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SamH

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Posts posted by SamH

  2. Totara's First Tank Diary

    in Freshwater

    Posted

    This Sunday I am heading to my LFS to buy 10 KG of gravel, polysterene and the rest of the equipment I need (Gravel Vac etc.), the Landscapers for some rocks to go into it and Mitre 10 for some MDF :)

    May I suggest reading a guide on aquascaping before starting your aquarium layout? Posting photos of the tank 'dry' with rocks in place in this thread will get you some helpful feedback. Hardscape is, after all, the most important decision you'll make when starting a planted tank.

  4. Low tech carpeting Plants?

    in Aquatic Plants

    Posted

    I think to get it to stay flat like that you'd either have to be always trimming it, or he has brighter lights.

    Lower light = slower more compact growth

    Higher light = fast reaching growth

    You need to have the right balance of CO2 and light to get it to grow healthily, trimming it helps a lot too.

  7. Stocking Plan

    in Beginners Corner

    Posted

    Now based on the 37.5 cm of fish I can fit on my tank (I think I can have that much) I have 13.5 cm of fish left I can fit in. Is this true?

    I'm assuming you're using a stocking calculator to come up with those figures, making that plan highly inaccurate. There's no rule of thumb when it comes to stocking fish in an aquarium.

    If so can someone please recommend some fish to fill that space?

    I believe that your aquarium would be well suited to 15-20 small fish (tetras and rasboras) and a single gourami. A single bristlenose catfish (not a pleco) would be fine in your aquarium but half a dozen otto catfish or small corydoras would be much better suited.

    Also I think that the Gourami and Tetras prefer a well planted tank, do these have to be live plants? Because its my first tank I would prefer to go with plastic plants, but I am willing to give this a shot if I have too.

    Live plants aren't as hard to grow as they seem, you just need to ensure you have the correct plants for the job. Often plants sold in pet stores aren't true aquatics and will die within a week or two. Look on here or TradeMe for plants such as Java fern, Java moss, Xmas moss, hygrophila polysperma, crypts and indian fern. These plants are all really easy to care for.

    I think I need to keep the tank at 25 degrees celsius? Is that correct?

    The fish you've mentioned have a temperature range of 23-27 degrees.

    Also is the hardness / softness of water in Nelson suitable?

    What is the hardness of Nelson water?

    And finally are those fish compatible?

    The fish mentioned are compatible, unfortunately we do not have cherry shrimp available in NZ and our native equivalent is not suited to tropical aquariums.

  8. Lighting: 2xT8 vs T5HO

    in Aquatic Plants

    Posted

    n adequate testing kit for CO2, only the basics. I hope to get a kH test kit soon.

    Get a drop checker, they're cheap and far easier to use.

    Still not sure if T5HO is overkill vs 2xT8 though...

    Assuming your aquarium measures 600x300x300mm and you're not using pressurised CO2, yes 2x T5HO will be overkill.

  9. Lighting: 2xT8 vs T5HO

    in Aquatic Plants

    Posted

    I think watts per litre is bollocks for a number of reasons and I still think it is about balance of light ferts and CO2 and it is no use increasing just one as it is the balance that matters.

    Agreed, tank depth is far more important than the total volume.

    I don't intend on only increasing the light. I've started dosing liquid fertilizers and CO2 but my lighting I don't feel is sufficient, thats why I wish to upgrade it... It's a 3 part upgrade and this is the final part.

    What is the CO2 saturation of your aquarium at the moment?

    Are bulbs like Hagen Aqua Glo or Aqua One Sunlight much better? They appear to be 10K which I thought was too high?

    My understanding was these are just basically rebranded high end hardware store bulbs that get a $20+ markup.

    I've used Power Glo and Aqua Glo with great success, will definitely be buying them in the future despite the high price.

  11. Silver Angelfish breeding.

    in General Breeding

    Posted

    It's been almost two weeks since the eggs were laid, only lost about half a dozen fry so far, the rest are about the size of 3 day old guppy fry (5mm). Been feeding BBS 4 times a day and keeping up the 80% water changes, the question is where to from here?

    What are some other good foods I should introduce to them? I'm clearly going to need a bigger tank, what would be the ideal size tank to raise them from this size until they're ready for sale?

    Cheers guys 8)

  13. The What's Up? thread.

    in Fun

    Posted

    I have a turbo engine that will bolt straight in (3sgte) sitting in my garage if you wanna make it go ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM

    I don't suppose that comes with complimentary insurance? Under 20 male license for less than 5 years turbo YEAH RIGHT :rolfl:

  20. Silver Angelfish breeding.

    in General Breeding

    Posted

    They're back to normal this morning so I tried feeding them again, this time they were observed actively chasing and eating brine shrimp. Planning on feeding them 4 times a day for the first month or so.

    Does anyone have any tips on how to do a slower, more gentle water change to avoid scaring the fry?

  22. Silver Angelfish breeding.

    in General Breeding

    Posted

    Yeah I picked up on that, siphoned out all the brine shrimp and froze heaps from the early hatches. Keeping up the 80% daily water changes to maintain a high water quality. Came home from work around 5pm today and they were all free swimming in a group, now a few have "clumped" together in groups of 8-16, is this a defence mechanism?

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