Warren

You're probably better off using a good sized pleated cartridge filter (used on pools) to removed mechanical waste only. You'll probably still need to clean the filter every week however. About 75 - 100 sq ft should do the job.

I'd like to know too.

Shame about Discus Haven if he has shut-shop. He had very good discus. I got my first 2 dozen from him. I still had all but one 3 years later (the only one I lost jumped out). They were very strong quality fish at very reasonable prices.

Oops, can't read is all. :oops:

Put the current container onto something warm to the touch (as Caryl says). The white-worms dislike the heat and all move to a big bunch at the top after 10-15 mins. Makes them easy to remove. The same thing can be done when you want to harvest some for feeding...

Try Discus Haven. I don't have the phone number. Hollywoods and Jansens are also excellent. The good fish have fairly big price tags however (you get what you pay for).

Hi Andrew, I agree. It wasn't really mentioned in my last post, but what you've suggested it actually what I meant. The two types of discus I currently have are brown and snakeskin. While the brown is a true wildcaught type the snakeskin is not (correct me if I am wrong). The browns are identical in character to photos of wildcaught ones. The snakeskins however... If I was to breed the snakeskins, I would be looking to keep only ones that look the same as the parents. It still does not guarantee there won't be deviations when the new fish finally spawn, but if the fry from the breeding is kept the same as the parents then you've done all you can to keep the strain as solid as you can. Most discus today (the hybrids) have been developed the same way goldfish were, - a mutation from a spawning has been kept and selectively bred to create a new type (not species). There are after all only 4 different true wild discus (I think).

I agree too. I've purchased quite a few discus at $150-200. I've also purchased many at $25-30. The old story rings true, - you get what you pay for. The more expensive fish are brilliantly coloured, have excellent fins and no defects. The cheap ones all have some kind of defect even if it is relatively minor. When breeding discus (which is very easy), you need good stock. If your stock is inferior then the fry will generally inherit similar characteristics. If only average fish are bred all the time then the average quality keeps dropping. The quality discus are expensive because they are generally quite good. In saying that I have seen a few expensive discus that are poor quality. If you want good ones you need to do the following. Find the best, closest fish shop to you. Develop a good relationship with someone fairly important in the shop (the manager is always good start). Spend some money to prove you are a real customer and not just a tire kicker. The shop will then be your best friend. You can ask them to call you when they get a new shipment of fish and you’ll get the first pick. You only need to get 4-6 discus to get a good breeding pair, then you’ve got all the discus you’ll ever need. Discus need to be culled hard so only the best ones are left. I’ve bred discus many times but have never sold any to anyone. I have given a few away to people who I know will never breed from them. The reason is the quality of the fish I’ve bred has never been what I consider good enough to put back into circulation for others. I’d rather have no discus that poor quality ones. Besides, it helps keep my Borneo’s nice and fat.

Yeah, he's got heaps. They are still quite small (about 30mm) but they are very good fish.

Baby seahorses get bloated very easily when feeding. You have to put a black ring round the top 50mm of the tank and a cover that is lightproof. When the brine shrimp are added they will be attracted to the light coming through the sides of the tank and will swim below the surface. The seahorses will then take the brineshrimp below the waterlevel and not get bloated. After feeding (30 minutes or so) all excess brineshrimp have to be removed and a 25-50% water change done. If you can set up a continuous water change system even better. If not, the waterchange method will work ok. They need to be fed at least 3 times a day. For more info, you could contact the seahorse farm in Napier Ph (06) 834 0998.

Get a 19" or bigger and run 1600 x 1200. The PIC fits on about 2/3 of my screen 8)

Cool. I'd hoped there was some decent penalty. $5000 seems a bit light as its not that much of a deterant. Catching Trout without a licence can have a much higher penalty than $5000 and there is no risk to the NZ ecology catching them.

Maybe add more fish. That will create more algae... I know, add more fish. More algae... More fish... ... ... 8)

Remember however, keeping Koi in NZ is illegal. I don't know if there are any fines for keeping them but MAF will destroy any if they catch you with them. If you know of anyone speading Koi or any other noxious fish they should be reported to MAF.

Is it an African tank? If so, then African Cichlids normally like algae. Maybe they will eat it??

