Shilo

Have a look at: http://fish2water.co.nz/led-lighting.php

Remember the power company only reads your meter once every few months, they estimate usage on the other months which can be wildly off. If you don't have a advanced meter (automatically reads for the power company) make sure you are working on the actual meter readings and not estimates. For example 2 months ago my bill for the camp was just over $1000 (an estimate) which got the blood pressure up a bit. But last months was only $148 which was the actual reading taking the over-payment because of the previous estimate into account. Use an average from 4 to 6 months to compare to last years instead of monthly - your power may not have increased as much as you expect. Don't use the charts normally printed on some companies power bills because the data includes the estimates & only every 3rd or so month is correct. A household bill wouldn't vary as much as my camps which averages $1500 in the summer months and $400 in the winter but they would still vary and the estimates will still be incorrect until a reading takes place.

The system should handle your pump opened right up with all the led's lit. The sand will blow around and any fish may either take cover or like my native bullies love the surfing experience & keep heading into the current!. But the sump and overflow should be able to deal with it ok. Ideally if the pump is set half to 3/4's and things flow well then it is at its ideal. Both sides of the sump (the inlet and the pump side) should be reasonably level or at worst have no more then an inch difference. If there is a large difference then it could mean that the gap under the baffles isn't large enough and they will have to be removed (easy with a razor blade or craft knife, scalpel etc) as this is the only possible restriction to flow that I can see. When setting pump speed look at your overflow stand pipes. One should be a few inches deep (no noise & no air entering it) and one with just a very very small trickle going down (if you have a third then it should be above the water level & dry). Play with the pump speed and the overflow valve until the flow in the tank looks right for the fish you want to keep and the stand pipes are as above. (more pump speed means opening the valve more & visa versa).

can you post a pic of the sump full and running? This would help us work out what is blocking the flow through the sump.

Still only got the GK, 4 Inanga, 2 Redfins and a Koura in there. Haven't got my a into g and gone out at night hunting for more fish, have to do that sometime, problem here is stream access with most of the streams running through private property or DOC land. The GK had another health scare once when it freaked out when I walked into the office and swam straight into a rock on the far side of the tank. It damaged the corners of its upper mouth which started to ulcerate. Made up a hospital tank to treat it with furon (nothing else worked) but didn't think to cover the tank and found the GK at the door of the sump room at 9.30pm one night. Don't know how long it had been out of water but It was still alive so scooped it up and put it back into the hospital tank. It had banged up the top of its head jumping out but after a few days was happily swimming around like nothing happened only looking a bit worse for wear. All healed up now apart from 2 scars on the corner of its upper lip which makes it look even tougher then it tries to act! No problems with the other fish and the Koura has its claws back which it's very proud of. Systems working great but not bothering with the automatic water change as fine tuning it is tiresome (need irrigation drip feed attachment for it to work with out constant adjustment). Have come to realise its not needed since I clean the glass once a week and bulk water changes are so easy (turn one valve on to drain and another to fill up) that I might as well do a change when I clean the glass. Only other change is I stopped using ponga leaves and instead put some java moss on the bit of root that sticks up and on the top of the trunk.

Don't use the drill bit, use a template to keep the hole saw in place & water as a coolant. Take a look at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZBm3iDWcZg from about 4.20 onwards.

A mesh bag will make removing the noodles to clean easier. You could buy a bag or just untie one of those shower scrunchies (they are a very long mesh tube). tie or sew one end and pack with the noodles. Much cheaper then buying aquarium media bags. Don't pack them tight as you want heaps of water movement through them. Still use the foam - you already have it and it will be a simple job to silicon in some braces to hold it. You don't need glass, acyrlic or even pvc (strips cut from a thick bucket?) will work. I don't have much experience with heaters but a well placed piece of drift wood will disguise it. Alternatively in the future you could research for shorter / thicker heaters that would fit in the sump?

Ok, Yes it looks like the water has to flow from top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top of the foam which is causing the problem. I would remove the baffles completely (slice silicon with a razor blade or similar) then silicon 2cm wide strips of either glass or plastic down the sides and along the bottom where the baffles are currently placed. The foam could then slot between these strips and be supported (stop any bowing). Another option is to leave the baffles in place but fill them with ceramic media, then add foam support strips in the overflow section of the sump in front of the baffles. This will have the advantage of not only increasing the amount of biological media (foam + ceramic noodles) in the sump but also allow the foam to filter out any bigger particles before they can clog up the pores in the ceramic media. With the water flowing through the ends of the foam between the baffles you would also have had problems with the foam ends gunking up fast. With the water flowing through the middle sides of the foam any gunk will have a lot more surface area to spread over before the foam clogs (one year on and I have yet to need to clean my Poret). Others may offer different solutions but the above is what I would do.

