Pies

Chimera - Are you sure that tank is going to hold? Doesn't look like a lot of bracing along the top (particuary the back), given there are holes in the back too. With the overflow, how much room do you have between the top of the overflow box and the top of the tank? Looks like about 3cm. Remember the more powerfull the pump, the higher the water level in the tank. Also are you going to put something over it (like a comb) to stop fish from getting flooded over? If so the restriction is going to push the water level even higher... Pieman

Your tank looks awesome as allways Steve. Although, that anemone looks a little out of place, i'll do ya a favor and take it away though if you like? Pies

I see you got the Durso comming out the side of the tank, Alois did this too. You are going to struggle to get that Elbow in there, remember it needs to be at least 1 size larger. As for testing the tank, fill it with water it about the only way I can think off. Leave it over night, should be sweet. Hint. If you havn't glued the ones on the back in yet, Paint it first, that way no light can get it behind the tank valves and make it look odd. Pies

I have successfully rid my tank of Aipstasia using kalk paste. I had maybee, 200 confirmed kills. Although the description doesn't sound like Aipstasia, it sounds like Marjano's. I have these too, havn't tried to kill them yet (they are quite pretty), but I understand they are difficult. Whichever they are, my advice is that you should find a soultion (kalk, drano, boiling hot water) whichever you find success with and hit them now (stop reading and hop to it). They will not stop on their own. When I first noticed Aipstasia I had maybee 30, when I realised it was a problem, I had maybee 200. So far my Marjano population has doubbled (maybee 20 now). Pies

Doc, 'ill be your huckleberry. Algae in freshwater. I've had freshwater tanks for a long time, and currently have a 4 footer (bow fronted) tank. The first thing thats important to remember is the Algae is a byproduct of another issue. Killing the alge will not fix the problem, and the algae will just come back. My heavly stocked and heavly planted tank has little or no alge, great plant growth and lots and lots of fish (way over stocked), its heavly fed, maybee as often as 3 times a day some days. I use 4 Canister filters. Lots of biologial filteration will help with the Redox of the water and help ensure there is little food for the alge to take hold. I use a deep gravel bed (5inch+), which helps with anerobic bacterria (reduce nitrate). I also reccomend using the correct lighting, 6000 - 6500k bulbs, and as many as you can fit. This will help promote green algae, which the bristle noses etc will eat. Thats my recepe for success. Whenever I start to notice any alge (brown diatom or that red/black furry stuff) I do a water change (40%ish) and another water change in a few weeks (40%). The algae will be gone by then and stay gone for months. Hope this helps. Pies

Lurch I have never had a perspecs tank, but they have a reputation for being VERY easy to scratch. Perspecs is much clearer than glass (no tinting) but needs to be very thick compared to glass. Also you can't glue pespecs to anything other than perspecs, as you use a special bonding glue, not silicone. silicone won't stick very well to persepcs (I tried replacing a 3ft tanks front with a persepcs pannel, and it wouldn't hold). You can get bowed glass. Its fairly expenive. Port Nichloson glass in Wellington has lots of curved glass at the moment, but I think its 1200 long, but you could call Peter and find out. You won't get it cheaper anywhere else. Good luck Pies

RO units wear quickly, this is one item not to be purchased 2nd hand. Pies

Your kidding right? How about a picture of your own tank for comparison. Again how about a pic of your own tank for comparison. Alois - Good on ya for being so supportive. It looks pretty nice to me, I would be happy to have a tank looking 1/2 that good at the moment. JackJackJack is it a corner tank? also does he use NSW or Salt Mix (just curious because of the Cyno). Pies

Why not try an electrical store, they sell lighting defusers (AKA EGGCRATE!), I have seen in in mastertrade. Funny thing is I just looked up, and out lights have Egg Crate for lighting defusers. We also have them in our eleivators. Piemania

Eggcrate is lighting defuser. Same thing, thats what its used for. Got mine from plastic supplier. $15.00.

Great looking tank and excellent photos. More! Pies

My frag growout tank looks 1x more livley than the tank with fish in it! Fish = BAD.

I am leaning towards no fish...

Black vs. blue. As a diver, the ocean is only black at night time, other than that its blue, bright blue (check my Fiji underwater photos). Black just doesn't look right, very unatural, very garish. Black shows algae and everything else 10x worse than blue, but growth on the glass is in-evitable. I have a tank in both at the moment (in fact I have 2 blacks and 1 blue) and there is little doubt the blue looks much nicer. My freshwater is black however, which looks good, and I would always paint the back of a freshwater tank black (or very dark green). Pies

Yeah shrimp are a good idea, and would happily add them to the tank, so yes will throw them in. I have seen lots of snail eggs on the glass, but not seen any baby snails or 'spawn' yet. Brendon has had Tubos breed in his tank, said he came home and his tank was all 'milky', then a few weeks later, MEGA snails everywhere. Brendon gave me about 15 of them (thanks Brendon!).

