lduncan

Doc, for that many holes i'd say the only option is to build a new tank. Layton

I know I couldn't go weeks without food. And i'm sure the bottom would fall out of the Wellington pie market if you stopped eating for weeks Pies! Fish usually do this sort of thing, once they settle in, you'll be trying to stop them from eating you when your hands are in the tank. Layton

There is a disease where leathers turn bright yellow and start crumbling away. Happen once to me a couple of years ago on a yellow tongan leather. They just crumble like puff pastry. As for what causes it, I don't know. But giving it good flow, and light, and making sure all water parameters are spot on will give it the best chances of surviving. Layton

I've never seen it, but then again i haven't really been looking, not my cup of tea. Doesn't look natural to me. I'd stick to the white sand. Layton

no doubt that it does, I think more infa red is emitted. Also the eye is non linear in sensing different colour, although two colours may have the same measured intensity, one may appear dimmer than the other with the human eye. That probably has an effect as well. Layton

The amount of light outputted doesn't change (much), but the spectrum does change a lot. I think the reason why this happens is because the different elements in the bulb (mecury, iodine, bromine etc) react with the quartz envelope over time, created different elements which emit different colour light. Layton

Pies, I'm not using a 3 wires to the bulb, (but I should) the 3rd ground wire should be attached to the metal reflector/hood. It's just incase the wiring to the bulb socket becomes loose and touches the metal hood it shorts to ground tripping the circuit breaker when it does. If you don't do this and one of the wires somehow contacts the metal hood, you will get a fatal elec shock. Cable length to the ballast is not so much of an issue as the cable length of the ignitor to the bulb. The ignitor puts out a 4kV pulse to start the bulb. The shorter the wire this 4kV has to travel the better, but I have about 2.5 meters of wire between my bulbs and my ignitors. The ballasts make no noise, other than when the ignitors are doing there thing when you first turn them on. That is only for a few seconds until the bulbs strike. My camera is again on it's annual holiday abroad with my parents, so no photos for three or four weeks. I keep telling them to get one themselves they're not that expensive anymore! Anyway my lighting pics would be the subject of a "how not to wire high powered lights" thread, rather than a by the book, safety first, OSH approved method. Layton

Yeah Pies, fun isn't it. When it comes down to it, all those ballasts will run all 400W bulbs, whether they are 135V or 100V. You may have seen ballasts advertised as M58 or M59, this is the ANSI standard number associated with a ballast. The OGB running at 135Volts is a M59 compliant ballast. The OGS being 100Volts is a M135 compliant ballast. From the OGB's I have, i've run Venture bulbs (M59) and coralvue bulbs which i suspect may be M135's, no problems. In short it may affect the spectrum. If it does i'd say the higher the voltage, the more blue light will come out of the bulb, but with whatever ballast you go with, you'll always be getting a full 400W of "light". As for the power difference, 34W as opposed to 37W wasted would equate to about $2 of electricity a year. So it's up to you, whatever is cheapest I say. Layton

From what i've read, most fish actually have worms. I wouldn't be too concerned. But if it does die, I would remove it before other fish start to pick at him. Layton

Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do for your fish, even if you could catch him. Layton

So it's a micro reef then. Layton

Iodine is a tricky beast. There are many stable forms in saltwater, there is I- , I2, I3-, IO3- and others I believe. This is why test kits are so tricky to make for iodine. You are really testing for 4 or more different ions with a single test, which I'd say is virtually impossible. I used to does iodine years ago, and never noticed a difference once I stopped, so I don't know if dosing it is useful. Strontium is another ion which is difficult to test for, because of it's chemical similarity to other group II metals, namely Calcium and Magnesium. It can substitute for calcium in the calcification process for this reason. Like Pies said, whether this is beneficial or not is up for debate. Layton

I agree with Pies, the ammonium chloride just kicks it off, it still takes time for the tank to cycle. The bacteria only multiply so fast. With marine (unlike freshwater) you can't really take any short cuts, it will just result in dead livestock. Layton

I think he means black on the outside only. Layton

I'd stay away from builders lime. $90 for 25 kg isn't a bad price. Like I said, if anyone wants some, I already have a big bag of it, let me know and I'll send some. Layton

My 6x2x2 is 10mm sides, with a 12mm base. Layton

It's a shame when this happens, when a fish becomes sick for whatever reason, it is near impossible to get them out of the tank to treat them, without inducing even more stress, and your left wondering, if it would have survived if you hadn't stressed it more by catching it. I would be inclined to just leave him, if he is eating, it is a good sign. Has he been eating continuously through the sand change? Or did he stop eating for a while? If he has been eating right through, and is still losing weight, i suspect that the worms will kill him if not treated with one of these medications. Layton

Piperazine was also the anti-worm drug used by some importers in the states to combat the bangaii cardinal deaths, apparently it works reasonable well. As for where you can get these? I don't know, maybe a vet can get hold of it, or something similar? There are many drugs for killing these nematode worms. Usually they are not a problem, but sometimes they can get out of control and eat fish from the inside out. Layton

Yeah, nothing worse than seeing the waterline i recon. It's only a few months old, so it takes a while for a big tank to reach it's potential, especially when there is not an endless supply of cash available. (I'm still looking for that damn money tree!)

That's a nice fish! I like the electric blue streak. In a tank that big, I'm sure there is some food for him somewhere. Does he eat food you put in the tank, or does he live off pods and other critters? Layton

Shame that you have to waste your time like this, I'm sure you've got better things to do. I for one support mass deletion of stupid posts. Who decides what is stupid? The moderators do, I don't think they should have to explain themselves to anyone. If they don't like it it should go, no questions asked. Just for the record. I believe my posts have been on topic and relevant. I have never posted anything that was insulting or inappropriate, it is for this reason I have not received any kind of warning from the moderators. If anyone thinks otherwise, point me to the posts and I will be happy to remove them myself. Layton

What wasp said is good, just a technical correction if I may. Alkalinity doesn't necessarily drive pH up. What it does is provide a resistance to changes in pH, alkalinity at normal atmospheric CO2 levels will keep pH stable at around 8.2. High levels of atmospheric CO2 (such as in a poorly ventilated room) does drive pH down. The higher your alkalinity, the less your pH will change, given a fixed CO2 level. Layton

what is your alkalinity? Layton

There are many different methods for maintaining calcium and alkalinity. Calcium chloride adds calcium. Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) adds alkalinity. combine the sodium from the baking soda with the chloride from the calcium, and you have sodium chloride, or plain old table salt. Sodium and Chlorine are to to most abundant atoms in salt water. In short this method will raise salinity, but if you are doing regular water changes I wouldn't worry. The advantage of this method over say kalkwasser, is that the volume of water required to raise the parameters the same amount is MUCH lower (50 to 100 times less). So if your calcium or alkalinity demand outstrips your evaporation rate when using kalk, you should have no problem keeping levels correct using the two part method. Also chlorides are less expensive than hydroxides to purchase. Layton

Just worked out that my tank uses 9 grams of calcium a day. It would take me 7.5 years to use my bag up completely. So it cost me only $11 a year for calcium at the moment. Layton