simfish

Hi, I am getting back into aquascaping after 10 years and looking for the difficult plants. My CO2 regulator and lighting is on its way from the US however plants and Shrimp are 2 things I am struggling with. Any ideas? I have checked aquatic plants. No stock at the moment. It seems there are really slim picking compared to 10 years ago. thanks for the advice in advance

Hi my question is: I live in Manukau, Auckland. I would prefer not buying and paying premium for a branded T5HO tube. Is there any company that specialise in lighting where I could buy T5HO tubes and therefore not pay premium prices? There was a company in Elleslie but I forgot where Thanks

Hi my red empress is not well. He is not eating. swimming at the top of the tank. The cornea on the eyes seem to be bulging out and its skin is gone darker. Any advice would be appreciated Thanks.

having a family means you don't have money to waste, i.e. big engined ford and holden is out unless you consider lpg, personally I don't like them as its all plastic. I would say bang fo rbuck you can't go wrong with the 2000+ model odyssey. I personally like the Toyota Avensis wagon, but they are a bit more dear. However if you win the Blackjack or something the perfect family wagon is the Audi R6. Seriously though Honday Odyssey with all its configurations has been proven to be one of the best. Remember its not just your kids that are going to go around in it but also their friends, after soccer / rugby / swimming coaching or a lift club or carp pooling, etc. Fuel economy is very important as there will be alot of running around. Therefore the 2000+ model of Odysey. We did own one however I always prefered the Eurpoean cars for safety, comfort and build quality therefore we back to BMW. They are built better, e.g. front seats on a Japanese car have 4 bolts on a bmw it has 8 bolts. However unfortunately they do cost more but cheaper to run, i.e. only need to be serviced every 25000km unlike Japanese every 5000km to 10000km. Hope this helps.

Yep, Rock Salt is the best...

Do you guys think going for quickdry cement option (no resin) waiting for the 24 curing period and then putting it into the shower, set the sprinkler head water to warm, starting it off and every 30min sprinkling salt on it to remove the lime would be maybe one of the fastest ways to stablise the PH? I came up with this idea on the weekend after reading alot of forums, etc. regarding using quickdry "cemix", cement / mortar mix (NZ product)

How do I get them out?

I was getting ready to change my tank setup this weekend and put in a new poly background. I noticed my cockatoo had alot of little bits of dirt around her. Looked closely and noticed it was her little babas. I first went wow! yippee then I went O crap, how am I going to now change over. I thought I would put this up and find out how one would move fry a few days old into another setup. The tank is heavily with an ! planted.But I am taking everything out down to the gravel. Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated to get these guys and mum to a smaller tank.

Thanks for the info. I spent the last few hours, running between, bunnings, mitre 10, resene and kings plant barn regarding painting with an acrylic paint from resene or dulux and this is what they had to say, "Our acrylic paints are designed for interior and external use and not under water. the paints are non toxic however have been treated with a fungus treatment, i.e. it has an agent which prevents fungus from growing on the paint which will there kill plants and have an effect on the fish." They where adamant about this to the point that the Dulux customer services person put me on hold and went back to their lab to confirm this." Plant barn had a pond paint which only comes in black, grey or white (thank god not gastly blue) however it is very expensive around $130,00 for about 2 litres. I am stuck on which is the best way and absolutely scared to just try a typical "non-toxic" paint. I can't afford to loose more than $300 worth of fish. Really need help to get to the bottom of this. Was thinking of trying Whitcoulls kids department tomorrow as one of the last resorts for the acrylic option.

Hi thanks for all the know how. I have a few nmore question if you don't mind as well as would love any other advice on do and dont's, as you guys have already tried and tested mothods already. My questions are as follows:- To paint it with Acrylic paint is that fine? What is the best way to shape the poly, I have heard of usig a spoon... how? How long would you need to allow for it to cure? Sticking poly together, which would be the best way. How would I fix the poly background to the back of the tank in order for it not ending up floating? I also found this article for anyone interested... http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/blog.php?blogid=86 Thanks.

Can I please know curing time for these applicators and which ones are non toxic and safe to use. How long should I allow for this project?

I finally got the name of all the fish, I have and gonna do some serious read up on them. They are: 4 Electric Yellows 2 x Red Empress 2 x Sunshine Peacock 2 x Peach Peacock 2 x Blue Zebra Thanks guys for all the advice... I am going to upgrade to an Ar850 which I have, now I need to look at making a polystyrene background, which I know however not sure what is a safe adhesive, safe cement applicator and curing time to allow for before putting into the tank. Thoroughly enjoying learning about things for the first time... thanks guys once again.

Cheers guys, I just learn't from Animates that Tetra Safe Start suppose to be the best however it has just been launched. I guess for my project I will may have to go with TLC Smart Start.

I have been reading posts and saw this plant on Trade Me. Very expensive but looks awesome. Are all Java ferns suitable for Malawi fish? Any Idea where I can buy some from reasonable?

Hi I have to reset my 300 litre tank with alot of fish. I am redoing my aquascaping as not too happy with it plus putting in an undergravel heater. I am looking to buy Tetra Safe Start as it will cycle my tank within 24 hours, this was bought out from Marineland (called Bio-Spira) for Freshwater only. Any idea where I can buy it. Marineland still do the Saltwater version.