I went to the beach on Sat. Picked up 380 litres of water, took about 3/4hr round trip. For me, much easier than making the water, adding the salt, mixing it etc. And its loaded with natural saltwater goodness. I have 60L 'on hold' for emergencies. I have added about 30 large glass shrimp to it, so when I go to use it, it may be full of shrimpie goodneed. And I have fish who love eating those shrimp...

Yeah you truely would be amazied at how much life is in there. Like I said I havn't been cleaning the glass as its absoulty LOADED. I'll try and take a pic or 2 tonight to show exactly what I mean. The corals in the tank, sps. lps, softies and mushrooms too are always polyped extened. They are also growing, flat out. The thing is I know how they looked in my tank, and they look so much different now, the acros that used to show awesome polyp expension at night, show it during the day, but at night its 10x more pronounced than before. The tank is lit, with a 250 14k halide and 2x blue actinics. It is fed with an ehiem 1262 through an SCWD and has a top loading TUNZE/IKS pump swirling the current arround. Water as per my tank as all being driven through the same sump. No fish, lots of snails, some starfish (brittle stars), lots of rock, 1cm sandbed (course grunge bed) and heaps of coral. Lighten the fish load is somethign I want to experiment with on the new tank. Perhapps adding the clownfish for some life but nothing else for some time (as long as I can hold out!). Pieman Pies

you guessed right. I am feeding 2x a week at the moment, and frozen once a month. My fish are fat and healthy, my tank wanter is clean and my paramaters are spot on. The less feeding I can do the better. I don't have Antheias or anything else requiring lots of feed, my tank is large (740 litre), my fish load is low, and I have over 450 litres of refugium to feed the fish anyway.

Its interesting, I saw movement and colour in corals I had not seen any action in before hand. So based on this I thought it was/is a good product. I saw some corals grow after not moving or changing at all for over 9 months. However... Recently in my 'Frag Grow Out Tank', I have lots of corals an NO fish. The tank is LOADED with copepods, ampipods and little mysssids and dozens of other critters. And I mean loaded, ever square cm has dozens over it. Makes sense, nothing to predatate them. But the corals in this tank looks stunning, STUNNING. Also other corals I wasn't sure about have bounced back and look AWESOME. I belive its because of the large life in this tank, spawning and feeding the corals. By comparison, the main tank looks OK, but the corals are not doing anywhere near as well. Remember same water, same sump. So its either the lights (10k vs.14k) or the food for the corals. Hence my comments about not adding fish to the new big tank, I want to see how it goes without them (from the corals point of view). My point? Maybee zeovit isn't the only way to get stunnign corals, maybee we need a decent supply of food for the corals. Just my thoughts, no sure if I am right about it or not, buts its good to have a theory. Pies

Was donanted and cut by a local reef keeper here. He works in a factory that has a laser perspecs cutter. Any perspecs supplier will be able to put you onto someone who can do it. Will cost a few bucks but it looks awesome and works perfectly (will do it for my new tank). Not seen a better system for internal overflow.

Nope, I stoped using it when I moved the tank. I havn't cleaned the glass once since I moved, but I did post a pic recently, not much to look at. Its all setup temrarly in the garage. My corals looks heaps worse since I moved, but I am not sure that its related to the Zeovit or not. When I get the new tank sorted, I will start with Zeovit again, no doubt. But not for the first few months, i'll wait for things to settle somewhat. I am planing on running the tank for at least 3 months without fish in it (will be plumbed into the same tank water as the fish tanks though), just to let the cope-opd populations grow bigtime. Are you still using it? Pics?

I have painted the back of about 10 tanks now. Use spray paint, works fine. Tip - Make sure the back of the tank is spotless clean, and sprayapint on evenly. Colour. This is definiatly one for personal preference. My big tank is blue (marine blue actually) and the frag growout tank is black. There is little doubt in my mind that the blue looks 10x better. My new tank will be blue. This is a problem for me, as I will need to buy some blue perspecs to get the overflow made (I can get black perspecs for free), but its worth the hastle. YMMV. Backing paper looks like, well, backing paper and I am not sure if its worse than having nothing at all. As for it being a hastle (Ira) it only takes 10 mins to do (1 day to dry) and then you never have to do it again. If you are planing a tank then I don't see it being a problem. Backing papaer is something you see with tanks that people setup and a hurry and have tried to retro-fit somethign after they realise they should have done something about it. I'll say it again for those who missed it: Do it once, do it right.

Yes the taps allow for the plumbing to be disconnected (via a union fitting) on both sides of the tap. This is a must have. The tank valve fitting is less likley to be able to leak of the thread is facing down (water can't get through the thread as there isn't one on the top). Trust me this is the right way arround Also don't forgot what I said about the pipe adapter. You need to make the standpipe bigger (5-10mm) than the hole for it to work. so if you are using 35mm plumbing to the sump, the stand pipe should be made of 40mm+ pipe.

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=2295 Just from looking at your PIC it doesn't look like you know that you have the hansen tank valve up-side-down? You should screw the tap straight onto the valve (if you have room). Where is you adapter to make the pipe larger? on the in-side of the tank?