acara

I'm using a lot of JBL Novo Grano Colour mini on mine for the last 18mths(got a dozen or so tubs at fish show,goodie bags and entries)

Tetra Pro Colour crisps(most fish mill through these),Tetra Prima,JMC Catfish pellets,a variety of frozen foods-mysis,brineshrimp,bloodworms,daphnia,krill,etc. JBL Novo Pleco xl,JBL Novo Grano Colour. Live earthworms,bloodworms,dapnia,whiteworms,grindal worms. Earthworm flakes(they go super hypo for these). Anything else I put in,they're not fussy.

If you've got the space,get a cheap blow up paddling pool,and grow them on in there,they're very prolific.

You can guess the atmosphere here in Dublin during that match,aerly houses did a roaring trade!!

I guess I'm in the lucky position of being able to buy on e-bay from European countries. Certainly helps keep costs down.

It would be worth a read at the current (€51),but not at their quoted retail price of $258. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0866226672/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

I asked Uncle Google,and this is one of the 1st sites I found. http://www.westsystem.com/ss/epoxy-resins-and-hardeners It is basically like a polyurethane or varnish finish,however it's well waterproof,as I said,we're now building aquariums out of it,and it holds water no problem. You can colour it,by adding special colourings,or leave it clear.

How about coating the walls with an epoxy I'm currently helping to build a large plywood tank,several coats of epoxy resin and she'' be well watertight,cheaper and lighter than glass. Would be a big job,but would be worth it I reckon.

I left my floor as bare concrete,it is non-slip,and water dries very quickly. A friend has just built a shed too,and he left the floor bare,except under the racks,which he painted with floor paint,to try and minimise possibility of dust,which may happen more on an unsealed concrete floor. Polystyrene is nowhere near as efficient for insulation as a proper insulation product. Here(Ireland) we have a few brands,Kingspan being one,and you can get it with plasterboard attached,and a foil layer for moisture resistance. Friend has used the 80mm insulation,and tanks are at 21 degrees,so heating would not cost much. It is Summer,but not particularly warm,and I'm assuming the room temperature will not drop much,even during the snow,as the insulation is extremely efficient. I would have a heater in each tank,cost a bit more setting up,but after reading of a guy who lost thousands of pounds worth of fish thanks to the failure of the thermostat on room heater,I wilol never go down that route. I'm unfamiliar with what heatpumps are. Sponge filters rigged up to a pond air pump are the way to go for filtration,especially in fry tanks. Look at wiring the sockets outside the plasterboard,so any additional wiring,and sockets are easily done. A small bathroom or kitchen type extractor fan may be helpful in keeping humidity and mould down. Wire it onto a timer,so it can be set to come on anytime you wish.

As a general rule,cheap filters = higher electricity bills. Also consider cost of replacemnet parts. A lot of friends use the FX5,never heard a bad word about it,but it is heavy on the leccy. I've been using Tetratec heaters for years,and am now switching to Eheim Jager,simply due to prices,but a friend here who swears by German kit(he's German),won't touch them,as he's had them stick and cook fish.

I have the same tank and am often on holidays,usually for 2 weeks,any less and I just leave the tank. When away for 2 weeks,I'm lucky enough to have a good friend,who dosn't work,live nearby,and he looks after them for me. For that tank,I would take the advice the others have given,but would only have them feed once a week,at most,and maybe 1 or 2 water changes,of about 25% eachif they're confident enough. You are not feeding much,so less waste,and I don't ever 'scrub down' the tanks,unless there's an algae build up(which is only for asthetic reasons,it won't harm the fish). Put the lights on auto timer,and set the times for in the evening when it is dark,it helps towards people seeing lights are on in the house,and having them think someone is in. I don't recomend auto feeders,too many people have lost fish from malfunctions.

Good post mate. This is something I always take into account when looking at gear,I'm setting up a shed,so wattage is very important to me. As you've posted,I find the cheap Chinese stuff is very heavy on the leccy,I was given an external that I think is called Sun Sun in NZ,here in Ireland it is marketed under a different name. It is 35w compared to a Tetratec at 21w,and the new JBL Greenline are even less,so I will be passing it on to someone else. Another consideration with these brands is availibility of spare parts.

