Krama

James Ive got alot of room in my tank, and you are welcome to use it, but I am not sure how good my set up is, I would hate to be a case of of the cure being worse than the illness. You are welcome to have a look at what I have got etc. I am also very happy to pick things up, but you may rather advise to where I should put them in the tank etc for their own sake. You would also be able to come and visit anytime you liked... MJ

I have a mate up here that has a large builders trailer, let me know if you need me to see if it is available.. 021739129

are you doing water changes? How did you know what levels your nitrites and nitrates were before you added corals? are you planning to add any fish or just going for corals. I am on the learning curve, but if you are going to have corals that need calcuim then you will need to test for a suitable level. I purchased a tri kit from Hollywood for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate with PH tester includes, once my tank had cycled etc and I added fish I then started to test for calcuim levels etc before I added shrimp and torch coral. It all seemed easy, but you need to watch out for the fact that ( correct me if I am wrong ) your tank will age/continue to cycle etc with different types of blooms/growths that will take a toll on your confidence. wont you need something for the nitates to feed on? I thought that is why they added a fish, something like a clown or damsel. mj

good on you. we are probably at about the same stage, I ve only be at it since August. I have purchase most of corals etc, gets fairly costly. Some of the members on this site have offered me some frags, "many thanks" I will have to organise myself and make a trip into town. What part of town do you live in? I live up on the hibiscus coast. That skimmer is a great investment, what have you done for lighting?

hi andy, are you new to marine?

sorry, not sure what you mean. Matakatia is a little bay up on the hibiscus coast, whangaparaoa.

today looks like a beautiful day to do a water change, hardly a ripple on the water this morning. If you are over this way, matakatia, why dont you let me know and you can have coffee... and give me some tips on my new tank. mj

I dont mind talking to them, I feel I get on well with them, though I have never met his wife Rebecca. It must cost them alot of money to keep the tanks running, with or without much stock. I was in there to day again looking for something to buy. But the more customer feed back the better. Maybe they are reading this now. I am self employed, and I would like to think that my customers were not shopping elsewhere.

I dont want to get into a biff, what do you mean story? I only made an observation, they are always "waiting" for stock. I dont have a problem with them at all? they are very helpful and have been of excellent support to someone starting up. In fact they sold me all of my fish and most of my corals.

Reef, dont know why you would say this, you give me the impression that everyone on here buys frags etc from the shops, which I know is not true. I thought that being part of this forum is to support each other. Are you offended by my question as to the low stock levels that Hollywood have. Do you work there? If you do, you could take it as some positive customer feed back, that is " I want to buy some fish for my tank and you dont have much in stock". it is along way for me to travel, I live north of auckland and Jensens in Mt Eden is to far to "just pop in". Fairly simple.

wasp do you have anything that I could put into my new tank? I have it set up now with a skimmer and lights. MJ

I dont know where they are going to get the stock to fill them, I am new to marine, and the Hollywood in Albany never has any stock, let alone trying to fill another shop. Why is the suppy of marine so poor?

not able to change the tank around, I will probably try something and see how it goes.... maybe super glue and then scrape off with a razer blade when dry. Think i will need to do a test strip somewhere else not so much on public display. Still open to suggestions. :-?

I have my new tank up and running for 2 days now, but there is a scratch on the glass, only a small one, about 15mm long and 2mm wide. It is on the outside. Is there some way of filling it etc, but with something that will not "yellow" over time. I spose I could get one of those guys who do the windscreens, but I was hoping to get it fixed for a lot less. If not, I will probably just leave it alone and live with it. Your past experiences please. MJ 8)

good morning rollergirl i am fairly similar to yourself, just a few months ahead, had similar thoughts etc... I went out and got a 120l tank, etc.... set it up right, put in the clowns,then some torch corals etc.... but then my corals struggled like most new comers... so. I have with now just set up a 300l tank, skimmer (big) and bright lights... with a sump. My point being, no matter what your intentions are now, you will not be able to watch by the new "loved ones" suffering and will up grade. the cost of the additions like skimmer, lights are all the same if you go bigger is best, no matter what the size of your tank is. So, if you are going to oneday up grade, then get skimmer for the intended tank, lights etc.... the reason it costs more for some is the inbetween stages, where they try to save money with middle of the road, and then discover they need to upgrade, all to stop the "lovelys" from looking poorly. It is the fish that will put pressure on the tank, and a tang will grow quite large for that size tank, maybe a pair of clowns, almost better than watching TV, and I am sure I have lost weight just watching their never ending movement, even while they are sleeping!! As for advice, those two you have met are an excellent source, I would like to advocate how your future in marines will be only made better by these friendships.... fairly warm fuzzy for a male, but it has ment alot to me to "just trust what they are saying". mj

good thoughts, thank you for your time in the responses... i will looks at the logistics of setting up a qt, it should be fairly easy to do, more of an on demand, especially in the initial stages of setting up a main tank.

I was wondering if many people actually used qt before entering a new species into the tank, and if they did, was it mainly for fish, or was it everything wet. Reason for my question is maybe I should do it, and it is more important than I have thought it to be. MJ

not sure I would do it, but here is something to look at.. http://www.firststopaquatics.co.uk/acat ... tlets.html

have a read of this http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/angelf ... ygmyangel/

i would go with the larger chip. might be easier to keep clean,

sounds like I need to get a refracto meter, I just use a hydro meter... where is the best place to get something like this, or are they available 2nd hand?

according to the had book there is a chance they may try the corals, but in most cases ( i am told ) they do not touch them. So far, I have only good things to say about them.

I think Steve was only making a suggestion, they all help. Could just be a case of timing. I use the same water supply to do my NSW and have no problems at all. The amount you used should not have caused any problems.

HelenMac I still like the coral beauty, it is quite a nice "larger fish" and seems to be fairly hardy, very colourful and moves around alot, feeding off what is growing on the rocks, moving in and out of the rocks. I am very happy with my selection, and if you can get to see one in a tank, not a photo, the colours and size wil make your decision for you. MJ

what about some help relating to the topic.......