meesheelly

I have 2 aquaone canisters and i think thay are great.

i got mine from the beach as well but i made sure i got a piece that was already pretty waterlogged. Soaked it for a few days, didnt get any tannin. I figured that there wouldnt be too many nasties since it had been soaking in saline before it washed up. I tied it to some rocks and waalaa!

I couldnt crush them before but it got really bad and i found out that my fishes really do love them. They even fight over them. :-?

so im getting some limestone chips for my substrate, will this be enough? I want to use shist for my rocks but if i need more akalinity i will try and find other stuff.

I have a 250l planted tank that i did on the cheap. I got daltons aquatic mix from mitre 10 and added some flourite from the pet store. That is covered with some fine gravel. I have a 90cm double tube light, which was just a cheapy. I got plats off trade me. I didnt really care about what light hey needed just thought that i would stick with whatever grew. I now have a nicely planted tank that i have to weed weekly. I dont really think you need CO2. You can use that flourish stuff if you have problems but i find mine are fine as is. I have swordtails, rams, GBAs and fighters. And red ramshorns with no problems. Maybe something like indian fern would be good to shelter fry as it floats. Check out some pics here http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c18/meesheelly/?sc=1&addtype=local

so if i have plain gravel will the limestone rocks be enough to boost the PH?

I love GBAs! :lol:

Ok so i have the tank and stand organised. Now the gravel and rock hunt begins. I will go and look at some landscape supply places in the weekend. I would perfer a dark gravel but i also need something that will boost the PH. Any ideas about what i should look out for?

ive had honey gouramis, they are cool but a bit shy.

I love them they are my favourites I have 11 at the mo

id say athena could be a boy by the sounds of things

ohh do this http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=147 I saw this a while ago and i thought it would be really cool.

I have one too. The balls are "bio-balls" for biological filtration. Ive had mine for over a month now and havent changed it yet. I guess it may be tiem soon.

yeah my one helps. Now you need a red one called Ares. (sorry im studying classics)

i just wanna say nice name!

My two can embrace fine, but my boy is a) bad at building nests and b) gets bored and abandons the nest and then it ends up disintergrating and the eggs sink to the bottom.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/electrical_costs.php This has a calculator that works it out for you.

ok think i will go with malawis. Does anyone know where i can find rocks and/or gravel in welly?

yup i have 2 boys that are best mates, thats why im hesitant about getting them some girlfriends

Ok so i now have the space to do a cichlid tank. I am currently searching for a 4ft tank, so that is nearly sussed. I have narrowed it down to malawis or american. But i am not sure on avalibility and prices. Any recommendations. I am leaning towards mbunas. Next, substrate and rocks. I have read about dolomite and argonite and coral sand. What will be the best and easiest for me to get? And where do i find it (perferably cheap). Also i need to find some rocks to go in the tank, is limestone good, anything else? And once again where from? Thank you in advance for your wonderful help. Fish people are great!

I got a batch of babies this morning. Mum has a nice hi fin so it should be interesting to see what they turn out like.

ok maybe just internals then. Where do you get 4ft tanks from? And what is a cheap stand alternative?

I was thinking bout a 4ft. I have one already but that is my planted community tank. I like the smaller ones (sorry mystic) I perfer lots of little ones to a few big ones. I do like african cichlids, is it much of an extra hassel to have them? So another 4ft and then 3 tanks that will fit on the shelves. Would i be able to link up the filtration for the shelf tanks? Can anyone explain how?

I have seen small freshwater rays on some american sites, but they are probably not in NZ.

What size tanks should i look at? I was thinking one big one for cichlids and about 3 smaller ones. What is a good size for a cichlid tank?