Jennifer

I got it on TM from some pet supply people who sell all kinds of substrates. It was called 'Charcoal Grit' and it was $12.50 for 5kg plus $7.50 for shipping (I was initially charged $12.50 for shipping but when I got the parcel it said $7.50 on the postage sticker so I queried the seller who apologised for the overcharge and refunded the $5). Kinda pricey if you had a big tank but the 5kg was perfect for the nano tank and I like how fine it is. It is VERY dusty though so I would recommend rinsing it way beyond what you think you will need to...I rinsed it a lot but every time I disturb it I get cloudy water - easily remedied with the fine filter wool but still it is a pain.

Yes, that is hairgrass. I was inspired by the Iwagumi tanks, but the key word is 'inspired'...I am trying to be realistic! :lol:

Ha!! This guy must be related! :lol:

For my new nano tank I just got some black basalt substrate online and it looks great. It is 1 to 3mm so not quite a sand but is very fine. The plants that I planted 10 days ago are doing well so far. Not sure what stock to get for it. I like the idea of a small loach and school of small tetras, not sure what would look best though.

If it were me, I would siphon off 50% of the undisturbed tank water into a bucket or clean chilly bin and then I would remove the fish and thourougly stir up the gravel with my hands to disloge all the mucky bits while also scrubbing everything with a bit of sponge or filter wool (no chemicals or soap) then siphon out the totally mucky water that remains, rinse with clean water and repeat until happy. Then when ready add the clean siphoned water back to the relatively clean gravel and top up with new water. Replace the filter and add the heater and you are good to go!

Glad to know they got a good home! Two of those fish (the gold/albino zebra danios) were laying when the male was with them (before he took a suicidal jump during a tank change). Even when the male was fertilising them, all the fish in the tank (including the parents) were eating the eggs almost immediately afterward so be prepared to remove all adult fish as soon as the eggs are laid! You could remove the eggs but it isn't always easy, especially when the eggs slip down and get trapped within fine gravel. As said previously, marbles are good and it might be useful to get a breeding tank so that the adults can be placed in there to spawn and then removed when the eggs are laid (be careful of filter intakes as they can suck up small fry). Also have a look at the feeding requirements of the fry before you go much farther. Good luck!

Thanks guys. I am pretty certain these microscopes have no fan so who knows what that guy was on about. At any rate, it is good to know that it makes little difference whether turning it off at the wall or at the switch.

Ok, so I was teaching a course on parasitology last month and I had a guy come in to talk about microscope care. He said that you should never turn the microscope (light) off at the wall, since the bulb life will be reduced (from power surges?). This made me think about my tank lights. If I turn them off at the wall, is that going to reduce their lifespan? Similarly, if I have them on a timer, this is essentially turning them on and off at the wall, right? So what's the deal here? Should I avoid turning my lights off at the wall?

Hey thanks Romeo, once the tank gets established I will look into slowly adding some Flourish excel. I already had some fine grit I was planning on using...but it is great to know about that place on Dyers Rd. I found some fantastic rocks at Halswell Quarry but I am having no success in finding any dwarf sag so I might have to change my plans. I am trying not to get discouraged - all I wanted to do was to emulate the tank I like but it is not looking good at the mo!

So you would use Flourish excel instead of injected CO2? Don't the ferts, CO2 and light have to be 'balanced' with the amount of light for good growth and minimal algae problems? If so, using the standard lights in the AR380, how much flourish and ferts should I add (the AR380 has an 11w light making it about 1.2w/gal)?

I use JBL fert balls and DIY CO2, never tried Flourish. Am worried that all the extra nutrients without enough light might cause a nightmare algae problem!

Hey thanks. I was planning on entering the competition so no light mods for me. I am going hunting for some nice rocks in the quarry today! I think dwarf sag is a great idea, I will have a fine grit substrate so hopefully it will take off. Going to try and hunt some down this weekend. Still wondering if I should use glosso for the foreground but I am a little worried that it won't do well with the limited light. J

droooool...yes Supasi, I really like the rock and the minimal species of plants, especially the low-lying ones. Not surprised to hear about the lighting requirements...I figured that I would be dreaming to try and imitate it!! :roll: I do have some Crypt Balansae and hairgrass that are growing well in my other tank but the crypt is very large, too large for the little tank I think. Maybe I will look at the val or sag, although I have no experience with them. Are they slow growing? WOW Romeo, thanks for that! Very inspiring! :bounce: I have buckets of Java fern but they are very compact and have small leaves. I really love the large leaves....but for this tank I was thinking of making a mini scape with plants that were small and to scale but I am concerned the minimal light might make the plants leggy. It is good to see how well that light is working for you though. I am feeling much more encouraged now.

