lduncan

No not mine.

Anyone seen this tang in person before? Ctenochaetus tominiensis Is the coloration really as bright as that? All other pictures I see of this tang, it's more of a dull yellow. Layton

I know what you mean. I thought all yesterday about whether I should post the question. Layton

For those interested, here is a update on the controller I am working on. http://www.nzreefs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=37#37 It has changed a lot since the beginning of the year. But i've finally settled on what components I will use. Layton

Hah, I think the sea has frozen over down here with the temperatures we've had lately. Yet another reason not to use NSW

As many of you probably already know, importers throughout NZ received a letter from MAF regarding the importation of corals on Friday. It effectively said that for any coral being brought into the country attached to a piece of live rock, the importer would have to prove that the rock is totally free of hitch-hikers which are not permitted as per the allowed list. Clearly this is not a good situation at all. I have however heard rumours of a new rule which may be introduced, which would classify this as substrate?Has anyone heard this, or have any details of it? Layton

I don't think that is the case with this particular issue. Layton

I've heard reports of that too. People have a massive infestation of them, they do nothing about it, and they eventually just disappear. It works for algae... so i suppose it could work for flat worms? Layton

Nitrates should not be the end product of the cycle. This is one of the reasons why marine tanks take so long to cycle. Accumulating nitrates is a sign of one of two things: 1. Cycle is not complete. 2. Tank bioload is too high or insufficient liverock / sandbed area You really should not do large water changes to reduce nitrates, as your tank will take much longer to build and stabilise the populations of bacteria required to reduce them. Layton

Salifert and Rowa are both rust. The difference between brands comes from the crystal structure, different manufacturing processes result in different structures, which is why colour and effectiveness can be different between products. The aquamedic stuff is aluminium based. Layton

I hear rowaphos isn't cheap. Phosphate removers are almost always pure rust. So if (when) the stainless steel clamp rusts, you'll get the added bonus of phosphate binding. :lol: Layton

People pay a lot of money for rust.

Isn't it a "gaggle" of geese? I thought a gander was a male goose?

Importers: "reef" on this board is an importer of coral and fish, the biggest in NZ, he is also the distributor for tunze, and deltec and a few other product. His website is www.aqua.net.nz "jetskisteve" is also another member on this board, and along with "nicks" has had a couple of shipments. Redwood Aquatics, is a LFS store down in Chch who is also and importer, probably the second biggest in NZ There are also a few other occasional importers too. I'm guessing there are probably around 30 boxes a month coming into the country at the moment. Dry goods is a tricky one sometimes. Many fish shops don't stock many of the products we want, marinedepot.com and other places like that are used for that stuff. Unlike the US, NZ has strict laws on what can come into the country, and how long it has to be held in quarantine. A government agency, MAF (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries), is in charge of this process. Of course this is not free. All marine fish and inverts have to be held in a registered quarantine facility by a registered operator/importer for three weeks, before they can be sold. MAF has the power to destroy fish which are not on the allowed list, or are infected with an exotic disease. Even though we are closer to the pacific, because the market here is not big by any means, we sometimes don't get some of the really nice pieces you see in the states. Being on the opposite side of the world to the Red Sea, we also don't get as many fish like purple tangs, sohals, etc. When we do, they are transshipped through LA. Live stock prices vary here. Fish are generally more expensive than in the States, but corals are probably cheaper in general. Layton

Have you seen the price of corals in the states? I wouldn't want to be paying as much as they do. Not to mention the price of Deltec equipment over there. Layton

There is more to keeping a great tank than that. Sure those things help, but just as important is knowledge, patience, and extremely high standards. Layton

This skimmer is great. It's almost been a week, and i've got almost 3 litres of dark crap out of the tank.

www.oregonreef.com It must be one of the most famous tanks in the world now. Layton

Welcome Steve. The tank is looking amazing as usual. It would be great to meet the man behind the tank if you're ever down around Christchurch. Layton

Corals produce a fair bit of waste, you will need some sort of surface skimming to avoid the film. Layton

You should be able to edit the post. The button is to the top right of the post. Let me know if you still can't edit. Layton

What about everything else? Where does that go? To me turf scrubbers are a waste of time and space. Layton

Looks like i'll be switching to radiums next bulb change. Nice colours Pies Layton

$110 + shipping It's not particularly fraggable. And currently it is brown with red polyps, but at one point it has been entirely purple with red polyps, the colour looks to be comming back now. It seems to need a LOT of light.

They store phosphorous. Nitrate on the other hand they can process to nitrogen gas which is exported from the system as a gas bubble Most (naturally occurring) phosphorous compounds are not gaseous at room temperature so all the dsb can do is absorb and store it, it can't export it entirely from the system. Once the bed becomes saturated, phosphate is released, which can be catastrophic in some circumstances.