Navarre

I have a 40 ft insulated container I have some 40 or so tanks in the room totalling about 5000-5500 litres of water I use a heater in each of my sumps as a back up and I use a 2 kw fan heater from Mitre 10 (19.95) on a thermostat I notice that the heater comes on rarely...unless I do a big water change or leave the door open I have also noticed that this set up uses less power than when I had a bank of 8 tanks in my garage Maybe heat pumps might dry the air more tho ...not sure about that. HTH Navarre

They are all stunning fish Well done as they do you proud I particularly like the 3rd row 2nd from right and the right hand fish. As a Cichildiot I am always on the hunt for the next african or dwarf that has only just arrived or is rare or hard to breed yet I could never see why people bother with such fish as guppies, killies and fighters unless it was for easy feeders...until I see posts like this and a few others that make you appreaciate the beauty of some of the fish we have, and the work that fisho's in NZ put into them. Thank you for sharing, it has given me some insight into why you would go to the lengths that you do

Youcan buy smaller tins and cheaper as well...lol Funnily enuff lake Grassmere is where all our salt comes from and is also where alot of NZ grown shrimp come form Stuff you buy in shops however is imported from(mostly) the good ol usa I have a 100 gm tin that has lasted me ages I also have to say that there are many here who have much more experience than me with it (nods at Amazonian, OOA, Barrie Alan etc etc)

With what it costs to by and hatch BBS why would you bother apart from the fact that it would be cool to do it. Just scoop some outa lake grassmere...lol For the price of 2 empty coke bottles and an air pump and tube all you need is SW and eggs and you are set for life...lol Navarre

Sump size works on how well your media works and you can do all sorts to help with that..skimers...denitryfing coils...etc etc Bigger is always better in my opinion Nav

Hi There, Brine shrimp live in salt water so they wont survive for more than a few hours in a guppy tank. As they die they will polute your guppies tank water They will survive long enough though for them to act as enviromental stimulus for most fish as they hunt them down and eat them. They have a high nutrional value so that is why most people feed them. Some have kept them in a SW tank and grown them to adult hood ( theyanks call them sea monkeys) but there is a genneral opinion that apart from novelty value there is little to be gained from doing this HTH Navarre

Central sump doesnt sound to hard nor does having a collum at one end ( think redwoods African tank out the back). eddie himsel had a very nice marine tank in his shop years ago that was walk around and it used a central sump system and had suspended lights. Very nice set up Glass safety factor needs to be VERY high and tank needs to be moderately high to stop sticky fingers etc. You can make a central core of rock and background to keep light and provide interest. remember you will need to water change and clean and WAY over filter to help with maintainance so even a 10% water change is a couple of hundred liters

The answer with africans is simple. Too big is never big enuff Over filtered is never filtered enuff and... you can never have done to many water changes....lol Welcome to the world of MTS Good luck with your breeding program Also you will need some small well filtered easy accessable tanks to grow your fry out in and more food than your family eats to get everythinig up to size. Africans are however worth it so pics etc when sorted will be great...no pressure tho

Some of those plants look familar...lol Good luck VM Newts are great but might be a bit warm? Maybe...lol Try Alanmin if you are serious what are you going to light it with? Navarre

Dont forget there are also about 67 sub spiece of "red shoulder" so could be couldnt be hard to tell unless you know Only way to know is to be reputable as possible or to take the fish out of the lake your self...lol

well I was just lucky enough to pick a few things up Luck of the draw and hard work but then thats life... and my last two wives ( just joking...esp if you are reading this dear) Anyway they look great in a planted tank and have a very different look to some of the other Pelvachromis that we have here so it is nice to get them going at last Navarre

I there I do have pics but I cant post them at the moment Will try send them to someone next week and they can post them next week Hope thats ok

Yes that photo is pretty good Will try and keep them going...lol Nice fish so hopefully it will sort out in the long run

Many Thanks Just have to work on keepingthese guys alive lol And getting the others going...lol

