SpidersWeb

Yeah I swear there is something wrong with me, my car stereo is getting rediculous as well, moves my hair when its up loud fun fun! No suprise I work in IT as well. Other applications for this could include fan controllers for native coldwater fish tanks, or as a thermostat for multiple fish tanks. I should be able to rebuild them for $30-40. Thanks for the luck, and I'll certainly enjoy it, been wanting to do something like this for years.

mwuahaha I've gone crazy, and I don't really need to do this, but it looks like fun. I've ordered a PICAXE 08M kit, temp sensor (apparently accurate to 1/10th of a degree celsius), and an 8x2 output display. Why? Well I notice tank temps relying on bi-metal thermostats isn't accurate, and there is no way the tank temp will be near as stable as wild conditions. I also hate it when heaters fail, so want something to audibly alert me to such conditions. For those not familiar with the PIC chips, they're a programmable micro-controller. I'm going to program it to first display temperature, and then later control either a normal heater by 240V relay OR use a heating coil in the filter outlet, and use PWM to accurately control water temp. I could also ad an EPROM chip later to record data logging of temp changes during the day. A piezo can be added so if temp is outside an acceptable range the unit can beep. It could also be set if tank temp is over 2C to flick a relay to completely cut power to the heating coil as an extra backup. The 08M chip is the cheapest with suitable inputs and outputs. Has PWM output if I want to use it, serial in for the temp sensor, serial out for the display, and 4 other inputs and outputs for general use. It holds 80 lines of code which should be sufficent. Thought I'd let you all know of my little idea, and hopefully I'll be updating this thread to let you know how I get on.

I heard if it learns it can flower, it'll keep sending more stalks up instead of sideways? Don't have them anymore and it's been a while so can't confirm or deny that claim.

(Oh and the sump suggestion was a good one, don't get me wrong, just wanted to point out that he's not completely crazy for not doing it )

- Setup for somebody unexerienced isn't easy - Extra plumbing - Cuts to tank to do it properly - Noise, which requires a lot of trickery with downpipe design to be as low as cannister filters Yes you can sort them out but for most people it's too much trouble when a cannister will do a fine job. Also requires somewhere for the other tank, the other tank should really be divided up so needs to be custom built or modified. or just get a couple of externals, load them up, and install them....... Running a sump is great if you've got the time to set it up, and the know how to do it right, but for your average person it's probably a bit too much stuffing around.

Yeah what Matthew said. You can leave it, and you'll get a small daisy type flower that isn't as interesting as it sounds (think its 4 white petals and a yellow inside, about the size of a buttercup?), or submerge that branch and instead of flowering, it'll grow baby plants directly off the stem.

I agree, high reserves are annoying. Just don't like the fact they're taking the opportunity to put more money on to it, like everything else on the site. I think a lot of good second hand stuff will start disappearing from trademe. It'll end up like Ferrit but with auctions.

There are lots of downsides to sumps, which is why people don't use them for every tank setup. For some of us, the downsides aren't really an issue, and it's an awesome solution. I wont list my downsides here, so Deno can post up what he thinks first, but IMO I don't think they're the golden solution for most people on freshwater aquariums.

Also an Australian company that bought it, clearly not familiar with the NZ economy, and likely comparing prices to what is paid in Aus. I used to setup auctions and just tick all the features, but don't do that now. You will find a lot less cheap cars on there too becuase the cheapest you can sell a car for is $50, which is paid before you sell the car, not as a comission.

I almost got ripped off on trademe once. Went to sell a car two weeks ago, auction fees are rediculous, $85? It was $30 for ages.

haha Not sure if they're fertile or not, never tested it.

Yes quite a few livebearers can change sex. Usually female to male. Have seen my platys do it on a few occasions, adult females that have had babies becoming males. I've also heard swordtails do it as well. Usually happens when only one sex is present.

