spoon

looks good so far nice blue background and it looks like the standpipe is working well how did the plumbing work out for you in the end? did you end up using pressure pipe for the return as well? is the tank quiet enough for you? IMO use the light with the new tube also its not gunna hurt even if its not the typical 10k or actinic tube as you have no inverts at the moment if u start getting excessive alage perhaps turn it off

off topic but pm if thats the one with the nun on the front

could be a pl tube take the tube out and take it into your lfs and they will get you a new one keep the docket if it still dosent go take it back and go from there

try replacing the tube might be stuffed im assuming its an 8 w tube

look up bm magus nac3 for a skimmer availible in nz and reasonably priced you will need a sump of sorts to run this if thats not a possibly perhaps try the nac 5 e

i got a hansen gate gate valve its all plastic and turns really easy about 3o buck for 20mm the white ones with red handles are only moderatly cheaper and dont turn very easy

i wouldnt worry about bioload as im guessing you wont specifically be feeding them so bioload should be the same as they will eat detritus and left over fish food however keep an eye on them over the next few weeks as the higher temp could still take a toll and a dead shrimp will defiantly add to ammonia

lamp specialists SI 20 leeds street cheap and helpful can get specialty aquarium bulbs and all sorts there too

wont hurt to turn it on as rock will make the water dirty and expell crud when cycling , set up ur flow pump to keep the crud in suspension and slap that skimmer on will give you a change to play around with producing the skimmate and adjusting the skimmer to how you like it

http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedA ... stand.aspx heres a link plenty of people do this looks nice

the foggers work great just a few precautions though first is price they are all made by 1 company in china so there is no need to go buy a $110 exoterra one thinking it will be more suitable or last longer than a $12 ebay one as they are identical (except some have led lights etc) its just packaging that is different and doesnt justify the huge price differences secondly the depth of the wate needs to be at least 3cm over the top of the unit more than 4cm over the top and the unit puts out a lot less fog any less and the unit will not work due to the sensor switch also it needs to be hidden from the frogs so that they cannot sit directly on top of it as it uses ultrasonic vibrations to create the fog these may be harmful . i simply built up a slate cave around it and the fog escaped thruogh the gaps next thing is heat these will heat the water if left on fro long periods of time considering that the amount of water in a frog tank is likly to be small it may heat up to 30 degs easily so best to figure it out and turn on occaisionaly or have operating on a timer at intervals during the day the brass coloured disc on top of the unit will wear out with time and can be replaced with spares from ebay this is due to minerals in the water its a case of put up with it as you cant really use distilled water in the tank however another option which is likely more benefical to plant life and perhaps safer to livestock . is so mount the unit in a small conatiner above the terrarium (needs to have mesh lid) id recommend an icecream container with the lid and a 2cmx8cm horizontal slot cut out 1 cm above the water level the lid is to stop splashes as the unit spalshes a bit of water the slot will let the fog cascade down into the tank . the advantages of this are that you can use distilled water (or pure dew $6 10l at the warehouse) which will prolong the life of the unit. also the fog will have a better contact with plants as it will be spread thru the whole tank rather than sitting a few cmm above the water level As for plants to add to the above list ficus pumilia(often availible as a baby houseplant) ivy ficus (think the small trees with twisted narly trunks) peace lily (i have mine sitting in water growing well) also go to your local nursery and raid the marginal pond plants tub as if will have some aquarium species grown emersed and will be suitable to plant directly in the water with foliage above water another thing with plants its advisable to remove potting mix from around the plant and use seed raising mix instead as potting mix conatins fertilislers which may be harmful to frogs

petmart has seio flow pumps and quite a few other things online but perhaps not on display . it has been a couple of yearssince i was last in nelson so they may have had more then. the best fish shop that was ever up there was in brooklyn just out of motueka but that has been closed for years

I can source some natural salt water fairly easily, but any specialist marine equipment, I think even just marine test kits/phosphate removing media will need to be ordered in from HFF or the like, since Nelson has ZERO Fish stores with marine support. :evil: I think the most I can get is a marine rated aqua one bulb! Any stock will include rock pool inhabitants and any very small fish that i am lucky enough to catch and are legal to take. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

nice im having a beer in the sun with sounds cranked right up the good thing about no neighbours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkjBWSGu7Ag deep purple cover by dimmu borgir

if it has a big reflector or diffuser u can probably just sit it on the glass lids

there is a pet shop in northlands mall(main north road) that has a few nice displays . and most of the animates have at least one herp set up

you shouldnt even need co2 to grow those they all grow like weeds seriously

it looks like the old eheim stuff

dont need salt but will do better with salt- i cant answer about dwarf puffers and bb gobies but ive heard dwarf puffers can be very aggressive fin nippers. i have kept a fig 8 puffer with bb gobies before n problems. as for bb gobes being grumpy well they are territorial so need planty od hiding spaces then it will be fine to keep more than one togrther

think about it this way if i stand next too it you have 105 kg extra add a few more mates etc i think it will be fine

i woundt be too worried about it i mean how heavy was it when set up with africans ?

take one of the bulbs out and give it a quick spray with spray paint any colour just lightly though- let it dry then try it out it wont completly block the light but will dim it a lot i used to do this with the tubes on my old frog tank

they breed pretty easy but raising the fry is the difficult part i never had any luck they are just suicidal then hard to feed unless your really set up for it

dont worry about light over your rock at the moment it will just cause algae im not sure if a skimmer is needed at this stage but if you find out its benefical you can borrow mine as i wont be using it for at least a month anyway