Spink

My sympathies to you It is a painful lesson to learn, one i have learnt myself, but fish keeping is one of those hobbies that requires time - lots of it - and research. Don't give up though, you can make it work with a little more patience, knowledge and time

hey KtttK - you must have a fantastic camera to get photos that good! Do you mind if I ask what sort it is? I'd like to invest in a new one soon, and am seeking advice form those who take awesome pics! 8)

Hey guys! Thanks for the help - I saw an auction on Trade Me for a pallet load of stuff in Auckland, but don't quite need that much! I did buy some small slate coatsers from there though, have one in a tank seeing how it goes for now. As for the roofer - good idea! My nephew works for a roofing company, so might go and see him and see what he knows - he owes me a favour! I also put some feelers out to some stone merchants, so if I hear back will let everyone know.

Does anyone have any idea where i can buy some slate from in the Wellington area? I was given some black slate tiles which i stripped back so there was no residue etc on it, but after cleanig them up and leaving them outside for a while, I have noticed a rust-like runoff on the concrete. I put a small piece in one of my smaller tanks and it came up with rust like depositis all over it. All I can seem to find locally is some very expensive schist - I have seen an idea in a book and it requires thin black slate - any ideas? :-?

YAY!!!! Thank Goodness someone else out there understands me! :bounce: I think everyone else thought I was nuts! :roll: Thanks for the suggestion Blue - any suggestions on type of mesh, and more importent, can anyone name a brand of silicone/glue that is safe for use in aquariums? Would be handy to know for later when i want to glue rocks etc together

Thanks Snookie! I have mollies and Indian Glass Fish in it at the moment, but I am planning on having both types of monos, scats if poss and bumblebee gobies - all dependent on size of fish and how much room i have etc. Sea Water - how do you ensure that it is clean and not polluted without diminishing the salt content i.e if you boil it will the salt dissipate, if you strain it will that be enough to get gunk and crap out?

0k, will try to make some kind of picture with what text I have... bear with me! Haven't figured out how upload pics yet. I I / \ kinda looks like this from the front, but imagine it in 3D The little hole is in the middle of the upside down V part... Does anyone understand? It is a hole that is meant to be there as it is professionally cut, and there are no bits missing

I have a Jebo R3100 which has all the filter bits built in. Water is sucked up through the pipe on the left, dribbled over the filter medium, then let back out through a pipe on the right. Jeez I wish I could draw a picture! There is a normal round pipe which goes down into the tank, and attached to that there is like a V shaped pipe, almost like a round pipe which has been squashed and then bent at at 45 degree angle. Does that make sense? In the bottom part of the V shaped bit in the narrow bit, there is a small round hole, about the size of the old 5 cent piece - don't know what it's for but i guess it's a way of breaking up the flow of the water coming back in to the tank. Does that make it a bit easier to understand?

Is there anyone out there who has a brackish tank set up that can help me out with some info? (search function on the forum has been disabled so I can't use it to find previous posts) I have a 185 litre that I am trying to convert, but have a few issues with the salt - can anyone recommend a type or brand of aquarium salt that would be suitable - the one I have has a green tinge to it, and I'm sure it's not right. I also want to know if anyone has the right fish in these tanks, and whether there is opportunity within the FNZAS members to buy or trade these fish further down the line. Cheers!

Does anyone else have any experiences with suicidal siamese fighters? I now have had two females who have managed to get themselves stuck in the output part of the filter in my tank, and both have died from the stress and damage Why do they do this?!!!! FYI - the first one I actually had to wiggle her out to get her out, and still cringe at the memory ; the second one (RIP Fook You) popped out reasonably easily, still hated to do it, and she hadn't been in there long, but the damage was done, and she met the porcelain highway this morning. Other than plugging up the hole, which I assume was there for a reason, what do I do!!! My other female (Fook Me - don't blame me, my husband named them...) :roll: now seems lonely and needs a new girlfriend - after the first girl died, I'm sure her 'girlfriend' died of loneliness, so do I get another one?

Hey, have looked for Upper Hutt Club info once before but nothing was listed on the main FNZAS home page. Noted Faran was the pres in Oct, I have him on email from something I bought from him on Trade Me, so might email him and see if he has any more up to date info. Sounds cool... still have to pluck up that courage stuff... :oops:

Thanks for the thread Georgous, hadn't seen that while browsing before I signed up - will definately come in handy! Cam, Stokes Valley Huh? Do you go to the Upper Hutt meetings? Do they still have them? I saw BlueandKim go to the Upper Hutt one, I'd like to go to one some time, once I pluck up the courage!

Hi everyone! New to the forum, my name is Anita, aka Spink. Firstly, cheers to Paul Billaney for introducing me to this site! Upper Hutt based, full time mum of a 3 and a half year old, step mum to 13 and 15 year olds, all girls, and I am a Fish Geek. That's right, I admit it, I have a problem. It's an addiction. It started as a kid, but when I left home, the whole fish thing stopped. Then a friend offered me the use of his spare tank.....that when the first little niggle started. I admit, the tank was small and didn't do very well, but hey, I was just starting out! I shut that tank down towards the end of last year as we decided to move house. Moved into a bigger house...hehehe :lol: . My husband got a new car, I got a new 4 foot tank! Things just snow balled from there! :roll: I now have 4 tanks, one on layby, and my eldest now wants a tank in her room. I still have a garage I can park a car in though.... Big ups to all those who have converted their lifestyle to suit their fish requirements! I am a geek, and happy to be one - I research my fish in books and on the internet, and enjoy doing so. I also spend hours in front of my tanks, watching my fish, passing the time and chilling out. My preferences are for small and unusual fish. Just purchased 6 Celstial's because they are just such a beautiful fish, and am looking to base my 4 foot around my sparkling Gourami's. I also have a 185 litre tank which I am converting in to brackish, and I have guppies everywhere! My uber breeder mummy fish just keeps popping out sprogs! She makes it look so easy...I'm excited to be part of the forum, now I can get advice from real people who live on the same planet and in the same country as me! I'm not quite as oh-phay with all the fish lingo and abbreviated terms you guys use, but I'll get the hang of it, and look forward to getting to know people, and receiving and offering any helpful advice and info I can. Yay for the Fish! :bounce: