alanmin4304

The media in the filter acts as a place for bacteria to lodge as does your gravel but the bacteria then need to be fed and the water is being pushed through the filter with a pump so there is a lot more food and therefore it will support a lot more bacteria. You do not need a filter but only if you have very low stocking rates of fish. It is about balance.

I would have to agree. I used to have to run a rural sewage treatment works while the normal operator was away on leave. This was handy because I got access to all the daphnia in the oxidation ponds. Never got crook, it is just common sense realy.

It is actually a bacteria and there are thousands of serotypes, most of which are not in NZ.

Nothing wrong with a bit of lion

The first step would be to get them approved for import. How much time and money have you got?

Once you get them imported it is all up hill from there

Wash hands thoroughly after handling any pets or anything to do with them. Get a good disinfecting liquid hand wash and wet your hands completely before using it as it is far more effective then. I spent over thirty years working as an environmental health officer including interviewing people with salmonella and trasporting infected faecal samples to the lab and have never had salmonella. It cannot jump accross the room but is spread by the faecal/oral route so good hygiene will prevent catching it. Reptiles can carry it but so can many other critters including humans. When baby is born remember that when small we humans check things out like reptiles by puting things in our mouths so avoid baby having contact where the animals have been.

People who import fish and plants are generally doing it to make a living. There are many varieties of fish and also plants for which there is a limited market and high risk or just high risk so importers don't bother with them. If people were prepared to pay for the five importations that are lost as well as the ones that survive they would probably relook at the issue, but naturally people are not.

The Auckland harbour bridge is still for sale.

Some clarification is right. Some say it is locally banned, some like canterbury say it is nationally banned, some refer to Vallisneria, some refer to other than twisted and it is all as clear as mud.

I understand that V. gigantea and americana (both called eel grass I think) have been banned by the Regional Council in Auckland and Waikato for some time. This is usually when that plant is a problem in that particular location. I have a friend down here who grows plants commercially and was told by maf that he could keep Hygrophilla costata but could not propagate, commercially display or advertise, or sell it. He destroyed it--it was easier. Things may have changed, might pay to ask if you are in contact with them.

You may be asking the wrong people the right question. Are you sure it is nationally banned by maf (or locally banned by the Regional Council). You can hardly expect maf to know the inner workings of the Regional Council. They have enough trouble understanding their own.

What it does is increase the surface area of the tank which allows for higher stocking rates.

Maf don't do research to see if an organism is safe to import. You pay a heap of experts megabucks to come up with the information sufficient for maf to say yes or no. You file this info with your application.

That would be my guess also, but only useful if maintained, and how to tell when it is full

You have fun Nav. I have enough live insects around here now without those little beasties.

Most filters that allow a good flow of water would be good for removing objects like ciggy butts but not much use for removing pathogens. Any physical filter is not going to remove stuff in solution. I spent years working with rural water supplies and there is a lot of false claims made about many of the domestic filters sold. Technology has no doubt improved but I would think that the false claims are still out there.

There are two levels of prohibition on plants. The national level---like anacharis and the Regional level like straight val was in Auckland and Waikato. Generally you can keep but not propagate,commercially advertise or display, or sell. How you stop a healthy plant from propagating I have no idea. This does not apply of course to the plants that were smuggled and resulted in a visit to me and others after buying from trademe. Gold fish were prohibited from import after a disease was found on imported goldfish in Australia which could have been a threat to the native fish eating trout and salmon in NZ.

You haven't pinched that magic pointy stick have you? If so, you may have to find somewhere to park your broom. Are these the ausie ones that were on the TV?

How does it remove chlorine?

The one micron filters are normally a physical filter that will be sufficient to reduce bacteria and normally require a prefilter if there is a load of gunk in the water. I fail to see how they will reduce or remove chemicals such as chlorine as they are normally only a physical filter. I would think it would not realy do much to improve your water as you are on town supply (or were when I was there) and the council is required to provide you with water of better quality than the filter is capable of producing. Routine testing of your water by the Council as required by law, should ensure that the water is safe to drink in relation to all those things mentioned other than chlorine (which should kill any bacteria anyway)

It doesn't matter how fine it is. The plants don't grow on the sand or gravel. Sand is only very small rocks. They grow on the other stuff, either commercil micronutrients or gunge or whatever, and what is in the water.

A friend hit a hawk in a mini and it went right through the windscreen and ended up in the back seat alive and very angry. He swore by the look in its eye it knew who was responsible and was about to seek revenge. He couldn't get near it so he opened all the doors and waited for half an hour for it to come around and get out by itself. It must have looked pretty angry because he had a pet hawk and a possum but swore it had an evil eye and wouldn't go near it. Eventually it flew away so it must have been a very lucky bird.

That is why it is best to add a lot of fine plant so that the eggs and fry have places to hide. In my experience they do not produce a load of eggs but keep spawning small numbers so you are better to leave them in and add cover rather than spawn them and remove the adults.

No problem. They know more about it than all of us. To breed white clouds just add water.