Doug

Hi all my PH is really low, I think its the really big peice of driftwood I'v got in there, I've read that bird cage grit is good for fixing this, how do I add it and how much? anything else I should try? Doug

Sounds like a plan Caryl, I'm seeding a sponge filter for another tank, I was hoping I had more time for the fry, but I could alternate him and her in there till either she delivers or tank is ready. should I put some java moss in the trap or will it make the trap too confined? Doug

yep thats what I did. I bought a bigger net, and followed her around with the smaller one till she swam straight in. so far no abortion, although she dosent seem too happy. I've put her in a breeding trap as she was beeing harrased by the largest male. How long can she be in here? till she delivers or no longer than a couple days? Doug

hi nicmack. I'm not a member of the hamilton club, but would like to help out where I can. if you live in the hamilton east area, take a look at the shop called The Goldfish Bowl in heaphy terrace (their in the phone book), the owner is a really helpfull guy he's been running the store for over 20 years, and every fish keeper I know in hamilton raves about him. Doug

any advice for catching the pregnant one? I'm going to get a biggger net, see if that helps. if I leave th net sitting in the tank she goes up and plays with it, but as soo as it moves she goes to ground. Doug

all good things to know. so a breeding net is a general no-no for live bearers? guess I will pop the fry into the net if the tank isn't ready when she drops, ofcourse thats if they dont get eaten before I see them. what about using a divider so its just the mother and the fry in one part of the tank? still to stressfull? the lead male is starting to chase her a bit so kinda looking to isolate her closer to delivery. Doug

if I'm not mistaken swordtails also get a gravid spot when they are pregnant. I bought 6 various swords from the LFS and one appears to be pregnant, I think she has a gravid spot, but its growing at a slow rate so wont be dropping anytime soon. I was told at the LFS that small flake food would do for them, is that not right? I'm going to buy a net breeder and a couple sponge filters tonight and start seeding them for my small tank (currently empty) how long could the fry live in a 20l tank before going into the main tank? also some of the others appear to be constipated, should I just boil up some frozen peas and peel them or should I mush them up for the swords? Doug

some LFS's still have parts on hand for the 04 models. I got the 304 hose fitings for my 303 from my LFS. also try pets unlimited. http://www.petsunlimited.co.nz/index.ph ... 94f6232506 Doug

you must have a really big tank, isnt the dose like one capfull per 200 litres at water change? I'm using it to setup my new tank, but once the bottles gone I wont be getting anymore, once you have a healthy bacteria culture you shouldnt need anymore, unless you are repeatedly killing your bacteria culture in the filter, like washing the bio media in chlorinated water or something like that. continued use of "cycle" is for the paranoid and the clean freaks.\ miss a couple doses and do a nitrite and ammonia test, every day, if the ammonia and nitrite dont go up, then your tank is safe wihtout "cycle", Doug

there are a few tank makers around on this forum, they may be able to help you get a bigger tank if cost is a worry. thats how I got my 4ft tank for less than a brand new 3ft costs in stores. the guy who made my tank works in auckland but we managed to work out a good freighting deal, I'm sure there is someone closer to you that can help you out. some UGF's have a little filter catridge with activated carbon and filter floss at the top of the uplifts. these will need to be changed every mounth or so for the carbon. Doug

Barrels like that ussually come full of farm products like molasses, and chemical washes. you could ask at a nearby farm, or go direct to the source. some places pick up and refil the barrels. you could also try plastic manufacturers that make water tanks and plastic troughs for agriculture they may have something of that size. I hear wine barrels are also good. Doug

kool thanks for the info guys. I will go to the LFS tommorow after work and pick up a couple dannios, 3 this time 3 in a week or so depending on how the water reacts. I've got a thread up about my tank over here: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/1-vt14831.html?start=0 includes info about planned fish. thanks again for the info, case closed Doug

setup around two and a half weeks ago. I have been using "Cycle" and added old water from my other tank aswell as rinsing the old filter catridge in the new tank. been feeding fish food into the tank since day one, only done one small water change, ammonia got as high as 1.0ppm then gradually came down to Zero. not doing fishless cycle as I dont have any pure ammonia, although figured feeding the tank would be simmilar just take a little longer. Doug

