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Shilo

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Everything posted by Shilo

  1. Trout eat both wasps and bees, but if you have ever felt the inside of a trouts mouth you will know why they can get away with it! Still wouldn't risk an aquarium fish with them. Cheers Shilo
  2. Shilo

    New Tank!

    It worked :lol: , served them notice of cramped confinement and now the fish are settled and happy!. No measurable ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm. The water did cloud up last night but was clear again by morning. At least they will be getting fit swimming 2X the distance in each circuit! Sorry Goldie, but don't have a digital camera so no pics. Still have the hood to complete. At the moment they only have a 20 watt tube & I'm getting the bits together to boost it to 50 or 60. The Plec's given up on landscaping. Every time he shifted something the "Big Hand From Above" came down to put it back. Hopefully he will choose a different career and allow the plants to re-root. Have to keep away from fish shops since acquiring new stock is too tempting with a larger tank. I know that the Loaches can triple in size, the SAE's have another 10cm to grow and the Pleco will not stop growing. But hey, I do have a spare 50ltr now
  3. Shilo

    New Tank!

    Ok, I've had enough of this sun 8) (well my burnt back has). So today I got stuck into finishing off the tank stand. Not a professional job but sturdy and looks pretty good in the lounge. I couldn't resist setting up the tank to go on it. I used the water, gravel and filter from the old aquarium so hopefully no major cycling will occur. My fish have now moved from their cramped 50ltr apartment to a 125ltr mansion. As soon as they where released: The Tetras attacked anything that floated near them. The SAE's took one look at the shinny algae free glass and hid in disgust. The Pleco scorned all the hidey holes I had painstakingly made for him and promptly set about rearranging driftwood and plants And finally the Skunk Loaches did a circuit of their new home then promptly fell on their sides and played dead!!! :roll: How’s that for gratitude! At least I'm happy with the new set up. Cheers Shilo
  4. Shilo

    Tank $?

    Thanks guys, Offered $60 for it since it would cost at least $20 to freight it here if I brought it in Auck. Now in the middle of making a stand and hood. I'm thinking of using my current small tanks gravel, plants, filter and water so I can transfer the fish straight over to their new mansion. Will this work? or will the new tank still go through some cycling since over 1/2 the water and gravel will be new? Cheers Shilo
  5. Shilo

    Tank $?

    Merry Xmas everybody, I have been offered a 125ltr glass tank but neither myself or the vendor knows what it is worth. It is fairly old but in good condition. 90x40x37cm with glass 0.9cm thick (solid describes it!). It was used as a turtle tank but comes with a cover sheet. I want to buy it for a fair price since the seller is a friend, no extras are supplied. Any ideas of what its worth? :-? Cheers Shilo
  6. I rinse mine all the time (Whisper hang on the wall). One bag lasts about 5 months with monthly washes. I also buy charcoal separately since it is much cheaper then the tiny amount of charcoal / zeolite mix Tetra sell for use in their filters. Either bad maintenance or bad luck, the heater is still at fault, or rather the designers are. Most modern equipment is designed to minimalise human error. The computer in front of you is a good example - if you accidentally delete a file it can be retrieved by simply digging through the rubbish bin. Seat belts in cars are another example. The heater not working because of a filter breakdown is a design / concept fault. But the choice is up the individual who may consider the advantages out weigh the risk. Of course I have no where to attach an external heater too, but it would be good to get it out of the tank.
  7. Not sure about the large braided river beds you have down there, but lakes are good (not recently manmade). I got mine from farm drains! You never really see them in the wild during the day - to much temptation for a trout, but you will be surprised how many are crawling around at dark. The central Nrth Isl lakes would average 2-3 per square meter around the edges. Its great just walking around some water edge (lake, stream or drain) with a torch. There's more there then just eels. You might end up taking home some bullies or Galaxiids to keep your koura company. Take a browse at http://www.nzfreshwater.org/index_wildlife.html Cheers Shilo
  8. Koura are a lot of :lol: to keep! To find them just take a torch, some meat and your fish net to any bush stream or lake at night. They like something soft to burrow in so look for areas with a clay or sand bed. If you don't see some right away, drop the meat in the water and return in about 1/2hr. Put your net behind them and move your hand in front of them to scare them into the net. You have a different species in Canterbury then us in the north. Yours will have hairy claws. They can get up to 15cm in a lake. For the aquarium, keep the water cool. Put supports (stones or such) under any rocks or driftwood since the crays will dig their burrows under them and will quickly bury the rock if its not supported. If you want plants - forget about it. The little blighters have the sharpest set of secateurs you will ever come across. Mine used to delight in snipping of the plant at gravel height and watching the stems float to the surface. Feed them anything. Meat, dead fish, and worms go down well but they will also eat left over fish food etc. They will have a go at any slow fish in the tank by waving their claws and hoping to connect. Fish with long flowing fins could end up having a trim, but I had no trouble with native fish. Try them - Hardy, easy to keep, very amusing and (when they know they are safe), will come out in daylight.
  9. Hi John Your right. The URL is exactly the same as in my bookmarks (cut and pasted) but can't be accessed via the link above :-? The front door to the page is: http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquasource/aquasource.shtml Go to Hamburg Mattenfilter. Its just a translated version of what you have read in German. I'm thinking of heaps of plants and aquarium frame of the stand/hood going up the side of the tank to hide the edge of the foam. Cheers Shilo
  10. Hi Guys, I am currently in the planning stages of up-sizing my tank. I'm thinking of one around the 150 liter mark. Since a small $ problem is getting in the way, I will be DIYing the stand, hood and possibly the tank itself. The small filter I'm using now won't cope, so I will make this as well. My trouble is what type (or types) to make. Currently its a toss up between a Fluidized Bed Filter, a Wet/Dry Filter, and now just to confuse me - a Hamburg Mattenfilter??? This last one is basically a foam mat wall in the tank which water passes through allowing a large surface area for the bacteria to do their job. The link I found it on is: http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/mattenfilter.shtm The advantages look like being: 1. Large surface area. 2. Draws water from the complete water column. 3. Maintenance free - no ongoing costs (apart from power). 4. Easy to install. Disadvantages are: 1. Unsightly (but can be planted up with Java Moss etc.) 2. Takes up room in the tank. 3. Long cycling time. 4. One less excuse to go to the fish shop for supplies Has anybody use this method before? What other disadvantages can you see with it? What type of foam mat could be used? More info can be found at http://www.deters-ing.de/ its in German but those with Google can translate via the Page Info button. But beware Yodi speak you if do this.
  11. Shilo

