Simian

Oh how fast they are to mock :roll: It is non nonsensical for a company to spend a large amount of cash for something that has no value. There is actually plenty of things to change/monitor on a filtration system. Flow being the primary process variable monitoring and controlling this can be for a large # of reasons. Simple flow monitoring will tell you when your filter needs servicing or flag an alarm in the case of it not working. More complex control of flow can be used to simulate more accurately the fish's environment -ie surging etc also in a planted tank I believe that changing the flow for the day night cycle has an effect. Or alternatively we keep the flow constant despite the continual blocking of the filter therefore keeping our biological function constant. I can especially see benefits for a marine system which is very fragile, corals like surges in flow etc and even a short interruption in filtration can be very costly. I see very little to mock i just wish I had the money to afford one.

I have to feed mine in a similar way, he's just too slow and I have an Oscar. I have a terracotta pot (wide and shallow) upside down on the bottom with a small entrance cut in the side (just big enough for my ornate to get in). I drop the hikari pellets down some pipe into the pot via the drain hole in the bottom (now the top) he smells the food and goes to have a feed when he's ready. The other thing to remember is Bichir's are nocturnal with an amazing sense of smell so you can just feed them after lights out. Try and teach it to hand feed, I regret I didn't with my ornate...but it is hard with an oscar in the tank :roll:

Send me a PM and I'll grow some out for you if you dont have space, I love Nic's and have wanted a group for a while. Keep an eye on them and if you can siphon off some little ones before the angels gobble em up. Good luck dude, get some fry food ready

I Use the Hikari as its staple diet occasional treats of ox heart, shrimp and the odd guppy kull.

Ok as far as relamping your fittings. each type of lamp (Fluorescent or Metal Halide) has a number of rated hours till failure. i.e. how long a tube will last before it dies completely (this is an average some may last forever before the stop working). In the case of a standard T8 18watt fluorescent tube (I dont have data sheets for some of the specialty tubes) this is approximately 13000 hours. But what will happen is you will slowly lose light output over the life of the tube. at 13000 hours you will only have approximately 40% of the original light output. At approximately 8-10000 hours you will down to about 80% of your original output, this is when I would recommend you relamp when you are lighting your average tank. This rated life will change depending on some other factors which I wont get into. You can also also expect to see some colour shift in the lamp output (see ra or colour rendering) as the lamp ages. So for specialist applications ie planted or high colour rendering situations you may need to relamp a little earlier. IMO 6 months seems a bit excessive that would only be about 2000 hours. for a planted tank I'd probably go with 5-6000 hrs. or 12-18 month cycle.

Ok. Dave has organised a behind the scenes trip to Maharangi Tech on Saturday. If he cant get numbers it will have to be cancelled. this is a great opportunity to see NZ's leading aquatic research center up close and with a guided tour. PM me for dave Ph # ASAP! or it will be cancelled. A minivan will be leaving from Hamilton so first in best dressed. Aucklanders could probably meet him up there. FNZAS members get first dibs of course

a couple of the smaller earth eaters, very low risk of the tetras becoming dinner

Mosquito larvae are very high in protein and fibre low in fat, they are an awesome food, I scoop a bin i have in the back yard every 2 days with a coarse net and get the big ones while the tiddlers grow out some more. I have some floating plants in the bin so the adult mozzies can lay their eggs easily.

Forgive our pessimism about whether or not you can follow through. Those of us on here who are into monster/carnivorous fish all want to do exactly what you are doing but cant for what ever reason, we get all excited every time someone mentions something like this only to find out they are a dreamer with big ideas, a big mouth and no idea of what it takes to pull off. You will find plenty of help in your development and construction from a number of people in this community. Keep us posted please, we are very interested. Join your local club, it allows us to put faces to names and chew the fat in person. All the best Owen

We have a Waikato person who is keen but wants to share a ride...anyone? unfortunately I cant make it

I'm not sure on the litreage of those tanks but they will all live together happily IMO. Beware of having too many species in one tank, its really cool to have a variety of fish but sometimes the visual effect can be confusing. Your combination for the bigger tank looks fine to me, I'd start adding to the neons with Cardinals as you can afford it (neons are false economy IMO). Watch the danios with the rams as danios tend to nip fins, keep the temp at the lower end of the range and your danios will slow down and you will actually be able to see them. Good luck Owen

