Pies

I had the brown one with red growth edges. I removed it all from my tank. Would be happy to introduce a different colour varity but didn't like thr brown at all and it grows FAST. Pie

Ouch.

Use down-pie for the inside of the overflow, cheaper But use Pressure rated PVC everywhere else. Pie

They eat the small pods, the ones about 1/2mm in size or smaller, not the big ones or the mysiid. Pie

Kick ass. Giant Squid rock!

Haveing seen Cookie Extremes tank, I was quite surprised to see such a small and 'cheap' (no offence intended) skimmer running his tank, which is stunning. Need to keep in mind its being driven by an IWAKI 100 pump, but still shows that in a well maintained tank you don't need the mother of all skimmers. I'm happy with my skimmer, but Cookie Extreme's system is something to keep in minds if your looking at a new/larger tank and the skimmer price is putting you off. Pie

Its not the corners that worry me, its how you attach the pipe to the fittings. I will NEVER go back to the days of hose clamps being all the stands between me and a mop. Pie

Yeah crabs are bad news (sure there are some nice ones, but as a general rule). Throw it somewhere where it can't do any harm, or send it to me and it can live its life out in my Refugium with all the other unwated critters (including other crabs, bird nosed wrasse, carpet anemones etc). Pie

Gued/screwed pressure pipe is used by most because its safe. You can use whatever you want, push fit, snap on, john guest, down pipe it all works. The thing to remember is if your going to drill holes bellow the water line, is saving a few hundred dollars worth the risk. The answer to that question can be found by the number of people using pressure pipe over everything else. Pie

PH?

I've seen tanks using ozone. There is little doubt the water is clean (no yellow) and sparkling. Infact it looks the say as water thats run through carbon. From what i've read Ozone is a little bit of an unknown, seems to come in and out of vogue every few years. GT on UR uses it, and his tank was stunning. No experance with it myself, not considering using it either. Havn't heard about it doing any damage to the tank other than killing any life (incl bacterria) in the water. Pie

Shame, bi-colour are great fish. I still have mine almost 3 years! He is a little shit, has bitten me on several ocasions. Also eats the ends of soft corals. Suphew has one in his tank that has a taste for clams. So the clam is in my tank for some R&R before returning to the blenny zone. Chimera - Typically my experance is if you havn't seen a fish for 2 days, you won't. Mandarins and shy fish are exceptions, but I don't think thats how you describe a bi-colour. Pie

Tim, those reflectors are KICK ASS. Nice job man, I am suitably impressed. Pie

I'm sold, I might be able to fit 2 of them to replace 2 of my streams. Put one in the over flow, one on the outside of the tank depending on how big they are. Great idea! Pie

Yeah they look like the GROLUX tubes i had tried out. Pie

Really? I wish I could pull the streams from my tank and have closed loops insted. As good as the streams are, they look ugly and i'd rather have 50/40mm outlets driven by a Doplhin pump, maybee with an OM as well. Just my preference. Pie

Why will it starve? I've never fed any of mine. I even have a small Anemone thats bleeched, been sitting in its hole for about 9 months, still going. It does look like you getting a lot of DOC out of the skimmer, which can only be excessive feeding? Pie

Yes you should. Also if possilbe have the CO2 bottle higher so water can't fall back into the cylinder. Pie

No arguements from me, if you like the aesthetic or fear the sand then is the way to go for sure. Looks like Christchruch is NZs capital for BB marine tanks! Those concerete spacers looks like a great idea, where can you get them from? Pie

TM - That looks outstanding, I can't wait to see how it looks in a few months. Even the plumbing has impressed me, and I am a plumbing snob! Seeing setups like yours is really inspiring. 10/10. More pics! Pie

Personal preference, between BLACK or BLUE. the ocean isn't green, or if it is, it shouldn't be. My first tank was blue, my 2nd black, for my 3rd I went back to blue, which is my preference. Unless your planing on keeping it clean (like chimera) it will overgrow with algae in 6 months and never know anyway. Pie

I'd be curious to know what the cost of the tank is if you don't mind revealing what you will pay? I'd also be curious to know what the difference is between the dimante and non-dimante. I looked at the dimante and to be honest, in 10mm i didnt see much difference. 12mm glass is notibly worse than 10mm opticly but no-one in NZ does 12mm Dimante. Churp Pie

My experance with rock pool snails is that 90% of them will die in the first few weeks. I've had a few last a few months, but the death rate was 100% within 3 months. I've had shrimp live for over 9 months. Pie

I'd say that was 'medium'. Go the video! good work IRA. That coral looks great too! Pie

Yes Yes No* Sure! in fact its fairly common for smaller tanks, using a back tank divider or a 'hang on'. Sorry I wasn't home the other day when you were out, make sure you come over again, have another look and ask away. Pie