alanmin4304

Have you talked to your local Council about a building Consent for change of use as the Councils can all have different interpretations of the requirements for a consent?

I had lotus plants over 30 years ago so they have been around for some time.

I accept that he has made a mistake and the courts will decide a punishment and when completed that will be that. We can all learn from this. It is a scary thing when the biosecurity people turn up and have more power to enter and search your property than the police and also have the power to destroy your plants and pets.

There is a verigated H. polysperma, are you sure that is not what you have?

That is why we have quarantine, not only could the plant be a potential problem but it is also the risk of other unwanted stuff coming in with the plants.

Mine are japanese and I have never seen them in the water. but they always come out to play on the land when I give the place a mist spray.

When the biosecurity people came to visit they were interested in Ludwigia inclinata var. verticillata ("cuba") and were working their way around NZ seeing anyone who had bought it from Trademe. The plant is described on the Tropica site. I am grateful that I keep only plants that the average Jo Blow can keep alive. If the plant needs CO2 and metal halides to survive then I am not interested. Consequently the plant died ( they had not found any that had survived at that stage). If it had been alive they may well have destroyed all my other plants so I consider myself lucky. There is a lesson here.

I bought some on Trademe and had a visit from biosecurity but the plant did not survive. Henry23 (Plantman)

I have had four for about 6 months and they have doubled in size. They eat mainly aphids and fruit fly and have given them daphnia and mosquito larva but have never seen them eat the latter or ever seen them in the water.

If the glass was distorted when the brace was on then the brace would have been put on while the tank was distorted with water. I would empty the tank and add euro bracing at least front and back. If you leave the back brace off to install a filter you might as well leave the front one off as well and then the tank has a choice to break in the front or in the back.

In my experience goldfish become more active and spawn in times of high atmospheric pressure rather than any other weather conditon so if you use mops they should be able to be removed with eggs in thase conditions. Unless you select the fish you will end up with a mixture breeding that will only produce total rubbish.

I have some also and find them fascinating. I have bought an imported terrarium and put a glass divider across the bottom to make half water and half land. I used potting mix on the land with medium,smooth gravel on top and gravel only in the water. I installed a 12 inch light with growlux type tube and planted emerse grown Echinodorus bleheri and magdalensis (both died - I think from lack of light). Cardamine lyrata and Hydrocotyle leucocephala both are growing OK on the land then into the water. I am still learning about these guys but I understand they can obsorb through the skin and you therefore want relatively inert material for them to be in contact with. Soil with one third potting mix and strong light would probably grow the plants provided you cover it to keep it away from the newts. You will need good shelter for them to get out of the light. I spray everything with water from an atomizer most days and that usually brings them out from hiding. Good luck, You wll enjoy catching aphids.

You need to empty the tank before replacing the bracing or increase your insurance.

Next time you will take your polaroid sunglasses with you I bet. If you look at the glass through the lense and rotate it you can tell if it is toughened glass.

I have seen them in the shops. What are you feeding with them?

I think it is too high and too long for 6mm and that type of bracing. I think it would be OK if partly filled and used for turtles.

I would not fill it with water in my house.

If the pond is concrete it is probably that making the water alkali. Keep changing the water until the pond stabilizes, then add fish. In the meantime use the green water to grow daphnia, plant some lillies to block the light and give the new fish a good feed of daphnia for xmas. If the water is getting very hot the O2 will become depleted so the lillies may help with that.

I would never have more than one breeding pair in any size tank.

If you hang a piece of slate off the side of the tank near the top they will probably lay on that again in a couple of weeks and you will be able to remove the eggs.

I don't think the ends of the euro bracing matter that much as all they do is take the flex out of the top so they don't do a lot in the corners.

The newly hatched brineshrimp have more food value because the yolk sac is still there and the fry tend to snap at live food as an instinct so I believe they grow quicker. Lowering the water level will make sure they are surounded by food and you can raise the level as they get bigger and explore more of the tank. I used to feed microworm also so they get used to it and will accept it straight away if you get a glitch in brineshrimp supply (although I don't think the food value is as good) You can progress to seived daphnia then whiteworm and blood worm. Get them used to flake as well then you have all the choices and don't have to starve them to eat what is available.

There is also a shallow tray one about which is about as useful

I think it is lack of aeration and also no provision for heating

What info do you have on these units?