Any pictures of your sump and overflow? "I have 2 poret foam between the baffles it dosent seem to be getting enough water in the 2nd side of the sump where the pump is we...." This bit sounds like there is either not enough holes in the baffles or you have the fine grade foam & the water is directed from the bottom edge of the foam sheet up to the top edge instead of through the middle of it. With poret the water should be going though the flat sides and the "baffles" only used to support the edges and stop the foam from bowing. If your baffles are like commonly seen on a marine tank sump with a gap at the bottom of one baffle and at the top of another then the water is trying to flow up the length of the foam from bottom to top which could be too restrictive. The glass baffles like used on a marine tank are mainly to prevent air bubbles from going through the system & are not needed in freshwater. As an example the attached pic is my set up: the water flows from the wet/dry through the flat sides of the foam & polisher then to the pump. Only baffle is to support the polisher (gutter mesh sides in a epoxy/wood frame), the foam is only supported by being jammed in and small bits of more foam at the bottom. (pump in pic is only a 4000ltr/hr and wasn't powerful enough). The sand problem is an easy fix by either directing the return away from the bottom or putting in a spray bar. If you still want bottom current then the spray bar could run along the end of the tank just above the sand, twist it so the holes point up enough not to disturb the sand. I still think you have the right sized pump, just the set up needs a bit more tweaking. You could always double check by timing how long a bucket will fill from under the overflow and a bit of maths. If it works out that between at least 2000ltr /hr to 4000ltr / hr is being pumped through then the pump size is correct (3 to 5x the tank volume per hour). You wouldn't want any less and more is Ok with a controllable pump.

That does not sound right for a 650ltr tank. How is it too powerful? Is it overpowering your overflow? The current too strong in the aquarium? How much water is flowing into the sump? With it on a setting of 1 there should be less then half the water flowing through the system, if there is no difference between 1 & 10 then you might have ended up with a faulty controller (separate part so easy to get exchanged). There should be a heap of water flowing into the sump, if there isn't and the overflow is filling too quickly then it could point to a plumbing problem. Check the overflow valve is opened up & there is no blockage anywhere.

Couple of things off the top of my head to check: Is the fan working? when on it should be pumping out hot air from the back, if you can't feel any air coming out then it will be the fan that's shot (should be able to get a replacement). Compressor is noisey but the fan is quieter so you may not hear it. If the air is moving out of the back but its cold then it most likely will be needing to be re-gassed by a refrigeration service. Don't know if Hailea have a regassing port but the refrigeration guys should be able to weld one in & it would be cheaper then getting a new chiller. Check your flow rate from the pump is within the recommended rate in the manual. If the water is pumped through too fast then it won't have time to chill down (i.e main pump too powerful and may need a separate lower volume pump just for the chiller). I noticed when researching chillers that for example one rated for a 1000ltr tank has a recommended flow of only 3000ltr/hr and not the 5000ltr/hr that a pump at 5x the tank volume will do. Was the chiller running for the whole half hour? That may mean the thermostat or probe is shot, again you should be able to get a replacement probe or a refrigeration service guy should be able to rig something up. Try setting it close to ambient temperature and see if it starts up and doesn't stop running for over an hour. Hope this helps! 0.5C rise could be from the pump working harder pumping through the chiller?

Yes there should be native fish where the Koura are. Again best way to check is to go at night (1hr after dark or later) and do some spot lighting with a torch. The best streams are ones which have access to the sea somewhere down their waterway (even 100+km away) & no huge waterfalls or inaccessible culverts downstream which fish can't pass. This is because most natives have a marine stage (think whitebait) If its in a native bush area it would also have a lot more life. Here's some info on the types of natives and where they live: http://aquariumworld.nz/databases/2-new-zealand-native/ https://www.niwa.co.nz/freshwater-and-estuaries/nzffd/NIWA-fish-atlas/fish-finder https://www.facebook.com/nznativefish/

Shrimp are good - just make sure you have a sponge or fine netting over the filter inlet (my shrimp are always going for hydro-slide rides into the sump). A few Inanga's will suit the tank well and since they live in the upper water column will keep out of the way of the koura & their pincers. A couple of Redfin or common bullies are another option, they are real characters and although share the same area as the koura, have evolved alongside them and will keep out of the way. Native NZ mud snails (those tiny ones) will also be good and help keep the tank clean. Don't put gold fish or white cloud minnows in the tank with koura since they don't know to keep away and will get damaged from the claws.

