Feelers

Have a read of the lable cos that cossack stuff may have added sugar. I remember we used to get a 1.125L bottle of 23% for $8.00. -Kristov 63, as in 63% vodka. They added water to it so it was the maximum alcohol content (23%) while not having to pay tax. When I set up my tank I might do the vodka thing.

At the pet store here a bulkhead was $32.

Hey guys I was just wondering whether you would consider- base rock that has been left in the ocean (locally), and cooked and aclimitised to tropical conditions, - "real live rock"? Obviously the organisms found would be quite different to the ones on rocks livened up in a tank, can you tell the difference?

so how accurate are those floating ones? I use one for distilling and its supposed to be pretty accurate.

I went to mico pipelines and the guy had no idea what a bulkhead was. I explained to him that it was to create a seal around a hole in a fish tank for a pipe connection, I then showed him a picture on the internet on his computer - and he still didnt know what I was talking about. I eventually found them myself, and he said they were for piping out of water tanks. I got a 1 1/4 inch one for around $8 I think. How do you connect these things to pvc?

It can be done a bit cheaper, if you do diy and look for second hand stuff. Its a lot more work to do things on the cheap though, you constantly have to be on the lookout for bargins, and since marine stuff doesnt come up anywhere near as often on trademe, it makes it a lengthy process. Somewhere there is a thread about someone saying they could set up a system for $500 but I dont believe that. I'd say the $3500 - $5000 is for a good quality system with a high chance of success. My system is on the super cheap, but I dont plan on keeping corals like these guys do. I say that now but I'm thinking about getting a $900 chiller You might want to decide what you actually want to keep - a fish only setup could be a lot cheaper. If you go the whole hog for sps corals it will be more expensive.

Theres a real cool cascade tank for holding plants at the animates in christchurch. It goes round in a circle but in both directions. Probably about 10 small tanks in all, a cool idea.

For budget you could try www.deepblueaquarium.co.nz online- they do a chineese copy of the eheim 2028. I have one, its quite good quality for the price ($140). Compare that to the equavalent eheim $850. Its a good unit, reasonably well built, no leaks or problems, and nice and quite too, Jebao 918 compared with the eheim 2028 Its unlikely to be as long lasting as an eheim, but these are very popular in asia, and reports are pretty good about them. Im happy with mine!!!

I wouldnt have a clue but I have seen someone selling a snail trap on trademe. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Fish/Other/auction-40708868.htm Maybe others could comment on how good it would work. Looks like an easy diy job.

I just feel sorry for the 1 / 10 people with tanks rated worse than mine!! Its good to see peoples tanks after only hearing about whats been happening to them. Pies wheres you tank? Oh yeah as a random question after seeing the nuts coraline algae growth on iras rocks - (reminds me of that shrine to coraline thing) I was wondering what will happen to the rocks in my tank if I only use LED (ie "not real") lighting?

Well guys, I am proud to announce that I just received my 100th vote on www.ratemyfishtank.com !!! :lol: I was very surprised it was actually approved, I thought it hadnt been until I got an email today. average of 3.67 out of 10, meaning that my tank has been rated higher than 9.38%of tanks in the all fish tank category. A little miffed I was moved from the reef tank section, but hey I cant complain. 8) http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/friendEmail.php/imID1386 It's getting there btw you guys have some amazing tanks. When I'm rich and married to a trophy wife, one day.....

You could always ozone it! I love the idea of ozone. Leaves all the minerals, nukes everything else. No more waterborne Ich or diatoms. I would imagine it would help rid your tank of ich a lot faster. Crystal clear water too. Someone had one on tradme for $900 Take that expensive plunge cracker!! I dare you

Im real happy with my laguna 7. Way cheaper than an eheim too. However I cant vouch for its longevity yet! Its pretty powerfull. My turnover rates going to be big.

I dont know much about ICH but I would imagine that getting rid of every last one would be near impossible. Similar organisms can live for years in a dormant state, so I dont see why ich would be an exception. Also if you use NSW wouldnt that be a potential place to get the infection from?

Might be overkill but UV would fix it. I like the idea of uv, although obviously the price makes it somewhat less attractive than adding some plants.

Can these guys smash aquarium glass or is that just mantis shrimps?

I know that with an octopus copper is incredibly toxic, and you cant even use a tank that has been treated with copper in the past - no matter how much you wash it out. I think the silicon absorbes it or something. I dont know how succeptable corals and shrimps are to copper compared to and octopus but I would say if your going to use copper it should be in a completly seperate system, with no transfer of equipment between the tanks.

At least now you dont have the deafening waterfall of a (non full-siphon) durso standpipe to get in the way of listening to your shrimps clicking.

http://groups.msn.com/Asinglepictureofathingthatmayormaynotbeafi/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1 Yeah I couldnt get it to do img tags either. Isnt that a feather duster? A little worm thing that lives in a tube structure that it builds. This has some info on them. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feather.htm

When my friend did it it didnt stay there for long, maybe half a second - and it left a big mark. It takes a long time to dissolve , even if you hold it in your hand with some water.

Sounds good, how do you think it went? What recipe did you decide on? Did you use the white cement? I found some polystyerine coolers to make it in - randomly sitting on my friends lawn fortunately!! Hopefully I will get the materials tomorrow, then I'll start on sunday. Even if it doesnt come out ok I'd still like to see what it looks like!

You can handle the pellet form safely. It is the powder (caustic soda) that is much worse. The pellets just make your hands feel soapy, NO protection is needed. If it wasnt safe they wouldnt pass it round in 6th form chem. Its just not good to put it on your tongue! The pellets are very safe, about the size of an MnM. The caustic stuff is what they use in fight club to burn his arm, very nasty.

Hey chimera I might take you up on that offer . If I work out how to calibrate the readings wouldnt that be acceptable?

I will probably be keeping dwarf octos, they can live together in a tank of my size, provided there is a lot of places to hide, which is why im making caves ect out of the diy rock. Also the octos I will be getting will have been raised together which increases the likleyhood of them getting along. I wouldnt allow them to fight, I wont just be getting octos and throwing them together. :lol: However I might try and find out whether having more than one will affect their behaviour.

Hey guys found a good scientific comparison of the major food groups, including things like enriched brineshrimp ect. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... invert.htm Some interesting finds.