lmsmith

I used those to light my sump for when I was working in there. They're pretty bright, and super cheap. Don't swim well in salt water though! I found the sticky stuff on the back isn't very good, which is how mine went swimming.

I concur with Li@m - it's possible if it's very well planted tank with lots of hideyholes (upturned, buried terracotta pots broken in 1/2 work well to create terraces), but I would avoid it personally. They tend to get agressive especially if they're breeding, and the males can get agressive between the two also. In terms of compatability, in a bigger tank, you could keep blue and balloons without an issue - they both prefer high temps (26-28ish), and soft water of a low pH. I used to breed blue rams at about pH 5.5. Cockatoos on the other hand prefer cooler water and don't tend to do well in warm water. I wouldn't keep them over 25deg, and they prefer a higher pH - up to about 8 is ok for them, but they tend to do better around 7ish. So I wouldn't say cockatoos and GBR/balloons are compatible, but in a larger or very well planted tank, GBR and balloons will probably be fine.

Woo! Nice work!!! How old are they there? I got fry to about 11 weeks before a tank crash It was so sad.

I've got a 23l planted tank that is currently sitting around growing plants, but I have no idea what fish to put in it. I've made a decision that killies are probably the best idea for me. I'm planning on joining the NZKA this week (payday couldn't come soon enough!) as I think any way to a) put back to people who have offered me great advice in the past and b) learn more, is good. I understand that NZKA members who are looking at selling fish will usually offer them to fellow NZKA members before poping them on trademe or whatever. But how does that actually work in reality? If I'm looking for killies, do I post a WTB here, or on the main WTB forum? Do I just look out for people wanting to sell? How do I actually get any of these adorable fish?! I'm not even sure what sort I'd prefer, though striatums are super cute. I'm not sure how readily available they are. It'd be awesome to attempt to breed them. I've bred lots of FW fish before, and that's the biggest thing I miss about moving to marine. Fry are super cute and watching them grow up is amazing. So, can someone please talk me through how this process works? How do I get some fishies?! Lots of thanks from a new-in-the-very-near-future killie owner.

Ah, but they look like snakes. Also, they're not very active in the water column, I might as well just keep my snails! I'm leaning more and more towards killies. I guess I should join the NZKA.

There aren't many gobies I'd be happy with keeping in such a small tank. Same with the shellies - they're a bit big - I could maybe have 1 pair, but it would mean some major aquascaping changes

I used to have bumblebee gobies but I get a bit frustrated ordering them because they often get in the brackish ones, not FW. I don't want a brackish tank as the plants won't thrive. Are there other cool gobies?

I would be shutting the curtains as a starting point. There are few tanks that are happy with more than about 8-10 hours of lighting a day. 6 is probably a good place to reduce it to. Maybe you could turn the lights on when you get home and feed them in the evening, that way you get to enjoy them? I would consider doing larger water changes too. I usually do a 50% change every week in my tank, and I don't even have any bioload other than snails in it right now. I think my approach would be to reduce the lighting to 4 or 6 hours for a week or so, and do a few, big water changes. You might find that clears everything up.

Scarlet badis are nice. I don't think I've ever seen them in Wellington, but they are cute. How many do you think would be happy in a 23l tank? What's the going price for one? I'm not really a fan of mosqutio barbs. I think they're cool, but they're not really for me. I would worry about cories in the tank because they like to pop to the top and breathe, and the edge only has a small opening. Thanks for the badis suggestion. The more I think about it the more I'm keen on killies, but bardis are beautiful fish.

1.5 x 1m x 65cm would make a nice reef - it's got good front to back depth. The height would be a bit much for me, but as someone barely clearing 5'1 I need tanks about 20cm deep otherwise I have to go for a swim everytime I change anything!

I have a 23l fluval edge. It's currently planted like this: There are no fish in there, and other than sone plants, there are only some ramshorn snails. It's a tropical tank that's currently sitting at about 27/28c. I was going to turn this into a dwarf puffer tank, but I've been waiting for ages for dwarf puffers and I'm frankly a bit sick of waiting. So, what else can I stock this tank with? I was thinking killies, but the other 1/2 says they 'look too much like fish' (I know, wth does that mean mean?!), though they're not off the list. The stripy black and yellow ones I love - are they called clowns? I'd either like dwarf puffers, or something that will look relatively active, and will be ok in a reasonably heavily planted tank (I know it's not now, but when everything grows, it'll be fine). If I can't figure out what to do with this tank, I'll convert it to marine and put a single clown in it. Please help, I'm really at a loss about what to do with this tank.

I got mine from a swimming pool. They get soap delivered in them. I spent about 3 months rinsing them, and after testing for everything I could think of I decided they were safe to use. I've now been using them for well over 3 years without a problem. Depending on the chemical they stored, I wouldn't have a problem using them, so long as they were cleaned well, of course.

Oh, sorry. I assumed because you mentioned a bag of uniodised salt, you meant table salt. I've never seen sea salt in rock form in big bags like that! Here's what red sea say about their salt - they claim it's 28% other trace elements. http://www.redseafish.com/index.aspx?id=4330 I'm from the school of thought that when we're keeping a tiny slice of the sea in our houses, we have a responsibility to do best by the livestock we keep and provide them with the best environment we can. That necessarily means that we either take the time to collect NSW, or we spend the money getting good quality salt mix that will ensure a consistent, safe environment for the critters we keep.

I would only be keeping 1 pair in a 120l tank. If you started with say, 5 babies you might be alright, but they can get a bit aggressive when they breed.

There are literally hundred of different types of fish that would be suitable for a tank that size. The best way forward is to give us a little more info: what filtration system are you planning on using? what lighting do you have? what are the measurements of the tank? Some fish look amazing in longer tanks, other setups tend to suit tanks that are deeper front to back. do you want a planted, rocky, or woody tank? are you interested in doing a biotype, or do you just want fish that probably won't eat each other? do you potentially want to see babies (fishy babies, not human ones!) in your tank? do you want lots of small fish, or fewer larger ones? do you want bright coloured fish? does the shape of the fish matter? how much money do you want to spend? There are some fish that will be perfect, but they could be out of your price range. The more info you can give us on what sort of tank you're seeing in your head, the better we can provide information to you

We need pics! Well done!

Dems might be ok in that tank. I'm not sure you'll be able to comfortably keep a colony of 20ish in that size tank though, and that's what they prefer. I would be rethinking away from cichlids with a small tank like that. Or maybe post some pics of the sort of fish you like and we can offer some suggestions on their environment etc?

Mmmm, I was going to suggest something similar, except leaving the substrate to dry completely, then rinsing it in small batches to get rid of the shells. Boiling (or pouring boiling water into it) will have similar results but will be quicker. Don't forget to clean all the snails and eggs out of the filter. Loaches will only work if the tank is a suitable size for them. Whatever method you choose, this is a good reminder to be vigilant about what you put in your tank and where it comes from. Snails can be a massive pain to get rid of. My preferred method would be starting the tank from scratch, and you can easily get it done in a day.

Here's a really good thread on why a DYI salt mix isn't financially/practically viable. I tend to agree, and it's even more expensive in NZ where we're paying 3-4 times the price. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showt ... ?t=1961430

Salt ie your 25kg bag of un-iodised salt are generally farmed from underground salt deposits. They specifically process it to eliminate minerals, and usually add anti-clumping agents. Salt that is evaporated from sea water (sea salt) is usually much less processed so contains all those extra minerals. They're not the same. I agree that some things are, eg epsom salt, but it's something you should really be doing some serious research on before putting it in your tank. Certainly, I wouldn't be using table salt in my tank, ever, at all - it's simply not comparable. At best it doesn't contain everything you need in a marine tank, and at worse, the lack of minerals and addition of anti-clumping agents will kill your livestock. Re the hydrometer, they're very sensitive to temperature changes. The fact that it reads NSW as 1.022 in NZ tells me that it's not calibrated. I can test the same water at slightly different temps with a hydrometer and get wildly different readings - nothing really compares to a refractometer, and they're pretty cheap now (thankfully! I need a new one because I broke mine )

I also run a higher salinity - generally 1.026. I'd be inclined to run coldies at the salinity of NZ oceans. Where do you get your mag chloride? Why mag chloride and mag sulfate? Iodine, iron, potassium etc are all important to have in the water, and I'm not sure what lack of these elements would do to the fish long term. Definitely not my cup of tea.

Seems like a massive pain. I use NSW myself, but would sooner pay to buy a bucket of salt than mix up my own then still have to dose my tank. There are lots of other trace elements that CSM have in them that will be effecting your corals. How's the colour looking?

There have also been cases of copper leaching into silicone and sand, driftwood etc. I would avoid the copper route except if absolutely necessary.

Yeah. Not high lighting, not low lighting. I figure, medium I HAVE AN UPDATE! My ambula is already shooting out new...leaves (?) at the top. Java fern is looking good. The indian fern is looking a bit sad, but it's only been there a couple of days

One of those plastic ones with a double layer bottom might be ok.