Naz_Nomad

Like Alanmin said. I use Flourish Excel and the plants actually have to be trimmed regularly. Never had that even with a CO2 (DIY) thingy. Of course, the under-gravel fertilizer might be helping a bit too. A well planted tank with good growth will help loads keeping algae down. As will bristlenose plecs.

Yeah, swordtails will eat anyone's babies, including their own and they are pretty fast. I am very jealous though. I love my keyholes but I have six males, I'd love a couple of females to put in there with them. One day when I get a six foot tank and can have a dozen or so....

I would have another look at the lid in the large picture. Might be bad photography but it looks to me that it isn't anything more than cheap plastic wood-coloured paper stuck onto either more cheap plastic or even cheaper wood which will warp in the humidity above an aquarium. For the money you'd expect that auction to finish at, together with buying a decent filter and lights, you can probably buy better such as... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 522665.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 396955.htm Either looks better value. HTH

Like Wok said, filtration is the key. I sometimes overstock but then I massively over-filter and am fastidious with weekly cleans. However, I feel that whilst it is easy to compensate for overstocking in slightly larger tanks (Mine are 180 and 190 litres) a 40 litre tank would not be the best tank for overstocking as in smaller tanks it is harder to hide your mistakes. Unless you are really pushed for space, I would think about upgrading to a 60 litre tank and buy your extra Molly then. I do not recommend overstocking though, even though I have been guilty on occasion and probably am right now - but with smaller fish and a planned upgrade before it becomes a problem. Have a look here... http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/so-how ... t1372.html or here... http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... cle_id=125

Mine too - they appear every so often. Wash the leaves under your tap and gently brush them to remove most snails but the eggs are often tucked away and may be more difficult to remove. Snails aren't too much of a problem anyway and there's always one that'll get through between shop and tank.

Ramshorn snails then. Snails on the whole are fairly harmless, though they will nibble away at leaves and plants in your aquarium. I also believe that Ramshorns are asexual breeders, as are many gastropeds, and even one snail will become many in a short space of time. Keep an eye on your snails, they will help in a minuscule way with cycling since snails produce waste as well as cleaning some of it up. If the snails become too common or your plants are suffering overly much, then you'll have to go through the process of removing them, killing them or adding snail-eating fish to clean them away for you. There's plenty of options, some are easy, some more complex.

Ammo-Lock, or whatever it's called. Exactly how does it work and how does it affect nitrifying bacteria in a tank? I assume from reading the bottle the other day it converts ammonia to a non-toxic form. BUT... will that converted ammonia then starve bacteria looking for some ammonia to chow down on? Just curious. I bought a bottle for shipping some fish but have never used it otherwise for myself. Cheers guys.

For the sort of volumes involved, wouldn't a pond sized pump work for out-takes with multiple inlets feeding into the one pump, a massive sump tank or a huge, probably pond-sized filter system with multiple outlets going through some sort of multi-way flow valve? I think the hardest part would probably be measuring and regulating the flow. Volume wouldn't be a problem as pond equipment is already designed to handle volumes of several thousands of litres, the problems would be purely flow control.

I reckon plant the tank up, but leave tons of swimming space. Add a school of something small and active - Harlequin Rasboras perhaps - and then something equally interesting to patrol the bottom strata. Corys are always nice and remain smallish. Keyhole Cichlids are also a good choice for the lower to middle strata of a tank and are full of personality. Smallish active fish with personality, lots of plant work. Makes a great tank to sit and watch.

Found them.... Bought them.... :lol:

Move the tigers to the large tank but get three or four more? That would keep them amused among themselves and they are very attractive fish and very fun to watch. I had five and they were buggers for bullying. Seven might be ok, ten most probably would. Actually, I have just re-read your post. The easy answer is to run more than one tank!! Woo Hoo, another addict!

I would suggest Swordtails. Live-bearers that won't stop breeding even in a community tank. The babies are pretty nippy and fast growing and even in my crowded tank full of baby-eating monsters, there seems to be three or four survivors each batch.

The pictures are now viewable where they were originally posted on page one.

Edited - the pictures are now visible! Woo hoo!

