We’ve been hard at work on 3 new prototype designs which we’ll be taking to show the local pet stores within the next couple of weeks…

	Malawi Rock Aquarium Background Tank Size: Standard 3ft (915×325x450mm) Features: Recessed rear cavity suitable for internal powered/sponge filter and submersible heater. Includes caves and plant anchors. Colored in shades of gray to emphasize the colors of the Malawi and Lake cichlid families.
	Tropical Rock Vivarium Background Cage Size: Standard 400 x 600 x 350mm Features: Trickle waterfall with external pump & filter unit, recessed feeding dish and plant anchors. Suitable for Chameleons and other small lizards.
	Desert Rock Vivarium Background Cage Size: Standard reptile cage 900 x 420 x 330mm Features: Trickle waterfall with external pump & filter unit, recessed feeding dish, sizable shallow bathing area and plant anchors. Suitable for Bearded Dragons, Snakes and medium sized lizards.

Version 2.0 of our “Betta Betta” tank was intended to be an improvement on our original 1.0 design but brought a whole lot of new challenges with it! A couple of new ideas were incorporated:

• Using a hard plastic container shell for the base to minimise leaks
• Increasing the water capacity to 10 litres
• Placing the heater in upright position to improve heat dissipation
• Including a “built in wet/dry filter” compartment on the back of the waterfall

Heres a run down on the construction…

Raw Materials

• Bits of throw away polystyrene packaging collected from the neighbor’s garbage
• 10 litre plastic basin/container
• Concrete / Quickcrete / Buildcrete
• Playpen sand
• Coarse Salt
• Concrete stain pigments (Red, brown, yellow, white & black)
• Sheet of 4mm thick window glass
• 2 Large tubes of marine grade silicon sealant
• 500ml Powertex Hobby sealant
  (A trial sample of which was kindly donated to our cause by Bobby from Powertex’s local distributor)
• A small powerhead/water pump
• 50 or 75 watt aquarium heater
• 60cm of 10mm silicone tubing

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One of the rare moments that make owning special pets so much fun. I was lucky my camera had been on charge and although I didn’t have time to get the light settings right I was still quick enough to capture this awesome shot!

The little daredevil cricket on Lemmy’s nose was the sole surviving member of “lunch” - the one that got away, only to return hours later and tempt fate all over again! lol

The “Betta Betta” tank started out as a unique gift idea for a close friend who loves the sound of running water in and around her house. Since I promised her a while back that she’d be the proud owner one of the “first born” Siamese Fighters from our first attempt at breeding them we decided on combining a running water feature with a small cosy fish tank, and the Betta Betta Tank was born.

Version 1 proved to be a huge learning curve and a major challenge to boot. Heres a run down on the construction…

Raw Materials

• Bits of throw away polystyrene packaging collected from the neighbor’s garbage
• Concrete / Quickcrete
• Playpen sand
• Coarse Salt
• Concrete stain pigments (Red, brown, yellow, white & black)
• Sheet of 4mm thick window glass
• 2 Large tubes of marine grade silicon sealant
• 2 cans of matt finish lacquer varnish spraypaint
• A plastic pickle bottle
• A small powerhead/water pump
• 50 or 75 watt aquarium heater
• 60cm of 10mm silicone tubing

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