Well I couldnt stay stum for any longer I am the proud step grandad of a dozen new babies After several weeks of conditioning I am proud to anounce the arrival of a spawn of Pelvachromis taenituits moliwe Now I just need everything to survive and get all those other lazy flirts breeding and I will be over the moon Navarre

You are right to an extent Hans but I have a forrest of plant and fish with no filter as I said I guess it is about what you want. I "prune" out my crypts ...i get a good handfull once a month or so so no probs with growth but it comes back to what you want your tank to be and balance. I have a low maintainance tank that looks spectaular ( IMO) and has nice fish. Little in ...a lot out. It keeps me happy lmoa If you want a fast to ripe with high maintainance tank then go for it...and in saying that I have a 400l discus tank that is heavily planted that I do add all the gunk to and inject and prune and water change etc etc so I guess its about what you want for that tank HTH Navarre

You dont need a pump. you dont need an airstone Plants use co2 during photosynesis and release o2 in return I have a 3 ft tank that is heavily planted feed sparingly and has a trillon guppies in it the heater provides thermal layering which SLOWLY moves the surface water as does the natural warming of the room during night and day Tank has been running for an age no algae No PMDD no Flourish no CO2 has a sword and 3 types of Crypt no water changes (3 a year if i am lucky) and I dont need to clean glass. I wouldnt put cat fish etc in there but it is a matter of balance and what you want to keep. Some people suggest like a SW tank where Coral does not equal Fish that Plants do not equal fish but it is purely a balance issue HTH Navarre

Hi I have some f1 fish imported as Nyassae that are dark blue with a yellow orange shoulder black linings to the pectoral fins with white tipping These were imported as nyassae as that is the ONLY Aulanocara that can come in on the current standard trying to ID these fish is now a nightmare. My only hope is as previously stated to be contientious about the breeding of these fish and making sure that the story is straight when passing on any young. You simply cannot id fish of a google search. When I get photos of these fish (which I think are stunning) I shall try and post but for now they are A Nyassae possibly hansbaenschi ( not confirmed) You cant make it up as you go along...its as easy as that Off the soap box now Navarre

Doubled up sorry

Years ago a frend had a hexagonal tank with guppies and platties etc and I think it was about 70 cm tall He grew ambulia and various stem plants in it and used a cfl in a home built hood with great success. He didnt dose teh tank just water changed and feed now and then Not saying you cant do it ...it has been done...but not something I have tried...lol Not much help but hope that helps....lol Navarre

Bilbo is on the money I am afraid to say. Only shrimp allowed in are SW tropics Navarre

Next time you come out Elusive remind me to show you the sumps on my tanks...several different versons on a theme....all a work in progress. Also ask at the shops...pros and cons... to a sump but for a tank that size in my mind pros out weigh cons. Not usre about B&S and Orgainsim but they will have there own ideas also Redwoods run a lot of their big tanks off Sumps. If you are looking at custom and that size look at a wooden tank maybe ? Also depends of style of tank you wouldnt usually run a sump in a planted tank for example...but once its there you can not use it...hard to put in a running tank HTH Navarre

Not sure how elusive got on with his bid and I dont know about 2.6937eleven or 38 to the power of fourteen but I would think that with the people who make tanks in this city and the prices they charge that it would be cheaper, more conveinient and SAFER for a public display tank to get one custon built. Especially if you are going to have a sump etc. Nice tank size tho. Let me know where your cafe is once open you can shout me a coke. Ill do you a deal on fish...lol LOL Navarre

Bliss is getting your self another forgetting about the other one? Isnt it? Anyway if you are going to be buffering with grit some "purists" might also suggest that you need to "react" that grit with air or co2 to stop the build up of "slime" on the surface of the grit and slow/stop its release of minerals etc. Or you could just take Iras advice Navarre

Great fish fotos guys. Wana put some names of for those uninitiated in teh ways of the Monsta? Navarre