Warren

Must keep dreaming, - bummed out with Lotto :-?

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, - Borneo's are fairly slow growing fish. It take's 4-5 years to get them near full size.

Both used to be very picky about their food too. I used to have to feed exclusively live food, - feeder goldfish, carp, worms etc. I finally got them to take dead food by not feeding them for over a week. After nearly 2 weeks of ignoring the dead food I was putting in I had a breakthrough. I was making a batch of Discus food and cut off some slivers of raw beef-heart. They ignored that too. However, if you jab it onto the end of a thin stick and wiggle it in the water they nailed it. It just had to look like it was alive (fish are pretty dumb remember). After a couple of days of this I didn't have to wiggle the meat any more. Now they eat the frozen food mixture, and bloodworms. A couple of times a week I give them real earthworms and the occasional live fish.

Cool, I'll make it tomorrow 8)

Me too. Worst problem is seeing all the great fish we don't have here and not being able to bring any back!

Its good you lots of frequent water changes...

This is how it worked out: 4kW Pumps 24/7 = $374 4.8kW Lighting 12 hours a day = $224 8kW Heating @40% = $299 Total = $897/month based on a unit cost of $0.13 including GST. I didn't check comercial power rates as you'd need 3 phase to get the efficiency out of the pumps so there may be some saving. We are talking about a fairly decent sized tank after all. My 1200L tank costs about $40.00 a month. Based off that a 32000L tank (at 26.667 times bigger) would cost approx $1066. It would of course have to be a planted Discus tank with 300+ discus in it and 5000+ cardinals...

Like the new icon Cees 8)

I still want my 32000L tank, 7.6m long, 1.8m high and 2.4m deep. I've got my Lotto ticket so maybe... (Hmm $17m should do it!) It would only cost about $10000 to build this into a new house. What put me off it was the $1000 a month in power to run it.

Surfers has a few really good ones. Aquariums in Paradise. AAA Aquariums There are some more but I can't remember the names. Aquariums in Paradise is out the back of Southport. There are 4 aquarium shops all very close to each other in that area and all are excellent. AAA Aquariums has very good fish but they are very expensive and the owner is ... well best not comment. The only aquarium shop I know of in Syndey is about 500m up the main road in Manly. Haven't spent enough time in Brisbane (not working) to find any shops. You're not going to Melbourne huh, there's some really excellent aquarium shops there... so does Perth.

You could very easily setup with no undergravel filter. Because you are doing waterchanges every 2-3 days your filter is probably doing very little biological work anyway. The plants probably use up all the ammonia waste products as they are produced. As long as the fish load is kept fairly light and you feed sparingly there will be no need for UGF. Keep the gravel depth to a minimum, - just enough to hold down the plants. Put a little potting mix right at the bottom to help the plant roots. Try one tank first. If there is a problem you can stick your fish into the other tank. You shouldn't have a problem however, all my tanks have no UGF.

Richard, You would be surprised. I've got a 225mm Borneo in with a 75mm one (50mm when introduced). They are really good mates. They seem to tolerate each other very well. The only time there are problems is when they have paired off and want to breed. They will then try to kill any other fish in the tank. My bigger Borneo is one of seven original fish. Two paired-off and started killing the rest. The one I've got was rescued and donated to me

Looks like your problem was/is ammonia poisoning alright. 0.6 is high. The sharks don't like that level of ammonia. Ammo-lock will instantly help. Look for the cause however, - could it have been prolonged overfeeding being just too much for the old filter. It's probably coincidence that this happened when the new filter was added. It would not have become effective for a while yet. Unless it somehow released ammonia it shouldn't be the cause. Keep up 10-20% water changes until the ammonia is below 0.1 See if you can work out what led to the ammonia spike. Treat it as a learning experience. You'll know that next time you see your fish acting like this you'll need ammo-lock and water changes to fix it quick (lets hope there is not a next time). Meanwhile, try cutting back the feeding a bit. Hungry fish help keep your tank clean.

