whetu

I asked my LFS for some (a while ago now) and they pointed me to the display stand where they were selling bags of them. Unfortunately the ones in the bags were little skinny things - not heavy enough to hold the plants down and really sharp and spiky so I was scared they would hurt the fish! I use them because my fish seem to love uprooting plants. There is no way they would leave them alone if I just poked them into the substrate! My clown loaches even manage to uproot some quite large plants even when they are heavily weighed down. The barbs just love pecking at the plants and once they get them out of the substrate they eat the roots. :roll: Cheeky little blighters (but I love them).

Looking good, Sam! It should grow in really nicely. Once the hair grass has filled up the front a bit more you could get a mini lawn-mower and keep it mown. although you might need a mini-tractor and hay bailer by the looks of it.

Perfect. Don't return it to the stream. Kill it by feeding it to a big, hungry fish. Everybody will be happy!

Oh I'm sorry to hear about your problems with this tank. It must be very distressing for you. I really don't know what can be causing these problems - you seem to be doing everything right but it's still going wrong! Do you have another tank that you can move the sick fish into? Then you could try some medications if you choose - without having to medicate the whole tank. I would suggest getting some kind of antiseptic from your local fish shop first as it sounds like the two sick fish may have some kind of infection. Unfortunately I think the harlequin with a hole in its body sounds like it might be too far gone to be able to be helped. It might be time to put it out of its misery, and concentrate on helping the other sick fish, and preventing anyone else becoming sick. Good luck.

Oooh lovely photos! You must have had a great time - it's been ages since I went for a flight in a light plane! Perfect weather for it! I have taken off in a light plane several times but only landed on a few occasions. The rest of the time I jumped out!

There is a pie company called Len's Pies. Unfortunately the sign-writing on most of their vehicles is missing the apostrophe, making it Lens Pies. Anyone want eyes in their pies?

That's interesting, Cricketman. When I run the water out of my kitchen tap into a container, I can definitely smell chlorine in it. In saying that, that just means that the chlorine is wafting about in the air so by the action of running the tap I may have dissipated most of the remaining chlorine out of the water. Personally I like to use a chemical dechlorinator for safety. Not so much because of its effect on the bacteria in my filter, but more because I don't want to irritate the gills & skin of the poor little fishies.

Hmmm... a pH of 8? Most loaches (as far as I know) like their pH more on the low side. Perhaps someone has more specific knowledge than me about the types of loaches you're thinking of.

What kind of cichlids are they? what pH do you keep them at? Are they known for their aggression or are they a peaceful type? How big is the tank? Are there lots of places for everyone to hide and have their own territory?

First I would check the ingredients - is it really just shrimp? No added flavours, oil, etc? Then I would say go for it. My clown loaches love frozen (thawed) shrimp. I just put single shrimps into the tank, not chopped up or anything.

The effectiveness of the filter will depend more on how hard you're working it, rather than the size of the tank. For example, if you have a lot of messy fish in there, and plants that are losing some of their leaves, then obviously a HOB filter will have trouble keeping up. I used to have a HOB filter (Whisper brand) on my 600 x 300 x 300 tank and it worked just fine for a long time. But when my fish grew bigger and I got more of them, I ended up switching to a cannister filter. So what do you have/plan to have in the tank?

Ballast... transformer... starter... capacitor... Unfortunately I left it too late to take the light apart today, so will have to do it later in the week (in daylight). Thanks for the info everyone - I enjoy learning new things and will have fun pulling the light apart and working out what's what. Who knows if the buzzing will stop, but at least I will have learned something!

Wow! That second one's bigger than me! Clarification: I'm longer/taller but don't weigh as much... on the other hand I also would be unlikely to sink if put in a fish tank so I suppose that's only logical. Oooh I'm so jealous of you folks who live close to natural supplies of lovely twisty driftwood.

Thanks Zev! I will unplug the light and (after it has cooled down a bit) take a look inside and see what's what, and make sure everything is attached securely. I suspect this is a very old fitting as there is a lot of corrosion around the bits where the tubes plug into the light. At some point I will need to ask myself if it's even worth repairing as it's really not in good condition at all.

So do the transformer and ballast make different kinds of buzzes? Or are they located in different parts of the fitting? I know nothing about this magical electrickery stuff - I just flick a switch and expect things to work! :oops:

My clown loaches resent that implication, Ira! Just as well for you they're not quite smart enough to hunt you down and make you apologise! I think people should be aware that clown loaches like to squeeze themselves into small tunnels/caves and to them a filter intake looks like a tunnel... and they probably don't live long enough to learn from their mistake.

LOL sorry to confuse you Lyndy! I have made two different topics: This one as a general guide to buying second-hand fittings and another one dealing with the specific annoying buzzing noise :evil: that is afflicting my light.

Hmmm... transformer or ballast... Is there an easy way for me to work out what's causing the buzzing, before I go out and buy new parts?

