Fenriswolf

WOOOOO! OK! I had no brine shrimp... But now I do! Tiny tiny tiny lettle things, but hopefully my babies won't starve :-?

Nope. Tiiiiny - need moving food

Um... Anyone got any spare brine shrimp or something I could "borrow" tonight? My bloody brine shrimp haven't hatched and my baby (teeeeny) axolotls need food!

Ahh, that's great advice! I've actually only got a small tank (2') for my babies (4@ 1.5cm), but will be tranferring them to my 200L before they get too big. I originally was in no hurry but I'm beginning to think that getting the big one set up ASAP might be a better idea. But surely it's possible to get the nicer quality of light in different "brightness" levels? I'm kinda confused on this :lol:

Yes, well, I'd prefer uncooked fish! Oh, and me As for new bulbs - I'm thinking I might stick with el cheapo ones because (a) I'm not having plants, and (b) I'm keeping axolotls who aren't overly fond of bright light anyway so it's only really so I can actually see the little suckers! Any arguments against this plan? Along those lines, I was researching light bulbs and reading about full spectrum that is supposed to be the closest to sunlight. Now, if you wanted natural tone but lower light would you just get a lower wattage? Sorry if I sound dumb :oops: Final question: do ya just screw the top of the fitting to your lid (I have a wooden hood) or what? Would that be OK? Thanks again!

If I get a light fitting from, say, Mitre 10, is that unsafe? Because they're a hell of a lot cheaper. Was wondering if aquarium light hood somehow protect the connections from condensation or if you're paying for looks?

Hehehehehehehehehe NICE

It's all good, my question has been answered I too am curious, Mystic!

Now, don't get too excited - in my dreams! But was wondering, if I had a 1x1x1m cube would I need 12mL or even 15mL glass for that? Got a quote for 10mL out of curiosity... And my partner asked if that would be 1000L which made me think maybe 10mL's too little?! Danke

Hehehehehehe. I am no use, but this cracks me up. Leeches?!

Sorry to hijack, but along those lines: is the Jebo 502 (and similar) OK? Really really cheap on TradeMe but makes me somewhat dubious...

OK, I've changed my mind (again). :-? Definitely want bala (did you say silver?) sharks - kinda the main fish IMO. But just read that they're shoaling fish and are happy with at least 6, so thought I'd get 8. Which obviously = big, at some point! Though I wish I knew how long it takes... 10year life span apparently. Still like the idea of some marbled hatchets to hang round the top and be cute (and small - phew). So 8 of those. But I'm rethinking the common pleco and clown loaches, since they all grow huge - doing a little research on small catfish. Anyway, let's just say, would 500L be enough for 8 large bala sharks and possibly a large bottom feeder?

Just out of interest, when these fishies start getting too big, how big am I looking to move them? Let's just say move them all at once. Is 500L enough for about 15 fish that can grow to 40cm?!

Now, this is not an answer, but I found this conversation very interesting, so I asked my partner his opinion (he works in a paint factory). So if anyone's interested (note, when he refers to "one pack", that is opposed to a two pack polyurethane, which contains isocyanate, so it cures faster and stronger but very toxic): Well I have no real knowledge about acid cure silicones…. BUT in acid cured paints we use para toluene sulphonic acid, and sulphuric acid in relatively weak concentrations to catalyse the reaction of urea formaldehyde, and amino resins causing them to crosslink and go hard (cure). Solvents of various kinds are used in the formula to give the correct viscosity and flow characteristics and suitable surface dry times but they take no part in the reaction and evaporate at various rates with residual solvent still coming from the film up to a week later. The curing reaction gives off free formaldehyde which in case you were in any doubt is a bad thing and poisonous at high enough levels. Full cure is not achieved until up to a week after application depending on drying conditions but is substantially completed after a few days. Formaldehyde is emitted by the coating in reducing amounts for a long time after application (up to 6 months at times). The coating always contains some residual acid as it is not entirely consumed in the reaction and this residual acid makes the coating more susceptible to water damage than say a polyurethane coating which cures harder and more completely. I am guessing that the “acidic cure silicone†is a one pack product and may indeed contain acetone as a solvent to aid in workability. Acetone has a VERY fast evaporation rate and I would imagine it would be free of the product within a day at the most! As the silicone is a one pack (I am assuming here) it would not be highly cured and I would imagine there is very little free acid left in the cured product to kill little fishies or reduce its waterproof properties. Oh, and he just asked his head chemist: Just checked with Mark he used to make it at Fosroc It contains glacial acetic acid (quite nasty) in relatively small amounts but is packed under nitrogen to stop it reacting so it is quite reactive. He would imagine that it would have residual acids which may leach out but acetone he agrees would be gone in no time Hopefully I'm not the only person who finds this interesting!

Yeah, I know. But only once they get big, which should take a while. Did write a post on that. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/tankmates-vt14244.html Thanks for advice 8)

Arg! OK, I'm sure there's lots of information on this somewhere, and if the search function worked I could probably find 5 million posts like this :oops: But it's driving me mad! Somehow I'm just completely overwhelmed by the selection (of filters). So: I have a 200L tank (I was off on my guess, whoever teased me with the idea of a bigger tank , it's 640x850x370, which is somewhat smaller than I said! :roll: ), that I plan on keeping bala sharks, clown loaches, marbled hatchets, and a pleco (common, though the zebra pleco is so preeeeetty) in. I plan to have it planted, leaning towards sand for a substrate, gonna tie plants to driftwood, organising a heatpad But what I want to know is: what kind of filter is best? Hang-on-back? When it's just an "external" filter, what does that mean? Are they generally pretty easy to set up? Do I need to worry about cords getting wet? What filter media is good? I've read about it until I'm blue in the face (terrible grammar, I know), and feel even more confused. And according to my fish profiles I want a mild current. Um, what? How does this effect my choice?! Or set up? The more information I can get (as in, advice, pertinant questions, specific recommendations), the happier I'll be. Thank you in advance, wonderful people! :lol: Thanks for reading my long post :roll: :bounce: :bounce:

All good. Thank you all - look forward to your email Caryl!

Not really sure, but any resources are great! Thanks! :bounce:

Heh heh heh. Hopefully no house burning down! I'm semi-related to an electrician, so I may be able to bribe some assistance. 8) Thanks!

Hm. Well, would be interesting to look at the instructions at least, thanks. :bounce:

Arg! I'm kind of interested in the idea of a heat pad rather than a... what did they call it... heaterstat? Internal heater with thermostat. So I tried looking up how to make one myself. Then backed up to just trying to find something explaining how it works (obviously a heater that sits under a tank dispersing even heat across the bottom of the tank... but details!) and can't find anything! Help? Do many people here use them? Can you buy them from a pet store? Any information would be great. P.S. Due to weird dimensions of my tank I don't think I could buy one from a store. :roll:

Hahahahaha... what?! Suicidal jumpers?

Oo! Oo! Me too?

Where do I get some good, non-toxic driftwood in the Wellington region? Any ideas? :-?