Joe

Your tank looks very nice Josh Any new pics? :bounce:

Pics please :happy2: I'm glad the JBL balls are working for you :thup:

!drool:

:slfg:

Yep and there's two types available - S. microfolia and S. subulata

Wow that's interesting to know I think I might have to get a marine setup once I have bought a new freshwater tank so I can return the one I am borrowing. Sounds like I won't have any powerbill problems at all with the equipment I intend on using Although you are getting tropical marines, I personally would still get a chiller just to be safe; if you had a really hot day and the temp of your tank went too high then you might lose a lot of corals. Like puttputt said, reef tanks thrive on stability

The coarse, wirey stuff is staghorn. The stuff you have is BBA. BBA is velvety and strong and hard to remove like you have described.

Well that's confusing then, because it looks exactly like black beard algae :dunno:

I don't think the powerbill will be too bad if you use LEDs. The main thing that will suck electricity I assume would just be the chiller. And there are a lot of energy-effecient pumps out there like Tunze, and a lot of other things you will probably get are just little gizmos and gadgets which don't use a lot of electricity at all, and just take up plug space

Bad news - my cacatuoides are all males The one I thought was a proper female has started to develope extensions on the caudal fin and its fins are much brighter. I think I will have to contact John and see if he will be happy to do a swap.

Looking great That E. tenellus has gone crazy

Personally I wouldn't use T5's. They lose intensity over time, and contain harmful gases. Also they need to be replaced every 8-12 months depending on the needs of your corals, and the type/brand of tube you are using, and it is quite expensive to replace them. But I have seen some amazing tanks on the net that use just T5's

I'm not sure if you can get the AI Sol Blue in NZ, but Ecoxotic LED stips are available, and so is the EcoTech Radion; http://www.reefsmart.co.nz/lighting.html?limit=32 But if you want to get the AI Sol Blue there are plenty of places overseas where it is available and shipping shouldn't be too bad because they are very small (30x14cm) and also it doesn't matter where you get it from because LED lights don't require a specific voltage or frequency to work I think. I'm not to sure about the controller though.

Looking great Sophia About the Anubias leaves - because Anubias grows quite slowly, it often gets lots of green spot algae on its leaves, which is what yours has. It still manages to grow well, but the older leaves darken and shrivel over time. I have seen some pics of Amano tanks where there is no GPS on the Anubias and it looks amazing! I'm not sure how he manages it :dunno:

http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedAquariumreviews_hydor_ETH300.aspx

What lighting are you thinking of getting? Marine tanks make quite a dent in the powerbill, and most of this is caused by metal halide lights and chillers. Metal halides are also really hot, which is usually why a chiller is needed. I think you should go with LEDs. They use less power, provide heaps of light, and don't need to be replaced for ages. There are a few really good modular systems out there. From what I have read, the EcoTech Radion and Aqua Illumination Sol Blue look to be about the best ones out there. If I was starting a marine tank I would go with the AI Sol Blue because it is cheaper than the Radion, and you can use it to its full potential with the AI controller, whereas the Radion needs to be plugged into a computer and you need to download software for it, so in my opinion the Radion is best for serious reef junkys who are obsessed with all the technical stuff. Although I have never kept marines, I do a lot of reading on the internet about it because I would really love to keep reef aquariums one day HTH

My sister is getting her own horse for a year :happy2: It is on lease from a friend, but she still has to buy most of her own equipment. I'm really excited

Nice :thup: Love the cardinal !drool:

Cool :thup:

Thanks Sophia Yes the sort of stuff in your loach tank is what I am after

What is the grain size of the turface? I googled it and there are a few different colours - what colour is your one?

So you could just mix up some dry ferts, mix them with water, and soak your clay in it and just put it in the tank

How much do you get paid for that? I inquried about it here and the pay was pathetic - $5 to do a whole really big street I make more money out of selling plants from my aquarium.

Wow thanks Ira, that's a huge help Hamstar99, there are no places at all in Blenheim that sell it. I have been to Placemakers, and Mitre 10 mega and they don't have it. The Warehouse doesn't have it either, and we don't have Bunnings. And as far as I know none of the garden shops sell it. They do have pumice sand but it's too course for the Apistos to sift through it. Would be great for aquatic plants though Jim R, what do you mean I will loose 50%? Also is it the smooth grade stuff? Sounds great though

Wow they are looking really nice !drool: