ally07

HFF Mt Roskill has a very small range. HFF Albany is much better for reptiles/ amphibians - whatever Mt Roskill has, Albany has, plus more.

Personally I wouldn't use those because they are so smooth, so they don't have as much surface area as a porous material. Also, due to their size, I think that complications will arise with the pump.

Aqua One sells packets of black star-shaped bio-media which float and are porous. I used them for my moving media compartment when I used to have it in my sump. They float and spin really quickly when propelled by the pump, so there's a lot of movement and collision. Downside is that they are really, really expensive if you want to get a good amount of media in the compartment. I'm sure that the blue bio-balls will work just as well. I used to have them as moving media as well, they float and spin really well. Much cheaper to buy in bulk too.

I agree with Zuri on this one. Didn't read the initial post too carefully, so didn't notice that it's 2 feet wide. Most arowana keepers say that 2.5 feet is a good minimum, but for silvers 3 feet wide is the best. You can help to give the arowana more space by keeping your ornaments low so that the middle-top of the tank is arowana territory and he can move more freely. A pearl arowana would probably do alright in a 6x2x2 since they don't get as big, but they are a HUGE RISK. Choose wisely, young grasshopper. :sage:

It's a good ol' Catch-22. People don't buy because it's not easily available and importers don't make it available because it's not worth their while. To be honest, I don't see the NZ market ever growing huge because of several reasons: 1. The initial cost of making certain fish easily available; the rarest fish will only belong to those who can import privately. 2. Most hobbyists here actually care about their fish instead of in Asia where the fish are so cheap/ easily replaced that they generally don't worry too much about filtration/ tank space. (I lived in Singapore for the first 14 years of my life so I've seen it first-hand) 3. As a result of the above, most NZ hobbyists can't afford the space/ cash to build/ maintain a mega tank to keep exotic specimens. 4. NZ importers have good reason to be wary about shelling out big bucks to import new fish because once they are brought in, home-breeders would narrow the profit margin in no time at all. Case in point: freshwater stingrays would be uber-cool, but they breed so easily that it's probably not worth an importers' while to bring them in unless they controlled the gender.

Aside from the issues that Henward just pointed out, if you make the changes and decide to get a silver arowana, $180 is a real rip-off. These days silvers go for about $120-$130.

If you're new to arowanas, I would suggest that you do some research before buying one. Based on your tank size/ filtration/ tank mates, I would recommend a silver arowana. They are the most gentle of the arowanas (generally) so they should be ok with your discus. Whatever you do, don't get a jardini (aka pearl) arowana, unless you want to lose your discus and potentially some others as well.

lol, my dad used to quip that as well. I thought about adding that in, but didn't feel like self-deprecating today! :cofn:

"Great minds think alike.." :sage:

I see your tank, Sir and I raise you one MEGA TANK! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW320UlfpeQ&feature=player_embedded#! How you like them apples?? :thup:

I considered that as well haha, but abandoned it. Not only would both pumps have to match, you'd have to factor in gravitational pull versus head loss. Add to that the risk of power cuts without siphon breaks... It's easier just to install the durso box lol.

Ira, I think that your bristlenose is following a trend in the animal kingdom.. :rotf:

I'm using a siphon overflow without a durso box but I've never had any problems with reliability. Basically once the air has been sucked out of the pipe during initial set-up, it runs by itself (even after water changes). Personally, I don't see any problems with the design on the website you posted - seems like it would run exactly like mine except with the box attachment.

Really? Every canister I've ever owned always came with a manual saying that the canister must remain below the tank level.. I don't think there's a problem as long as the fish are not affected by the water flow. I have a 750L tank and I'm running an FX-5 (rated for 1500L) alongside my sump, with a wave maker. All the fish are fine.

Oh, and don't forget: 1. Always offer to pay cash on the spot instead of using a credit card. 2. If they're not willing to budge on discounts, ask them to throw in some free stuff. 3. Go straight for the jugular. As soon as you walk in, just say that you're after Items A, B, C, D and E - can they do you a deal? If they start humming and hawing, just move on. Saves you a heap of time. Have fun haggling! :thup:

Yeah, I do find that he goes for locusts much quicker than he does mealies. Unfortunately, I don't have the space to set up a locust breeding colony, so he has to make do with mealies I guess. I've read that mealies are quite high in phosphate, but I'm hoping that bumping up his calcium intake will offset this. Hearing that you've raised beardies on calcium with D3 everyday is quite reassuring; was pretty worried about him getting a D3 overdose.

Cool, that's good to know. How often did you coat the food with D3? I know that young beardies need calcium powder about 5x/ week, but I'm not sure if that much calcium with D3 will be tempting fate lol. Also, if I vary his diet with fresh vegetables and calcium powder, is it alright for me to use mealworms as a staple live food? I've heard good/ bad points about mealworms but they are the easiest for me to breed/ gutload/ feed..

It's OK if you're not local, just put on a poker face and don't let them call their bluff. If they're not willing to give you a deal, just walk away. This might cause them to call you back to do a deal, but if they don't, there are plenty more shops around haha.

Well, he's getting approximately 14 hours of UVB everyday, so I think that's enough. But what would there be negative effects if he gets additional D3 supplements about 5x a week?

Ummm... So, he can't get too much vitamin D from the lamp but he can overdose from dietary supplements?? He has a couple of caves which he can use to get shade from the UVB, but he voluntarily spends most of his day basking in the UVB. Sorry, but I'm not :smln: enough to ascertain a yes/ no answer from your reply lol.. :oops:

Hi all I recently purchased a baby bearded dragon (eastern) and he is doing well so far. When I bought the calcium powder, the guy at the store told me that calcium with D3 was better for young beardies. After talking to Henward, I found out that too much D3 is bad for them. I'm using a Repti-Glo 10.0 lamp and it's on for 14 hours/ day. I don't want to overdose him on D3 but at the same time I don't want him to have calcium deficiency. After some more research, I also read that beardies don't get very much D3 from dietary supplements, more from UVA/ UVB lamps, but I'm not sure if this is true.. Should I buy a new pot of calcium without D3 and count this one as a waste? Or can I just use calcium with D3 as a daily supplement?

If you don't mind haggling and pitting one shop against the other, jump into a cab and tell him to take you to Sim Lim Square. Whatever you need, they'll have it. Cameras, camcorders, DVD players, computers, computer parts, etc, etc, etc. But if you want to shop in comfort, deal with reputable brands and don't mind paying slightly more then jump in a cab and tell him to take you to Funan Mall. Happy hunting!

The basic theory is the same - run water through the media and return it into the tank. The closest form of tank filter to a pond filter would be a canister filter. They work the same way, except in opposite directions haha. For canister filters, the intake pipe uses gravity to draw water down into the canister where it runs through the media and at the end the internal pump pushes the water back up into the tank. So, canister filters only work if they are below the tank. On the other hand, pond filters are designed to work above the tank level. Instead of an intake pipe, pond filters use a pump to push water from the tank up to the filter box, through the media and then the water falls back into the tank with the assistance of gravity. You could turn a pond filter into an aquarium filter, but you would need to pick the right sized pump, based on the type of fish you have and the size of the tank.

:nfs: I think it's time for me to 'drop by since I'm in the neighbourhood' soon haha. The hints of purple are really starting to come out nicely; the tanning should accentuate it even more. ...Have any spirulina powder companies approached you about sponsorship yet??

I think you need to hang out with better looking people! :lol: