Joe

Cool, thanks.

It's school holidays. Yay, I don't need to go to school . that's why I'm on the forums all day.

Ok. I'll probably go for the Arcadia metal halide still, because: 1) It looks cool. 2) It's similar to the one Luis Moniz used, except it's longer, so can fit slightly longer tubes = more light. 3) I can get it from Hollywood Fish Farm (Mum doesn't want me getting things as big as lightinghoods from overseas. She made that very clear to me!). 4) It has metal halide/T5 combo, so I can do that thing it said on the ADA site and replicate sunlight by turning the halide and T5s on for different lengths of time. 5) It reflects that wave/ripple motion into the aquarium. 6) I can suspend it over the tank, so I won't need to buy a lid for my aquarium. Could someone answer this please . It's still bugging me in the back of my head!

You having fun pottering around in your fish tank these holidays p44? :lol:

Thanks Jennifer. And thanks SO MUCH Deepsound for simplifying things . I really don't mind going for expensive stuff, because I love my aquariums and that's what I choose to spend my money on . The Hagen T5HO is actually really good-priced at the petshop here (considering they usually rip me off), and they have a special area devoted to it. So I could use 4x Life-Glo. But the metal halide does the job of a couple of these, plus it reflects the rippling movement on the surface into the aquarium, which is a bonus effect. Evil_elmo also said that a single metal halide bulb is cheaper to replace than 4 T5s, and that's another reason that I want it too. Mum's alright with the power bill (I talked to her about it). I asked somewhere on this thread about how much power it will use and it's not to bad. I don't mind spending about $60 extra on some good-quality liquid fertiliser (I'd use Flourish Excel and Comprehensive, CO2 isn't a problem, because I find a 3liter juice bottle produces TONNES and it last up to 3 weeks!) Aquabasis is quite a good price at Proud Paws in Christchurch, so I can easily afford this. What is the Manado? I've seen it for sale at Organism, but I wasn't exactly sure what it was. Could you please explain it's benifits? I was just wondering though if the light would be sufficient for ground-cover plants, but I probably won't use them. I want to basically copy Luis Moniz's tank and have a layout like his, so that's just mainly ferns and moss, so I will only need a bit of nutrient substrate for Crypts, hairgrass and Cyperus helferi. Now, another querie. If I use 4x T5HO, I would have a glass lid on my aquarium. If I use Metal Halide and a T5HO combo, I'd have a Rimless setup because of the halide. Is the light penetration better without a lid? Also, the Arcadia unit that I like has 2x T5 fittings, but the lamps it will accomodate are only 55cm. Will the lighting be better if it's the whole length of the tank? I researched how much watts per litre I'd have if I used the Arcadia unit with the 2x T5HO 55cm Life-Glo, and it was something like nearly 2 watts per liter, so I'd have plenty of light. I read on the ADA site about the lighting, and I'd have my lighting like it suggests on there and have the metal halide going for 8hr/day, and the T5HO for 10hr/day. This is like artificial sunlight, it said on the ADA site. Just want to say Deepsound, your being a huge help and thanks so much.

I'm confused now! That article is really complicated and confusing to me, because I don't know that much about lighting! I'm not even sure if we can get that OSRAM lighting in NZ. You live in Paris, so you will probably be able to get it there. In NZ we are limited to only a small range of products and can't really get all that fancy stuff . So are you basically saying that I should do is what I was originally planning and use only T5? That tank is REALLY awesome, but I would not be able to even come close to that setup as half or more of the plants used in that setup are illegal in NZ. Sadly, we can't even get Fissidens fontanus . Another thing that I really get confused about is who's advice to use. Everyone has their own opinions and stuff and the advice that I'm given is really good, but some people say opposit things to each other, and that makes it really hard for me because I don't know who's advice to take! You are saying I don't need metal halide, Evil_elmo thinks it's a good idea, and Antwan said that one metal halide alone is enough for a 90x45x40cm tank, and Evil_elmo originally said one isn't enough spread fo a tank the size that I want. The reason that I was wanting to get the Arcadia one is because Luis Moniz used something similar in his tank, and he used 2x T5 tubes with his MH, and his tank was a huge success with the lighting he used and his plants are amazing. Sorry if it sounds like I'm being rude and/or rejecting your advice, but I'm not, I get really confused when I'm in these situations and maybe if you could simplify things for me? I'm only 12, and don't understand half of the advice I'm given when it's long and complicated because I've only seen/heard of a small percentage of the products that are out there, and haven't done any research on some of these other ones because I try to pick things that most people have success with. I also don't mind paying heaps for a quality lightinghood and tank. So far the T5 light tubes that I really like are the Hagen T5HO Life-Glos. I saw some at the shop for sale, and they are quite cheap, and I read on the packaging and they sound really good, better that Power-Glos which is what a lot of people tend to use (mainly in tanks with lots of plants, like Dutch-style tanks). I'm sort of going for something like an Amano-style and a Luis Moniz style.

I saw a picture in a book and they look really cool. They'd look good in an Amazon tank.

Yeah I do like it. It looks cool.

What's the substrate in that tank?

Pencil Fish, various Tetras, especially Black Neons, Rummynoses, Black Phantoms, Kitty Teras and Cardinal Tetras. Definately Apistos (Trifasciata are the nicesest). Catfish - Bristlenoses, Banjo Catfish, various Plecos like those Golden Nuggets, and Port Hoplos are cool too. Hatchet fish will look cool, and if possible get some Splashing Tetras. Some ferns and moss will look neat too. My Flags will be at home in this setup, as it's their natural biotope. How are they going? If you still have some Congo Fern but don't want it as it's an African, please tell me because I'm majorly interested! For an Amazon biotope, mangrove roots will be a great addition, and you definately must have oak leaves or it won't be an Amazon tank! Amazon tanks look great with a strong tannin. The mangrove roots will also leach tannins too, plus they're all gnarled-looking and definately a good choice of wood for your tank.

You can bleach them. Jennifer said to me that it's perfectly safe. You don't need much bleach. This is what she sent me in an e-mail once: Fill an 8 litre bucket with water and add about 1/2 cup of plain bleach. Be sure to be very careful that the bleach does not splash anywhere and only wear clothes that you don't mind getting bleach spots on. Then, put the plants in. Just dunk the moss in for a minute or less. All the rest of the plants can go in for 3 to five minutes. Be very gentle with the crypts, not because the bleach will damage them, but because they don't like being disturbed. I have never had a crypt melt no matter what I do to it but it would pay to just be safe. The bogwood can stay in for 15 minutes. When you take the plants out of the bleach, rinse them gently in leukwarm water and then soak them in a bucket of clean water. Then after about 15 minutes, dump the water out of the bucket and refill it with clean water and soak them again for 15 minutes. They should not smell like bleach at that point but if they do, repeat the soaking with a fresh lot of clean water. At that point they will be safe to put back in your tank. So I hope that helps you Caryl.

I've already got 15,000K and 18,000K T8 tubes which should hopefully be enough to keep me going until I can get the MH hood. Also, I would like to get a T5 hood, but they are like $400-500 for 1 T5HO Hagen Glo unit, which is probably nearly half of what the MH unit will cost me! I'm currently using DIY CO2 which is really great in conjuntion with these lights, and I'm using one of those awesome Nano Pollen Glass Diffusers that I got from phoenix44! Man I love those diffusers. I agree with Evil_elmo about the Aqua One units looking ugly, and I was only going to get it if I can have T5 tubes in it too. So thanks for the offer about the PL tube, but I will get the Arcadia unit with the Metal Halide and T5HO combo. Could I grow Hydrocotyle verticilata and Lilaeopsis sp. on the substrate with the Arcadia light? I was thinking that these would be the plants I'd use if I ever got tired of white sand as substrate.

It could be a Laetacara curviceps (Flag Cichlid), because it's small and has blue spots on it's gill covers, which is typical of Flags.

Evil_elmo, what do you think of this? It's only 100cm long, so I'd just have 5cm overhang (or I could try and convice my parents to let me have my new tank made 10cm bigger!) http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/prod ... .php?id=56 What are the 4x 18watt blue PL lamps? I've never heard of them. Could I fit T5 Life-Glo tubes in the fittings for the PL lamps if I decided to get this hood instead of the other one?

How about I get the hood, and just run the 2 55cm T5s and only run the metal halide when I'm able to afford and purchase a preassurised CO2 unit? Would that work? When I eventually get preassurised CO2 I want to get the ADA stuff, except for their bottles - 1) they look ugly and 2) they are very small.

Thanks. The only thing that's really going to cost heaps is the light. I still don't mind having DIY CO2, because it works well. I am going to get paid $10 a week for looking after my pigeons (which are now dad's really, that's why I'm getting paid). So there's 52 weeks in a year, which = $520 a year. Mum said that occasions like my birthday and Christmas I will get money to put towards this. Plus I have aviary birds, so come summertime when my Turquoisines are breeding I can sell them for $20 each (which is the standard price around Blenheim, and is quite cheap for Turks). Then I've got doves, which I sell for $10 each, and Chinese Painted Quail - $5 each. So I do have ways around making money. Speaking of selling things, would anyone like to buy some Flag Cichlids (Laetacara curviceps). They's $5 each, and these particular ones have amazing parental skills. When you breed them, just leave the parents with the fry. They don't attack their fry, even as the fry get towards selling size.

