Pies

Fay - Shame Raro didn't deliver the good for you, although its probably not fair to say its like that everywhere. Reefs get destroyed by the weather etc. I just had a friend come back from Raro, an experanced dive with over 1000 logged dives. he loved it, said that the hard coral reefs he dived were stunning and send me some outstanding photos, including large shoals of bump head warasses in schools. It depends where you go and when. Tonga - I've just come back from 2 weeks diving in Tonga, mostly in the Vavau island group. Some of the nicest hard coral diving i've ever seen. Temprature was 22 degrees in the water. 9/10. Fiji - Diving on the coral coast is poor, but elsewhere can be stunning. Kadavu in particular (the Great Astrolab Reef) is awesome. Fiji is famous world wide for its soft corals. Pie

American Marine do a PinPoint meter, its generally regardard as one best PH units, they are fairly cheap, under NZ $100 and have probes that can be replaced. Its the probe the dictates accuracy, and the American Marine probes are standard (BNC connector) and can be used on IKS/OCT/NEPTUNE computers or other PH controllers/meters. I have 1, its hooked up and running 24/7. I am on my second probe in 4 years, but I will replace it this year. I found after about 1.5years the probes is unaccurate between .3 & .5, which is enough of a swing to make me replace it. Probes are about $35usd. KH is your ability to buffer your PH, it isn't always an indicator of desirable PH levels, and you should check your PH regulary and you should check it at different intervals during the day, as PH and PH stability are effected with the light cycle of the tank. I check my PH several times a week, and when its out of normal paramaters I check my CA reactor, 9 times out of 10 my bubble count is up/down which is effecting the tanks PH. Pie

Have to agree with RnB. If you look at Reefs signature, he lists the products he sells, this is product pushing. Then have a look at some other peoples signatures, they are designed specifically as piss takes against this, inviting a reaction. Its inconsistant application of the rules that cause problems. I'm not saying JetSkiSteve did or didn't deserve to be banned, but if he did, you don't have look far to see other breachs of the rules. Want to confirm, do a search on Zeovit if you dare. RnB - disengage stealth mode, we all want you back! Pie

Steve probably agrees, given he drives a V8 SS Commodore. The avitar was a joke, poking fun at someone else on the fourm who is unfortunate enough to have to drive the little daisy voltswagon. Embarassing. Pie

Mine is 730mm high and I use 5mm perspex...

Touch wood you mean? He looks to be fine. A very health specimin, which is often the secret of success. Starting off with a healthy non-dieased animal is a great start. Fay - Did you buy one? I can't remember. Pie

Hahahaha I think its funny, I loved the avitar, it was worth a month in the hole Pie

Well my PBT is still alive, thats 5 days, 2 days better than the last one. No sign of weight loss or white spot. Quality. Pie

KH up high, CA up higher. The most likley cause in my opnion is lighting, or lack there of. More light for longer periods. Pie

Feed more.

I had an above tank fuge at my old house. It worked the same as the one below. I wouldn't do it again, but if its practical it will be OK. Most things will survive the return pump. I did a test last year for Chimera. I put a cup of brine shrimp though, not sure if any died, but there were alive upstairs. I also tried glass shrimp (much bigger than the average pod) and most of them survived. Pie

Mine is the 4001, its about 2 feet tall, holds maybee 15L?

I bubble mine about 1 ever 2 seconds. Mine gets a silt sort of stuff in it, but doesn't seem to effect performance. Pie

Tell that to my 3 cleaners and my 2 coral banded shrimp. 3 years and counting. Pie

The stand pipe needs to be larger, not smaller. Pie

I have 2 MASSIVE coral banded shrimps. They are model citizens as far as I can figure.

I use a 1048 on my water cooled PC (the one I am using now!). Its as snug as a bug in a rug, and yes it is keyed. Water moves at a good rate, certainly not slowly. I have no reason to dissagree with what Wasp has said, could be the environment, but i've had my CA ractor running for over 3 years without issue. New impellor/shaft or new pump, whatever is cheaper/easier. Pies

And then when the power goes out the sump overflows every where. And then when a snail/piece of nori/large fish gets stuck on either of the stand pipes the top tank over flows. And then the top pipe, as diagramed is going to be so noisey you won't want to be in the same house. Feelers - I'm going to give you some advice, since you havn't had a tank before. There are doezens on designs for getting water to the sump, dozens. Some work better than others. An overflow box with a stand pipe is the smartest and safest method. I've seen dozens on designs and i've yet to see one work better or have more benifits than an overflow box and stand pipe. The durso will silence the stand pipe. Its the perfect soultion. Don't take this the wrong way, but what your descibing above is just silly. The overflow box and standpipe works, its why 99% of people with sumps use it. Whatever reason you think we use them is wrong, we use them because it is the BEST soultion, which means anything else is not the best. Have I got my point accross? I'll say no more on the subject. Pie

Could you get a 2m long bow fronted piece of glass for so little? Pie

Buy some brine shrimp eggs and hatch them...

Really? I have a bow fronted tank and people always comment on how great it looks. The view is not distored, it looks pefect to me. As for leaks? Mine has been setup for over 5 years without incident, and NOTHING makes me think it won't last another 15. Why would a bow tank be more likley to leak than a normal tank? Also you should check out JetSkiSteves marine tank, its a bow fronted corner tank, and its STUNNING. Not just the inhabitants, but the whole cabinet and look. Bow front rule, if I could have affored a 2m long one I would have it as my main tank without hesitation. Pie

Sorry about that chim. I have got one, had it for over 2 years now, FAT as could be. I would be gutted to loose him. What is Euro bracing? Pie

lol

WOW a fish from Austraila is cheaper in Austrailia than is NZ! Fair dinkum? pffft.

Up and over for return is where the smart money is. 25mm should be fine (25mm plumbing, not a 25mm hole that is). Side or bottom? Stronger through the bottom, but on such a small tank I can't imagine it will make much difference. Pie