David R

Imports. Could be quite some time before we see locally bred ones in shops here IMO.....

Yep! I think you're right, it could be getting a bit cold, 300W for 400L is pushing it. Will call into Henward and pick up my spare 300W Jager to see how that changes things. Been thinking about the poly, but have a plastic background stuck on with cooling oil and don't want to bugger that up by fiddling around with the poly.

This one has been running for about 18 months [previously on my 1400L] so should be well and truly run in. I hardly bother looking at the numbers on the dial, just turn it up or down as needed to get the temp where I want it, never even bothered trying to calibrate it.

That would be the sensible thing to do, no use risking cooking your fish!

Rabbit that looks like just the kind of thing I'm after, is it plug-and-play or does it need to be wired in? Geoff, thats what I'm trying to do with my cheapo thermometer but it seems to fluctuate by how much under it reads by half a degree or so (assuming the TDS meter is the one that is accurate and consistant). The Hanna meter looks like a cool gadget to have. Thomas, thats quite a saving! May have to look at putting some poly on the back and side of the tank that isn't viewed. That calculation does explain why the temp may be fluctuating if the heater is struggling to keep up. Alan, thanks, will look at homershams.

Thanks Thomas, tank is 140x65x48 external dimensions (water level from substrate is more like 41cm), sump is 62x40x27 when running. Not using poly other than under the tank, probably could/should but don't think I'll bother. I am going to look at enclosing the stand with MDF/pine panels so the sump will be slightly more insulated. The room temp fluctuates greatly, when I'm on an early shift I'll open the curtains at 4am and the windows are always ajar so it gets pretty chilly, but then in the evenings its just off the lounge and with the curtains shut and fire cranked up the ambient temp is fairly warm. Whats the expensive gadget Geoff and where did you get it? 32C doesn't give you much margin of error, a couple of degrees over that would be trouble! I'm not even sure if you can calibrate the cheapo one I have, I've been logging the temp on it compared to the TDS meter over the past few hours and its only 0.5-0.7C lower than the actual temp (temp on TDS meter -0.8C). Would be nice to have something a bit more accurate though, I'm sure the reefers don't just rely on the heaters thermostat and a $5 digital thermometer!

some pairs are closer than others, sometimes tank size and number of retreats helps, but as I found sometimes if he gets angry with her then nothing will stop him (10" male and 8" female festae with 800L to share didn't work). Umbee sound even worse, but festae are fairly notorious for it...

So back to my original question (ignoring the fact that a 2c fluctuation isnt anything to worry about and I don't really need it), who makes an accurate thermostat/controller and where can I get one? And on this topic, I just checked the thermometer on my TDS meter in a slurry of ice and it is about 0.8C high, and it looks like the cheapo digital one in the tank is a degree or two too cold, meaning my tank has been more like 30C thank 27-8C. What is out there that is more accurate than the el-cheapo ones but not up in the super-accurate-mega-dollars scientist-accurate range? Or now I know how much to correct the reading by am I better off sticking with the cheap one and learning to add how ever much to the reading?

fair enough! I'd be interested to see what would happen to a school of neons in your tank, I reckon they'd nearly be small enough to be ignored!

You don't think with a huge aro, moster flagtail, a billion big clowns and an army of driftwood-demolishing super-crapping royals you've got enough big messy fish for one tank? :slfg:

Yeah leucos and lemons is a good combo!! Its a shame we don't get some of the smaller species here, something like red/orange heads or the S. Sp. 'Pindare' that top out at about 6" would be ideal for my tank. Glad its nearly set up, I tried having leaves in a 4' tank ages ago as I was thinking of putting them in the big tank, but I found they often got burried and would break down in the substrate. Looks great but hard work.

I've kept leucos before, but never cardinal tetras... I'll put it out there but if there aren't any takers by the weekend then I'll hang onto them for now! Have you got that stand back yet?