Thank you. The difference being the ?t=1202845615 at the end of my copy and paste from the right click thingy. I'll nip back and see if I can edit...

Oh typical - and I sent my subscription today! Three more months...

Grrr.... I read the instructions and followed Caryl's directions exactly. Any tips to show the pictures guys?

I hope this image posting thing works otherwise I'm going to be embarrassed! This is the rock backing for Jewel Tanks. apologies for the flash in the middle. It's the wife's fault. It gets stuck in with silicon glue and the two pieces fit the tank exactly, even taking into account the filter housing on the right of the tank. In the centre of the tank there is an upper brace which requires some carving to get the backings to fit. In order to get the backing in, you have to carve more than is needed due to lack of maneuvering room. I kept the bit I had carved out and merely refitted some into the gap so it hardly shows now. This is the tank 24 hours later when the water was first added. It is very cloudy due to the added TLC and the usual debris - no matter that I sat washing gravel for hours! The first plants have gone in already along with two nice bits of driftwood. And this is how it is today. There are now five small swordtails in there to help cycle who have been added over five days. The water clarity was excellent after a couple of hours.

If I can work out how to, I will. I haven't had any luck with pics so far. I'll try.

Thank you all very much. Navarre - the wife didn't like the corner tank, though I tried to convince her that we'd be able to fit a bigger one in. I have ordered and will be picking it up Saturday morning. Going to use the Jewel rock face backing thingies as I think they make a nice change from plain black backings and are designed to fit into the tanks.

Yeah, I wanted the 240L model but she insisted that the 180 was the way to go. Especially as there isn't really space for a 240 litre according to HER measurements. (According to mine, I would fit a five foot tank in there, just need to remove a computer chair which means standing at the computer. I don't see a problem with that...)

I have been given a permission slip for a new three foot tank for the study. (My evil plan of filling the room with small tanks til the wife told me to go buy a big one so she can have some surface area worked well.) I have been out to have a look round and quite like the Jewel 180L model. Does anyone have any experience with Jewel aquariums? Are the filters etc up to scratch? Any problems? Or should I just go out and buy before the Mrs changes her mind?

Can I be different and say I'm jealous of your bronze cory's?

I find the best way to sex Bolivian Rams is to drop a group into the tank. If they scrap and squabble, they are males sorting out their pecking order, if they are aloof, they are females waiting to see who's the most suitable bloke-fish. When they pair off, they are generally male and female, but in today's permissive society even this isn't an exact predictor, and they are south american after all. The red extensions on the tail are also a good way to tell but males and females have red and the extensions don't grow in until they are older. Males are also supposed to have longer first two spines on their dorsal fin, but I find this ambiguous at best.

If you are planning a heavily planted tank, then the substrate needs to be thicker and it is often thought best to layer some aquarium fertiliser below the gravel. If this is the case, then you may well have about 4 inches of substrate in total. If you are going just gravel, then a couple of inches is often enough. Consider the needs of the fish and the plants. Are the fish burrowers such as Coolie Loach? If so, this will determine not only the depth of the gravel but also the grade - fine or coarse. The plants - will they require firm anchoring? This is determined not only by the size of the plant and its root system, but also again by the type of fish because if they are rooters who uproot plants often, then the plants will require deeper firmer planting to help prevent this happening. There is no hard and fast rule about depth of gravel. When vacuuming, there is no need to vacuum every grain of gravel in the tank. If your tank is well filtered and not too heavily stocked and the fish are not heavily fed, a monthy surface clean is more than enough for the gravel, whatever the depth. In a more heavily stocked tank with less water movement and filtration, and a more generous feeding regime then a really good vacuum disturbing the top layers of the gravel is required at least weekly. Carnivorous fish, messy eaters and no bottom feeders will require heavier maintenance than a mixed bag of fish who require less food and clean the tank themselves. As for placement of logs and rocks, I personally lay the substrate and then place rocks, pushing them into the surface of the gravel. Driftwood I just lay on top of the gravel and don't bother pushing it down at all. Again, this is a personal preference thing and should take into consideration the needs of the tank's inhabitants and ease of maintenance.