ally07

I actually googled it.. :facepalm: Over.my.dead.body! Sorry, but my pet list goes: 1. Fish 2. Dog 3. Anything but Felis silvestris catus (!)

Wow, really? So just on the deck in their cage? I read online that they can't be kept in a drafty spot otherwise they get respiratory problems lol.

Hi all! Sooo, the wife wants something small and cuddly but because we are renting, there's a no dog policy. As a trade-off, I agreed to a guinea pig. But before we rush out to get one, I want to find out if they will survive in a garden shed. I know that guinea pigs don't smell like strawberries, so I don't want to abuse the landlord's trust by bringing them into the house. We have a garden shed which has ventilation but without being drafty. At the moment, the temperature in the shed drops to about 16 deg C at night. I'm just worried about winter. Any help/ advice is appreciated, thanks.

$20?! "Honey, pack your bags, we're moving to the US!"

We've all been there mate.. Just bite the bullet and keep driving! It's worth it! lol

I would say that it's a toss-up between silver arowanas (nearly 3ft) and fire eels (3ft or more), if you're talking about pure length. For length and girth, my picks would be oscars, giant gouramis, tinfoils. I'm sure that there are heaps more out there, but these are all that come to mind off the top of my head lol. Are you planning a mega tank??

Raw prawns are good, pellets are better. Start training it early so that it doesn't become picky. Most eels are hopelessly addicted to bloodworms, but they are more of a treat than a staple, so if you want really good growth, get it on pellets. Some people have reported excellent fish growth rates from raw prawns, but personally I pump my fish up with hikari massivore lol.

I reckon that you could probably get away with one good gravel vac/ water change every week instead of 20% everyday. As long as your water parameters are looking good, I don't see any problem with there being a bit of poo in the gravel. If your water has no ammonia, then the only real worry is nitrates - at high levels it can stunt fish, so gotta keep that down. I reckon that you're being a bit perfectionist with your gravel lol, hope you don't take this the wrong way. If you have fish, you're going to have poo and detritus - you're never going to get all of it. If you don't gravel vac for an extended period of time, that's bad because the waste will eventually dissolve into the water as harmful compounds, which is bad for the fish. But if you gravel vac once a week, I would say that it's sufficient. I'm running a 5.5ft tank and I don't expect my filtration to remove all the poo from the gravel. Since I'm using an overflow into the sump, only the floating particles get caught in the wool. I'm also running an FX-5, but in the grand scheme of the tank, one intake barely grabs any poo from the rest of the tank - so it's more of a bio-filter than anything else; everytime I clean it there's hardly any gunk in it. However, whenever I do my weekly water change, I do a THOROUGH gravel vac to remove most of the poo/ detritus in the gravel. I have big fish and lots of driftwood, so poo and wood chips/ raspings are abundant. I guess my advice would be not to worry about the poo too much, unless it's affecting your water parameters. The filter can only do so much, but beyond that, it's up to your weekly manual siphoning. Sounds like you're working so hard that you're not enjoying the tank as much as you could be! P/S Fish also release liquid waste nearly constantly, so that's another thing (not) to worry about! :slfg:

lol, will work for food/ free-fishing pass!

He's a bullet shape, but nothing that a bit of massivore stuffed prawns can't improve! :slfg:

Is that the green aro? Could be pumped up a bit more lol! :thup:

I'm not a really big fan of iPhones, so I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace. So far I have encountered 2 major problems which make the phone a bit of a hassle. Specifically, if I have my Wifi on all the time, then once every 24 hours, my phone will turn itself off without warning. If I have my 3G on all the time, every 24 hours I won't be able to send a txt (until I turn off the 3G). After a lot of stressing, calls and forum searching, I've discovered that these problems are international with Samsungs. They keep saying that it's only with the older platforms, so I updated mine but the problems didn't go away. I now have an app which allows me to turn on/ off my 3G in 2 taps, so I turn it on/ off as I need it. My Wifi is also turned on/ off when I need it. Otherwise, I have no issues with Samsung - they are annoying glitches but can be worked around. I've only heard good things about the SII, no mention of the problems I've had, but do some research before purchasing - lots of iPhone/ Android geek forums out there haha. My fiance has an iPhone 4 and has not had any problems with it - she loves it. Then again, I've read reports of iPhones combusting spontaneously lol. Hope this has enlightened you a bit! :sage:

Thanks for the replies. Not sure if I fully grasp your design, Blueether, lol but I don't think it would work for mine because it's a tower sump.. or will it??

If you haven't put in any fish or fish food during this month, no cycling has taken place. I would start here: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/?p=1868

Hi all I'm thinking about setting up an automatic water changing system for my 750L. Henward has described his set up to me and it sounds cheap/ simple enough to set up but it involves drilling a hole in the sump. This I'm not entirely keen on simply because I'm unsure whether or not I will be able to continue the automatic water change system in the long, long term. So I thought I'd keep it really simple. One pipe siphons water out of the sump at X litres/hour (regulated by one of those pipe twist taps that LFS use during water changes). An elevated water barrel siphoning water into the sump at X litres/hour (also regulated by a pipe twist tap). If I do my homework and tested the siphon flow rates, is there any reason why this system would not work? Specifically, I'm considering worst-case scenarios such as 'dry sump' and 'sump overflowing'. Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

Cool, cool. Imagine how much bigger he'll get now that you're giving him really good food and not just bloodworms all the time hahaha. Sounds like it's time for a new tank! :happy2:

Gosh he's a beast! How big is he? Age estimation? :nfs: Can't wait for mine to get to that size haha.

Time for some MAMMOTH ICE CREAM to treat the man who took such manly photos! :spop:

Was it named Sham?

*clap clap clap* I think we all know who the "Mum of the Year Award" goes to! Well done!

Try the ruby eyed tetras I think they are called. HFF had them a while back, not sure if they still have them in stock. Really cool fish, their eyes glow blue lol, but you need a slightly darker background for it to really stand out.

LoL, I would've seen it and gone, "Whoa! Fish food!" !drool:

Whoa! That's uber flash! I think I can only afford to give them a cardboard box lol! ..Wait, wait, wait. Did you say "catmeat"?! Did you take it for walks often? I've heard that it's often the rock walking the owner, not the other way around. :lol:

What were the piping and branches for? Climbing?? I've got an ice cream tub full of frozen gutloaded mealworms for my fish, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind sharing haha. My next batch of mealworms should be maturing just in time for autumn, so I don't think I will run out anytime soon lol.

Ooohhhh the missus and I are on the look out for stray hedgehogs to adopt lol. Are they easy to care for? I've heard that you need to get a shot if you get pricked by them because you don't know where they've been lol.. True?