madcookie

Name: Richard Sex: Tried it twice now... Age: 32 Marital status: Solo dad, just starting a new relationship after a messy breakup..... Occupation: Sailor Family: Daughter is 7 going on 17, Son is 6 going on - well about 6. Book: James A Michener and Leon Uris all time Favs. Other pets: One damn unappreciative cat. Heck even my fish pay more attention to me. Car: Yip, have a car to take the kids to School. Have a Moto Guzzi bike - far more interesting... Favourite food: "Mocha Hit" Magnum icecreams......yum yum I am off to the dairy now - I was fine untill I actually typed the words out... Hobbies: Motorbikes, Stereos, and Fish fish fish. At the moment the Fish hobby is like that Luke Skywalker thingy.... "The MTS problem, strong in this one it is"

Big Als have them - Think they are the biggest (or best known) of the USA online stores.... http://bigalsonline.com/catalog/categor ... ry_id=1713

Hi Liam, How big is this tank - How many litres you talking about? And what kind of substrate - Gravel? Do you know someone nearby with a spare tank for you to use during the change?

Hi Opius, Magnums are big in the USA - Not well known in NZ. Where are you located? 'Water polishing' is simply removing the visible particles from the water - something filter foam and/or (aquarium) cotton wool will do regardless of what brand filter they are in. Sorry, have no experience with Magnum filters myself, but the USA forum I used to frequent had many members swear by them - untill they discovered Eheim.

Hi there, I too am on the North Shore....Belmont/Devonport. Just a learner really....very keen but keep finding I dont really know that much yet. Have another 8 tanks I am trying to find space for.....Need a bigger house! (And a new partner if I dont curb my fishy hobbies....)

Hi everyone, Have been researching filters a wee bit lately- intention was to get HOB and/or internal filter for my smaller tanks. Found the 'older' style Eheim internals, the ones before the Aquaballs, for sale at Hollywoodfishfarm. (No I do not have any interests in HFF.) Now get this, the 2006, 2008, and 2010's (old sytle) are cheaper than the 2206, 2208, 2210 aquaballs. As many people have observed previously, on these boards and others, the older eheims are better than the aquaballs. Acording the guy at HFF, Eheim are relaunching the older model....and I did read somewhere on a UK Forum that Eheim were unhappy with sales of the aquaballs.... Prices are: Fluval plus. 1. $49.95 2. $68.95 3. $82.75 4. $99.95 Eheim 'pick up' series. 2006. $52.10 2008. $59.40 2010. $66.95 2012. None in stock....sob. Eheim 'Aquaball' series. 2206. $49.95 2208. $62.95 2210. $84.95 2212. $99.95 So.....The 2010 is doing a trial run in one of my tanks. If it works out, I will be getting some more. Not sure if the price was a mistake or not...seems excellent value for money for an Eheim - cheaper than the other brands - nice for a change. Now why have I made this post? It might help others if/when thinking about getting an internal filter...

Hi Kermit, I may have misinterpretted your post.....But I have to check. Are you getting 4 foot flouro tubes for $8 to $10 each? I am paying around $40 each, and interested (INTERESTED!!!!) in finding somewhere cheaper. Can you help?

Hiya Buzzy, Answers are right here in this forum - recommendation was/is Aquamedic. This thread should answer your Q's. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=3589

Scrub the gravel with a (fish only) brush, rinse it, and leave it in the sun. sunlight / UV will kill most of the bacteria if the scrub doesnt. Then rinse again and add. Works for me anyway.........

Thanks for that Treehugga.! Have increased tank circ to aprox 10 times, no problems so far.....I was totally amazed at how half the food came straight back out his mouth and gills within 20 seconds of him going CHOMP.....I sure can see why people consider Oscar's to be messy eaters!!!!!! Guess I am now in the market for a 2nd Oscar......

I've just bought home my very first Oscar, he is an awesome looking Tiger green colour and aprox 25cm long. I have him in his own tank, its a 210 lLtr jobbie, measures 120cm x 45cm x 38cm. Is this tank big enough - and could I put a second (same sized) Oscar in with him? Tank currently has a Via-Aqua 750 filter (Cannister has 1200 Ltr/h pump and holds aprox 8ltr's Siporax and sponge medium) and a Magnum Millenium 3000 HOB, also with sponge medium and 1000 Ltr/h. Tank has medium-fine "fruit salad" gravel, a couple of pieces of driftwood and small slate, and no plants. I carry out water changes on all my tanks every week, and clean filters "as required". I have a few spare filters - should I increase filtration....would the subsequent increase in water current upset Oscar? (Aleady aprox 8 times volumer per hour.) So, any Oscar experts out there able to offer advice? Is this tank big enough for Oscar....and is it big enough to add a 2nd Oscar? Considering my filtration? Cheers!

Hi Buzzy....I reckon better to be safe than sorry - especially with Discus..? Maybe clean all gravel (in tap water to remove toxins and crud), then introduce it a few handfulls at a time.

Gidday Geetee, I have three Eheim 2213's too, and a Fluval 304. The modern eheims, and the 4 series Fluvals, are nice pumps. The 204 is more than adequate for your tank even moderately stocked, However, they arent cheap. Eheim 'classic' canisters arent very popular these days, as they are not self priming. But they do last forever and ever...and do their job well - that is filter the water. They are also coming up cheap these days on the second hand market......Recommend the 2213 Eheim for around $70 - $80 NZ dollars complete with filter media..

Hey thanks everyone, all replies have been appreciated. the seller on TM has not bothered to respond to my request for a bulk buy of Whisper 40's, so I am off to get the tried-and-proven Aquaclears. They have new model numbers but the price hasnt changed...yipee. Am looking at just three filters this week - guess the other tanks will be growing plants huh. Yes I had considered running all tanks thru one water line, probably using one tank as a sump - not feasible due to the design of the stands, not having the equipment, and having a No Risk policy wrt leaking equipment. UGF's are a no-go for me - bad memories from the 80's incl Duran Duran, Wham, and Under Gravel Filters betting blocked. Rgds,

Hi there, have been browsing this forum for a while, just changing over from fishindex... Great to see so many people here in NZ who share my hobby!!! Oh yes, have noticed several people here take efforts to correct grammer-punctuation-spelling. Please, I am here to learn about fish, and hopefully impart whatever knowledge I have aquired to the newbies... I have just bought 14 tanks, 2 foot 78 litre and 3 foot 130 litre, from TradeMe. None of them have proper filter. (I Am of the belief that UGF's cause too many dramas when they become blocked - also prefer planter tanks....) I already have 6 biggish tanks with Cannister filters. I cannot afford 14 little cannister filters (funy that!), so figure next best thing is the older "Hang on Back" or external mounted power filters, aka Hagens Aquaclear or Tetra's Whisper filters. I have an Aquaclear 200 on a 60 liter guppy tank in my sons room, which has performed very well for a couple of years now - another tick in the book for Hagen as far as I am concerned. However, their Jansens and Hollywoodfishfarm prices are $54 to $56, they have a flowrate of 'upto' 757 L/hr. I was almost set to buy these untill I found the Whisper 40's on TradeMe at $40, they have a flowrate of 850 L/hr. Now to my question...if anyone can help out here it would be much appreciated.!! Has anyone heard of reliability problems with the Whispers? Impellors freeing or becoming noisy after just two weeks etc? And....can their chambers be filled with 'anything' just like the Aquaclears? ie, I prefer to use old cannister foam filter material wrapped around bioballs (etc) in the foilters I will be getting - value for money will be the name of the game here. Again, nice to be here - and if anyone can offer advice or answer my Q, then all the better. Cheers!