Budget up to $500 for a second hand chiller & keep a weekly eye out on Trademe so you don't miss out. 1/10 up will do for a 100ltr tank. They should go beside the stand and not underneath it unless the stand is open ended and has a lot of air movement. The chiller will pump out quite a bit of heat into the room during summer so leave a window or 2 open. You could get away without a chiller if you have an air conditioned room & don't mind room temps being down to 20C during the summer - but it will probably work out cheaper running a chiller. Koura are easy to find - just go to any small stream in native bush at night and shine a touch in the water. Use 2 nets (warehouse long handled butterfly nets are good & cheap), one sat behind the koura and the other one in front slowly sweeping up to it. Chances are the Koura will flick itself backwards & into the rear net. When collecting just remember that its illegal to take any wildlife from DOC & regional park land. Lastly don't go for the biggest meanest one you can find as the smaller they are the faster they will get used to a tank and the better chance of survival. Any size below 3" is good - they grow fast. Also if they are missing a limb or claws etc, don't worry about it as they grow back. My current one had no claws when I found it last year but now has a couple of mean munchers that I'm starting to be wary off!

Beware that more then one may lead to fighting especially if you have 3 in there and only a couple of hiding places. Give them at least twice as many hides as you have Koura so they can pick and choose (my one has excavated 4 hides all of which he uses). The more places they have to hide the safer they will feel and you will see them more often. They will burrow under anything, in the case of rocks etc this means the rock will just keep settling deeper into the gravel as the koura digs underneath until the rock is buried or the koura's head is poking out of under it saying "Help me!" . Best to have something under the rocks or decorations that will help support the item above the gravel. For example 2 small rocks under the gravel supporting a each end of a larger one on top so the koura can safely burrow underneath. Go with 4cm of fine gravel or sand. They are burrowers and will be more comfortable if they can renovate their own homes to their liking. They are escape artists. If for any reason they dislike their home they will move and can climb any filter tubing etc. Years ago I had one that used to go for a wander at night around the lounge but was able to find its way back into the tank before morning. Make sure the tank is well covered with no gapes. They are nocturnal so you may not see them out and about much. After awhile they will come out at feeding time if you train them: feed them at the same time every 2nd day or so by putting some food just outside their hole. Eventually they learn that its safe to come out a bit further etc and after 6 months or so will be their to greet you at feeding time. They will also recognise a hand as a good thing (food bringer) so never chase them or try to catch them by hand, let them think a net is the scary monster instead. Add calcium to their diet or use a high calcium food. They will consume their own shell after a moult but of course each new shell is bigger then the last one and they need calcium to produce it. I feed mine with Repashy Veggie Burger and add a small sprinkling of extra calcium when mixing it up (both I got for my Blue Tongue skink) , the meat portion of its diet it gets by scavenging left over food from the fish. Lose the heater, 15C is their optimum temperature but they are quite happy from 5 to 18C. Your main problem is going to be during the summer when you can't let the water get more then 20C, a chiller is the only practical way of doing this - floating frozen bottles etc is next to useless for more then a day because you will be swapping bottles out every few hours day and night. Use dim lights as they are nocturnal and strong lighting will just send them into their hides.

It contains Acetic acid (vinegar is just acetic acid + water) which helps in curing the silicon. If the sealant doesn't contain acetic acid then it would use other solvents to cure which could be dangerous to the fish.

If it's silicon, smells of vinegar and doesn't contain any anti-mould or anti- bacteria additives it's save to use. Most will have "aquarium safe" written on the front or back.

The light tubes might be past their use by date. Fluorescents need to be replaced every 6 months to 1 year as their brightness starts to dim and stop putting out enough light for the plants. Because its a very gradual process you might not notice it until you put a new bulb in there. I would just live with the snails and keep them under control by plucking them out and scraping of any egg patches you find once a week with the water change. They are probably eating the plants as they start to die off and because there is not enough algae in the tank (low light brightness) which I think they prefer.

Keep some hydrogen peroxide at hand anyway. If after the no light / water changing schedule it starts to appear again, spot it with the peroxide as soon as you see any sign of it. Just load a small syringe (no needle) with the peroxide and squirt a small bit directly onto the BGA under the water. Hydrogen peroxide is safe for your fish used this way (so long as its not squirted on them) since it degrades to oxygen and water as soon as it touches organics. But it will kill bacteria which BGA is. Good luck!