Sounds to me like ammonia or nitrite poisoning. There 3 things you can do: 1. Water changes (20% every couple of days until under control). 2. Add Ammo-Chips to the filter (in a yellow box at the LFS). 3. Add Ammo-Lock. All of these will reduce the ammonia. Ammo-Lock will reduce it instantly but its will still be there in a locked form. It still needs to be removed. Only water changes will lower the nitrite level (if that's the problem), but removing the ammonia will stop nitrite being produced. It could be coming from the old filter. How long since it was cleaned? How long since the gravel was cleaned? If you have been overfeeding then the filter system may have just reached the point where it can no longer keep up. You might need to get better food that doesn't cloud the water.

Sorry to hear about the problems Ira. If you are going to look at UPS's then I'm the man to talk to. I design them at my work + we resell a pretty big range (from 600VA to 3MVA) and about $100 to $1.5M The $150 UPS you've mentioned would probably only last 20-30 minutes. This would be ok for short power cuts, but not anything over 1-1.5 hours. It only takes 45 minutes to an hour before your filter starts to die off. After 2 hours it is pretty much dead. My UPS holds up all my tanks for 2 days with the lights on or 3.5 days with them off. That’s thanks to the 500kg of batteries sitting under the tank inside the stand. Working where I do I got the UPS for cost and the batteries were some that weren't worth the cost of equalising so I salvaged them for me and gave 2 dozen beers for the company. UPS's aren't really intended to hold the power up for long, just enough to shut the gear connected to them down if the cut is longer than 5-10 minutes. They get really expensive really quick if you want long holdup times.

No worries, it will be an excellent size tank for planting. Chinese algae eaters can be a bit nasty at times. You certainly do not keep them with Discus as they suck their sides. They can even eventually kill the Discus. I've found they are not even that great at munching algae anyway. The SAE's are much better.

I agree too, SAE's are excellent at stopping brush algae. They will not however eat any algae that is visible. First you have to remove all the leaves with the algae on them, then immediately put in SAE's. They only eat the very soft fluffy stage of the algae, before it becomes visible. You will need about 1 per 50-100 Liter’s of tank depending on how heavily planted it is. In reply to Nooboon, I have read lots. A lot came off the net too. I've actually read so much about growing plants / controlling algae that most of the time I don't remember where I read it. I don't usually give advise unless I know it works by testing it myself. If I haven't tested it I'll normally say so. I've helped a lot of people set up planted tanks and a lot of people with algae problems. I try to make contact after helping them to see how they are going. This way I learn if what I told then worked. I am lucky to have a healthy interest in Chemistry and Physics. These help a lot in understanding what is happening inside your tank. The actual values stated are learned from the experience mentioned above. They are not 100% foolproof, but they almost always work. I also just like helping people… A really good start for anyone wanting to control algae is 'the often mentioned' Sears/Conlin Report. http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilize ... onlin.html It's only one of many ways to control algae and as I've mentioned before, - it always works.

Erythromycin works great but it kills your filter bacteria. So often what happens next is no nitrates followed by cyno again... Also you have to re-cycle the tank, - watch out for ammonia and nitrite spikes...

Its easy to get rid of. It only exists under 2 conditions. 1. Too much phosphate and no nitrates. 2. Too much phosphate and lots of nitrates (>30ppm). Once phosphate levels are below 0.25ppm and nitrates sit between 5-10ppm it disappears in 2-3 days. So will most other forms of algae. It's most common in new tanks where there are no nitrates and a lot of phosphate from the tap water. Hastings has lots of phosphate in the tap water (3-8ppm depending on location). The bacteria have the ability to Nitrogen lock, that is extract the dissolved nitrogen out of the water. When the correct nitrate level is reached and the phosphates are reduced the bacteria seems to lose its ability to N lock. When there are excess nitrates and high phosphate both types of food are readily available. Maybe with just the correct nitrate level it cannot change mode and sits dormant. CO² helps speed up the process in a planted tank but its not usually needed. As a tank ages nitrates build up. The trick to algae free tanks is to keep both nitrates and phosphates under control. There are 3 methods. 1. Ignore P and N and use a grunty UV steriliser. 2. Do regular large water-changes with N and P free water to keep both N and P diluted. 3. Keep a heavily planted tank that uses up the P and N faster than it is produced by fish waste. If one of these method is used it guarantees and algae free tank.