Call her 'Hand Banana' (I watch too much Aqua Teen Hunger force)

Nice tank, how tall is it? With filtration budget has a big part of it. On that note I think HanS is selling his FX5 for around $400? I'm a 'want it now' person as well as a 'tight ass', so I tend to always recommend the Jebo 819, and it's what I use. Assuming your tank is 600 high, you're looking at around 650 litres. So for discus I'd even consider a pair of FX5's. There is also the option of running a sump system. My 2c anyway Good luck!

They might, quite a few would end up inside the filter though being that close to the inlet. Not too bad as they laid on the side. You'll find they love green things. In the wild I beleive they lay on large leaves? Usually in my tanks the most stable smooth surface is the filter intakes. So what I do now is use suction cups to attach unused plastic pipe to the sides of the tank. Without fail they lay on these now (so far 4 of my 5 breeding pairs, and the 5th is cleaning one now). They're easily removable, and you can place them where it's safe for eggs to be if you want the parents to raise them. I got tired of having to swap my intake tube once a week. (Angels can breed within about 10 days of the last eggs being laid, and when you have 4 pairs in a tank :roll: )

Yes, doing so prevents inaerobic (spelling?) bacteria from building up. But I don't, in most situations doing this is really impractical. You can use trumpet snails if its of concern, as they will burrow through the sand and aerate it. If you can do it without too much trouble then it's a good idea, and it's certainly more important if you have large digging cichlids. I've just got way too much rock work, and if I removed it once a week, I'd have some angry lionheads and one sulking gourami. Lots of water and big filter tend to take care of any nasties that get released from the occasional digger.

Moved by me, I can see why you put it in P&E but thats really for wanted/selling. Wasn't too sure where to put it myself since it's general but not freshwater specific, so technical it is

if there is a female in there Olly, no doubt you'll have lots more bristlenose soon.

What I do is grab a bucket of tank water OR water thats at about the same temp, e.g. not freezing cold and not boiling hot. I tip out the water/gunk thats in the filter, then I rinse all the materials in it except for ceramic noodles and/or bio-balls, just the clogged wool and any large debris. There will be enough bacteria left in the wool and cermic noodles etc to not be a problem. If you uses cold tap water, there is a tendancy to experience a small nitrite spike a few days later which may cause sudden fish deaths. The harder its cleaned, the bigger this spike will be, and you'll be likely to have an ammonia spike too. (Just explaining that for anyone who reads this and is wondering what we're on about). A lot of people do use cold tap water without a problem, but depending on how thorough you are there is quite a risk, but still even if its bacteria free, there is tonnes in the tank as well to quickly repopulate the filter (although spikes will occur). If you don't want water on the floor, disconnect it, and take it outside to clean Most cannisters have a spill tray just in case as well.

Not sure about older ones, its my young ones that love it. First time I raised GBA, I had a small clay flower pot, broken in half to make a cave, then put an air stone through the little half hole in the bottom, the air bubbles run along the top of the cave and eventually hit the top and go up. They loved that. They'd sit upside down in the cave with the bubbles rushing over them. None of this is necessary, but if you've got the gear free and the time to play around, go for it, see if she likes it.

Was in there for 5 minutes, past tense Sounds like he was just having a wee bit of a massage in the output

haha yeah they love fast moving water When raising baby bristlenose, in between eating, after about a week old mine would line up above the sponge filter, and ride the stream of bubbles and just hang on to the glass.

Think it's quite common outside of animates too. They order 'Siamese Flying Fox' and get SAEs and Flying Foxes (haven't seen false siamensis yet). Think its more of a wholesaler issue than animates itself. From talking to a pet store employee they said they knew, but you can't relabel them because that's what they're imported as (rules apply etc)

just quietly, Afrikan isn't a dude Sounds like you got 4 boys 3 girls.

Melafix apparently increases the rate of repair. I've never compared wound repair times, but the bottle says it does and it seems to be recommended by a lot of forum members.