the cut relatively accurate. Rock is expensive and hard to come by here that is why I use slate. I get it from the local rock decorative items dealer. All the slate you see cost about $20

The 180 is pretty cool. I got it for a good price but a lot of pride went into making it. It is flawless......except for the scratches on the glass but what can you do? The guy used rocks in it before me. Must have scratched on the way out

[Mbuniac]

I talked to a guy at our local glass shop who makes aquariums in his spare time. He told me that if you take a buffing wheel (the kind that mounts on your drill) and use jewlers rouge you can take a lot of the scratches out as long as they're not too deep.
Someone told me on another forum that they make a hand operated polisher that removes some scratches. He said he will let me know when he remembers where he saw it. I am getting a used 125 from my son and I am going to try the buffing wheel on it before I set it up. I'll let you know if I have any luck with the special hacksaw blade. If not I'll try my rock chisel.
Thanks, Sam

[jnorris]

I looked into it it is only for plastic aquaruims. Sorry.

The buffing wheel with rouge is the only solution.

[Mbuniac]

Thanks J,
I'll post the results on my buffing attempts when I get the tank. I bought a piece of slate this morning and I'm gonna try cutting it tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Sam

[Mbuniac]

:D Couldn't wait til tomorrow. I took a straight edge and an awl. I scribed a line across the stone, and kept going over and over it til it was about 1/4" deep or until my awl had no tip left on it (can't remember which came first?) but that's why I have a bench grinder, right? Then I sat it on a 1/4" piece of masonite, lined the scored line up with the edge of the masonite. I held the stone on the masonite down with my knee and popped the other side of the stone down with the heel of my hand. It broke completely straight along the scored line! It always amazes me when I do something right the first time!!!
Sam

[Scotty]

Hey All 8) Been away hiking again this weekend. Trying to get as much in as possible before the weather turns bad :cry: This months (Oct. 2002) FAMA's feature article is about decorating, and stocking African cichlid tanks. It's got pics, diagrams, stocking recommendations and even a chart that shows the adult size, and minimum recommended tank size for lots of Africans. Definitely worth looking at for decorating ideas 8)

[SGypsyMermaid]

hey, nature boy--what is FAMA? sounds vaguely familiar.

[Mbuniac]

Yeah! I want to know what FAMA is too! Whatever it is, you got my attention, I need all the info I can get!

[Scotty]

Sorry about that :oops: Freshwater and Marine Aquarium magazine. It's a tie with Tropical Fish Hobbyist as best fish mag. You can pick one up at any Borders or equivalent bookstore.

Speaking of nature boy. Thanks to my Vet student Fiance', we're getting a behind the scenes tour of the Bronx Zoo this Sunday. Then we're taking off Monday the 28th and going to the Mystic Aquarium. They're going to let us get into the Beluga Whale tank and help feed them!!! :D 8) :D

[SGypsyMermaid]

ohhhhh...ok--i get tropical fish hobbyist and aquarium fish magazine, but i don't subscribe to FAMA. maybe i'll look into that. have fun on your behind-the-scenes tours--sounds like a blast!

[Scotty]

SGM- A big reader, and advanced hobbyist like yourself has to start getting FAMA 8) It's arguably the best mag out there for serious fishkeepers. It's not quite as slick and photography heavy as TFH, but it has more articles, and they're usually longer, and more in depth than TFH.

[SGypsyMermaid]

ok, scott--you've convinced me--i'm gonna look for it! :D