Feelers

The biowheels, are very efficient wet/dry filters. Basicially a spraybay sprays onto a waterwheel like thing, (to make it spin) And the wheel is made of a fabric that the bacteria can live in. The bacteria get dunked, then spin around in the air. Its a really neat idea. http://www.marineland.com/products/cons ... ilters.asp (The tank sizes on this site are rated in gallons.) Just a thought!

An anemone cannot feel pain, it's nervous system allows it to react to a stimulus. Just like if someone chopped your head off, and (quickly) gave you that reflex test they always show in the movies - the little jab in the knee with the funny triangular hammer. Your leg will kick back, but damned if your gonna care about it.

Are there actually people who consider this cruel? These are incredibly simple organisms - one of the most simple multi-celled organisms around. The funny thing about evolution - like female spiders eating their newly mated husbands, its obviously not fun for the male, but he got to reproduce, and thats the name of the game. I'd be more worried about standing on ants which have a far more impressive nervous system - and a brain. Mechanical reactions to chemical/mechanical stimulations is how the anemone "thinks", so it's pretty much a robot. Dont take it too hard on yourself Wasp, real anemones dont cry. :lol:

I think giving a discount for bulk buying is a really good idea. Moves more stuff off the shelves, makes the custom happy and encourages big spending. With the amount of cash these things cost, customer satisfaction should be very high on the agenda. From reading online tutorials about how to buy fish, most say that you should be able to return them if they do not get on with the other inhabitants. Obviously that's up to the retailer, but if it were me a swap/credit would definately be the minimum step I'd take. I would make sure that the fish survives the week upon retuning, so that there is no loss for the store if buyer has damaged the fish. The thing is it shouldnt get to the point where the buyer storms off, never to spend his money there again. If neither party is being unreasonable, this shouldn't happen - but opinions between the two parties will differ, and at that point as a store owner I'd be inclined to bite my tongue. You might hate the customer, but in the long run you'll like their money even more.

I was wondering - why doesn't anybody seem to use biowheels? They are popular in the states, but not here it seems. The cost of a HOB filter, but with a wet/dry system built in. This seems like a good deal... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 417114.htm

Vodka should be just pure ethanol (well with water). Unless you use the really cheap crappy stuff, which might have sugar (it will say this on the bottle though). The directions are for 40% ethanol /vodka, so adjust accordingly depending on what you get.

Tanksman, that's per day. Basicially vodka is an empty carbon source - like adding sugar(but without the problems that sugar causes). This provides engery for the bacterial population, so they divide and multiply, but still have the same amount No3/Po4 to spread among the increasing population. The increased populations will outcompete the cyano/algae for nutrients. In a saltwater tank there is an even bigger benefit, as the bacteria/nutrients get skimmed out. Its actually a popular method, and it has been used in europe for ages apparently. As reef said in a thread about the vodka method, no-one can make any money off it so it's not pushed like many other things. The 5ml/100L is equal to 0.00005ml/L, a very small amount, and safe. 5mL is a teaspoon I think? You can see how it goes, and slowly bring it up to 20ml / 100L over a week. It is still an incredibly small amount, but you are feeding the bacteria - which have quite small appetites It could be worth one sixth of a shot! (terrible I know) :lol:

A cool growth sequence....... http://www.garf.org/scott/acroporagrowth.htm It would be awesome to have a coral colouring setup, buy crappy looking corals, chuck them in for 3 weeks, then sell at premium price.

Surely that kill the bacteria in your filter too? Vodka seems less aggressive and actually makes your filter "better" by feeding the beneficial bacteria.

You can use a check valve to stop water flowing back down the air pump in a power cut, should cost about $3 from any pet store.

Its supposed to go away in a few days. Here you go found this : I wouldnt worry about all that stuff though, this is obviously for really serious stings. Vinegar sounds like the thing to use.

Is everyone against using aglae as decorative? Can you have it growing alongside corals? There are some nice ones about. These ones are supposed to be slow growing. I tend to like the algae look, I think green is quite often missing from tanks. Just a small tank, but I still like the idea.