Fish don't seem to care about garlic. It is really good at reducing / stopping intestinal parasites.

Lots of current is ok as long as there is no surface ripple. It is CO² exchange at the surface that needs to be minimised. Had a look at the electrolysis CO² unit. Wouldn't go near it at that cost. Its about $300 + freight to buy + $60 every 2-3 months or so. My CO² cost $160 to set up + $9 per month to rent a 6.8kg bottle. A bottle lasts 2.5-3 years depending on plant growth wanted. A fill costs $25. My tank is just under 1200L so lots of CO² is used. Work it out, - renting a bottle and buying a proper regulator is by far the cheapest option. DIY is cheaper, but no guarantee of constant or controlled flow plus regular changing of culture...

Good point. Another cheaper alternative is crushed pumice. It binds trace elements in a similar maner and is much cheaper. The only problem is the odd floater for the first yesr or so until all the pumice is saturated. Most potting mixes used pumice. Potting mix is a really good very cheap alternative to laterite. My experience has shown no negative effects yet. It doesn't have enough iron however, so more must be added at regular intervals.

Laterite is only good in a tank for 2 years or so then the iron content is all used up. Unless you plan to strip your tank every 2 years another alternative is required. First you need to know the requirements for the plants in question. It is simple if your aquarium is planted with one type of plant, but this is rarely the case. Different plants require different types of fertiliser. Some don't need much root based fertiliser at all, yet others need lots. Some like iron rich fertiliser and some prefer higher P and N content. Once you know what type of fertiliser is required for each plant type, then it can be added to the water and/or the substrate in the correct places and the correct type. A good iron rich fertiliser is Root Tabs. This is good for Sword plants, Crypts etc. Pond Tablet fertiliser is usually quite rich in P and N and is good for Lilies. Most other plants benefit from P and N as well but in lower quantities than that of pond tablets. By smashing the tablet up and using small fragments less P & N can be added. Using the right combination and a bit of trial and error will show which combinations work best for different plants. Look at the % concentrations and keep a log of what you tried. When something works you'll know what to do next time. Here are some combinations that work for me: Echinodorus amazonicus - Roots Tabs: Pond Tabs 2:1 ratio Echinodorus Osiris - Root Tabs: Pond Tabs 3:1 ratio Echinodorus tenellus - Root Tabs Crypts - Root Tabs Cabomba - Root Tabs: Pond Tabs 1:1 ratio Rotala macrandra - Root Tabs Barclaya longfolia - Root Tabs: Pond Tabs 2:1 ratio (Excuse the above spelling I haven't checked it). Most stem plants do not need a lot of root based fertiliser and get their nutrients from the water directly in its absence. They do benefit from a little though. The tabs are pushed about 50mm into the gravel near the roots but not right under or on them, as the concentrated fertiliser will burn them. I use long sewing tweezers to place the tabs.

As Caryl says, its also known as a peace lilly. You can buy them from a plant shop like Palmers at about half the price of an Aquarium shop. You'll also get 2-4 plants in the same pot that can be easiler separated. Also as Caryl says, they are not a true aquatic plant. They hold their own for a while and may even grow a bit. After 6-8 months (at best) they will start to die in most tanks. You are far better off getting a similar Echinodorus plant (amazonicus, bleheri...) or for lower light slower growing use Anubias barteri.

I hope to attend and Auckland meeting sometime in the near future. Will have to see if we can get more than one club to combine meetings, - any interest? 8)