Ianab

Hi Hayley Spiders advice is good. The main thing is to take it slow when you are stocking a tank from scratch. But it wont cycle untill you have some fish and fish food (and hence fish poo) in there. What I do if I'm setting up a tank from scratch is to fill it with tap water and turn on the heater and filters and run it for 24 hours. This lets the temp stabilise (adjust the heater as needed), the water settles and gives off any stray chlorine. Once you are happy with the water add a few fish - something hardy and cheap, so Zebra danios are a good choice. Just feed them lightly and let them settle in for a week or so. You should then be OK to add a few more fish each week as the bacteria load in the filters and gravel builds up. After a month the tank should be cycled and OK to hold it full complement of fish. If you take it slow you shouldn't loose any fish during the cycling process. If you just fill it up with new fish, 1/2 them are sure to die! If you already have a tank set up you can shortcut things by running the filter in the established tank for a week, letting it pick up a load of bacteria, then transferring it to the new tank along with some fish. This will jump start the cycle and get things set up much faster. Then you need to settle into the maintainence schedule where you do part water changes every week or so and rinse out the filters. I just siphon out a bucket of water using a gravel vacumn (to clean up the Pleccy poo) and top up with warm tap water. The Plecos are good for keeping algae under control, but they do poo a LOT. That will keep your fish healthy and they should live for many years. Well Neons dont live all that long, but Plecos and other larger fish can live for 10 years or more. Cheers Ian

The bacteria wont build up untill you get some bio-load (fish poo) going into the tank. Plan A would be to run the filter in an established tank with fish for a week or so to get some bacteria started in it. Then put it and a few fish into the 'new' tank. Plan B is just to add a few hardy fish to the new tank and let it cycle naturally. Pre conditioning the filter is the better way to go though, should be quicker and easier on the fish. Either way, once things settle down (a couple of weeks) you can add more fish and build up to normal stocking levels over a couple of weeks. Cheers Ian

Good plan, using an established filter and a small amont of fish will be OK Cheers Ian

Hi folks I used to keep fish many years ago, but my partner inherited her Dad's old hexagonal tank and a dozen or so guppies. So it's all started again :-? Current stock is Mr Pleccy and some neons in the hexagon tank beside our computers. We have had him for about a year and he's 6" long now. These are 2 new plecos in another tank. Chowing down on a piece of mushroom. 3rd tank has this pleco (about 4") and a few guppies. A few of the guppies If anyone in Taranaki wants some guppies.. let me know. I can give you a handfull Cheers Ian

Yup, that will work because it takes the established filter from your smaller tank, with all it's good bacteria, and sets things up in the new tank. Things wont instantly be perfect, but it will be close enough that your fish can handle the change. Having a small spare filter or 2 hanging in your tanks is generally just a good idea, then when you want to set up a new tank you have one ready to go. Even if the filter is undersized for the tank, it will handle a light stocking of fish while the new filter gets established. Cheers Ian

Most of the bacteria hang out in the filter and gravel of the tank, I guess there are some in the water too, but you can only really look at that as a 'seed' for the filters in your new tank. Best option is to run the new filter in an established tank for a week or so and let it pick up a usefull bacteria load. That will definately cut down the cycling time. Thats what I do with a new tank, then a few crash test dummy guppies for a couple of weeks. Either way, it will be OK to add a FEW fish to your new tank and monitor conditions as it cycles. The nitrate cycle wont establish properly untill you get some bio-load going into the tank. So the water is probably perfect right now, it's that first couple of weeks of feeding fish in there that is critical. Like Mr P says, take it slow, a few fish at first, build up the numbers over a few weeks and you will be fine. Cheers Ian

:lol: Dont get Plecos then.. they are the original poo machines ! I think you just have to break out the gravel vacumn a bit more often. I vacumn my tanks every week or so while doing a partial water change and everything stays fine. Bigger fish you may need to do it more often. Cheers Ian

It would be good to know how many amps the device draws @12v, then you can size the power supply appropriately. It probably draws less than 1 amp, which means you can power it from a 'wall wart' adaptor from Dick Smith. But it would be good to check how many amps it draws. Having a power supply capable of supply more amps isn't a problem, it will only supply what the device needs. Cheers Ian

How big is your tank? If you have space I can highly recomend one of these. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=177 They are peacefull, but tough. Do a great job on the algae, I haven't had to clean the inside of my tank for 12 months. They dont eat plants, but they can disturb them just because of their size as they are looking for algae. Be warned they WILL grow big though. About twice the size of a BN catfish. They also eat a lot (Veges and catfish tablets) and poo a LOT as a result. All I need now is a bigger tank :roll: Cheers Ian

Yes, you should be fine just leaving them be. Keep the adults well fed, and as long as there is plenty of cover for the fry most of them will survive. I would skip the tank vacumn for a couple of weeks and just take some water from the top, maybe with a plastic container or jug. Then you can check if you have scooped up any fish. In a couple of weeks they will have grown enough avoid the vacumn and be seen easily. My guppy tank is usually teeming with fry, so the gravel vacumn sucks up a few. I just let the bucket settle on the bench for a few minutes and check it before I slowly tip it out. Then just net any that got sucked into the bucket and return them to the tank Now you know why they are regarded as one of the easiest fish to breed Cheers Ian

If chlorine is your main worry (usually is with tap water) then letting it sit in your rainwater bucket for a couple of days will let all the chlorine evaporate. The water conditioners will also treat some other chemicals, but chlorine is the main problem. The water treatments will take out the chlorine instantly, but the old fashioned way of letting it sit works too. Cheers Ian

Araldite should work fine Ian

Yes, all those glues are waterproof and basically inert once cured. Polyurethane (Gorilla) glue might be another option. Picking the right glue depends what you are trying to join together. Cheers Ian

I think you can at least jumpstart the cycle in each tank by running the filters in an established tank. If the tank you are starting from is healthy then there is no real risk of bringing in 'bad' bugs. I would run the filters in an established tank, stir up some crud from the gravel, wash out a filter sponge etc. Let the new filters soak up the resulting haze. They wont be fully cycled at that point, too many filters, not enough gunge, but each one should be seeded with a decent mix of bacteria. Then install them in the tanks with a few fish and let things settle down for a week or 2 and things should be fine. There is several ways to cycle a tank, but seeding the filter from a healthy tank should help with any of them. Cheers Ian

Check how the back is attached to the unit, thats the main bracing in that sort of construction. If it was to fail it would be because the back panel tore loose and let the whole thing fold up. If it's only held in place by a few staple you could reinforce it with a dozen or so wood screws. If it's really flimsy like cardboard then a sheet of plywood would help. If it's loose, pull it right off and screw/glue it back securely. Then give it the sit on and wiggle test, the tank, water and gravel will weigh around the same as a normal adult. If you dont feel safe sitting on it, dont put a tank on it! As long as it's not real dodgy construction then it should be fine with a 2ft tank. Cheers Ian

I had a native saltwater tank for a while years back. Like the folks have said, stick to the rockpool species, they are a pretty hardy bunch. Hermit crabs, cushion stars etc are easy to keep. But my favourite was a little sucker fish. They look a bit like a large slug, 50-75mm long and with a big suction pad on their belly. They got really tame and would suck onto the glass at the surface and take food from your hand. I would just feed mine bits of meat or fish and an occasional insect. Water changes were done with a couple of 10l plastic jerry cans filled from the beach every few weeks, top-ups to replace evaporation are just fresh water, and just a normal filter / airstone setup. As long as you dont overstock it's easy to run. Cheers Ian