Not really worried, just looking for ways to waste money... :lol: Heater is in sump so has plenty of water moving across it, I'm wondering if I should use two 200W instead of one 300W, the 300w does seem to spend a lot of time on. Two heaters would give me more surface area and probably do a better job of heating the sump, unfortunately its too short to run two 300w side by side or I'd just do that as I have a couple spare! (when I get them back from Henward that is!)

I'm somewhat racist when it comes to fish for this tank, don't want any asians... :lol: They might also be a bit on the small side, unless someone buys my leucos!! (if they don't I'll be going for something high-bodied, probably lemons)

Now that my one tank isn't in a nicely insulated fishroom with a fairly constant temperature I've noticed the thermostat on my Jager heater doesn't seem particularly accurate (well, at least IMO) and the tank will fluctuate by about 2-3C. It that with in the acceptable range for a heater? The fish seem fine with it, but is there anything out there I can use to more accurately control the temp of the tank??

I'd be more afraid of rays than piranha (and the candiru do give me the shivers...).

lol yeah, no fun being a secret squirrel pleco guy.. :lol: The leucos are still quite small, guess they could probably eat a rummy nose if they really wanter.

I've read they're better kept in species tanks? I've been doing some reading and it seems people think rummy noses are the best schoolers out of the more regularly available tetras, and thats really what I'm looking for; something that will swim around in a fairly tight school.

He's a beast eh, can't believe no one wanted it when I offered it for sale, kinda glad actually!! Aren't the BA tetras a little nippy tho?

Substrate looks nice, maybe if you're up this way we can go digging for teatree stumps...

I think the altifrons can be a bit opportunistic, I remember seeing someone on MFK post a pic of his largest that had tried swallowing a small barb/tetra and choked, killing them both. Tough decision, I really wanted a school of cardinals and would like a few dwarf SA cichlids, but the leucos are growing on me and are starting to look good, they are a bit shy though. Do I try the neons and see how long they last, or go for some lemons or rosys? Would like to see some pics of your 300L some time, what colour substrate are your leucos on?

yeah lemons are probably my second choice, although rummy noses are pretty cool too and get a bit bigger than cardinals (longer at least, not as high-bodied as the likes of lemons though).

Thanks. Thomas its not silica sand, but a fine white sand that comes from a place in Christchurch (saw it in a friends tank down there and had to have some, luckily I was able to get a friend who was driving up to bring me some!). IMO it looks a bit more natural that silica, probably can't tell from the pics but its not as bright. It is really fine though so I'm not sure I'll keep it, as the eartheaters and plecs get bigger they'll stir it up and I don't really want it getting into the filter. I really had my mind set on cardinals, never kept them before and they'd look great in this set up. Maybe I will have to have a break from keeping eartheaters for a while, they're useful keeping the sand turned over but I like watching the small fish in a large[ish] tank too. Maybe more cories, a few apistos and the cardinals would be a better option...

People swim in the amazon all the time....

Now that the downscaling and moving has taken place I thought I'd share my current set up. Its not as big and impressive as the previous tanks, but it will have to keep me occupied until we're settled again and have bought/built a new house where I can set up another monster-sized tank... 140x65x48cm (LxWxH), ~400L with sump, Eheim Compact+ 5000 return and Eheim 2224 canister 8 L14 sunshine plecs 1 L002 panaque 5 Satanoperca leucosticta (aka "jurupari"), not quite sure about these guys, may move them on and replace them with something smaller depending on how fast they (and the plecs) grow and how the tank looks. 10 Corydoras sterbai 5 C. julii At this stage the only other planned addition is a school of 20-30 tetras, probably cardinals. The goal is to grow the sunshines out and hopefully before they're too big for the current set up we will be settled again and I'll have something bigger to move them into, with the long-term goal of establishing a breeding pair/group. Henward is currently babysitting the remainder of my plecs (L128, L81, and the giant whiptail) and they'll be added back into the mix some time in the future when tank space allows it.