As John states, the water going to the RFUGF has to be clean or the gravel will get dirty just as quickly as it used too. I used to use UGF's before going planted only with my tanks (no UGF). I had a very similar setup to what you are describing. My trickle filter fed the RFUGF. I added additional mechanical filtration using Spa Pool filter cartridges to remove everything down to 15 microns. The UGF never needed cleaning for 3 years other than quickly moving the gravel vacuum cleaner over its surface. I never tried RFUGF without the 15 micron filter so don't know how long it will take the gravel to get dirty with no prefilter.

I'm fine, tough as nails I am. Last year however I was in Caryl's position. All the time and effort wore me down too.

I should think so. As long as you chose an appropriately sized one (not too big) it should be fine. The only reason I mention not too big is if it becomes faulty and stays on the temperature may get hot enough to distort the plastic.

You can add some baking soda to bring the pH back up. If you use it, mix it in some water first and add a little at a time. Wait an hour or so before taking a reading. If your pH continues to drop it could be due to something in the tank creating acid ions and using up the pH buffering salts. You state the 'exchange water is testing at 7.0'. What is the source of the exchange water. Maybe it has little or no buffering capacity for pH. If that's the case you will need to add Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate), Epson Salts (magnesium sulphate) and Calcium Chloride to stabilise the pH. All three must be mixed seperately and slowly introduced to the aquarium water. The future waterchanges can have the buffering salts added prior to addition to the tank. Use about a 2:1 ratio of Baking Soda to the other two.

Don't forget to check out the new FNZAS officers at: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/officers.0.html

Interesting design. It is going to look really good once the tanks is in place and full of water. With the tank being only 450mm wide you will probably have 600-700L in it. Total weight will probably be 1100-1300kg depending on how much gravel you put in. The question you need to ask yourself now is; do you think the stand would support your car if it was gently placed on top of it with a crane? This is about the equivalent weight. Even though it is a little lightweight, it looks like it will hold. How many screws are there in the back panel that hold the vertical uprights in place? I take it the vertical sections are 18mm MDF? Do the 2x4's screw under the top MDF panel (directly below the tank)? I have some suggestions that will significantly increase the strength at very little extra cost. If I've understood the plan correctly, they will be very easy to fit also. Do you have a fax I can send a sketch to. Send the details to my personal email. How long until the tank is setup? I hope we will see some pics on your site too? W.

The paint will seal it ok. Pics would be good. You've probably done fine with the design but pics will make sure. If you can get some that specifically show the support members it would be good. W.

I hope you realise I'm not trying to crap all over what you've done. You have a fairly big tank that probably weighs well over 1500kg. I've got a tank that weighs 2300kg and went to a lot of trouble doing the calculations for loading... If it is not done right you will end up with a disaster. 18mm MDF is not very strong on its own. Do the support struts you mentioned go across the bottom of the tank as well as vertically for supporting the weight? MDF is very good at stiffening a cuboid type wooden frame but MDF to MDF screwed joints are very weak. If water should ever get on them they will be weaker still. To give you some idea of the strength required for an 8' tank, this is what I've setup (from engineering calculations): Tank Size: 2400(L) x 820(W) x 650(H) Tank Volume: 1200L approx Tank Weight: 300kg (Empty) Stand Weight: 400kg (remember the stand has to support it own weight too) Water Weight: 1200kg Gravel Weight: 800kg Total Tank: 2300kg Total Inc Stand: 2700kg The bottom of the stand is 3 x 25mm MDF sheets. Sitting on this are 5 ribs / bulkheads made from 150x50 Pine. Each rib has 3 vertical members 150x50 in size held by 4 100x50 nail plates at each end, connecting to 150x50 top and bottom runners (front to back). On top of the ribs are 6 equally space 100x50 runners running full length of the frame (side to side). On top of that is 3 x 25mm sheets of 25mm MDF. Wrapped around the whole frame is 18mm MDF just to give some lateral stiffness. There are approx 120 100x50 nails plates, 100 Z nails and 500 No10x75mm speed screws holding it together. To test it I put a 25 mm block under one corner of the stand and filled the tank with water. This effectively loaded the stand with 100% of the weight across its diagonal. Had the stand not been stiff enough the twisting force would have broken the tank. It was so strong however that it was possible to rock the whole stand from side to side, pivoting across its diagonal. There was only a 1mm twist in the frame. It does not matter if you live somewhere where earthquakes are present. If a stand cannot support lateral force then at some stage there will be a disaster (pancaked stand). It is better to find out before it happens than risk losing everything. Tanks and stands are replaceable at least, - not so with your favorite fish. I'm only trying to help after all.

Yeah, but how much time did you spend planning before all the money and effort went into making it????? 8)

Me too!