Pies

Lots of different options, and some things to keep in mind though when you take the plunge into Co2. First remember you don't really want to be putting Co2 into the tank at night, so add a gas solinoid into your list. Others will say its working fine without it, which is true, but you will get better and more stable results with no Co2 at night. You need to add iron to the water with Co2, a dosing pump is ideal, Ehiem make one, which I own and personally think its shit, I would look at the IKS one, its better and cheaper (but you will need to buy a timer). OK OK where to get one. I have one for sale Its a JBL model. There was a dupla alpha model (the ones I use now) in the T&E for $180.00. There are excellent 2 stage gauges with gagues built in. Switched on gardner use them to grow pot (sorry I mean hydroponic pot plants) www.sog.co.nz and they have a model with a gas solinoid built in. Gas bottes can be hired from BOC and sometimes purchased, I purchased one. Also if you are in Auckland Jansens will find C02 bottles for free. Hope this helps... Pies

Well I have created a web site and its now avaiable to the general public. Its not flash, but it has nice photos and info on my reef. I am trying to get others interested in the marine keeping (reef & fish) hobbie, so I figured this was one way to offer information and provide some pics and info on getting started. www.aqua.net.nz click on the marks page link on the left. I am very interested in feedback, corrections, questions or any comments at all. So feel free to email me or post your feedback here. Cheers Pies NB: When jane and I build our 500+ltr freshwater tank, we will also give it the web treatment. NB: I am in Wellington, so if your in the area and are interested in viewing the reef I love to show it off.

I am using Kalkwasser to kill the Aipstasia. My tank is massive though, so pulling out 120KG of rock is not going to happen! I have to do it all 'wet'. GARF. I don't like the fake corals (just get real ones!) but the concrete rock is awesome. Also to cycle it, ever though about putting it in the ocean for a few weeks? Thats what they do in California now for 'live rock'. They make wicked rock just like the garf article, put it in the ocean, come back 2 months later, it has some corline on it, and some other life too! It will take a while for it to go purple, I have white rock in my tank thats been there for over 3 months, and its still white (well brown with some purple spots on it). Its all about patience though Because I have taken my time with the tank, its starting to look good now, lots of corline, little algae (except the bubble stuff I am getting a little worried about). Corline has covered my cleaning magnet, and I have millions and million of mysid shrimp breeding, hundreds of little cricked copods of amphods or whatever the hell.... But yes, I still have some aipstasia... Copper Band butterfly is looking appealing...

Heya everyone. If you want to see some pics and info of my tank. www.aqua.net.nz and click on the Marks page link on the left. Enjoy it and remember, its still very much under construction. Cheers Pies

Give me a call, 9732713 and come ove rand check it out. I am in Ngaio, which is by Johnsonville/Khandallah. You would be lucky to find the book 2nd hand as its quite new. What do you intend on keeping fish wise other than sea horses? Also what size aquairum are you going to have? There are a few people with pretty mini seahorses around. There are also the ones from here in NZ. If you dive I can take you out and we can find some. You dive? You night dive? You said in one of your posts where you get your saltwater from. The best place BAR NONE is the south cost, less polutants and cleaner than anywhere from the west coast. Also less silicates (we have tested the water). Remember that NZ water is low in calcium (380ish not the 450+ you want) so its and additive required for warmer water.

Just thought i'd drop this info in here for anyone who may be interested. I've just done the full spectrum of tests on the tank... Salinity .025 (target of .025) Phosphate 0 (target of 0) Nitrite 0 (target of 0) Nitrate <5ppm (target of <10ppm, but closer to 0 is better) Amonia 0 (target of 0) Calcium 440-460 (target of 450+) PH 8.6 (target of between 8.0 - 8.7 should be fine) KH 200 (target of 100-125 - this is a worry, am going to be keeping a VERY close eye on things here, will re-post in 1 week) Water quality is perfectly clear, some micro bubbles from bad sump design to be resolved soon. Life seems happy, fish eat non-stop! Coral is showing obvious signs of growing, other coral is changing colour. Acropora is growing! Thats is, FYI. Pies

