David R

I'm sure it would, and if you already had it then it would be simple enough to make it work. However if I was designing a sump specifically for a cichlid tank I would do it differently to incorporate a tower with above-water media.

Not sure about planted, wouldn't a canister be a better option as there is less disturbance to the water? If you were running that sump on a marine tank would you put the skimmer in the first part before the refugium? IMO the main reason to go for a sump with a FW tank is for the ability to house a large amount of bio media, especially exposed media above the water level (I guess some would say thats more of a trickle filter, but I've always thought of them as one in the same).

Si that looks like a great sump for a marine tank, but not a particularly good design for fresh water IMO... If you search for my past post with "sump" in them you don't even have to ask! http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/search.php?keywords=sump&terms=all&author=David+R&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search I've posted plans and ideas many times, there's loads of info out there.

Its easy enough to work out what it would use [roughly] by multiplying the wattage by the time by the kilowatt hour charge on the back of your bill.

Certainly no need to add cycle, and the necessity of using prime is debatable. I use it at about half strength for my water changes (add 200L of treated and preheated water from a barrel along with 200L straight from the tap).

^ agreed. Last time was a fluke, starting with an even smaller black is more likely to lead to trouble. IMO just enjoy the RTG, save the comm for another day when you can grow them all out together.

Sorry to hear that, its a real shame as it seemed they were getting along ok, I was really interested in seeing the long term result of this experiment.

Why run a pump when you could just use gravity? http://deepblueaquarium.co.nz//product_info.php?products_id=153&osCsid=cus79evpkh521peshm72c76l34

The problem with trying to seal the MDF now is that you'll only be able to do the outside, so if there is any gaps the moisture will still get in. May not be a problem though, guess it depends how humid the room will be.

Not sure where you got that from, the tank is more like 1170 litres. The actual volume will be a bit less, but the total weight will be a lot more. A tank that tall should be made of at least 12mm glass so will probably weigh close to 200kg empty, plus the weight of the stand. Not all timber floors are created equally,its not impossible but I certainly wouldn't just plonk it anywhere and hope for the best. You need to get under the house and see what the subfloor is like and which way the joists run. Choose a location where it will be well supported, reinforce if necessary, and make sure it is running across as many joists as possible (not in the same direction as them). The stand also needs to be designed to distribute the weight over as large a footprint as possible, and not just put it all on 6-8 'feet'. And its probably a good idea to check with your landlord before doing this....

http://rawessentials.co.nz/ If there are risks and benefits of going for a raw diet, but it needs to include more than just meat (thus the green tripe being an important aspect of it). We looked into it but decided to stick with high quality dry foods. A friend who is a vet nurse says she consistently sees more problems (of all natures) in older dogs that have been fed a mix of random foods as opposed to those fed exclusively on quality dry food.

I would disagree with the first two. Ideally you do want to use a flash, but a remote one set up above the tank. If you put triple the usual amount of light constantly over the tank chances are your fish aren't going to behave normally. And you don't need to be close to the glass provided its clean inside and out and the room is dark. The best way to take decent photos of fish is with a decent camera. I'm certainly no photographer, but the difference I found using my 550D compared to a point and shoot is night and day.

Generally bichirs won't bother anything that looks too large to eat, so mature angels would be fine with all the bichirs we get bar ornate.

What kind of camera are you using?

I wouldn't risk bichirs with the smaller cory species, could end up losing both fish if the bichir tried to swallow the cory and it got stuck. I'd be inclined to try uaru with corys, and maybe "jurupari" if you way larger fish with the corys, but stay away from predatory things like bichirs.

I don't think there is a much better way than changing 100% over the course of the week in several daily doses without having to lift a finger... Do some reading about plant filtration on MFK, from the little bit of research I've done it seems that plants that grow out of the water work best. And as Alan said, you're not actually removing the nitrate until you harvest the plants. And as Ira said, you may find the cost of the lighting (the more light you have the more growth you'll get and the more waste you'll remove, so you can't just run a single little light and expect it to crank) may work out to be more than the cost of water, unless you can use natural sunlight.

Its also likely (IME) that the actual flow from the more expensive pumps will be to the claimed flow at a decent head height, and will still be after 6 months, compared to the cheaper ones where the claimed flow tends to be more over-exaggerated and the decrease in performance over time greater.

Hmm, better email them...

They aren't really carriages, but the dimensions won't be far off. They'll all be a similar widrth as they have to fit the loading gauge, but the lengths will vary. The carriages used on the Auckland metro trains (the ones I drive) are Ex-British Rail, these ones. Why do you ask?

TBH I found oscars to be a bit dense compared to a large guapote like a jag, or even to my uaru.

Ignoring the vastly different requirements, I'd have to say clown loaches. I [sort of] agree with Ira though, large central american cichlids (jaguar, texas, midas/red devil etc) are usually considered the best "wet pets".

Try Mulfords Plastics.

That kinda makes a mockery of the lengths people go to trying to differentiate different varieties based on the bars doesn't it?

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=53977 Ordered a few little bits and pieces from fish street, should be here any day now (fingers crossed!).