    Filter help

    The filter is not for a tank in one of those fancy restaurants where you get very fresh fish is it? :lol: Cheers Shilo
  12. Shilo

    Filter help

    Hi again, Yeap, thats right the sponge and mesh "cradle" doesn't slot into the chamber - just sits in front of the bio bag. Remember to just use normal filter wool (or nylon scouring pads) if you don't have the sponge and cradle. Best to ask for Second Nature/Tetra Whisper Bio Bag in Regular size. Cheers Shilo
  13. Shilo

    Filter help

    Hi John, First, take a look at http://www.petsmart.com/products/product_710.shtml to see if we are talking about the same filter. The Whisper actually has 2 inserts in the large chamber. You should have a plastic frame with flaps on top of it. This is what the filter bag fits over. The flaps are held down over the bag opening by a clip. If you don't have this bit - don't worry since a spare is normally included in the box of filter bags. If you look at the sides of the large chamber you will see a slot down each side. This frame (with bag attached) fits into these slots. The 2nd insert is like a hard plastic mesh with sides. This is for a sponge and slides down between the bio bag and the outlet ramp. The sponge isn't ment to be replaceable, and I haven't seen it sold in the shops yet. If you are missing it, just use some filter wool instead since its purpose is for bacteria growth. Hope this helps. The manufacturers site is not very informative but URL is: http://www.tetra-fish.com/aquarium/index.html Cheers Shilo
  14. Shilo

    Filter help

    Hi Goldie. Thanks for the welcome I know - scary. I have a smallish tank as well! I got 10 tetras since they were on special 10 for $18.95 and they need each others company. All the new fish are under 1.5cm so the total bulk isn't much. Its just that they are all over the place. At the moment the Skunk loaches are chasing and snapping at each others tail. Have to build a time out room I plan to build a bigger tank for them in the next few months. Until this I am doing a 2x weekly 25% water changes and Ammonia and PH tests every 2nd day. Unfortunately forgot to pick up a Nitrate/Nitrite kit and can't get into town to buy one. Does anyone know of a good mail or online supplier? The fish still look fine after a week and the water quality is good with the sight, feel, smell test. So I'm crossing my fingers Cheers Shilo
  15. Shilo

    Filter help

    Hi Pegasus & all, You have a great site here. I've been keeping fish on and off for most of my life but not very successfully. I have probably learnt more in the last couple of weeks scanning this forum then I had over all the previous years! The most luck I had was with a native tank which I kept going for 5yrs. Tropicals now though since we don't have enough streams to find natives here. For the last couple of years I have had a lonely Pleco (or should it be Pl*co). Last weekend he was forced to make friends with 10 X-Ray Tetras, 2 Skunk Loaches (Botia horae), and 2 Siamese Algae Eaters. He took it remarkably well despite a 1.5cm Loach spending an hour trying to shift his 20 cm bulk. My tank now brings me images of a grumpy old man stuck in a kindergarten where the kids have had an overdose of Red Bull. It will do him good! Anyway, thanks for the welcome and I hope I can help others as I have been helped over the last couple of weeks. Cheers Grant
  16. Shilo

    Filter help

    Thanks for the welcome Caryl The box says that they are made by Tetra in the US so should be available across the ditch. The problem is that they are normally hidden away on some obscure shelf and apart from the faint red Whisper name there are no clues on the packaging. Look for the words Bio-Bag & Regular. The model I use is a Tiad 2000 but the packaging only lists it as a 2.
  17. Shilo

    Filter help

    I have used one of these for the last 10yrs without any problems. The filter bags are getting harder to find but are still out there. Look for a white box / packet with Whisper Bio-Bag written on it. They come it 2 sizes: The Junior which would be too small for your tank, and Regular. You can get them as singles or in a box of 8 ($37.45 Jansens NZ). The bags can be reused up to 10 times so buy a box of carbon since you only get a very small packet of carbon with each bag. Use the filter at full blast and when it starts to overflow near the inlet tube (normally after 2 weeks), rinse the muck off the bag and change the carbon. They are quite, and most of the noise it creates is caused by vibrations. If this is a problem put some thin foam rubber under the places the filter contacts the tank. Cheers Grant
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