Dasher

Would love to see pics. You may have a ready market, if you can ship

Did you ever get the Koura to breed?

Whats involved in keeping Koura - fresh water crays?

Hi, did you by any chance get the java moss from Hollywood Mt Eden? I picked up some there a couple of weeks ago and a pair of killies were laying in the mass at the time. Maybe I should have gone back and got some more moss too ) , have been thinking of trying killies in my large community tank.

You can do it like that, but you will find it hard to get the regulator to adjust down finely enough to get the 1 to 3 bubbles a second that are needed. Drop into the local model shop and get a stainless or Brass in-line Needle valve - $15 to $25. That will make the adjustment easier. It just sits in the line after the Reg and before the Diffuser and bubble counter. The Solenoid is only used to shutoff the gas when lights are off and the plants are in reverse cycle. It will save gas, and if you are using smaller bottles i.e. 300g will make them last a month per fill. Has anyone seen the JBJ Bubble Counters sold locally?

OOps sorry.. ... was just answering the thread. But cant see why mentioning them is any different than someone mentioning Trademe who is another business? The moderators can pull the details if they want - As most fire Extinguisher companies in Yellow Pages Ltd (Another Company name ) will be able to fill them and those that wont do paintball style cylinderes would probably refer them to that company also.

Actron Fire Services Limited - Phone number: 0-9-357 6767 - 101 Beaumont Street - City Ask for Brett They will fill any cylinder for you at great rates.

Hi, Not sure if I should be concerned, but my Sailfin Pleco appx 9 - 10" long has just started doing floaters. Extra long poo with big airpockets in it. I expect it is diet, but it is hard to change as he just eats so much!!!. He is doing a brilliant job on glass cleaning, but also hoovers up the Corys Shrimp pellet, Algie tabs, anything!!!! Is this normal for larger Plec's? and due to food, or possibly a sign of infection.? The only change I can think of in the last couple of days is the introduction of microworms for some small fry, also feeding them to the small tetras. These have been raised on yeast and oats, but I have been exceptionly careful to avoid any of the mix getting into the tank, only adding the worms. Just wondering if mayby this is causing the flatulance? Thoughts?

I have the Regulator frame mounted to the Powdercoat steel stand for the tank. On the Gas bottle I fit a modified Oil Filter Wrench (Shortened the Strap so it would fit the slightly smaller gas bottle). Then using the oil filter Wrench to unscrew the bottletill it is free, then finish by hand. To install the new one is the reverse. Fit the Filter wrench to the bottle first, then spin the bottle till it nips and give it a quick crank with the oil filter wrench. I have been into Engineering Plastics an picked up a set of deeper seals for the reg too. I havent noticed any freezing and only a momentary hiss as the gas fills the reg void and lines. I have a support frame that then clips to the bottle and camlocks onto the powder coated stand for protection. Still ironing out wrinkles with lines - just changed to Silicon and polished seats in the cheapo brass needle valve so I have smoother control. But definately please with improved growth rates.

Nah your over engineering the solution. Your intestines are a proven method of holding CO2 with out gas loss. just swallow the cylinder which makes the solution gas tight and portable. Just a problem connecting up the hoses.

Second Hand 100l 885g alco2jet sodastream unit - $20 to $40 Reg - www.toolsonline.co.nz - AS2473 Type 30 fitting $76 Homemade diffuser and powerhead $20 Needle valve from model shop - $18 Optional solenoid $100 Refills from SodaStream for 30l $9 for 100L appx $27 (From gas co - $5 for 100l) Good thing with this is that a large cylinder can be used for the primary and a second 30l can be held and used while the primary is off being filled. A 30l cylinder will cost $10 max on TM and can be filled by gas supplier also. System is compact, reliable, inexpensive. I would say this is as good as any "big" system. It uses the same methodology. Last time I looked an Eheim system came with a 400g bottle - that is 485g smaller than this system.

If you buy one new - they are $130ish from Noel Leeming, but I just picked up a used one on Trademe for $20. As I am only after the gas tank that was a good price. Bottles to look for are the Alco2jet Gas bottles they hold 885gram CO2. Ask before buying to confirm the larger gas cynlinder is still in the unit, as some people replace them with the 30litre ones cos they are cheaper to fill. As for filling - forget about taking it to get a replacement sodastream refill each time. It will cost way more than needed. Go to a Fire Extinguisher refiller. If in Auckland try Actron in 101 Beaumont Street. It will cost a fraction of the swap out system, they have the needed adapters to fill these bottles. Note: Keep the SodaStream wrapping on the bottle, so that when the bottle is almost out of its tested life, take it back to get another genuine Soda Stream refill. ) The valve connector on the 30l and the 100l is indeed the same - so a reg can be bought for $75 from www.toolsonline.co.nz that will fit the AS2473 Type 30 connector used on the NZ Sodastream bottles. With the addition of a shutoff solenoid you should be able to extend the run time per 885g from 2 to 3 months for $5 As for a diffuser, I used a corner foam filter (old style) and inverted it so the outlets were at the bottom . Then drilled a 12mm hole the same size as the outlet from a low volume powerhead into the top of the unit (Formerly the base). The powerhead was siliconed into position and the gas line run up into the inverted filter. The unit was filled with Bio Media and a layer of foam placed at the bottom. The cover was then fitted. Now when the CO2 flows it travels into the bio media via the gas line and airstone. It spreads on the surface of the biomedia and top of filter, the powerhead flows tank water through the unit. So far it is working 100% all CO2 is being disolved and no leaks detected.

Have you looked at using a Sodastream Evolution gas bottle? They use a Alco2jet 100 885g cylinder of CO2, that makes 100 litres of the soda stream. These are almost 3 times the capacity of your 300gram cylinder. Not sure if the fitting is the same for the regulator, but will try and find out.