alanmin4304

Pretty much. The filter collects gunge which collects bacteria that carry out the nitrogen cycle. I have a number of tanks with no filtration or aeration and they are fine because they are lightly stocked. I have a few other tanks with small filters that realy only stop temperature layering. I have a good sized filter on the turtle tank because they are fithy beasties. It is all about balance.

There are tropixcal water lillies about with green leaves or red leaves. They have a base tuber like other lillies but are smaller and die off in Christchurch ponds over winter.

It always grows best as it does in nature.

The JBL fert balls break down to a fine suspension and make the water cloudy if the media gets stirred up.

I have never seen glosso for sale in the shops that has been grown submersed. Converting emersed growth to submersed requires a lot of light. What you are trying to do is get the plants to send out runners with submersed growth and these are the ones that will do well. That is why you plant in small spread out clumps and then get it to propagate and form a lawn. Most plants for sale in the shops are grown emersed that is why you need to be careful what you buy because many do not do well submersed. Ambulia, cabomba, riccia and a few others are about all that are grown submersed.

I would think that glosso will be available in a few weeks. Mine is showing little bits of green poking up through the dead stuff all killed by the frost. It should be further ahead from warmer weathered areas up north. Adding good ferts should give you the nutrients you need without any more in the media. Glosso is very small, with short roots and is a lot easier to plant in sand than gravel. Plant in small bunches so it gets good light. Dropping the water level for a while may help as well.

If you want to grow plants like glosso well you need the whole package --strong light, micro and macronutrient and a source of carbon. Only part of the package will not work. This is why I only grow it emersed.

I don't think tropica is in the country. Tropica also have a patent on it so you cannot sell it without being licenced to tropica. Yours looks like the normal pteropus. As I understand it there is the normal, phillippine, narrow and windelov (frilled). Try a google search, there are some good pics. There are no pics on the tropica site at the moment but older ones will come up on google. None on plantgeek either.

The second one is not the floating leaf of potomageton crispus is it?

That doesn't look like tropica. There are some good pictures in Mrs Googles cupboard.

Many of the overseas sites say that algae blooms are caused by an imbalance of phosphate and nitrate and suggest adding nitrate to correct the balance. Haven't tried it but may be cheap fertilizer. I would tend to do water changes to remove it. Some foods contain a lot of phosphate and it may be caused by the food you are using.

Getting cool looking plants that will thrive at tropical temperatures without intense light is the usual problem.

That is the way to run a successful business---better than advertising on the TV.

Some plants will grow well in a sand mix with a little shell in it. Plants are like us---they all have different tastes.

As per the instructions on the packet---one cap/37.85 litres. and I have only needed to treat once.

The people down here who are growing the plants get about $1 / bunch for stem plants so that is why most are grown emersed. YOU CAN BUY PLANTS THAT ARE GROWN EMERSED BUT NEED VERY STRONG LIGHT OR WILL NOT SURVIVE SUBMERSED SO YOU NEED TO CHOOSE YOUR PLANTS WELL.

Shops don't pay much for plants and few people are interested in them. Most people are happy to buy some and replace them when they die. There would be few shops around here that could name the plants they sell. You would make more mone cleaning toilets.

Them that are lurking.

I have two 15 watt incandescent bulbs on one tank that stay on all the time so the fish don't get a fright when the flouros switch on.

I have used it and it works well. Easier to get than erythromycin which is prescription only.

Most who have done it no longer do and it is not hard to work out why.

Two x two foot flouros for 12 hours/ day of the right light might do it.

Tanks are OK on the floor if you have a pump

There are not many importers prepared to bring rams in, particularly the golds, because they are so hard to keep alive. An imorter down here had some tested for disease and Maf almost destroyed the whole shipment because of some bacterial disease they came up with.

I use the local river sand from the plant nursery. Put it through the large kitchen seive and wash the courser stuff. Mix JBL micronutrient with the fine stuff and put into tank with courser stuff on top. Place a plate in the tank with a glass jug on the plate then fill the jug with the hose until the tank is full. When warm plant out and start cycling with a couple of fish.