Warren

Look a bit like browns to me too. They're not pure browns though, look like some kind of hybrid... I would doubt the parents are wild with colours like that but having never been to the Amazon and seen for myself I could be wrong...

If it was polycarb you could bend the from face until it was touching the back face. If it is acrylic (perspex) it will crack before it bends very far. Polycarb is also known as lexan and it's extremely flexible and tough. It's pretty unlikely to be polycarb. It may not be perspex (acrylic) either but some other polymer that's quite similar. Take the tank to a plastics specialist. They may be able to ID the plastic. It's pretty important to get the correct glues for plastics.

Silicone won't repair structural problems and won't strick very well to the plastic unless you sand it and use the correct primer. You need a glue called Acrifix. It's pretty good stuff but not cheap (about $25 for a 50ml tube). I don't know anyone in your area with it. Look for someone who specialises and/or imports bulk raw plastic materials. There is a local plastics industry here. The owner keeps fish so it's a bonus for me when I go there to get stuff as he's interested in what I'm doing. Gives a really good price too!!

They sound pretty approachable. I'd give it a go!

That is expensive! It only cost about $50USD a year for my Stereophile subscription, including postage from the states. It's about the equivalent to TFH in the fish world. Still, it is our hobby and hobbies can be expensive. If I had the Mag Alan, I'd bring it to conference for you to have a read but I only get the odd TFH and Stereophile. Not much use sorry... (unless you want the latest mega-bucks stereo equipment!!)

Go here and you can subscribe. Not sure if they post to NZ?? http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... /order.php

The tapwater at 7.6 I assume is sitting in a bucket overnight, not water added to the tank. If so, there has to be a gas dissolved in the water keeping the pH low. Overnight the gas will escape causing the pH to go up. (Incidentally, the same thing would happen during the day 8) )

Not Lab grade as they come in bulk.

I'd be interested (but only in the trace mix as I have loads of macro's), PM me when you work out how much.

I see the sight of your Clowns spawning has been too much to resist. Good luck.

I used to use aquatic potting mix mixed in a similar way but found it went stale after 2-3 years as it tends to clog up and seal itself, - going anearobic. I now just use 2-4mm sized smooth edge gravel and add solid fertiliser tablets as needed. No matter what substrate additive you use it will eventually become exhausted anyway. I just start with an exhausted substrate and go from there. The 2-4mm gravel get just enough circulation to stay fresh without leaching too many nutrients into the open water space.

Yuk, thanks Ira, - in fine form I see...

I use a gravel from Southland Sand and Gravel called Oreti Rock. It is available in some retail stores in Auckland, but it's quite expensive. I got 1000kg's of the stuff direct, cost $660.00 landed a few years ago. To buy the same quantity from the LFS was going to cost $2400 + I had to freight it from AK to Nap. It's colour and size graded. The colour is mostly brown and grey with about 5% of each; red, green, purple and pink. It is a very pretty gravel and looks very natural. It's a bit like some of the gravel round lake Taupo. The size is gradel at 2-4mm, perfect for plants. It's also round in shape, - no sharp edges. It's a hard non-leaching gravel. I've been using it for 10+ years in my planted tank... I got 150kg recently through a landscape supplier who got the 150kg added to 1000kg of other stones. The minimum order amount is 1000kg, but it can be of anything. If you can find a local landscape supplier who deals with Southland Sand and Gravel, see if they can source small quantities for you. It should cost about $40-45 per 25kg bag. Cost Breakdown: 1000kg Oreti Rock - $160, freight to Napier - $500 You can see all the cost is in freight. The gravel itself is quite cheap. These prices are a few years old and were prior to all the petrol and diesel price hikes. Since fuel has gone up so much I'd expect the freight cost to have doubled or tripled or maybe 10x as much. Nah, won't be that much higher, just quite iritated about gas price...

Are you on town water? If so, when the pipes get flushed it can stir up all the settled muck thats been sitting for years... Maybe the trouble started after a waterchange just after the pipes were flushed?? It happened to me years ago. I came home one day with the gutter outside the house flooded. I did a water change and had problems for the next couple of weeks. Didn't put 2+2 together for a while until someone told me about having a similar problem they'd experienced when pipes were flushed...

There is life up North!! Welcome. I'm not close but got down to Dunedin late last year. Invercargill has a great gravel supplier, the best I've found in NZ. Southland Sand and Gravel, really cheap too. Freight is a real killer to send to here though...

I've got 2 x 7kVA 210,220,230,240,250:110 transformers. I was going to turn them into a power conditioner for the stereo but might sell one or both if the price is right. Would probably be looking at $750 each. They are about 70kg each! Probably too big for your application anyway.

I'm thinking this is to normaise the price. If everyone quotes retail prices we're not comparing apples with oranges... I could be way off here but since retail is the price the majority will pay, why not use it as the standard.

Or read this, it tells you how to add them to your posts: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/writing_article ... um_images/

It's usually ok after the acetic smell is gone completely. I should take 4-5 days. The cure time is based on a bead of a certain size with all surfaces exposed to air. Since only part of the surface is exposed the cure time will be longer. The bead size is usually 10mm but who knows unless it is specified. Not many manufacturers put the curing conditions on the tube...

What you need is a pump to do 150L/number of minutes you want it to take x 60 in L/hour. eg, 5 Minutes: 150/5*60 = 1800L/hour (=30L/min) eg, 15 minutes 150/15*60 = 600L/hour (=10L/min) The pump Brianemone has suggested would take 30 minutes. These values assume no head. If you can get the pump curve for the pumps you look at, you'll be able to see what rate they pump at the head you propose. If not, allow a bit of extra capacity, about 1.3x at 1.56m

Oops :oops: , it appears I am. I was confusing you with the person who started the thread... I should learn to read!! 8)

With the ammonia and nitrite readings you've got, the fish will be very troubled. That's why the gourami's are at the surface. Ammonia inhibits gill function and the fish suffocate. There also seems to be a lot more fish in the tank than there were a week ago. Weren't there just neons and rummynose then? Seems you haven't waited long enough for the tank to cycle. You will need to find a temporary home for your fish until the tank finishes cycling. Then you can add the fish back a few ata a time about a week apart until they are all back. Tanks typically take a month to cycle. Putting too many fish in too quick usually causes major problems. The cloudiness is possibly a bacterial bloom. The bacteria will compound the problem as they use up the oxygen. This combined with the high ammonia level plus high pH will cause the fish a lot of stress. You could use ammo-lock to instantly lock the ammonia but you will still need to do water changes to bring the level down to under 0.25. The tank will then need to be left alone to finish the cycle with weekly waterchanges of 10-25%. Accu-clear may help as it should floc the bacteria so they get stuck in the filter. Do not buy any more fish until the tank has cycled, - at least 2 more weeks. Ammonia also gets more toxic as the pH goes up. You may need to bring the pH down. If you do this, make the change gradual, no more than 0.5 change a day. Add the pH lowering liquid slowly, a little bit at a time over a couple of hours. While your fish are in temporary homes you will need to check the ammonia level in those tanks too...

I had 150 neons in my tank. They don't seem to last like they used to and the colours aren't as good either. I've probably only got about 100 left after 1 year. You should get 2-3 years lifespan depending on temperature... They look great schooling from one end of the tank to the other. Even better when the 50+ black neons school with them...

Works for me.

Well you can get this page, the main title and the profiles page but it looks like none of the other pages work. Maybe he's doing maintenance. I'll see if I can find his number and give him a call...