Aqua

I noticed last night (in the midst of a photo-taking session) that the black-hair algae isn't just on the Vallisneria, it's also on my anubias, on the amazonicus, in fact, pretty much all my plants! I think I'll have to get some SAE's this weekend, and hopefully they'll do the job... otherwise the fish will have a plant-less home for a while until I can get more plants... When you stripped your tank down Goldie, how did you clean the tank? Is this a job for me to completely rip the tank apart - lose all the plants, boil the gravel & the driftwood etc, and treat with chemicals (if there's any), while having my fish housed elsewhere for a week or so???? :? I don't want this coming back

with regards to Shilo's DIY wet/dry trickle filter, would it be feasible to have the same sort of set-up, simply minituarised, and for only CO2? I've got a pic on my work comp of what I mean, but I can't upload it!! Basically, I have envisioned a small(ish) container (acting as the sump, and totally enclosed), with a submersible pump, a heater, intake for the water, another intake for the CO2, and the outlet for the sub pump, with the CO2 enriched & heated water going back to the tank... (obviously this would mean that you'd need a lot of GOOD sealant for the 5 holes it'd make... CO2 inlet, water inlet, outlet, and cables for heater & pump.) Anybody got any other ideas? I think it would be great if it's workable, cause the CO2 would get dissolved w/out having a great big bell in your tank, the heater isn't in the tank anymore, so less visible etc... there'd just be another 2 pipes hanging off the back of the tank! :lol:

Java Fern!! See my site: www.nik.co.nz/jfern.htm :lol:

grow shop?

Just wondering who out there has got into the breeding of guppies? I'm wanting to try my hand at it, but I'm not sure how much equipment I'm going to need... I'm only going to go for one strain to start with, just to wet my fingers (as it were :lol:) and see how rewarding it is

Is this still a pipe-dream, or has the NZ Guppy club actually started up? Regardless of the answer, I put my hand up to be included - I've decided I'm going to look into breeding them

streams? In Auckland? I may be on the North Shore, but I didn't think streams even existed anymore! :lol: hehe narh, I'll just pop over to Hollywoods or something over the w/end, and nab a few bunches

Hey guys - I have just donated my 2'x1'x1' tank to my bf's son, and he's got a comet - I'm just wondering what kind of plants would stand up against it? I was thinking of Java Fern, as it seems pretty damned robust, but I'm not sure. Also, We'd like to get a few more fish in there, but anything cold-water & small is likely to get eaten, isn't it?

Found this: http://www.siamensis.org/survey/s001e.asp Quite pretty hey?

well, I was thinking of letting them loose in the community tank, that way at least I know my Betta won't go hungry for a while, and there's plenty of hiding places for the guppie fry :lol: On another topic - this time egglayers - where do WCMM most often spawn? Since I've dropped the temp in my tank (down to 25ºC), I've noticed the males displaying a LOT more, and the females look a lot plumper as well.... looking forward to MORE WCMM!

I'm going to get some guppies this w/end for my community tank, so the ratio is still the same? 1 male, 3 females?

hehe cheers... maybe I'll rip out all the Vall, & buy a new batch.. probably cheaper than getting enough SAE's, that might not even kill the algae... :-?

well, it's not really that much of a problem, it looks like the plants (the vall in particular) have got some threads off them - I tried taking some photos with my phone, but its camera isn't good enough - I'll try to borrow the flatmates one at some stage & set a page up so you can see Thinking back though, I think I've had this ever since I first started with this tank, and it hasn't got much worse over the period of about 4-5 months... :-? I have to wait until this w/end to get the SAE anyway...

ARGH I've got little black strands all over my Vallisneria!! I tried rubbing to see if it came off, and the occasional little bit came off, but most of it is really resistant! Is this a good enough reason to get some SAE? What happens if I leave it?

My Clown Loaches LOVE Shrimp Pellets as well! How many do you have Kerry? If you're thinking of removing them, I'd be more than happy to give them a new home, as I only have two at the moment... It'd have to wait until after the 15th though, cause that's payday (damn monthly pay!)

Is it targeting certain plants, or just whatever plant happens to be closest?

Does anyone know if good ol' Auckland volcanic rock is inert? Or if not, what effect it does have on an aquarium? I'm contemplating heaving a large chunk of it into my community tank, as it has all sorts of lovely little holes for the fish to investigate, and I want to know if it'll kill my tank or not! :lol: :roll:

Hey Caryl, I've emailed Sue, but haven't had a reply! :?

Not adding any fertilisers at the moment, as I'm desperately trying to leave some money in my account! (I'm going to study in October, for a year, and until then, I only get paid 3 more times! :-? The joy of montly pay :lol: - Hopefully, once I've got my degree - Dip Internet Tech, I'll start making more money, and can afford to go all out on the tank) Wattage:Litre... ummm 67gallons - 1x30w Aquastar (kinda purple) & 2x36w 'White" lights... does that work well? I know that if I turn them on in the morning (0530ish) and off when I go to bed (2100ish) I get algal growth VERY quickly. So, I'm going to reverse the fishes lives - lights go ON when I get home (around 18-1900) and off when I leave for work (0530)... That way I get to enjoy the tank while I'm at home!!!

Have just had another look at my tank, and WOW the plants are beginning to take off!! The Indian Fern I have floating (www.nik.co.nz/ifern.htm) has gone a really bright green, and almost doubled in size, the Cabomba is sprouting again, the Anubias nana is looking more perky than ever before etc etc etc I think it's got to do with the CO2 AND the fact that I've lowered the temp... it was sitting at about 29ºC before, I've now got it at about 25.2ºC... :lol: makes a difference!

from memory puffers are best kept in groups, as they can't establish a stable pecking order, so no-one ends up being bashed around too much.. Other than that, can't really help sorry - I want some! :lol:

Right, well. I owe the boyfriend BIG TIME He's figured out that we need to keep the suction going, and then turn the filter on, and away she goes! So it's all good now, disaster averted, now all I have to do is re-arrange the tank (we've made a mess of it filling and then trying to get the filter to go, and put the heater back in, and put the fish back in!!! Cheers all

I don't know how I'm getting on! :? Boyfriend has taken over trying to fix it, and gets all sh*tty when I even come near him with some possible explanation! I'm just leaving well alone, having a beer & trying to relax :lol:

well, it works fine when submerged... But I've noticed that the primer plastic now looks a bit frilly (can't think of any other word!) so it wouldn't be capable of making a seal... Would this make a difference? Boyfriend says that it won't, but it's the only other answer I can think of! :?

Will try that when I get home John! Great idea I finish in an hour, and it takes about an hour to get home, so I'll post str8 after I've done it