Graeme Jackson

Hi all, Thanks for your advise on New Plymouth visit. Checked out Critters and Pet Essentials in New Plymouth and B-Zone in Waitara. Unfortunatly B-Zone had closed but looking through the window it appears to be worth another trip. . The New Plymouth shops were clean but no real interesting stuff . Called in at Stratford on the way home and meet Tony, another fisko from way back. Awsome guy with a great set up, and plans to rival the Napier aquarium. Look forward to future visits. :bounce: Hope you all have a great Christmas and remember, if your travelling, be safe and carry a chilly bin and heat pads, just in case.

Planning a trip to New Plymouth next Weekend 8th 9th December. Would like to buy some fish, Tropicals, meet the locals. Any Suggestions Please.

Hi Guys, I too am having problems with BGA. I have read back and see that the answer is Erythromycin. A couple of questions for those who have used it. Where do I get Erythromycin from?. LFS no good. How much do I use? and how often?

Welcome, good luck with the background.

Thanks everyone for your comments, the plumbing looks worse than it is, from the tank to an inline filter, one of those garden filters to catch the larger bits, valve on each side to make cleaning easier. then onto the 1200 cannister filter. I've also allowed for an auto drain and filler for water changes. The next step is to try an fully automate that. CO2 is controlled with the lights and the moonlight and air pump come on when the lights go out. Still waiting on the panelling to dress the cabinet up. :roll:

Hi Good advise from Rich, Forget the extension cords, they're a recipe for desaster. I'm a sparky, unfortunatly in Wanganui, but PM me if you need any advise or price comparisons. Good insulation is good wiring is the place to start, a cheap panel heater will do the job if the budgets a bit tight. Look at installing a heat pump when the budget recovers. The other question is, how bigs the fish room and how many tanks? This will affect the submain wire size due to loading. Good luck.

Finally got it built and set up, Couple of pics of my original tank to http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r83/ ... 0_0673.jpg All the works http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r83/ ... 0_0674.jpg The original Tank and inhabitants http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r83/ ... 0_0675.jpg http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r83/ ... 0_0678.jpg http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r83/ ... 0_0676.jpg

Hi All, Here goes picture of pond and one looking down on fish, you need to look hard, but there's heaps in there http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r83/ ... 0_0656.jpg http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r83/ ... 0_0657.jpg

Have downloaded pics to my PC, Now to work out the next bit.

Hi all, I'm in the process of setting up a new tank, I ordered some new plants from the LFS, :lol: When they arrived I put them into a holding tank till required. Tank was newly filled with 80% rain water 20%tap, up to temp and a little leaf plus for good luck. No gravel and an air stone. pH around 7, kH around 3. Plants were mainly Crypts, various types. Within a day the leaves were melting, hopefully they will recover now planted in the new tank, but what would have looked green and lucious now looks barron and stumps. What Happened????? How can I prevent this happening again???

Welcome aboard, These people are the best team you could hope to have. Keep your plugs dry and your fish wet, the rests easy.

Hi all, Back from Taupo, Found the Molly Pond, will post a couple of picks soon. What an awsome site. Spent an hour just sitting on the side of the road watching the goings on. Didn't try to catch any, I think you would need to check water conditions and try to match it in a tank, smelt quite sulphery and may be quite acidic. This spot should be protected as a National treasure, its got be unique. Found the LFS, also a great place and came home with a few new bits and pieces, as you do. Even borrowed a bit of gravel from the lake for my next tank. Where to go Next???????

Thanks Guys and Gals, Sounds like the most fun to be had, rather than jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft :lol: is to be had with a small net and a large warm pond. That and a couple of tinnies should make for an interesting afternoon. 8)

Hi all, Heading to Taupo over the weekend, from Wanganui. Any suggestions or must sees?

Hi there, I'm in Wanganui also, We should arrange a get together, or a mini tank crawl. Its nice to have a local community.

Me To 8)

I'm using an old soda stream bottle that was rusting under the sink. Cost $7.80 for an exchange bottle and fill. I'll let you know when it runs out.

That's a good price for the whole setup, The regulator I got through a local engineering firm, took a while to find the one to fit a soda stream bottle but we got there, Price $71.00. No guage. The needle valve was from the local hydralics guys. $25.00. They trough the pipe and fittings in. My Reactor/bubble counter I built from bits of old filters $0.00. I also found that an accurate pH meter and a kH test kit was essential to know what was going on. And of course the knowledge and help from these Guys and Girls at FNZAS to try and work out water chemistry. Hope this helps. Would love to call in next time I'm Palmy or if you're coming this way, give me call.

Hi Crazdevil, I've just got my DIY pressurised CO2 system up and running. I'm using a soda stream tank, not sure how long this will last but expectations are around a month. Let me know how you get on.

Hi Luke, Thanks for the info, Just for Saturday at this stage, I'll let you know if things change

I am planning a trip to Hamilton next weekend, is there any good LFS up there? Or breeders that wouldn't mind a visit from a wandering fisho. :lol:

Haven't used the thermoheater but regardless of how you heat any volume of water to a set tempurature, its going to use the same amount of energy. IMO, an element emersed in the tank itself is about as efficient as you can get. Good insulation around the tank to prevent losses is probably the best cost saving measure, unless you can come up with a solar system that doesn't cost the earth to build. :-?

Hi Evil_Elmo, On the figures you posted below and assuming the heaters only run half the time, give or take. you're using around 16.5 kWhrs or units per day, at 22cents per unit, thats $3.63 per day. Much cheaper than motor racing or proffessional beer drinking.

Thanks for your help team, can someone explain, in simple terms please, what kH and gH are? I know they're a measurement of hardness but we use to talk about dH I think. Is there a reasonable price test kit for measureing these and what value is acceptable? :-? Thanks again.

Hi All, My name is Graeme, I'm in Wanganui. First up, Thanks for this great site, we have very little club activity here and although we do have a dedicated LFS some problems need expert input. I've kept fish for over 30 years and have had everything from cold water to tropical marine. I'm now back to one tank 300L of tropical comunity type fish. We are on rain water here so its pretty soft, but I have just DIY'd a pressured CO2 system and I'm a bit concerned about pH. My tank has always been quite acidic, I blamed a combination of undergravel filters and a large piece of driftwood for this, but the fish seemed happy. I have now disconected the UG filters and gone to a cannister filter. The pH reads around 5.5. I'm not a fan of chemicals or additives but would prefer a pH closer to 6.5. Long winded enough for the first post, your help would be gratefully received.