Fallen I am in Wellington and have Marines up and running. I also have a good book you may borrow or if you want to buy it "The Natural Reef Aquairum by Tullock". Its the bible on modern reef keeping & Fish keeping. Things have changed, i.e. no one I know is using a canister filter on there marine tank, and not many are using wet/drys either. I don't even use filter wool anywhere in my tank... Nothing other than a skimmer. I have had my tank up and running for 3 months now. But I was planing for much longer prior to this. I also have some VERY GOOD contacts to buy fear through. I personally think its wrong to support a shop like Animates by buying Marine supplies from them, when they can't be bothered making an effort to stock anything. I can find you all the equipment you need, and much better prices than the shops. I know who Jamie is. And he is probably the best person in Animates when it comes to fish, but he has never had marines and his way of thinking is quite 'old school'. If your serious about it, pop over, look at the equipment and livestock. I can lend you a book or 2 if you want. When you are closer to actually purchasing you equipment I will help sus it out for you. The biggest mistake you can make is to purchase from your LFS on their advice, its very expesnive to keep buing the same piece of equipment over and over again. Do it once, do it right. Pies

Yeah light is a tricky one. I have a friend with a tank, bow front, who as well as some fluros had 3x 150 watt halides. Had to get rid of 1 and raise the other 2 because of too much light. He tried to convince me to get 150s, but I went for 250 insted. Glad I did, whish I had 3, or 2x 400 watt! Upgrade the light, forget the arcadia/aquamedic stuff, its no better than stuff than can be found for 1/4 the price. unless ofcourse you have an unlimited budget. Pies

OK first thing to remember is that they are not plants, but algae. There are very few true marine plants (seagrass may well be the only one, can't remeber but have read this). Peety, not sure all that power is nessessary dude! I have microalgae growing under fluros in a shallow tank, and at depth (600mm) under 250watt Metal halide. Green and red, but Red seems to require only a little, and shaded light. Be careful with marine algae, it can SUCK a lot of calcium out of a tank real fast, it can also go 'sexual' or asexual and dieoff too, which can force the tank into instability. Pies

Reef is right. I use seawater, and have a slightly overpowered skimmer for my tank. Natural seawater is shocking really! Skim the crap out of it if possible. Also clean the skimmer out every other day if you can, a clean skimmer works a lot better than a dirty (just clean the collection cup and neck). Also the question of freshwater topup is important. I too evaporate about 5L a night, topup with 5L of Kalkwasser using RO/DI. Questions about 'unknown growth' are always going to be tricky, but agree with Reef it is prolly a Cyno. Water needs to be tested. What is you Phosphate? Are you using Phosphate killer? Also Salifert do an organics test kit, I never bother though. Your Nitrates etc ok? Also whats your salinity? How much topup do you add a day? Pies

[email protected] will find me Send through whatever you like. Keen to see the plumbing and photos of tank if avail. email me and i'l lsend through as many as you like. Some people use a 'red/pink' seaweed from the rock pools. Its survives but not sure as to how good it is so I won't bother. I have 3 different types of microalgae growing. 1 'deep red 'low light that looks like a fancy red lettuce, 1 unknow feather leaf and Calurpa Ramosa (grape caulerpa). This is the one i will use until I have found some Taxifola (banned by MAF in NZ). I have enough of all 3 to supply 'starter' amounts. The green stuff requires good current and LOTS of light. Personally I don't like it in the tank and will only grow it in the sump (reverse light system). But my sump is still 'in design stages' as you will see I am using a 'ghetto' model right now! Cheers! Pies

Thanks. I'll start a web server for my tank tonight then. I'll grab some diskspace and post some pics etc. Cheers & thx

Can you insert pics into my text. Like here is a pic of my tank = ??? If so can someone please let me know? ta Pies

Glass shrimp are the ones you get by the rock pools. Just drag a net through the algae and you get heaps! I am lucky not to have any cyno but increased water params (nitrite, nutrients) will help. Also some increased circulation will help. Have you got any Calurpa in your tank? If not you should get some from somewhere (me if nowhere else). It will help export lots of nutrients etc and may stop they cyno etc from growing. I'll send some pics soon. How much bandwith you got (i.e. how many mb of pics you want to recieve? Love to see a drawing of the plumbing etc. User MSPAINT and send it to me. Pies

I agree its expensive if you want to keep inverts, but fish only is about 2/3 cheapers. Its an awesome hobby, but if you can't afford it don't do it. You may loose everything you put into it. I am not rich, but when I decided to 'take the plunge' I did some because I wanted a successful tank. I have yet to prucahse something I haven't needed, I am avoiding gimicks etc. I have been extremely lucky as I've met a few people who have been very generous with there time and helped me source a lot of stuff cheaper than if I was paying full retail. But even then it is expesnive. But if you can afford to do it, you should, its the best thing I have ever done. I like my reef so much I am in the middle of breaking down my freshwater, the reef is so much more satasifing. I hate to talk about costs but this will give you an idea... I have purchased as much 2nd hand as I can, but have refused to skimp on anything. Most people I have spoken to, who have done things on a tight budget have found it a very unsussessful hobby, and they have wasted what money they have put into it. COSTS APPROX: 1x Deltec Skimmer ($900) 2x 250 Watt Metal Halides (150 watt would have also been 'OK') $900 4x 5ft Tubes - I want for T5s here, better value for the long term $760 1x 700ltr Tank - DIY $550. 1x DIY Tank Stand $250 PLUMMING incl taps, returns, SCWDs etc $400 4x Pumps (1x return, 3x closed loops of circulation) $1000 Timers and extension cords etc $150 2x 300 Watt heaters $Free had them 1x 160ltr 3ft tank for sump $free had it 105kg+ Live rock $1050 Coral Sand $120 Testkits, Kalkwasser, Coral food, phos killer, etc $400+ RO & DI unit for freshwater top off $650 I have so far spent over $1500 on stock, and would no dobut spend more if I could find stuff, but anyone whos in Wellington knows there is nothing here. I have photos of the tank for anyone interested and anyone in or around Wellington that wants to startup or advice I would help you if I can.

Heya Peety I wanna see photos! Awesome that things are going well. I've had a few woes with my tank (but craftmanship from me) but otherwise am very happy. I met with a guy who is a quite knowledgeable and he has done studies on snails and hermit crabs etc. Slowly acclimitising them GREATLY increases their life spans. I still have 3 hermit crabs from my initial setup 2 months ago! All snails died (but remember only 1 survived the hairy crab incident). Peety if you want to see somephotos of mine I have heaps so shoot me an email and i'll send you some. I also have photos of my finished closed loops which are working AWESOMELY! I have replaced my sump with a 3ft fishtank (160 ltrs) which is run just over half fill, as I want back syphon protection. I also have no dividers in it, but have made 2 dividers out of rock! Stops micro bubbles and must be more 'natural'? Not sure its a world first and I didn't have time to make dividers when I put the sump in I have about 15 different corals in the tank now, and watch them very closely (thanks to everyone who has donated rock and corals to my project). I will be up in Auckalnd end of this month for a day and plan on leaving with a giant clam, and some more corals! I will not add many more leathers though, from now on I am concentrating on stoneys. I added about 30 glass shrimp yesterday. Going well and a good laugh. They will have to be careful not to go over the overflows though or they will get skimmed. None of my fish will eat them (none of the ones I have yet anyway), but maybee some of the stoney coral will? Who knows watch this space. Love to see some photos peety including pics of the plumbing etc. Good luck! Pies

Silaflex RTV is what I used for my 700 ltr tank. Cost about $11.00ea+gst. Can be purchased from: Mitre 10, Placemakers, Building Depot, Master Trade, Mico Plumbing (cheapest i've found) as well as most glass places. Beware of sealent with 'mould inhibiters' which is really a slow release leaching poison. Good luck and use heaps!

Its called 'inrush current' and is semi-common for high drain appliances. I run all my tank stuff through a pair of UPS to avoid any drama as I have had circut breakers problems in the past.

Yeah there is always some debate about water temprature and the creatures. From personal experance so far, my stuff is surviving. As for the water being colder down there in Chch not sure about that. Water from the south coast here (Cook Stright) drops to 7 degrees. I colleced in 10-11 deg. So I don't think there would be much difference. Try em out. They cost nothing and the hermit crabs eat algae which is excellent, and they climb everywhere except the glass (hence the need for snails). Might go get some shrimp today.