LOL thanks phoenix! I'm going to try to work out what the annoying buzzing sound :evil: is before I add that to my list! I'm hoping it is something that's easy to fix!

I recently purchased a second-hand light fitting off an online auction and have been a bit disappointed in my purchase. I am not blaming the seller - I blame myself for not asking enough questions before I decided to buy it. After my experience I thought it might be useful to compile a list of questions to ask, to avoid disappointment and/or unrealistic expectations. Some of these questions are a matter of personal preference (for example it may or may not be important to you whether you can turn the two tubes on and off individually). Here are mine: How long is the fitting? How long is the tube that fits inside the fitting? (For example my old 4-foot fitting takes 4-foot tubes. The 'new' 4-foot fitting only takes 3-foot tubes) How many tubes does it accommodate? (Single or double) If it's a double fitting, can you turn the tubes on and off individually? Do (both) the fittings work? (Tubes don't matter... they are cheap. But get the seller's assurance that they have tried the light and it actually works!) How old is it (approximately)? Does it have a reflector? If so, what condition is the reflector in? (Factor in the price of a replacement reflector if it's cracked, badly scratched or corroded) Does it have a perspex cover? (The bit that goes between the tubes and the tank - helps reduce condensation inside the unit) Is there any corrosion in/on the unit? Is there any obvious damage? (eg. cracked case, missing parts) Are the plug and electrical cord in good condition? You might also like to ask the seller to show you the light functioning before you take it away. I got mine home, plugged it in, and only one tube worked. I swapped the tubes over and that side still didn't work. When I showed it to the seller, he accused me of breaking it when I swapped the tubes over. Are there any other questions you would ask?

I have recently bought a double-tube light fitting off Trade Me. I've had all kinds of issues with it - I don't blame the seller; I should have asked a lot more questions before I bought it. :roll: Anyway one of the tubes originally didn't work so I took it back to the guy and (after some persuasion) he swapped a faulty starter with one from another one of his fittings. Now I have it set up on my tank and I am aware of a very annoying buzz/hum coming from it. What is it likely to be? What can I do about it? Any suggestions welcome!

I fully endorse getting more of the cheaper tubes rather than spending a lot on one or two. Also you are advised to change them often to maintain their light output, which is much more likely to happen with the cheap ones! Personally I go to Bunnings and buy Philips "Cool Daylight" tubes. Their colour temperature is 6500k, which is good for growing plants and they are quite cheap. Tip of the day: Write the installation date on the actual tube so you can tell at a glance exactly how old that tube is, and change them out regularly. (I aim for 12 months but realistically I end up changing them after 18 months or so.)

Someone recently said to me that shopping is a daily referendum. Every time you buy something, you are endorsing the product, the brand, the company, and the productioon methods they use... and every time you choose not to buy something you are voting with your $$ by taking your money elsewhere. I know it's a huge issue and we can't ever be perfect, but we can make an effort to be better. For example, I have recently joined an organic co-operative and now I can buy bulk organic produce cheaper than I can buy "conventional" products at the supermarket! I choose carefully every time I buy something and decide whether I really need the item, what impact I will be having with my purchase choice, and whether there is a better choice I could be making. As for driving, about three years ago I stopped driving a car and bought myself a 250cc motorbike instead. I kept the car for a while, thinking I might still use it sometimes. But eventually I sold it because it never got driven. (I have installed a rack on the back of my bike to carry groceries and bulky items.) My partner rides a 180cc scooter. I know that particular option isn't available to everyone. Nor is walking, cycling or taking public transport. I'm not suggesting everyone is going to make the same choices. I just think a lot of the time people think they haven't got choices (or it's too hard to make changes) when actually we have choices to make every single day. And collectively, everything we do makes a difference. So, whenever possible, I choose to buy locally-made products. And whenever possible I also choose organic, fair trade, sustainably produced, non-toxic products. It's not as hard as it sounds! It's actually quite fun to seek out the best products you can find, research the issues involved in their manufacture and think hard about your decisions. Become an informed consumer! :bounce: :bounce:

So that's 2 x 4-foot tubes? I was a little disappointed when I recently bought a 4-foot fitting off Trade Me and found it only took 3-foot tubes. :-? But either way, the addition of a couple more tubes will increase your planting possibilities exponentially! Also, depending on the ages of the tubes, getting new ones can make a big difference to their output, as can adding reflectors and cleaning any perspex between the tube and the water. I have had very satisfactory results growing easy plants in my 4-foot tank with 110 watts of light - ambulia, hygrophilla, java ferns and amazon swords have all done well for me so far and I would recommend any of them for your tank. The Dalton's is a good substrate IMO. I have used it in the past and will do so again next time I set up a tank.

Ooooh lovely examples of Aquaticus driftwoodii! :bounce: :bounce: It's a bit hard to get perspective from the pics - how big are they? And what size tanks are they going in? And when can we have pics of them in the tanks?? :bounce: