Pies

In my sand bed? Its a regular party down there. Badness goes in, gets converted into goodness, and the cycle continues. I perscribe to a live sand bed however, so it doesn't get vacumed or disturbed, hence the reason its so clean. Its working well for me. I do have problems in my sump though, I can't keep up with the algae (macro/calurpa) growth, and its preventing me from growing corals in there with any real success. So I am in the process of completely stripping this tank (DSB included). Will I add sand back in? At this stage unlikley, but havn't made the decision final yet. I want to make major changes to the tank and rockwork upstairs, so I need somewhere safe for the corals upstairs, which means I want no calurpa or anything competing for light etc. Sand bed upstairs will remain as-is, or I may add more depending on the aesthetics after the rockwork moves. Pie

yeah!

I am sure than 10m on the horizontal will cause the pump issues. There is more than just friction to consider, there is the weight of the water it has to push. 10m seems a long way to pump for a small hobby pump, i'd be testing it before I plumbed it all together. Pie

WOW! That is awesome, those corals are doing great. Might have to hit you up for some frags! Pie

Will the 1262 pump water 10M? Pie

hahahahahaha Thats right, I forgot, your always right, anyone who disagrees with you is an "expert" as opposed to an expert. I am not an expert, or an 'expert' but I know what works and what doesn't. All the theory in the world can't deny the outstanding results than are achieved by having the sand bed. If you need examples check out www.reefcentral.com or www.ultimatereef.com there is more than 1 or 2. Pie

IRA are you on holiday? And yes that would be juv bat fish. The grow MEGA fast and don't look as nice when larger but are cool in big shoals (you would need a 1 brazillian litre tank though). Pieman

Yes it can, and it does. Pie

Agree with Layton. Joeblog - Service and Quality are my biggest factors (ignoring availability). I have recently purchased some goods (not fish related) that I could have got cheaper elsewhere, however I felt that the source I choose added additional value over the product itself (which would have been identical) and was worth another 15% in good faith. Its interesting that you say prices havn't come down [in Chch] as there is definatly a reduction in prices here in the north. Not sure if its because of competetion or just larger volumes of goods available in general (I am only talking about livestock here, not drygoods). Pie

Agree, great book. I think its at 3rd edition. Pie

LionOfZion - nope. The water will break 22degrees in certain parts of the country for a short period of time in the height of summer, but spends most of its time sub-tropical (16 degrees or less). The long term prospect of these animals surviving these tempratures all year around are small, to nil. Lots of tangs and tropical species come down in warm water currents and can be observed in NZ for a month or so, but they don't survive the cooler tempratures. Temprature stability will also be an issue throughout the year. Pie

Because I like the magical properties of the sand, its ability to filter the water and reduce nutrients and produce valuable life to feed the rest of the tank, lets see starboard to that! Pictures. Expect pictures very soon. The tank doesn't look much different than you have all seen in the past. My sacrophyton is over 800mm wide and has to go, my purple acro gets bigger and bigger, i've lost 2 corals (including my bubble) and an acro, due to light starvation from the sacrophyton. My fungia has produced 6 babies, 2 have budded off. Otherwise, its all the same. Very soon I am replacing the lighting with the new reflectors (I have all 4 now, but they need a few hours work to complete). I am also going to re-organise the bulk (center and right) of the tank, remove the sacrophyton, and remove some rock, to create more swimming room for the fish. also hope to add 30-40 chromas and 1 or 2 more fish. I'll share as soon as I have some news. Pie

My comments above aside, there is certainly something to be said for keeping loyal customers happy. Word of mouth and reputation are very valuable. As others have said, your best course of action is to spend your hard earned money else where and encourage others to do the same by sharing you experances with them. The door swings both ways. I've had poor experance with HFF 3 kings in Auckland, and would not purchase from them again. I have had great service and peace of mind from Jansens 3 kings, and wouldn't hesitate to purchase from them again. I hate great service from Petworld in Chch (from eddy?) and wouldn't hesitate to purchase from them again, although i have heard negitives about this store, my 3 dealins with them have been superb. Pieman

The behavior of most fish is well documented, and you often read that 'most' are ok but the ocasional one are bad. I don't think the shop has any responsibility other than to sell you a healthy animal with good long term life prospects. I wouldn't expect them to have refund any money. And as the SPCA add's say don't buy an animal unless you are prepared to look after it. So as long as the fish is healthy, the shop has done their bit. And I am not saying shops shouldn't consider taking a fish back for store credit or whatever is amicable to both parties (e.g. the yellow tang example would surly be and example of a fish easy to on-sell etc) but we shouldn't expect it. They shop also has the added risk of not knowing the home from which the fish came. So if they agree to take it back, and it dies before its re-sold will you refund the shop? If not, why should they take the risk? Pie

My sand remains clean and white... Pie

I have sand, and I think my tank looks OK, Certainly doesn't look bad. I have no hair algae, cyno or anything else going on. BB looks terrible and knowing that great results can be had with sand present in the tank I struggle to understand why people bother. Pie

Eels. First off they require a 'special' aquairum, in that they often escape, so it needs tight fitting lids with no holes. No many of us have, or would have a setup like that. The NZ species of Moray (of which there are 5) all grow far to large for a normal modest Aqairum. Also they are temprate, not tropical, which means chillers. Expensive kit that is rare outside of the reef-keepers and their never ending bags of money. Another factor is the Morays in NZ are found in 2 places, The Poor Knights and the Kermadecs. Both of these places are marine reserves and everything in them is protected. I'd love to keep an eel myself, but the hastle of having tight fitting lids makes it all but impossibe. Check out pics of the Red Dragon Headed eel from Hawaii. Its one of the most awesome looking animals in the ocean. They sell for well over 1k USD. Pie

I agree with JoeBlog. I used to use mine just to add more randomness but have given up, more current is good, not bad, let the streams ROAR I say. Pie

I've had 3 and am about to add my 4th. I've lost 1 to a move and 2 have jumped. Cool fish, one of my favorites. I've heard people talking about them being nippy but not witnessed it myself. Be warned, there are 4 line and 8 line that I have seen in action, they will munch shrimp and anything else, but the 6 lines, in my experance, are a great comunity fish (my tank is larger than average though, they may be different on a small tank). Pie

If we ever move houses I will insist on a larger tank. I'll go 4000 litres or more depending on space and location. "Less isn't more, more is more" Pie

? I have friends that race motorsport, which I suspect outweighs a fishtank like that. Yes it would be expensive, but if its 'your' hobby, like the thing that defines who you are, then I am sure its manageable. A few thousand a month for the hobby you enjoy, I know people who spend a lot more on a lot less. I look at my setup and think, well its 3x bigger, so if it costs 3x more I could afford it. Electricity and bulbs being your biggest costs. Saltwater is free where I live. Pie

How about an updated pic of the cabinet and all the fixings. Looks good. Pie

School? He's Austrailian...

:roll: :roll: :roll:

Coke bottles? HAHAHAHAHA Yeah I can imagine that works really well...