lmsmith

Lol, no way I'm trying to set up 8 tanks on 1 sump, that's way out of my league. Thanks suphew, I'll drop you a PM. I didn't realise the pump had to be on the bottom. I kinda thought I could stick it halfway up the wall. Doesn't matter anyway, putting in another divider is no prob. I also realise about setting it up so it can't overflow - the plan is to set it up so the sump can hold enough that neither the tank or the sump can overflow because the water level will get below the outlet before the sump gets full. What's the purpose of the reducer?

The best way to do it is have the room darkened, and use a flash on each side of the camera. They need to be timed so they work together at the same time. This way you don't need to worry about being close to the glass, and you'll have enough light to have a fast enough shutter speed that you get the fish still, not moving. It takes a long time to get it set up so you know how to make it work with your tank, but well worth it. I suppose you could do it using lamps also, but a pair of flashes work much better.

Ramshorns are good for eating algae and I've never found them to be a prob. with plants.

Ahhhh....but if you did that, they won't breed for you...you know what they can be like!!! :evil:

I'm with Caryl. Change bits at a time and you wont have a problem. Keep up the water changes, you can't really do too many!

Mmmm...my computer drawing skills suck, sorry. Here's a pic I drew, this might explain it better. http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp88/laurenmariesmith/photo-30.jpg All of the filter wool is above water, and to spread out the flow, I'll experiment with a 'dribble tray' where the water coming out of the tank will land on to spread it out. Should the bioballs be above water too, or would the filter wool be ok with the bio balls below water? I'm not sure what you mean about a hole in the bottom of the tank, mine is about 4cm from the top. I've priced it all up, and excluding the pump, the pipe for the return (I've got heaps of this lying around) and media, I can do it for under $40. Including the pump, it should still only be around $70 or so. So, my materials so far: 1x 42L plastic container 2 x 1 metre 22mm bute pipe 1 x 22mm bulkhead 1 x 22mm tee 1 x plug (will act as PVC pipe cap in the pic) 3 x 22mm elbow joins I will also need an acrylic drip tray or something similar to spread out the flow, and some sort of strainer to go on the inside of the tank to stop fishies getting sucked into the sump. In terms of pumps, the pump will be about 75cm below the top of the tank. I can get a 1000lph pump pretty cheap, but this will put my water flow at about 550lph by the time I worry about the head height. Is there a way to work out how much 'pump' you need? And am I right in thinking I can just hook a regulator to it to reduce or increase the flow? Anything else major I'm missing? Or else I'm going to go shopping tomorrow....

That irrigation stuff looks good. Why is it noisier? And how noisy are we talking?

Wow, awesome thanks so much. That pic looks pretty much spot on with what I want. Now, where do I get a bulkhead and what can I use as an intake strainer? My partner works at Bunnings, so it'd be heaps cheaper not to get fishy brands and go for hardware store stuff. It will be used for FW for now, so I was thinking a wet/dry might be perfect. Here's what I thought I might do, think it'll work? :-? Any idea what sort of cost I'm looking at for all this? I'd like the challenge to do it for under $50 - how much are pumps?

It will be getting too much light from somewhere. Do you have plants? They use the nutrients and would probably help out. Like Stella, I can't be bothered messing with my filters. I clean them about every 4 months. Basically, my idea is that closest to the inlet of the filter (from the tank) should be the most corse things to catch the big stuff, and fine things like filter wool should be closest to the outlet because by then the filter would have sucked up most of the nasties. I'm always wary of changing the filter wool and other bits in the filter too often, it gets rid of too much good bacteria.

Ok, somehow I've managed to acquire 8 tanks but no sumps. I've decided that I need a sump, if nothing else to learn what I'm doing. I have a 3ft tank that has a hole drilled in the end, and it has a big space underneath. I know I'll need an overflow box or something, and was thinking of getting a 100L or so plastic container for the sump. I'll put the heater in there, and presumably some sort of filtration. I have a few questions: 1. How do I attach an internal overflow box? Silicone to the side, or what? I don't want a hang on one, it seems pretty silly when I have a hole already drilled. Is there another option? 2. What sort of pump do I use to get the water back to the tank? Anyone want to draw me a pic to show me how they work, and how you attach them to everything? 3. What sort of media should I use in my plastic tub? Will the tub be ok? Do I just dump it all in, or should there be a system? :-? 4. Anything else it sounds like I'm missing? Thanks guys

I personally prefer the natural methods of getting rid of algae rather than adding bottles of expensive chemicals into my tank. I'd go for the blackout method for a week or so before using florish excell. I know there are heaps of other people out there who swear by it though, each to his own.

