whetu

Some bugs will die after a time without a host, others die as soon as they dry out. BUT this is different for every bug, so sterilising the gear is the only way to be sure. If I had a tank with any kind of disease I would sterilise the equipment, rinse it really well and DRY IT OFF before storing it. hope that helps

Every time I have a fruit or veggie in the house, my loaches get some! cucumber courgette (zucchini) sweetcorn peas carrots brocolli beans parsley tomato orange apple pear banana... There are some that they're keener on than others, but even when they don't seem to eat much they still play with them and rip them to bits. It means a bit more work for me, but I think it's really important for any animal to have a stimulating environment - that means new tastes and smells as well as toys to play with. Of course, make sure you clean up any waste before it goes rotten. Cooked food goes bad faster than fresh stuff, and it can fall apart and get into the filter so just keep an eye on things. Maybe try cooked veggies the day before you plan to do the gravel vac? One word of caution: I have heard that the brassica family (cabbage, cauliflower, brocolli, etc) puts out toxins when their leaves are damaged, and too much of this can be harmful. I don't know how true this is, but I only feed the blanched head of the brocolli, never the leaves, just in case.

Yep, that's one tough plant. Give it some time to settle before it really starts to grow, but once it starts it will take over that little tank of yours! But don't let me put you off... it's great for sucking up excess nutrients and propagates easily. An excellent choice for a beginner plant. You (I mean YOUR GIRLFRIEND :lol:) can move on to more difficult plants later. ha ha! This is exactly the question I asked that seller. They said it was soaked and ready to drop in the tank - I asked if that meant it was pre-sunk and they said of course not! It would be hard to mail if it was pre-sunk! (Of course this is nonsense, it just weighs a bit more.) I have a piece of driftwood that I bought off trade me. It's been in my tank for more than two years and is still being weighed down by large stones. The key factors that determine how long it will take to sink seem to be... How dry it was to start with How dense the wood is The stones on top of the wood definitely work, but IMO they change the aesthetics of the tank - which is why I put the wood in to start with. An alternative long-term solution is to get some slate and screw it to the bottom of the wood, using stainless steel screws. Then bury the slate under the gravel so you don't see it. Another option is to tie the wood to the rock with a cable tie or fishing nylon - at least that way the rock is under the wood, not on top of it (but this is hard to do - the rock needs to not be too rounded. My advice: sink the wood with stones first, then if it hasn't sunk after a couple of months, do the slate trick. Excellent! PICS NEEDED! :bounce:

poor sponger poor fishies It's probably not the alcohol that's the problem any more - it's likely to be all the sugar. I suspect the alcohol would have had an immediate effect (if it was going to) but the sugar is now feeding all kinds of micro-greeblies that you don't need in your tank. Keep up the water changes, and systematically clean the tank - gravel vac small areas at a time, clean ornaments etc a few at a time. Eventually you'll reach a nice balance again. Meanwhile medicate the sick fish in a hospital tank like sharn suggested. Remember to keep a log-book of how long you spend doing all this, then INVOICE the dimwit for your time! :evil:

:lol: Fay, I've seen that technique used to dry out cricket pitches, but never to dehumidify a house! Now I know who won the $17.5 mill the other day!

Yeah, if the plants are still green, keep them in the tank. If they go yellow or slimey or start to fall apart then you're right about the extra bio-load and you should remove them. What kind of plants are they? (I can't remember if you mentioned that in one of your earlier posts.) And you're also right to wait as long as possible before adding any extra fish. Keep a close eye on the ones you have, and add extra aeration at the first sign of distress. The air stone will definitely help with oxygen levels in the water - lots of tiny bubbles are better than a few big ones. You seem to be doing a very good job so far. Keep it up! Oh, and be sure to take a photo of your girlfriend when she sees the tank and post it here. :bounce: :bounce: When is her birthday?