is my cycle done? Ammonia is down to Zero (been there for a few days now), nitites have never registered above Zero, Nitrates are just starting to register. sounds like its done to me, but the Nitrites never spiked. I was going to add a few fish this weekend but the missing nitrites has me a little worried. what do you think? is my nitrite test inacurate, or is there another reason? Doug

so I still dont have any nitrites but ammonia has gone to zero, is my test giving me a false negative or is something else eating the ammonia? I missed a couple days of testing could I have missed the nitrite spike? havent tested nitrates yet due to the potted plant I had in there having nitrates in its fert. Doug

nope no fishies yet, gonna wait for nitrites to peak and then go back to Zero. Havent seen any nitrites yet. a few real plants wouldnt be too bad, some fish like to eat plants. Doug

yeah I've been seeing diferent info out there too. I was getting impatient with the cycling process, but decided to just try and speed it up rather than ignore it completly. I've washed my existing filter in my new tank, put half the old water from my little tank into my new tank and added a product called "cycle" that contains the nessacary bacteria. all going well it should be safe for fish by this weekend, but judging by how its been going so far I'm thinking more like the one after that, I still have a few things to get for this tank, and now I have to wait for the plants to take root so I'm just gonna have to wait it out like normal. Doug

here we go more pics, I'm sure I will have to re-arrange the plants once they take root, but I wanted to get alot in there incase some didnt take. left hand side(from front) whole tank enjoy and thanks again so much to Hands you rock. he helped me out with all these plants and a few others that went into the smaller tank, he even fixed my nitrate problem in my smaller tank. without me even saying I had one Doug P.S those red eyes in the last pic are the handles on my stand.

tank dimensions are 1200mm long by 450 by 450 approx 230L dual 3ft fluro tubes, just the ones that came with the 4ft reflector, but will get some daylight ones if these arent cutting it. should be picking up some plant clippings today. the one thats in there has just been rescued from the snail infestation in my little tank. I might take some cuttings of it, but I hadnt planned on keeping it in the large one. I will try to take a pic of the whole tank tonight, once there is less glare on it. and no the carbon leaches the tannins that it absorbs, back into the tank, the carbon dosent leach carbon into the tank if thats what you meant. Doug

left hand side right hand side took these with my phone, not t clear but it'll have to do the tannins dont harm the fish, even when they come from the carbon. I asked the owner of the LFS and he said I should expect the drift wood to leach for about 3months, after that I will use a bit of carbon, till then I'll just do water changes if it gets too dark to see anything. Doug

Tank is well on its way now, amonia is coming down (this may be due to me putting less food in there, or it might be the cycle starting). no nitrites or nitrates yet. transfered one of my potted plants to the big tank, dosed with flourish excel, it was looking a bit worse for wear, with the unfortunate introduction of snails. Hopefully got all the snails out of it before I moved it. starting to plant it now, so if anyone in the hamilton area has some free clippings, I would appreciate a few bits Doug

have you had the water tested to see if its safe to drink? if its fine I would just run it through a houshold filter or some coffee filter paper, and boil it, let it cool down and pop it into the tank. thats all that comes to mind, but I'm no expert, just what I would do If I had to drink green rainwater what treatments do you apply to your drinking water? and if the waters coming out green what does your roof look like? how big is your fish tank? how much water do you have to prepare each time you do a water change? for adjusting PH, its better to do it before it goes into the tank, do another test on the prepared water before it goes into the tank incase you over adjust it, my PH has to be adjusted down and I just use them chemicals that come with the test kit cant remeber what they are, I've herd that the "PH UP" and "PH DOWN" products can cause PH swings that can harm your fish. hope this helps Doug

wouldnt the churning of the impellar release the CO2 in the water like the CO2 to O2 exchange that happens when you agetate the water? Doug

awhile away from posting pics, but as soon as I can I will, its just too bare and murky at the mo to take any pics. Doug

thanks for that Opius will have to keep an eye out for some of the smaller ones, I'll have a spare tank soon. Doug