I have been running several Juwel tanks for up to 5.5yrs now. The only issue I have ever had is with the light units,my Rio180 is on it's 2nd unit,and that hasn't been working for a month or so now,I suspect it could be the switch,just havn't had a chance to get a look. Others have complained about the heater,but I have no issues with them yet,and the 180 is still o it's original. As for the filter,most people hate them,and pull them out for asthetics reasons,then they go and bung in a 'freestanding' heater with it's cable dangling in,and the same with an internal. Personally I prefer the nice tidy enclosed Juwel box. They have a huge media capacity(compared to other internals),and they have a nice slow turnover,allowing the bacteria to do their job. However,if I was to get a bigger Rio,I would add an external as well.

I picked up a nice crenicichla 2 days ago,and the guy threw in an Eheim Pro 2 thermo(2128),it has the heater built in. However,I havn't plugged it in,as he broke the inlet tap,and I'm waiting on the replacement. My only concern is the thermostat and sensor may not be working,and these are quite expensive to replace. However,the tank is already heated,so I simply won't use the heater on the filter,that's no problem. Generally Eheim will give you no problems,I know guys who are running models over 20yrs old. I'm switching over to Eheim,mainly from Tetratec(which are exceptional filters),and also the new JBL Greenline range. Eheim Ecco Pro are very low wattage,so if you're running a lot of(smaller) tanks,they are worth looking at,I find on heavily stocked tanks they need more cleaning,but only takes a few minutes.

That P51 is a nice plane,looks great. I was at Flying Legends in Duxford last month,and was sad to see a real P51 'Big Beautiful Doll' destroyed in a crash,thankfully the pilot baled out in time,he was lucky,they were very low when he collided with a Skyraider. Good luck with the flying,and let us know how you get on.

I have this tank,and for the last couple of years it has been very heavily stocked,as it's being used as a bit of a holding tank whilst shed and other tanks get sorted. I couldnt tell off hand what exactly is in there,but something like 30ish corys,half a dozen plecs,an 8-9in Aequidens,a juvenile Boulengerella maculata,a pair of large Betta editahe,about 8 charax,3 empire gudgeon,possibly more(away on hols at mo).Oh,and 2 large angels. I run the Juwel internal and a Tetratec EX1200.These 2 get opened and cleaned aprox once a year,water changes are erratic at best,but generally try 1 a week. The reason I am so lax on cleaning regime in this tank is that there is never any health issues or any problems whatsoever.

Been hearing bad reports about feeding too much bbs to them.Grindal worms,if you can get em,are very good.I use JMC Catfish Pellets too,but need to be wary of removing any leftovers.

A mate of mine keeps altums,I'm sure he probably has photos/vids on finarama forum,name arabu1973.I'll try to get some photos next time I'm over,and post em up. They are not terribly hard to keep,once you get it right,he dosnt work,so has plenty of time on his hands to do water changes,etc.However,losses in transit are very high,and I've a few friends who got a shipment in,and have bought them from shops,they seem to be doing ok,then all of a sudden they all start dropping like flies.I have heard that 1 out of every 10 caught make it to a keepers tank.With figures like that,one can't help but wonder is it morally right to try and keep them. You're angels are very nice though,I have some similar.

'Rivers Of The Sun',great doco.

I've used it,but guess I can't really offer much advice on the GST thing,I'm now in the EU. Other than that,great service,and reliable enough.Not too badly priced,but shopping around always pays off.Germany is one of the cheapest markets for us.

Mostly point towards rear on L-nos,as long as he swallows it head first,should get away with it.

If it's only chlorine,then there is no need to treat with anything.Letting it stand will allow the chlorine to dissipate,sticking an airstone in it will be even more effective. However,as piece of mind I always do treat.You can never trust the councils,my local says they do not use chloramines,or anything other than chlorine,but I wouldn't trust them.

Maybe just send your cv into recruitment firms in the relevant countries,as has been suggested.Only thing is,they may prefer you to be in country first.So,as you say try and pick up something slightly more menial? Big tip:don't come to Ireland,we're screwed!

Not personally,but a friend got some,and had no problems with them,loved them.He had them in a Sth American community biotope.I saw them in a shop in Northern Ireland for £4 each,and have been kicking myself ever since for not getting half a dozen. :facepalm:

You'll find that plecs will mill through any peas as well,and they don't mess up the water as much as cucumber and courgette.