Great Idea, I hope you have the space and cash to make it a reality. I'd be happy to help you out with some automation engineering, on a tank that size you don't want to do anything manually. Automatic waterchanges, ph, DO and temp monitoring and control. A nice group of Delhezi's would be my pic. Also they aren't carnivores but a few mature Gold nuggets for clean up crew...big fish=big mess. I'd almost pay to scuba in a tank that size :bounce:

Meeting today starting at between 2.30 & 3.00. Finishing at 5.00 see you all there 8)

I'd say they would be fine together IMO, as long as you grow the angels big and fast. IMO Oscars arent as aggressive as many people think, yes they are messy, yes they are greedy and will eat anything they can fit in their mouths but aggressive? not particularly. I find that my smaller fish clean up Oscars mess almost before it hits the bottom, heres a tip dont feed him a whole lot of food at once otherwise he will fill his mouth up and end up spitting most of it out again. I feed mine 2 pellets at a time and make sure he's swallowed before feeding more (only takes about 30s longer than dumping them all in at once and it will help him bond with you). Make sure you give the smaller fish places to hide. I even have a jewel and geo's with my Oscar and have no issues at all with them at all. The most aggressive fish I have is my gold Severum. My option would be get a 4 or 5' tank a good second hand canister filter (or 2) and a cheap light for the top. You could get that for $800 easy. DIY a stand and you will be sweet! Go New world Cichlids! :bounce:

2.30-3.00 start Hamilton Zoo Sunday 01 Newsletter due out this week & watch for upcoming event, Maharangi tech visit. Owen

:bounce: nice

I'd personally go with biological (watercress etc) to use up the phosphates and nitrates if I was in your situation (space outside not really a problem). As for the UV I fully rate them, as noted make sure its a steriliser not a clarifier as all a clarifier will do is kill algae. another alternative to the bug worry would be to use a good under bench water filter, It can be a slow way to change the water but it will catch any parasites and bacteria. If you put an overflow on your tank and run a hose out to your garden you could pretty much hook up the filter and overflow for an hour and walk away. Good Luck

I'd be keen, just need to check for clashes.

If you have to remove them, put them in a floating container with an airstone and a couple of drops of meth blue otherwise they may fungus. Either way works, If they become detatched from their cave, rescue them if not I'd leave them to it. Good luck

his pad wasn't good enough for her :evil: Fussy woman I have seen that plenty. He will give it a clean and then play chasey with her for a day or so. nice cold water change and cross your fingers. 8)

Thats fine when they are running but moisture will condense once they are turned off.

Ahh yes 40cm would be a more appropriate dimension methinks :oops:

I'm planning a similar one Romeo, (35-40mm front to back) and filling it with Plec's. Good luck, I'd be interested to see how you get on.

Common name: bristlenose pleco Scientific Name: ansistrus (sp) L number Male #'s 3 Female #'s 10 Successfully bred Y/N yes Common name: GBA Scientific Name: ansistrus (sp) L number Male #'s 1 Female #'s 1 Successfully bred Y/N yes Common name: Red Whip Scientific Name: ? L number Male #'s1 Female #'s 1 Successfully bred Y/N Trying.... Common name: Red Spot Pleco Scientific Name: L number Male #'s Female #'s Unsexed 1 Successfully bred Y/N n Common name: Twig Catfish Scientific Name: L number Male #'s 1 Female #'s 0 Successfully bred Y/N n Common name: Gold Nuggett Scientific Name: L number Male #'s Female #'s Unsexed 1 Successfully bred Y/N n Common name : Rusty Plec sold as Bruno Scientific Name: conchidion L number unknown Male #'s Female #'s Unsexed 2 Successfully bred Y/N no Common name : Dwarf Clown Plec Scientific Name: L number Male #'s1 Female #'s 1? Successfully bred Y/N no

My collection as it now stands: 1 Gold nuggett 1 Red spot Pleco 1x Sterbai cory 5x Juliei cory 2x Peppered cory 2x Cochleodon (Rusty Pleco) 2x Red Whips-Hoping to breed 1x Breeding pair GBA + loads of babies 3x Trios of common BN + hundreds of young 1x Twig Cat -male 2x Ottocincus