bruce_see

What can I say here...I grind up cat biscuits in the blender and feed that (the mix, not the blender!) to my fish. They love it, (but of course it is not their main diet)

450 litre, $216...you have done very very well! Congratulations!

Excellent, we're cookin now...

That outlet under the undergravel filter might just do the trick. (However, it does add something to the beautiful simplicity of Plan A...) looping the incoming water around a small incandescent bulb might act as a cheap heating unit I guess.

Okay, so it looks like there may be insufficient agitation for stuff that sits on the bottom to be stirred up and then flow thru the outflow. I'll ponder on that, and see what I can come up with...because I really, really like that Plan A. Shiuh, the concept plans show heaters under the banks of tanks, the idea was to maintain temperature in the whole room; did this part work out?

Um, Ok...I thought the original concept was for a complete water change every 24 hours, by regulating the flow of water into the tank, therefore the overflow out of the tank. Simple, yet brilliant. Now, we seem to be talking about a 10% water change every day by turning on the tap, in essence like a semi-automated water change system... I really liked Plan A :lol: so -uhhh- how did we get from there to Plan B??? I'm a litle confused there...did Plan A work out OK? Sorry to hear you missed on the job, I'm on the prowl for a new job myself at the mo, looking sideways at a Greenacres cleaning franchise also. Better luck next time tho!!!

That's a shame Shiuh, a lot of people were really interested in the concept and setup... now someone else will have to be the "guinea pig". The theory is so simple, foolproof, and easy that it should work brilliantly. In actual practice...? We just don't know...yet.

Google search: Tai Tapu village is situated on the main access road to Banks Peninsula.

Hi, Jess. Tai Tapu is where?

The hospital visit was just routine, Tanksman - our eldest son was born 11 weeks prem and with major heart problems. Now he has a wheelchair, cerebral palsy, and LOTS of hospital visits and specialists and....it's all part of our "normal" life now. He has made it to ten years old, and is pretty much OK. (But as for us??? )

Okay, had to take my eldest son to hospital this morning but back now. Readings for today are: pH =7.0 Nitrate = 0.0 Nitrite =0.0 Ammonia = 0.5 Those readings are with the AmmoLok in the system, of course. Sounds to me like a feed (get some nitrate into the system) and perhaps leave the partial water change for tomorrow, unless it is really important to get the Ammolok out by partials each day. The only other tank available to us is our original one ...ten (10) litres. Our fish now consist of 4 blue platies, 1 orange platy, 1 zebra danio, 1 bristlenose catfish. We have one extremely healthy clump of grass in the tank, which hides a quantity of baby platies.

Sorry Caryl, too late!

Thanks Alan, I'll take that on board.

OK, update. Big water change last night, adult fish transferred to another tank overnight. Readings in main tank are now: pH=7.2 (a little high) Nitrates=0 Nitrites=0.25 Ammonia=0.5 Tanksman, gravel thoroughly washed before it went in, and tank had (just) completed it's cycle...now we start over. Overnight, we lost our clown loach (stress) and also our harlequin rasbora (seeking greener pastures, jumped to arid brown carpet) All remaining fish back in main tank now. First stop today, lfs: more Cycle (running low now!!! ) and some ammo-lok. Once again, a huge THANKS for your help through this. (Plus, we are selling our home, agents through in bulk today) :-?

Yes, I think the fish are stressed enough already, Jude... I'll follow that, and keep testing the water. I'll keep you posted. At the moment, I have a gut feeling that the last gravel vaccing may have been a little too vigorous, and stirred up some nasty stuff at the bottom of the gravel. (Which probably means, I'm not vaccing often enough?)

Okay, carbon is out. Part way through water change now. It's in the lap of the gods now, as they say. My fingers are crossed. And, THANKS for your help and comments, it's good to have some feedback as I quietly panic! Um would it be OK to use cotton wool to replace carbon overnight, till I can get to LFS?

The tank is 75 litres. The filter is a Fluval hang-on-the-back type, media is sponge, activated carbon, bioballs. Cleaned by rinsing in tankwater at gravel vac/partial water change time. Will do a big water change. Likelihood is that I stirred up some nasty stuff in the last gravel vaccing. I will do 50% water change right now.

That reading is correct, Tanksman, and there are other fish at stake. Given that I am a newbie, what is the next step to correct water conditions?

It is possible I guess, but doesn't seem likely. Wouldn't the fish slow down or show some abnormal behaviour first?

The orange platty that came to us with the original tank we bought, died today. I did a full water test, these are the results: pH 7.0 Nitrates 0.5 Nitrites 0.0 Ammonia 4.0 Have been gravel vaccing, and doing partial water changes. I have also been running peat in the filter to lower pH, and changed back to the normal filter media this morning. I had had the usual filter media in the tank while I was running the peat. Any ideas?

I give them to my fish now (I tried it as an experiment) - they really go for it. But of course I also feed the fish flakes as their main food - cat biscuits is just as a treat or change.

Caper, I just take a handful, put them into the blender and blend til they are fine crumbs. (Then wash the blender before the kids see it out and make milkshakes in it...)

Welcome, Skate. I was up there recently on a work-related trip and I must say, I love the look and feel of the place.

Hey Jude, I did try it out, just a small quantity through the blender. The fish seem to love it, but there are complications (see my "help, help #2" post...

We saw the first of the little ones this evening, more hiding in the grass and more on the way.