I have am looking to plant a AR380 tank and I want to do something different, but I am not sure what will work with the limited lighting. I really like the mid sized grasses at the back of the tank at 2.52 minutes on the following video: but I am not very familiar with plants so I don't know what they are, if they are available in NZ or if they would tolerate the low lighting of the AR380. I presume that the low plants are something like glosso and that they would require heaps of lighting? I just wanted to get away from the crypts, anubias and java fern as they are all over my other tank. Would anyone have any other ideas of what would go well in this kind of tank or where I could source some nice plants? Cheers! Jen

I am keen to go too. This will be my first meeting. Happy to rideshare if anyone is going from Halswell area. I am on call that weekend so there is a small chance I will get called into work but otherwise I will see you all there! Jen

Metronidazole. It is an antibiotic used in animals and humans for treating anaerobic bacterial infections or protozoal infections.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on.

Wow, that is stunning adodge! Very inspirational!

The weak bleach solution works a treat after just a short time soaking and when done properly it is completely safe. Make sure to use plain bleach without any added detergents or scents. Add up to 1 or 2 tablespoons of bleach to about 4 litres of water. After the algae is gone (usually after about 10 to 20 minutes), rinse the rock it in hot water until the surfaces feel clean and you can't smell any bleach (a few minutes). The chlorine comes out of the solution very quickly so the rocks will quickly be decontaminated of any chlorine residue. If you are still worried you can then soak the rocks it in a bucket of water with a standard aquarium dechlorinator. Or you could air dry it in the sun which also quickly breaks down chlorine gas. Any traces of chlorine that may be there will be completely removed and the rocks will be perfectly safe to place back in your aquarium. Believe it or not, like the pre-packaged lettuce in the supermarket, a very weak bleach solution is also handy for briefly soaking new plants that may have come from a dodgy source!

I just did a similar upgrade. I just moved all the media from the old filters into the new canister filter and ran it on the old tank for 2 weeks, then when it was time to take down the old tank, I removed all the dirty water into clean buckets and a large chilly bin (where I also transferred all the fish). Then I moved the old tank away and put the new tank in place. I then transferred all of the dirty gravel, all of the dirty water and the new filter over to the new tank and added the fish. I then topped up the new tank with water. Everything went very well and water chemistry has been perfect so far.

I know what you mean, the nice Juwel display tank that is set up at my local Animates has heaps of 'gunk' between the filter and the glass. I have to admit, that put me off a bit especially since the internal filter also takes up so much room in the tank...

Oh, thanks for that, I can see what you mean. I may do something similar.

On mine there are no holes in the back it is just a tray with holes in the bottom. :-? At the moment, I have taken the lids off of either end of the trickle tray and just poked the inlet and outlet hoses over the top and through the holes in the bottom. Seems to be working and I still have the trickle filter components intact in case I need to use it one day. Lyndyloo, I think I read somewhere else that you are using the trickle filter as well? Are you using the powerhead in addition to the canister, or just pumping the outlet water from the canister through the trickle tray media? If I end up using the trickle filter in addition to the canister I may need to think of another way to allow the inlet hoses in so that I can keep the lids on to reduce evaporation.

It is supposed to be 165 L but my measurements are 84 cm H x 45 cm H x 40 cm D which would make it more like 151 L. It looks great, I am actually really impressed! :bounce:

Thanks guys. In the mean time I did get pricing done for a tank, as well as a stand and hood made by a friend who is a cabinet maker and the T5 lights and truth be told it was going to be pretty pricey...although I realise I could do it cheaper if I just went with the basics! I was wondering if I should still go ahead but then this past weekend I was gifted a brand new aqua one 850!! I swapped over my fluval 205 canister, all the dirty media, gravel and water from the old tank and topped it up (double the volume of the old tank). The fish are doing great and the water chemistry is great so far. I can't believe how much that third tube adds to the light. Looks great!I added a few more plants with some fert balls and a huge piece of wood this morning. I couldn't be happier! Now I am trying to figure out how to get the hood adapted for the canister tube inlets - I am not using the trickle filter at the moment (I may use it later with just some filter wool but I will never go back to just a trickle filter now that I have tried the canister - unreal water clarity!!). Any tips for converting the hood without damaging it too much?