Plants need light and darkness in order to 'eat' and grow. Same goes with algaes. The idea behind a black out is that the establised plants can get their nutrients from the substrate or their reserves, but the algaes and cyano will die out. That being said, I don't know why you think the val would do any better floating in a container vs being treated the same as the other plants. Is there something specific about val? The fish will be ok, just make sure you ease them into it when you stop the blackout (take off the coverings, and leave the lights off until they get used to it) so you don't shock them. I don't think people feed the fish during a blackout, but I've never had to do it so I'm not an expert by any matter of means. You may loose a couple of plants, but I think generally as long as they're well planted they'll be ok. How long are you planning on doing the blackout for?

I have always wanted a SW tank, and I finally got myself 2 GSP about a month or so ago. Eventually, I'm going to have them living in a full marine tank. However, I know nothing about SW tanks other than what I've been researching on the forum. The plan is that I will slowly change my tank from low end brackish to full marine over the next year or so. What I really would love is if there is someone in Wellington who has a marine tank who would be willing to take me under their wing and show me their tank and help me out. If there's anyone who's willing to do this (either in person, or by email if you're not in Welly) please let me know as I'd really appreciate someone's help!

I'm not sure how long I'll be up there, we might be coming home on boxing day. It sounds fantastic though, I'll look into it, thanks!

What is everyone doing on Christmas Day or is it just another stat holiday for you? Xmas with the family, it's an important day for our family because we can count who's still alive and see everyone. Who will you be with? Mum, dad, brother, grandparents on my mums side, my mums brothers and sisters and all of my cousins on my mums side. About 30 of us in total. Where? Napier - first time in 20 years that we're not having lunch with my dads side of the family and dinner with my mums - we have had MAJOR family issues this year with 5 members of my family dying/committing suicide, and we can't really all be in the same room for more than about 10 min without a fight breaking out Does your family have any special Christmas traditions? Usually someone ends up hospitalised/arrested, and someone gets accused of murder. Despite that, we all for the most part have great food and contrary to what it sounds like, we actually have a good time. What did you ask Santa for? For everyone in my family to be able to get along and start to forgive each other

What do you mean by this?

Aw Stella, I'm so sorry for you. I wish there was something we could do to help out. We're thinking of you.

Thanks for the tips, I didn't realise they did better outside - I kinda thought that the consistent temp inside would be helpful? What is their lifespan if kept in ideal conditions? (This is for both beardies and WDs). I have seen anywhere from 5 - 100 years for both, although 20 seems to be what most places say.

Aw I hope that doesn't put you off of puffers, they're fantastic pets. Lots of them come with internal parasites almost all of them are wild caught. They need treating, but I don't do it until they are settled in for about a month or so, to I can make sure they are eating and have gotten over the move. Hopefully you can get another. Did you check his teeth? If they are too long they can't eat and will starve to death. If he was only a baby this probably wouldn't be relevant though

How old is the ram in that second pic phoenix? I can't see the blue speckles in the spot, and he doesn't have a long mohawk, so I can't tell the sex... Or maybe I've been drinking too much :oops:

Lol, well I'm glad some people can take jokes around here!

Lol, this is beginning to become my fav topic. The reason I wanted to know is I love beardies, but would like to be able to have an enclosure that I can decorate with plants and stuff. I can't really do that with the beardies, but thought maybe a WD could live in more like a terrarium. I think WDs sound pretty cool, but I'm really more interested in a pet I can hold and take outside and play with. WDs sound like they aren't really into the personal contact, so I might stick with a beardie. Thanks to everyone who's left constructive replies. I also appreciate the funny ones :lol:

Out of the 7, only one has survived, I went away for a week and I don't think my fish feeder gave them enough water changes, but that's ok. I found another one in the puffer tank, about 1/2 the size of the one I've been feeding up. He looks pretty healthy though, and I'm amazed that he's managed to survive in a brackish tank with 2 hungry puffers!

Those first two pics...the fishy is in water right? Is it just a tiny narrow photo taking tank?

Well, maybe it's too late to save the worst one, but hopefully the furan 2 will help the others. Are the other ones tails looking eaten yet, or only the spot from the first pic? Are the spots only on the tails?