D'oh! That'll teach me for pointing out my favourite pieces of driftwood! Good on you, mitch. I'm sure that will look great in the GIRLFRIEND'S tank :lol: Oh yeah and I forgot to include the filter in the buget. You're right that guppies and bettas don't like the stronger filtration. Personally I'm not keen on under gravel filters in a planted tank - I would rather get a small 'hang-on-back' filter (that's one that hangs on the back of the tank and makes it easy to get the media out for rinsing). So now you can sell the filter on trademe ... OR... keep it for your GIRLFRIEND'S next tank! :lol:

I had to look pretty hard to find the 6500k 'cool white' or 'daylight' bulbs. But now my local Warehouse seems to stock them as standard. They've become a lot more common recently and way, way cheaper. So even if you tried a few months ago and couldn't find them, I recommend that you keep looking. Also the higher watts are now available (24 or 25 watts in a standard-size bulb). The first bulbs I bought after I made my fittings about three years ago cost $30 each and I had to buy them from a hydroponics supplier! We've come a long way since then! ^^^ 8) (that's me sunbathing under my daylight bulbs )

I keep shelled, frozen shrimps or prawns in my freezer. (They're way cheaper to buy at the supermarket than at a pet shop.) At feeding time I thaw one or two out in some tank water, then bury them in the gravel! My clown loaches go nuts digging around for them, then they drag them all over the tank with all the other fish chasing after. Personally I never cut them up or grate them. The fish seem to cope just fine.

Ooh thanks, sharn. Copper will kill most inverts so yes, it will kill shrimps and crays and snails and worms and... That just proves that I should always read the question carefully before offering random answers! I'm glad sharn noticed that there were inverts in that tank. :oops:

Here's what I'd do with your little tank, Mitch... $6 - $10 for some driftwood like this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=57072403 $10 - $15 for a fish like this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=57629042 $10 - $15 for a bag of black gravel (I'll bet the stuff in the tank now is "fruit salad" ie multi coloured. Not my personal favourite as I think black sets the fish's colour off better, but that's personal preference.) $15 - $20 for a heater like this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Fish/Other/auction-57521563.htm and $800 for a light like this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pets-animals/Fish/Other/auction-57597762.htm Hey, I said it's what I would do if I had a $100 budget! :oops: But seriously, you still have enough left to buy a small light, some plants and some bits & pieces like food, chlorine remover, etc.

1) The betta option: Siamese fighting fish (betta splendens) are very pretty - take a look on trade me, someone is selling a few (males and females) and they're all very attractive. Start looking there for some examples of colours that are available. If you do have a betta, you're best to plan on having one male in the tank on its own because (as mentioned above) some will simply not tolerate tank mates, and also other fish can pick on them because of their long, flowing fins. But the tank can still look gorgeous with plenty of live plants (you'll need a good light to keep the plants healthy) and other decorations like driftwood and rocks. But make sure there's nothing that will catch and tear its fins. 2) The guppy option: Personally I find that guppies (and platies and other fish that give birth to live young) are just too prolific. The babies are cute, but you need to plan how to get rid of them because you'll have hundreds, then millions! 3) The small schooling fish option: Neon or cardinal tetras are pretty and colourful and look great in a school. Get ten or more and I'm sure your girlfriend will think they look just stunning. For best effect, use dark gravel, dark rocks or driftwood and live plants (reminder: you'll need a light to grow the plants, and it will also make the tetras glow magically!) Rummynose tetras are also very pretty, and school tightly, but they can be a little harder to find and harder to keep healthy from what I've heard. P.S. OF COURSE WE'RE INTERESTED! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Bob's reply seems very thorough and knowledgeable. My solution is far more basic (and probaly much cheaper). But I have never tried it in a 700mm high tank... I have tried this and it works well for me in a 400mm deep tank. As mentioned above, it will give you some areas of intense light and some areas of shade. I like that look, and it allows me to spotlight certain plants either as 'feature' plants or because they need higher light intensity. I made my own lights using basic fittings from an electrical store (wiring, in-line switches, bayonet fittings). For shades I bought bathroom heat lamp shades because they have good ventilation and because I thought they would resist rust. (I was wrong!) Then I bought daylight-spectrum energy saving compact fluorescent bulbs from the warehouse. Each bulb is about 25 watts so that's the equivalent of a 2.5 foot tube, concentrated into a 'spotlight.' They work really well and my plants are thriving under them (I have three on a 850mm long tank, plus a conventional fluoro tube.) One advantage is that I tend to replace the bulbs very often (way before they start to lose their effectiveness) because I can just use them in any household light fitting. And they only cost around $5 each! I love 'em! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

<-- whetu looking totally impressed

Copper will do the little beasties in.

If the plants grow well under the warm white, they'll grow even better under the daylight bulb. They only cost $4 or $5 each so I think one would be worth the investment until you get a permanent setup. Then you can just use the energy-saver bulb to replace one of your household lightbulbs. I custom-made my tank lights and they all take the energy-saver bayonet bulbs. Way cheaper than the tubes and I can get more wattage on the tank than I could with tubes. And excellent plant growth.

I presume this is sorted by now (I'm only 1 week late with my reply!) My suggestion is to make sure the intake and outlet are both thoroughly underwater. The first time I tried to prime my eheim, I didn't have the spray bar completely underwater, so air was being sucked back in and preventing it starting. :oops: Seems obvious now, but I was tired and not thinking straight! :-?

I use warm water. I'm not very scientific about it but I just make it warmer than the tap water and guess when it's about the right temp. The vulnerability between different fish varies - some species (and some individuals) are more tolerant to temperature variation than others. I have clown loaches and I never, ever want to see them with white spot ever again!

I always use dechlorinator, even when just topping up my tank with a few litres of water. By turning off the filter, you will protect the micro-organisms in the media from the chlorine. But you will not protect your fish. Chlorine can burn a fish's gills just like chlorine gas can burn our lungs. Some water supplies have more chlorine than others, but the concentration can vary from day to day. If there has been an issue that may compromise the cleanliness of a water supply (think possum in the reservoir!) the water supply authority will dose with extra chlorine. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

That tank's looking gorgeous, fishkeepa! I'm glad the mesh bag idea worked for you. I use lights of about the 5000 - 6500k range. If you have an existing standard light fitting (bayonet or screw-in bulb) you could buy a daylight spectrum energy-saving bulb from the Warehouse and use that instead. But that's really only a temporary measure, as you're unlikely to get the wattage you would need to penetrate water of that depth. The highest wattage I can find in them is 25watts. Please note: you need DAYLIGHT bulbs, not warm white bulbs.

If your clown loach isn't used to eating snails, it may need a bit of encouragement. 1) Don't feed it for a day 2) Reach in and squish a snail or two onto the glass I know this sounds gross, but it may be that Little Clownie doesn't even realise that snails are food. Once it gets the idea, it'll be right into them!

I'm with Sharn... some dressing tables are strong enough to hold that weight but (depending on where the supports are in relation to the tank) your Darling might find the dresser drawers no longer open! That'll be the last time she gives in to your fishie hobby! :lol:

If you're using them to remove chlorine (that's what I use stress coat for) yes, it really works. If you're using them to help cycle a new tank, then I don't know as I've never tried. If you're using them for adding 'good bacteria' to your water every time you do a partial water change, then I think they're a waste of time and money. You're much better off making sure that your existing colonies of micro-greeblies are strong and resilient, and not over-cleaning your tank. pH is the most important one once the tank is established. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate kits are helpful when starting a new tank. Personally, I like to have ammonia and nitrate kits on hand at all times - if something goes wrong with your tank (or you have a sickly fish) you can test the water to eliminate an ammonia spike or nitrification as part of the problem. In saying that, they're more of a reassurance than anything. When something isn't looking right with my tank, I test for ammonia first and have never detected any in the water. When a fish has tatty-looking fins or is otherwise looking sickly I test for high nitrates but have never had a result there, either. But at least it makes me feel like I've eliminated some possibilities.

I can't answer your question because I've always had driftwood in my tank and my bristlenose certainly does an excellent job of scraping it clean. I have read that bristlenoses need wood as an essential part of their diet, but cannot verify this as I haven't experimented to see how long mine will live without it! When my driftwood was causing my pH to drop (I assume it was the driftwood doing it) I added a shell to the tank. I tested the water constantly, and the pH rose a little bit and stayed steady for a couple of weeks. I added another shell and now the water stays at a steady pH of 7.0 despite having a huge piece of wood in it. The shell will gradually dissolve in the acidic water and keep the pH steady for as long as it's in there. Hope that helps.

Well, the water that is going through the filter is getting filtered, and the water that is going out the intake isn't! So if you're happy with the filtering (ie your water is staying fairly clear and your nitrogen cycle is all still healthy) then you'll probably be fine the way things are. I'm still not quite clear what the "really loud" noise is... Is it the sound of the water running back into the tank? If so, raise the water level in the tank until it gets quieter. If that's not it can you describe the noise in more detail?