Uploading is used to request info - like in this instance requesting for your movie to be transferred which only uses a very small amount of upload bandwidth. They have it balanced out so that uploading is basicially at the same speed as normally required, because download speed is a more limiting factor when transfering info. At least thats how I think it works. I'm, getting it at about 250kb/sec. Took about 10-12 mins,

deepblueaquarium.co.nz had pretty cheap atman pumps. They were 3500/lph for about $65, although they arent on the site anymore. I got mine with the weipro 2014, works well and came with heaps of attatchments for the ventuiri ect. Uses a bit more power than lots of the other models though

Can galvanised steel be used? If it can you could just chuck the heat sink into it. I know it stops it corroding, but I'm geussing zinc isnt reef safe. You can buy titanium piping at about $30 US a meter apparantly.

I definately think skimming is a benefit. I havent seen too much evidence on over skimming and I definately think bigger is better. But when dealing with small tanks it is much more common/accepted to not have a skimmer. The majority of nanos and picos have very few fish - most often only one or two small gobys, and possibly a cleaner shrimp. The bioload from fish is much more than that of a coral, and with such a low bioload water changes are apparently enough to keep things in good order. A perfect example is the totm that was posted about.... http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/2/aquarium Why you'd have a tank like that and not buy a skimmer - I have no idea, but at least it proves that it can be done on a large tank with sps and lots of fish, showing that in nanos with a really low bioload and with large water changes more easy to do, it will probably be ok to not go with a skimmer. All nanos Ive seen use strong circulation. Can good circulation actually remove phosphates? Sharkey said Perhaps thats why nanos can do so well without a skimmer? I wouldnt recommend to anyone not to use a skimmer, but if they ask whether they need a good one/one at all on a nano/pico - I'd say its definately a benefit, but many nano-ers decide not to use them, and there are some fantastic and viable skimmerless tanks out there. And also that a "crap" skimmer would be a good compromise reflecting this situation.

Perhaps the rules on importing live rock were different back then, and it was able to make it to sale without being pressure steamed. There's a really rare type of deep sea matis which is real cool, although I think it's supposed to be extinct due to bottom trawling. I found a pic of an NZ shallow water one- apparantly from the north island. They are definately around, perhaps ask a diver if they could pick one up for you.

Typical LFS dealing is about or less than half the selling price.

I think you only get them up in the poor knights if at all. They are pretty much a tropical species(mostly). I doubt they will be imported - probably not on the list and they have a short lifespan(from point of capture) so it wouldnt be worth it. just found this...... There is no mention of NZ cuttlefish in "Cephalopods: a World Guide", which is a really good book btw

Perhaps a single visit from a reefer halfway through a holiday would definately be a good idea. I'm sure a single visit wouldnt be too much hassle, with the money you guys have invested in your setups it would give a bit more piece of mind.

Control if you hear a clicking noise it is probably a pistol shrimp - They are considered harmless and tend to be very shy. Mantis on the other hand will kill fish and crustaceans, and you'd probably see it at some point if you had one. They are very intellegent too - they can be trained to smash plates to be rewarded with food. Does anyone know if they are on the allowed list? Normally they come in on live rock but since we cant get real live rock - it must have come from somewhere else.

http://www.deepblueaquarium.co.nz/filter.htm The top one is pretty much what I have. It has a pump button on the top to get the syphon started really easily and with no hassle. I'm pretty stoked with mine, for $140(+ $25 for postage) its pretty sweet,- quiet and built to a reasonable standard. Its blatently a eheim knockoff, but who cares - I dont understand why more people arent moving over to copycats. Longevity is one stated reason, but I havent heard of people who werent happy, I've only heard good things. You wont have too fiddle much with the valves - its easy, and it probably isnt required - if you have a spray bay the water flow will be fine - if there is too much flow you can easily see how much to close the valve. After seeing how good my el cheapo knock off is I'll never buy an eheim. (Oh yeah just thought I'd point out these are jebao not jebo, ridiculously similar names but different companies.)

Is it one of these??? Amphiprion chrysopterus There isnt much info on them. A good list of some of the clownfish species http://www.wetwebmedia.com/clownfis.htm

I'm pretty it wouldnt, I think that they are pure silica , perhaps with the other detrius from inside the shell, but I'd imagine it would have been wahed or bleached or something. The Montheiths brewery on the West Coast uses diatom filters - basicially you force the beer through the skeletons under pressure and it removes all the particulate matter (yeast in the case) before bottl'n.

"A characteristic feature of diatom cells is that they are encased within a unique cell wall made of silica." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatom I dont know how easily silica dissolves, does silica sand create diatom problems? Real cool shells.