The fish are healthy and not infected so don't think it is Columnaris. But it does look like exactly like cyanobacteria (blue green algae) apart from of course its white. The growth rate and the fact that the water quality is Ok certainly points to BGA. Instead of treating it as a fungus I would temporarily rehouse the fish even if it is in a plastic storage container with a air pump and syphon up as much as possible. Lower the water level until just the tops of the plants are covered then blitz the tank with some hydrogen peroxide. Keep the water pumping through the filter but it will mean taking some media from your good tanks to stop the tank recycling. After a couple of yours drain the rest of the water (inc that in the filter) to get rid of the dead stuff and avoid other problems and swap out 1/2 filter media as above. Old media could be cleaned and put back into the good tanks filters. Fill the tank up again and acclimatise the fish to the new water. Dosing the tanks with antibiotics would be another option but I think what we used to use (starts with "e") is no longer available? Either way treat it as a blue green algae bloom even if its not blue or green or an algae.... Never done this in such a radical way myself, instead I have only spot treated BGA with hydrogen peroxide but by the look of those tanks it will need more then spot treatment.

Product Information page "Why Choose Repashy" They refer to all their carnivore based food range with this info. Its the reason I use it, natives are mainly insect eaters and Grub Pie is 75% insect based compared to other processed foods that get their protein from sources like salt water fish waste. Prefer to feed my fish something as close to their natural diet as I can without the hassle of growing / collecting live food.

Primes not needed, just avoid water changes and no chlorine will be added (you have no fish so water changes are needed). Carry on adding ammonia when it drops but get a cheap heater to put into the tank. Coldwater cycling takes a long long time but if you get the temp up to 28C it will fast track and be done in a couple of weeks. Just bring up the temperature over a few days and bring it back down the same way once the cycling is finished.

When was the last time the bulbs (T8?) were replaced? Fluorescent tubes only last 6 to 12 months before their intensity reduces so much that the plants are not getting the light they need.

2 x 42mm will be amble. Just make sure the main 100% flow drain in the Herbie is deep enough below the overflows water level not to suck in any air (creating a vortex) and tune the main drain valve so that the 2nd higher drain has either a very, very small trickle of water going down it (can't see it but will wet a tissue) or no water at all but the level is at the top of the pipe. If that 2nd "emergency" drain is 10+cm higher then the main drain you won't have a problem. Water only makes noise if it is mixed with air (think waterfall, waves etc), if there is no air going into the system there is no noise. With my 7000lph Jabeo I have the valve on the 100% drain of the Herbie tuned so that at full bore there is a small trickle down the emergency stand pipe but when the pumps turned down so that 2 of the lights on the control pad are off the water level is 3cm below the emergency stand pipes top (normal operation). If I turn it down even more and the level drops to below 5cm it sucks air and makes noise. The stand pipes are 32mm and the valve is approx 3/4's open. 42mm pipes will easily handle a 9000lph at full bore with normal head taken into account.

But I've thought it always sound like: SSHHHHSHSHSHSHSHSHGLUGLGULGUGLBUBBLEGLUGGwanttogotothetoiletyet?SSSHHHSHSHyoureallywantto gotothetoiletBLUBLG SSHHHHSHSHSHSHSHSHGLUGLGULGUGLbackalreadyBUBBLEGLUGGSSSHHHSHSHyouwantogoagainnow!BLUBLG Noisy tanks all depend on what overflow system you use and how its tuned, not on the strength of the water flow. A simple hole in the side of the tank or single standpipe will be noisy but a double or triple pipe overflow system should create no noise at all. Filter systems are a different matter with a wet/dry filter being the loud unless filters inlet pipe is under water which can be complicated to tune (a variable pump like a DC one helps here) & make. More water flow doesn't necessarily mean more noise unless the overflow is not designed to cope with it. In my tank the overflow is completely silent (500ltr with a DC 7000lph running) and the wet/dry is in a separate room so noise from it doesn't matter. For a 650ltr tank I would go for a 9000lph (it won't use any more electricity then a smaller pump if dialled down to the same rate of flow). Also I personally wouldn't worry about wave makers until the tank is set up. For freshwater normal current tanks a wave maker is mainly used to get rid of any dead spots and help move debris around the tank so it gets filtered out. The current flow in the tank and what dead spots develop will depend on the location of the inlet pipe / spray bar in the tank and where any rocks and logs are placed.