Yeah I think you could sell marines in Wellington. We are bigger than Whangaraie, which has 2 shops selling marines... I think there is room in Wellington for a Fish 'only' shop. One that acutally makes an effort. Although I agree with the others, having both marine and freshwater makes sense, I think it would be VERY challanging to survive on marine alone. Marines not withstanding. I am one of those people who doesn't only shop on price. Places like Animates are expensive anyway, but what else do I get from them other than what I purchased? Nothing. I would be happy to pay 'top dollar' for my equipment and stock if it came from a friendly, knowledgable and interested shop. When Animates started here in Wellington it was awesome. Clean takes obviously cared for. Sure there fish typically were a dollar or 2 dearer than the Hutt Pet centre but I didn;t care. I brought a lot from Animates for a while. But now, they have less than half the tanks they started with. Most of the ones they have a unclean, full of dead fish and whitespot. And there 4 display tanks are going or gone. Its something I really enjoyed when I was in Auckland last month. I met with people who were really awesome, but the shops (Jansens & Hollywood fish farm) where interested and keen to talk too. And I mean genuinley. Sure they wanted to sell me stuff, but thats fine I want to buy stuff. But the guy I spoke to as Jansens was awesome. I can see how that store has done so well. Sure there stuff is 'top dollar', but to get it from somewhere that was clean, organised, well stocked and staffed the place with interested people, who cares. I wish you luck here in Wellington. And if you do decide to do something I would be happy to be customer number 1. Cheers Pies

As I said in my previous replys, so far so good for me. They may die, they may not. I have 6, so far they are all alive and behaiving. I am going to add another 20+. I only have 1 snail left, but I know that a crab ate 4, which means there is 1 un accounted for. Sure the water is warmer, but they seem to do fine, mine are happy as could be. Even my shrimp is happy and swims up to me when I walk past! I am going to cath as many shrimps as I can next time, if that means 50. Excellent! I am sure that they do no harm, and my fish will eat them (when I get more fish I mean). Pies

I would have thought the somewhere around brighton would be closer? Anywhere near the sea where there is rocks, there are rock pools. The pools are covered in snails and hermit crabs. You have to work a bit harder to find the hermit crabs but there are millions of them, same as shrimp. Take a ice cream container or 2, and a net (ALL PLASTIC!). They are easy to spot, easy to catch. I net is req for the shrimp if you want them. If you can find any I can sell you some of my special hermits! :> Cheap but exceptional value! Pies

Its a 3 week quarintine period for marines in NZ. Cost of MAF is $150.00 an hour. There is also some other drama and its why a $15USD Yellow tang can be over $200 NZ... There are quite a few Marine importers in NZ. Several in Auckland and Chrischurch. I also know fo a few people who import equipment etc too but its EXPENSIVE. A guy I know in auckland is landing his 1st shipment in August and he is bringin in 400 pieces of coral and another 400 fish etc. He has said to people that if your not bringing it in a bulk all the costs from MAF etc are expensive. I would be very surprised if you could make it worth while by just selling fish. Marine fish consumption is MUCH lower than freshwater and the number of fish per tank is also lower. Good luck though. I would love to see someone in Wellington dealing with Marines. I have heard that Jensens will open a store in Wellington this year, so that is good news. Do you have a marine tank now? I often think the best way would be to organise something with the guy at the Hutt Pet centre (Graham). He would do marines if he though he could sell them, but he is cionvinved he cant. He said to me that he could better use the sapce on extra dog biscuts then marine fish. also they are high maintenenace. Maybee you could work something with him. Good luck! Pies

Rock pools. Water in Auckland is a LOT warmer than here in Wellington. I got 5 from here about 4 weeks ago, all are still alive and kicking. I have heard mixed things. Just keep an eye and count them as often as you can. Even if one dies its not the end of the world, as long as lots don't die at the same time! And they are very cool to watch! I also got 4 shrimps from the rockpools. 1 is still alive, the other 3 got skimmed! They are quite pretty, with red candy striped legs, and yellow tails etc. Worth checking out too for a 'freebie'. And snails.

By pushing air through the tube (called a venturi I think, or Venturi my be one that 'sucks' all by itsself) you can airate the water more. Saltwater get its oxygen from gas exchange at the surface. This is the same as freshwater (although plants also release oxygen). All the bubbles are for is to create a current and force water to the surface where gas exchange happens. I have a 400ltr freshwater tank with no airstone. So the bubbles give oxygen is myth is not exactly true. I wouldn't bother with the air intake on your powerhead, the small bubbles in saltwater look aweful and 'stick' to everything. They also make the normally cristal clear water look murky. Hope this clears it up. Remeber you can't have too much waterflow. Ohhh and get some hermit crabs!