SamH

Did a bit of a clean up on the 4ftr this avo, cut but the val, cleaned out the filter, adjusted the spray bar and added an airstone. Fish seem much happier now and hopefully this will reduce the algae! :oops:

Why?? The one I have fits snugly and is barely larger than a standard plug. You could always get a sparky to wire a NZ plug straight onto it. Or pay at least twice as much and buy a regulator locally.

Yes it's from fish-street but no it doesn't come with a NZ power plug. They threw an international to NZ adaptor plug for free to my surprise but the regulator has a standard Asian two prong plug. Adaptors are cheap as anyways.

If you need more flow and/or aeration then go for it. Be vary of fish that can't cope with high flow though.

I was told that a full bottle will last roughly a month on a standard high tech tank.

Get a big ol' canister cranking :lol: You can use whatever media fits really 8)

My package from Fish-Street and my CO2 adaptor were sitting by the front door this morning so I assembled the CO2 rig, although I won't be using it for a while, and here's how it went. From left to right, CO2 regulator, adaptor and CO2 cylinder. Clear instructions for installing the adaptor. Regulator with solenoid. Adaptor before fitting. Adaptor fitted. O ring for between cylinder and adaptor is a must. O ring in place. Cylinder before being attached to the regulator via the adaptor. Now when I attached the cylinder to the regulator, no CO2 came out. I adjusted the adaptor to allow CO2 out and when I reattached it to the cylinder, CO2 leaked from somewhere and gave me VERY cold hands. After a good half hour looking over it, another half hour with assistance and a further hour tinkering with it, an O ring between the adaptor and the regulator was fitted and all the connections were tightened. The set up all connected snugly, tested it in a glass of water and it goes. I will need to fill up the bottle due to the huge amount of CO2 lost during the fitting but I don't need it for at least a couple of weeks so it can wait.

My adaptor and regulator just arrived this morning, check my thread titled Project AA for photos later on today.

Several packages were sitting on my doorstep when I got up this morning

I ordered this for my setup and you'll also need a sodastream CO2 adaptor found on TradeMe or homebrew shop. Also, I couldn't find bottles sold without the rest of the sodastream gear in store so bought it off TradeMe.

We're talking practice exams yeah? The actual NCEA exams are over 9 weeks away aren't they?

Pros, aerate and move the substrate, clean up excess fish food and algae. Cons, some people find them ugly and may eat more delicate plants. I personally like them so long as the tank's not infested. The cleaner you keep the tank, the less of them there will be.

It all depends on the aquarium and it's inhabitants as to what substrate you use but here's my personal overview of the main types. Pea gravel is the most common type and is inert (will not alter the chemistry of the water). Ranges from size from about 4mm to 20mm. This gravel works well for most tanks, easy to clean and comes in a wide range of colours. So long as it's deep enough (5cm+), plants can be grown in it with good results. Sand is a popular choice for people who don't mind putting a little more effort into cleaning and maintaining their substrate. It is usually purchased from hardware or fish stores and the types suitable for freshwater aquaria use are pool, building and silica sand. Care must be taken to make sure all sand is cleaned thoroughly and won't affect the chemistry of the water. Having a sand layer that is too deep gives bacteria a place to thrive and can be detrimental to the quality of the water. Substrate for planted tanks is only needed when one is serious about growing plants. It's expensive and research will need to be done on a specific product to make sure it's suitable for your needs as each product is different. Rocks are used to add interest to the aquarium. Rocks can be bought from the pet shop or fish shop, care must be taken with rocks collected from natural sources or purchased from landscape supply stores. Some rocks such as limestone or coral rock will raise the pH of the aquarium, not suitable unless keeping African cichlids or marine fish. Personally, I'd go with pea gravel for a first tank. I've only recently started using planted tank substrates and have used sand in the past. Pea gravel is hassle free, is bound to come in a colour to suit your tank and won't mess with the water. Just give it a good rinse before using it in the aquarium and feel free to ask questions about a specific product. I hope this helps!

Yeah I'm well aware of the rated flow vs actual flow. The tank will probably have 80L of water in it so it balances out

You wouldn't have to spend much on it though, if anything at all!

Deals come and go, hell it might not even sell if you're lucky

Another vote for the first scape!

Looks very tidy! What would you put in it?

I hope you guys made a LOT of popcorn because I don't expect the international packages to arrive until next week at the earliest Just washed the three filter wool pads that came with the filter and put them in the first tray, rinsed some pumice and put it in the second tray, third and final tray will be filled with biological media from my 4ft tank.

My filter arrived today 8) It fits nicely under the tank and rated at 1000lph, should give me x10 turnover 8) There's a box of plastic fittings that I won't use because the lily pipes are on their way, I'll save them for my other HW-302 on my 4ft tank.

Bored at home, wish I was aquascaping right now

Or go to a dodgey WOF place :lol:

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/heating ... 20e8de72cd Was $107 incl shipping, is yet to arrive but will definitely review when it does. Have PMd ya Nicky!

Found this awesome shrimp setup on a Hungarian aquascaping blog. If only we got decent shrimp in New Zealand :nilly:

The T5HO ballast comes with waterproof end caps Joe, HFF showed me their set up using the same reflectors and ballast with no glass between. I'm confident I won't get water in there