Ira
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Posts posted by Ira
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Seems to have died off a lot after the move to the new forum software.
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6 hours ago, Morfin2 said:
Hiya. It's all in place and ready to go, problem is that we don't have any water at the moment that I can spare from the tanks to fill it. My partner has promised next rain I can do it. However I have spent plenty of time planning and I have decided that you were right and sub-tropical is what I am going to do. Clouds or danios definitely, golden barbs as a bit of colour and paradise fish are a possible. Planted tank although I really don't know re the bottom. I read a few cories are ok sub-tropical and I do love them. Will understock to help the bio-load. So if anyone wants to do a rain dance I'd be stoked. The north is just so dry at the moment.
How the hell are your tanks not nearly overflowing? Mine is full and I've been watering a greenhouse, garden, water changes in a tank bigger than yours and filling up a spa pool!
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9 hours ago, WillskE said:
Bristlenose that is 18cm+
I don't think bristlenoses get that big. Or that's going to be a very large one.
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Nice. Hey, once you've grown them up to a good size, let me know. I'll buy a fewoff you.
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And they'll even do it if you try to stop them.
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On 1/16/2017 at 10:39 PM, Silverdollarboy2 said:
In this Article it says:
Canisters, hang on filters, trickle filters, and other highly aerated filtration types used in fresh water tanks, should NOT BE USED in marine tanks for biological filtration, although they can be used to hold carbon or similar. The reason is that nitrate reducing bacteria cannot function in a highly aerated environment, and use of these filters will result in a build up of nitrate to levels that are harmful to many reef dwelling creatures. In a marine tank use live rock to house the bacteria.
So live rock and a skimmer can suffice?
There are probably some cases where you could use a canister just for mechanical filtration and clean it frequently. But even for that a sump is probably going to be easier to clean the filters. Next time I build a new tank I think I'm definitely going with a big sump.
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You don't have to. And sumps aren't filters. Though they can contain filters. HOBs, Canisters and submersible filters can be used, but they're basically obsolete for marine tanks.
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On 1/13/2017 at 1:37 PM, kiwis said:
Hey Guys
considering a marine tank for the first time. Will keep it basic to begin with so bear bottom and no coral.
With that in mind do I need any special lighting for the fish itself or could a old T8/T5 I've got Sitting around do the trick until I decide I want coral??
Not sure why you'd want a tank like this, but...Whatever.
And yes, T8s should be fine, if they're old they tend to produce more algae, but as far as the fish go that's not an issue.
- Caryl, Silverdollarboy2 and livingart
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3
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9 hours ago, kiwis said:
Thanks so much for the reply. A couple of comments/questions
1. Can you not use a canister or prefer not to use one??
2. How do you ensure you're natural salt water is clean?
1. Yes, but there really is no good reason to.
2. Collect it at high tide, when there hasn't been much rainfall recently. Even collecting it in poor conditions it's pretty much guaranteed to be cleaner than the water in your tank you're changing it with.
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36 minutes ago, Morfin2 said:
Colour_genes - that's a really interesting idea. Some gorgeous fish that I haven't actually had before which is quite attractive. I will be understocking the tank quite a bit to cut down on bioload so they would be cool fish
Ira - interested to know re your outage you mention, they have always given me the heebies because of possible filter issues and the whole "spewing toxic bacteria into the tank when they restart" you read online. Did you have any problems with it or just had to do more water changes for a while?
I did once, had a handful of 12 hour power outages over a couple weeks, without problem. Then one day after a 5-6 hour outage I woke up to find 30 dead tetras. Ever since then if the outage lasts more than an hour I just unplug the filters, once the power comes back I give the filters a quick clean and dump the water out. No issues at all since then. It's not a big deal if the fish have to wait a little longer for you to get the filter running, they can last days without filters.
Though, I've also had a couple times the power went out while I was at work for a long time and it was fine when it came back. So may be over cautious.
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As long as you don't have a tiny tank, or power outages lasting days in the middle of winter then temperature isn't really a problem. I've accidentally left the heater unplugged in my tank for a couple weeks over winter and it's colder in Wellington than Auckland. Didn't notice until I wondered idly why the fish are moving a little slower. Turned out the tank was at 15°. Tank had a bunch of tetras, bristlenoses, I think a couple dwarf cichlids at the time too. All were perfectly fine. My bigger tank only lost about 4 degrees the last time we had a 20 hour power outage over winter.
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19 hours ago, Morfin2 said:
However we are on rainwater tanks and all my research has said I can't keep fish in that water. Any ideas?
My ideas are that your research is completely wrong, I've been using nothing but rainwater for 17 years.
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Easiest might be to just stop at a convenient glazier, tell them what size you need and ask if they have a scrap piece about that size?
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Only if you have a problem with free floating algae, otherwise it's a waste of money.
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Welcome to the wonderful world of common names.
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Yeah, they'll absorb some ammonia, nitrates etc but as far as mechanical? No way, if anything they'll make it worse. All the little bits of rotten leaves and plant debris will make it worse.
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8 minutes ago, kiwis said:
I don't have much room under my tank so wanted a stand alone one if possible. I don't want a hang on the back skimmer though.
Do you know of a stand alone one that's not hang on the back?
I think the reef octopus external skimmers are generally good mid range external ones.
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On 12/30/2016 at 3:11 PM, kiwis said:
Does a skimmer have to go in a sump or can it stand alone?
Depends on if it's an in sump skimmer or a hang on back skimmer. Which skimmer?
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Yeah, I'd go with another 1200 too. You're definitely under filtered. I've got an FX5 and an AC1200 like you've got on my 440L tank and it still has a lot of little particles floating around in the water. Occasionally along with bunches of detritus worms, yuck.
Even wrapping my powerhead with filter wool turning it into an 8000 LPH filter that completely clogs up the filter wool in an hour or two doesn't get all the particles out.
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I try to keep it less than plus or minus 2 degrees. Easy enough to do when filling from the kitchen sink with a hose.
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2 hours ago, LeftHookGary said:
This thing is covered in warnings how dangerous is it to use my ammonia 1 leaked in shipping and I got it all over my hands it burnt a little but I feel fine. What future precautions should I take when testing my water?
Don't spill it on your hands, don't drink it.
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Should have a big O-ring running around the motor housing.
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33 minutes ago, fishyNZ said:
Whereabouts are you at? Haven't noticed any voltage fluctuations here at Silverstream.
My Sunsun filter though has been vibrating loudly for several weeks now. May need to change the impeller.
Blue mountains.
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And now that the voltage is back up to 230, it's running with its normal hum.:)
Tripped something in our house's water pump too, but that's reset and running.
Non glass replacement for back panel of tank?
in DIY Section
Posted
A new pane of glass really shouldn't cost that much, maybe you can save some money DIYing something with ply, but it's going to take enough work that you might as well just use glass.