Well I'll be able to put that to the test once I have my Rimless set up (which will be in about a year hopefully!) By the way, stunning tank evil_elmo

When I was about 9, I wanted a pair of Turquoisine Grass Parakeets. I kept asking my parents, because I had an aviary (and I still have it to this day!), and they said maybe. When it was Christmas, they asked me what I wanted. Of course, I wanted the birds. They said "Not at the moment". So I didn't really get much for Christmas that year, because all I wanted was the parakeets. When it was my birthday, which was September the following year, I told them again that I wanted the parakeets. Since that's all I wanted, that's what they got me, and that's all I got for my birthday. Even though they're cheap ($40 a pair), I didn't ask for anything else, because I was happy. And by the way, they were not a 2 minute wonder, I really enjoyed them and I still keep Turquoisines. What I'm trying to say is that once I've got my mind set on something and have done the research for it, that's all I want. And I wait and wait until I get it.

Phoenix44, it will take a while to save up for this, but I sort of sacrificed most of my pigeons to my dad and he pays me $10 a week for looking after them, so imagin what I'll have at the end of 1 1/2 years - $$$$$$$$$$$! I love that stuff! Surely I'll enough to by an Arcadia lightinghood by then. Plus FNZAS members get discounts or something at certain stores. SamH, your going to freak out when you hear this from me, but cars are lame! I think they're sooooo ugly! I'd rather spend money on a beautiful high-tech aquarium. My pets are all I care about. I don't do any sport either, because I find it really boring, I have a super-high chance of ending up in hospital on a regular basis, and I'd rather watch a relaxing aquarium instead of wasting time fighting over a ball.

Yep. Evil_elmo said that 1 metal halide wasn't enough, but to get the next model up from the 70cm unit would cost way too much, plus also what it it was too strong? Then I'd have spent a fortune on a super-expensive lightinghood that I couldn't use! After all, the setup is based on Luis Moniz's ADA setup, except I'm using a nicer-looking light. So I thought that the Life-Glo Tubes would be good as well, because he uses 2 T5's in conjunction with his metal halide, and the Arcadia unit can fit 2 T5 lights. Also, they are only 55cm tubes. By the way, the Life-Glos are quite cheap and VERY affordable, so I might as well buy a couple. Read this, and it explains all about the benifits of T5 and metal halides used in conjuntion. Read the "Take a look around in Nature" bit: http://www.adana.com.my/products/lightingsystem.htm Here's Luis Moniz's ADA setup: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/foru ... -45-a.html

Talk nicely to phoenix44. He sent me mine - 2 for $35 including postage and tracking.

Yes it will be exciting! But you'll be waiting a wee while, because I'm only 12 so won't be able to buy stuff just like that . I'll have to save up, which might take a while. I'll get the basics first: 1x 90x45x45cm Rimless OptiWhite Aquarium, 8mm thick glass (with minimal silicone to join it) 1x Arcadia Single 150watt Slimline Pendant 1x Suitible Aquarium Stand (I want something like the ADA Grand Solar Stand, so I have a bar running over the top of the aquarium to hang my lighting on) 2x Hagen T5Ho Life-Glo or Power-Glo (or a combo of both) 1x Metal Halide Bulb Intended Flora: Cyperus Helferi Bolbitis heudelotii Narrow-leaf Java Fern Christmas Moss Hairgrass Java Moss Various Anubias sp. Maybe Crypt. petchii Intended Fauna: 15x Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi 5x Hyphessobrycon heliacus Possibly Emerald Dwarf Danios and/or Psuedomolugil gertrudae

I'm 12 like you. I find making money simple - especially when my pair of Flag Cichlids spawned (Laetacara curviceps) and then when I sold fry and got lots of money! I'm still selling fry at the moment - someone wants 6 from me shortly - there's $30! If you want, you could buy a pair off me and breed them and you'll have fry coming out your ears. The adult had amazing parental skills when caring for their fry (yes had, they sadly died when I had a freak columnaris attack on one of my tanks) and they are a very prolific fish. They are $5 each. By the way, $56 for an NZ reptile permit - that's cheap! I always thought they'd cost something like $200-300!

That looks like one of those ADA lights I saw while I was browsing their site.

Psuedomlugil gertrudae http://www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/dbi ... _Weipa.jpg