Pies

The problem is that a RCD is designed to trip to save you getting electracuted, a UPS is going to prevent this, so there is little point having both. The best soultion is to have the tank running on multiple feeds, eg 1 for return pump, 1 for lighting, 1 for heating and other. That is what I do, so if one pops, which has happened, everything else keeps running. Sorry for your loss. Pie

Nice one Pie

Feelers - How old are you? It is my experance that in a failing marige sex life is generally on the improve, the failing bit comes from your choice in partners, not in your ability to actually have sex. A humans desire to have sex for pleasure is quite different to the desire to reproduce as a matter of survival (although there will be many shrinks who will put a darwin spin on even a teenage boys sex drive). Now I am not sure where you came up with this, you have gone off track. When exactly were we talking about healthy animals reproducing, we were talking about happy animals. You can be healthy and unhappy. You may not have sex when your unhealthy, but happiness and sex are little in common (more ammo for the shrinks). Now put it in context, we are talking about fish, 10 million years of evolution has prompted them to have sex to keep their species alive, do you think them being unhappy because they are stuck in a 1 foot long tank is going stop this? Do you really think that these animals, when put in poor conditions (our tanks in this example) think to themself "sorry honey I am not in the mood, I mean I just don't see the point if this is all there is too life, i think i'll give up". I mean really, do you? Feeler - Being frozen to death is cruel, crayfish, fish, cat, dog or human. You do slow down, no doubt, as the pain of your blood slowly crystalises etc. You don't have to be frozen (or a crayfish) to understand this concept. Nazis used to do experiments on people by freezing them, to see how cold and how long someone could be before they would die or could not be resusitated, tell those people its not such a bad way to go. Wasp - I too am strong supporter of captive propogation, and its not just talk, I put my money were my mouth is and happily pay a premium for captive bred/cultivated livestock. Pie

Whos tank? Pics? Pie

Tel - your a horrid man. I don't eat crayfish so I will take your word for it... Pie

The short answer is no, not even close. You first should look at doing some reading: Try the Tullock "Natural Reef Aquairum" for excellent setup instructions for a new marine keeper. book can be brought from Jansens for under $100 (I think ben?), or online for a little less. To keep Anemones you will need more light and much better water quality than what you would get with your list of equipment. To keep coral, you might need better lighting and a protien skimmer as a minimum. You will need some live rock as well. You will need test kits and some way to measure salinity. 8 fish in a tank that size if far to many. My tank and total system is over 2500 litres, I have 13 fish, several are smaller than your thumb. You can't mix power heads with Anemones. They get sucked in and killed. Note I didn't use the words 'they might' as they will. For websites I would highly reccomend checking out www.reefcentral.com for all the hints and advice you could possible need. You can come to this forum for more local help. I'm not trying to put you off, even though it may sound like it. Its a great hobby, but it takes time, patience and lots of money. I am not going to start an arguement about how much but be prepared to spend over 2k from here EXCLUDING live stock. If that doesn't scare you, good luck I am sure we will see you about. Pie

Tel - Arguement? Boiling crayfish alive is cruel, there is no arguement. Some some freeze them, this is also cruel. Kill it quickly or torture it, the choice is yours. Feelers - "But personallyI dont think that looking after animals well in a fish tank is cruel. Many people have fish that breed in their systems, and that shows me that the inhabitants must be reasonably happy." Reproduction is a survival mechnisim, it has nothing to do with being happy, reasonably or not. Its not like the fish say to themselfs 'hey, this is a nice pad, my life is on track I think i'd like to start a family'. Its not how it works. They must reproduce before they die, or die trying. Being happy has nine tenths to do with nothing. Ghostface - ? Pie

Feelers - I would rather be bludgened to death or choped in half with a knife than spend the rest of my 200+ years locked in a 2 ft long, 1/2 foot wide fish tank. What we do to the animals we keep is very cruel and selfish (no not shellfish). Pie

What is the new camera? Good pics, more!

PS: Wasp - Why stop at 2? Have you considered quads? Pie

WOW! Wasp this is the best post i've ever seen on this forum. Pie

Go CS!

Water change.... There are charts on RC about this. But you will need to do approx 18 50% water changes to get the Nitrates down from 50pp to under 5. So although a water change is always a good idea, 1 minor water change has done very little. Stop feeding the tank frozen food completely and reduce feeding overall. Remove any bio balls and filter wool and sponge filters anywhere in the system. Is the tank over stocked and under skimmed? Crank up the skimming or add a bigger skimmer or remove stock. Got enough rock for the size of the tank and its stocking level? Add rock, to the sump or the display. How old is the tank, is it still cycling (e.g. is it under 9 months since setup? If so, then what did you expect?). Pie

Very similar yes, my big one does have 3 stripes, the small one doesn't. I think maybee they are not a pair

Good photos. For an 8mp Camera with great macro and super macro you should look at the Olympus C8080, perhaps one of the best camera on the market for its price. More pics, more whole tank pics! Pie

JoeBlog i'd be keen to try some domite, where can I get it from?

I would reccomend using 32mm as a minimum (thats 32mm pressure pipe, so a 40mm approx hole to fit the plumbing). 25mm will be OK, but for the sake of $2 in plumbing go 32. The way it works is like this, large holes can be tapped off if nessessary, plumbing reducers are less than $2ea in plastic. Holes too small cause tank floods and other drama and is best avoided. Buy you plumbing from a plumbing shop like Mico then you can buy what you need, not like your message above where you are buying what bunnings have (BTW I love bunnings). Pie

I'll have a bucket please.

Stunning, good luck with it. I think Steve A and Chimera have the same fish. From what i've read, making sure there is some sponge in their diet is key. Cool to see different things. Pie

Looks good, great photo. I'd love to see a photo zoomed out a bit (the whole thing) maybee with a can of coke or something next to it so I can get my head around the size. Pie

Sorry to have ruined your thread TM. The skimmer looks great man, did you design it yourself or copy something else or find plans online? 10/10 top notch. Pie

Yes. I have the Korrilin 4001 I think. I adjust the reactor to increase or decrease ALK in the tank, based on a table I got off RC. Pie

You obviously havn't watched the Enron documentry, yes there are reasons why some things cost so much, its call profit. I mean no disrespect to the DelTec, hell i've owned 2 and use one now. Mine has worked flawlessly and I am not unhappy with it. I brought it 2nd hand and was happy with the price, but if I knew then what I know now I suspect my Skimmer money would have gone to something else (cheaper). I can't imagine EVERY changing my skimmer, or upgrading it so its kinda moot for me. Piemania

Yeah I agree. I think the skimmer manifacturers want people to belive that its important that they are all wind tunnel tested etc. The bottom line is the amount of gunk that gets pulled per interval thats more important. Its still important to use quality pumps however, plastic is plastic. Pie

I think the emphisis is on the 'was'. Pie