lduncan

Yip, they're just there because you can't stop them from being there, and the less of them the better ;-) I think people place far too much emphasis on bacterial systems. It's partly the fault of hobby marketing. The bacteria are there because the fish and corals create an environment which supports the growth of the right bacteria. Then you get people who think that the right kind of bacteria aren't there, and try to skew them by adding nutrients to the system to promote bacterial growth. They get so focused on creating an environment for the bacteria, they forget that they just want to keep some coral and fish in a tank. Don't trust bacteria. Basically all the bacteria is there for is to make the fish's initial waste products less toxic. After that, all they're doing is temporarily storing waste, so you can herd them to the skimmer and get rid of them. It doesn't use ozone or UV. It does use the method of piling food into the tank similar to the Blu Method. I think is uses a MTT1 skimmer, they call it a little bubble king. Like I said before, I wouldn't do another marine tank without a UV unit. Are you using carbon with the ozone? You should in a reef tank. (One of the reasons I chose UV over ozone - I wanted to eliminate the carbon it leaches crap) Layton

I didn't even notice

Rocks and bacteria don't perform filtration, skimmers do

sticking with the Dutch theme, check out this tank: Layton

We'll i've just completely cleaned all my streams and skimmer about a month ago. The skimmer is the first time since I got it a few years ago. The streams I clean every 6 months or so. One in particular seems to get calcium build-up on the rotor which eventually stops it rotating, the alarm goes off etc. Some people play around with vinegar and soak things overnight. I go for the big boys acid - conc. hydrochloric acid (also known as spirit of salts or muriatic acid) Dilute it a bit, and it dissolves the deposits straight away in front of your eyes. It's a relatively safe strong acid too, but precautions should be taken. You shouldn't soak rubber gaskets overnight in this though. Layton

:lol:

Make sure you wash everything well before blending it. Inorganic phosphates are commonly used as preservatives in seafood, both live and frozen. Layton

Are you sure you used the right amounts of everything? Could be you added twice as much tank water as you should have? Meaning your level would be actually be 1125ppm Sometimes the instructions change with test kit revisions, maybe your using new instructions with old reagents? I don't think i'd be particularly worried about it either way.

probably just a dodgy test kit

It's because hobby test kits only measure orthophosphate, there are numerous and much larger sources of organic phosphorous which can fuel algae growth.

Always 24/7. Turning it off and on all the time dramatically shortens the bulb life.

Thought so I'll have to get a frag of that cap sometime. Good to hear that you still have some of that purple one too, it's an amazing coral when coloured up!

That small (orange ?) cap, is that different from the more reddish Bali aquacultured folliosa's?

Scientist are looking to use diatoms to create complex 3d silicon nano-structures for sensors, high capacity batteries etc: http://www.gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/ne ... sensor.htm Image shows a sensor created from a microporous silicon structure converted from the shell (frustule) of a single diatom. Had to laugh at this: I wonder if they take diatom donations? Layton

... from the guy who speaks Italian :lol:

Well some forums are setup for different reasons. This one was setup by an individual who thought it would be a good way for hobbyists in NZ to meet and share information. Later it became part of FNZAS, which is a non-profit society to promote the hobby in NZ as a whole, with no commercial interest. It didn't want to be abused by people looking to undercut shops, and actively have people post to avoid shops at any cost. Zeovit.com was setup to promote sales and control what was being discussed about zeovit... What disappointing is that some people continue to stir up trouble here, and worse, try to hide their identity. If it puts you out so much that this forum has a vision for the greater good of the hobby, then why bother posting here? Layton

I can see why they delete posts about competing products. After all, the forum was setup by a distributor of zeovit, after some frank discussions on RC about what really could be going on. (Sure there were a couple people posting uninformed anti-zeovit stuff, but they were the minority.)The zeovit guys threw their toys because they didn't like what was being discussed, and that was the birth of zeovit.com. Anyway, I think the main reason why zeovit want the contents of their product kept as secret as possible is more of a general perception thing. People have been told heavy metals are bad for inverts. That copper kills inverts. But both copper and iron play a significant role in bacteria, cyanobacteria and algae (all coral symbiots). A little bit is great, but a little bit more causes trouble, and a little to one coral symbiot can be a lot to a different symbiot. (If you want more info, google Saharan dust, and the link between it, weather patterns, iron, and coral bacterial diseases) Zeovit users have openly said that they are at the cutting edge of coral keeping, that's why I find it unusual that they aren't so keen to openly discuss the other parts of this system, which from what I've seen and experienced, have the most dramatic effects. Heavy metals are also analogous to phosphorous, in that they are tightly cycled in tanks, they tend to accumulate rather than diminish. Remembering that you only need a tiny amount of phosphorous to keep thriving animals, you only need a fraction of that in iron and copper too keep thing functioning properly. Anyway, at least it's accepted now that one aspect of the product is attempting to induce controlled bleaching to improve coloration. At least for the the initial effects. Personally i'm not really a fan of "bacterial systems" mainly because they are more focused on creating an environment to maintain high bacterial populations, rather than an environment optimal for keeping corals. You can't trust bacteria ;-) Layton

There were even more interesting threads over there recently, before legal action was threatened and they were deleted

Seems like an unusual topic, but stumbled across this article: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/1/aafeature2 Kind of interesting to see the differences in structure compared to human eyes. It explains why fish seem blind initially when you turn the lights on. Or hide for a while after lights come on. Layton

I've been really busy lately, but will continue this at some point when I get a chance.

Does it grow submersed as a low foreground plant? Why is that?

I prefer verticillata. Do you have Mayaca fluviatilis? I've not seen it in any of the shops, but apparently it's around somewhere.

My take on UV is different to many people. I don't see it's best attribute as being "killing" stuff like parasites and free floating bacteria and algae. I think it's most useful feature is the fact that it breaks chemical bonds. It takes larger organic molecules, which contain P and N, and splits them to give reactive P and N. In marine systems this is quickly sequestered by bacteria which form a flock which can be skimmed out -> this is very valuable. In a freshwater system i would suggest that plants are able to assimilate this reactive P and N more easily than organically bound species, and remove it at a faster rate. So while some see UV as treating a symptom, I think is a very effective way of keeping a system low nutrient, plus you get an added bonus of parasite control. But like Alan said, there are criteria for them to operate successfully. Layton

Is Eusteralis stellata available in NZ? If not, are there any plants similar around?

Well i've personally searched all the Christchurch shops at the beginning of the week. Go to Organism. John's got the best selection of substrates. He has a dark fine sandy gravel for planted tanks which looks good.