paul_r

i use avg free and spybot search and destroy at home have found them to work sweet as, doesnt get every virus, sometimes have to search net for a program that removes a specific virus otherwise no probs for me

Whakatane isnt fortunate enough to have a lfs any more, im off to rotorua in 2 weeks i will get the lfs there to check my water My test kit is a JBL one, ive never heard of them before but it is really easy to follow. just found the test kit goes from 7.4-9.0 (blond moment why did i think was 7.2) could be lower than 7.4 ill go see if i can find a normal ph test kit from somewhere tomorrow

is some fancy pants ph test kit dont remember brand but ill check when i get home cost me $40, bought it the day i bought the coral and read 7.4 that day i tested tank. now a month or so on and still reads the same. 7.2 is the lowest reading i think, dont have any other water or test kits to find out accuracy

Set up my 4 footer approx a month ago, have 2 canister filters with sponges inside, 1 has filter carbon. think its roughly 160l of water Substrate is black silica sand and had some flat river stones but ive removed most of them. I added 2kg of crushed coral a month ago and 1kg of limestone chips 2 weeks ago yet ph has not moved from 7.4. the crushed coral and limestone are on floor of tank near the filters (takes up maybe 1/4 of tank bottom, other 3/4 is black silica sand) Tank is for my africans and ideally would like the ph a bit higher. am i doing something wrong, or am i expecting things to change too fast? cheers

now that is one wiked setup, im very jelous!!!! gunna look sweet once the dems and yellows are in there. Does the schist affect the ph of water?

looks like a neat setup (the old one) cannot wait to see the african setup though, will be impressie with that many dems

60-80cm long discus!!!!!!!!!! i have never seen one that big before, thats crazy!!! do you hae any pics of them?

I have put 2kg of crushed coral into my 4 footer and ph stays around 7.4, i would like to bump up the ph a bit more without chemicals so thought i could use limestone slates to make caves etc aswell. can someone tell me where i can get limestone rocks/slates etc from. I dont mind buying it if i have to. i will try mitre 10, bunnings etc at lunch but thought id check here first cheers

another thing that really irritates me is people that crash into other peoples cars and drive off without leaving a message or details or anything. finished work this arvo went to car and a massive dent behind the drivers door GRRRRRRRRRRRR

in my experience i did not have males killing each other. my biggest killie tanks were approx 20l and i had male striatum, australe golds and dageti together in the one tank no probs. in smaller 10l tanks i had 6 male p82s in 1 tank, these were my favs hopfully someone else with more experience can confirm/deny their agressiveness. but from my experience killies are generally extremely peaceful, wouldnt hurt anything except bbs, white worms etc

an all male setup can work, a few males from different species would look neat. i havnt had a problem when i had my killie breeding setup generally female killies are rather plain looking compared to the males

people (mainly younger people) who live on their cell phones and you cant even have a real face to face conversation with them. and then when you try have a txt conversation and all they reply with is basic, yes, no or lol GRRRR, technology seems to be dumming down society

work full time as intermediate/senior accountant also computer techinician in the office, i fix/setup anything that boss doesnt wanna pay our IT company for study part time doing NZ Diploma in Business, qualified at end of year then do my bachelor of accountancy through massey. also weekend mechanic, fix up and make my cars go faster

hmm now to find a stocking.... im going to feel rather silly going to the warehouse or something to buy a pair of stockings thanks for the advice, im almost ready to get some more fish

not just yet as i dont have a digital camera, although im trying to borrow one so i can have progress pics. still a while until it will be completed of course, always something new i want to do to tank. anyone know if its possible for me to put coral sand in a stocking and place in tank and still be able to raise the ph? the coral sand is white and i want mainly a black tank setup

this is what i was thinking of doing as i have already got rocks and just added the new black gravel: put the whole 2kg of coral sand in a stocking or similar and put it in tank and build a mountain of rocks covering the stocking full of coral so it cannot be seen. thanks alot

I bought a 2kg bag of coral sand today, as well as some decorative black sand and a ph test kit. how should i go about adding the coral sand, i do not want to cause a too dramatic change and do any damage to my jewels. how long will the PH take to rise? PH test kit i got reads from 7.4-9.0 and water ph in tank right now is showing under the scale of 7.4.. just though thanks

i will get a ph test kit this weekend and see if i can find some crushed coral. any ideas where i can get coral from? im heading to Rotorua on weekend to go ot Wonderworld aquarium and pet centre, im sure they will have something to bump up the ph but chances are itl be expensive

so lets say i used crushed coral and scattered it between the existing rocks in tank i could effectivley raise the PH to a stable 8.X or whatever the recomended ph is is there a set ammount of crushed coral i should use for my tank setup, or if i use too much will i increase the PH too high? also since i already have 3 jewels in tank atm can i increase the PH while still having them in the tank, i dont wanna kill them, ive had them since they were 1-2cm and they are my favs atm.

i will have a check of my filters and their filter rate when i get home from work. now that i know the fish numbers are OK next is how will i get the water parimeters (sp) suitable for the african setup, i had a quick google so know the basics but what would you guys be able to recomend u do/use to get the water parimeters suitable and stable for the yellows/dems etc? thanks again

upgrade.... i would love to, but the 4 footer is the biggest i will be able to have at this point in time. being young and flatting and a fishkeeper isnt always the best combination. so will say 12 dems, my 3 jewels and 6 e.yellows be ok in my tank? seems like it would be rather cramped. hopfully im wrong, i can imagine it would be a rather impressive tank

thanks everyone for your great ideas so far, has given me lots of food for thought. i think the dems, e.yellows and jewels will really brighten the tank up, however 12 dems... surely they will need a bit of space, and then space for the yellows and jewels aswell.... im having a browse on trademe to see what is for sale in NZ ana the following fish have caught my eye as backups if the jewel/yelloe/demasoni combination arnt compatible for my tank: bumblebee cichlids ice blue zebra cichlids Brichardii Maylandia callainos Neolamprologus Daffoldi " T " Bar Cichlid not sure if they are compatible or if their sizes are ok, but they look choice to me

what numbers of the e.yellows and demasoni could i safely/comfortably stock in the 4 footer? preferably wit hthe jewels, but i can remove the jewels if they dont get along properly the demasoni were the exact fish i was looking for except i forgot their name :oops:

electric yellows are neat fish, can my jewels live with the yellows? also forgot to add that the specie(s) that go in tank must have the wow factor so i can impress potential next girlfriend hahahaha

tank too small for oscars... thats ok an african setup would be choice. then the hard task of choosing the fish to stock it basically for an african setup id need something to bring up the PH? coral etc but otherwise would be the same as running a normal tropical setup?