Nicks

Hey Chemera, Come and take some pictures of my tank, Using 2 x 400w 14k in the Luminarc reflectors and the colours of my Acro's are fantastic. My whole system at home is now well over 2000ltr and i use 150w DE 14k over my soft coral propogation Tanks 250w 16000kDE 16k + t5's over my Acro Frag tank 250w 10000k + Antinics over LPS/Softies and my main display tank which is SPS dominated is 2 x 400w SE 14k. It is also a Zeovit System, uses natural seawater And as I have a good selection of bulbs using different Kelvin rating I can say that the lights on my display tank are the best I have used since I started keeping reef tanks in 1984. If anyone thinks that I am siding with my mate Steve, just PM me and come and see for yourself Nick

I have 4 in my tank, just appeared over night!!! my wife spotted them first, but its still a mystery to me

Thanks for all the good comments, anyone want to come and have a look just let me know.

Havent Posted for a while, but still crap with a digital camera, photo is a bit pink Approx 600ltr SPS dominated tank, a well established tank with great coral growth and colour

Hi All, Here is my once monthly post on this board I will give any help to anyone who wants to set up the reef club, I have all the information and documentation on incorporating the society I also have enough signatures to incorporate the society. I also have upto 100 email addresses of reefers in NZ so this is also available I can pass this to Calvin and I provide all the help I can. My house is always open anyone wanting to see my reef and as a venue for a meeting is always available. Calvin and RnB its over to you

Check out the Marine Aquarium Magazine april/may 2004 (pies might have it or I can photo copy and post ) great article on Nano,s. If you research it well cannot see it being a problem, just basic reef keeping on a small scale. Give it a go Nicks

I,m in once the kids are in bed!! Someone nominate the place and I will send out the usual email. Nicks

I'm going to sell to myself :-? Does that count???? I will also fill my tank post lots of pictures 8)

What about LPS and anenomes???? Anyone chopped these babies

Not my ideal prices, just prices on a visit to the Uk. If I was earning UK wages then they would be very good this should be in the commercial section anyway. Relax Relax Relax think blood pressure think blood pressure Relax Relax the relaxed one Nicks

I have a couple of irons here, don't use then. Just buy polyester clothes the creases fall out. But seriously. Iodine supplement. Go to a chemist or health food shop and buy Lugols Solution. Mix 1 part lugols to 50parts de-ionised or other clean water. Add 1/4 teaspoon of bicarb as a preservative and this is an excellent ionine supplement. I think you add 12mls per 50imp gallons per week. add in small doses daily. You can get a full list on UR. do a search for iodine or lugols. Costs very very cheap, last you long long time Nicks

I have lots and lots of tanks to play with now so I am happy. If I spend the next ten years importing, Great or ten years chopping up corals great Maybe I will breed fish and farm phyto( this is a real interest) I Love this hobby, expensive,Yes Frustrating, at times But not worth getting really shitty about or raising the blood pressure over. In six months all this nonsence that is playing out will be over. Please let it happen sooner, So all follow me Relax 8) Relax 8) Deep Breath Deep Breath Karma is Karma Karma is Karma Thats the last from me i have achieved enlightenment on this thread Nicks

Just to help my fellow hobbiest I was wondering what methods are being used to frag corals. I know the usual thing of acro,s and aqua-kneedit (the quantity of acro frags aroung at present is great and sales of selleys epoxy putty must be at record levels) wondering what you guys all do to frag corals, split anenomes, mushrooms and fancy softies. I am thinking along the lines of How do you cut them? How do you attach them Best water quality for softies and sps .i.e. nutrient rich vs nutrient poor.? Light levels ect??? Just a bit more indepth that CHOP THE BUGGERS IN HALF AND GET THEM ON TRADE ME BEFORE THE GLUE SETS I found a while ago when I had lots of softies that a frag that was cleanly cut with surgical scissors. a tooth pick inserted through the frag and used to attach the cut face to a coral chip worked well. Also nutrient rich water iodine supplements and 6500K lights worked wonders for softies. I am interested in fragging large quantities of Acro's and Monti's and I was wondering if anyone has seen any info or links to good sites that deal with this. Nicks

No point testing the water at Takapuna it's polluted anyway

this is by far the most constructive post I have seen on here for a while For a update I have formed a company called Pacificaquaria Ltd and I will be bringing in corals and fish in the near future. As a marine hobbiest since 1989 this is a natural progresion for my hobby, my quarantine room and propogation room are a thing that I have wanted for many many years and I will be here for many years to come. This is not a short term project but a extension to my life long interest with aquariums that started when I was 12yrs old. My Father started me on tropicals after he was fed-up with me bringing home goldfish from the local fairs in Liverpool he was even more annoyed when the goldfish kept coming and my Oscars got fat Anyway I have a business plan and a marketing plan in place for my company and I believe that I have done my home work on my products, target market and my distribution methods. I never intended to change the world over night and shake the very foundations of Rome.I am just a keen hobbiest wanting to take that next step, as alot of hobbiest have done before me. I cannot guarentee the lowest in NZ as they are quite low now, But it is a bit of competition and I will always have the hobbiest interest in mind wherther this is my imports or my NZ propogated stock. Happy reef keeping and keep chopping up you Acro's. Nicks ps Has anyone tried blending Mushrooms!!!! Just chop lighly into 1-2mm pieces let the poor things rest on rock, low current and moderate light and watch them grow. Best done when the wife

Big thank you to Steve for being the host and resident sales rep A big thank you to everyone who came to Steves last sunday for the frag swap/sale at Steves house over 20 people attended and it was great to meet fellow reefers. A big thank you to the guys who swappedand bought corals from me. My tank was looking very crowded (still is) and I needed to move corals as they are beginning to muscle in on each other. I cannot believe that I took loads of mushrooms and xenia. and came home with different colour mushrooms and different xenia. If anyone has seen my tank you will now that I really donot need any more xenia or mushrooms. Next NZMAS meeting we will be along the normal lines of discussion and afternoon tea at a Reef Tank in Auckland somewhere!! I have enough names to form the Society properly now so when thing settle down at home(new arrival!!) I will get on with it. I would welcome some help and guideance in running this club and would like to here from anyone who would like to be on a commitee. We can then be sure that the club is a club for all and not an off shoot of Pacificaquaria Ltd and A BIG BIG BIG thank you to my wife Christine for a 50min labour(OUCH) and a beautiful baby girl. Good reefing and may your corals grow as quickly as mine Nicks

Don't forget this Sunday, we are already on track to have our New Zealand Marine Aquarium Society set up, So come alomg to the Meeting and Frag swap at steve's house. I would welcome any contacts for new members, I remember being promised some but they must still be in the mail Lets swap frags, equipment and info at Steve's on Sunday Nick

Forgot the time!!! After lunch at 2.00pm. Anyone who cannot make it but wants stock or equipment, pm me or steve and we will put a reserve on it.( unless we can sell it for more)

After much discussion and other things that are happening, You are all invited to a NZMAS meeting and subsequent frag swap at Jetskisteve's house and tank date Sunday 10th Oct 11a Nile Road Milford North Shore. Easy to find as its not far from Jensens, Porana Rd. Steve has some primo NZ Cultured rock and more Xenia than you can shake a stick at I have Xenia mushrooms reds, blues and large mushrooms, star polyp and scrolls of montipora. There will be heaps to see. We also have heaps of second hand equipment. from hetal halides to skimmers and beyond, Anyone need Kalk, phosphate removers, de-ionising resin, zeovit it will all be at the meeting I will also remember to bring the paperwork to Incorporate our society See you all soon Nicks 09 4739474 0274 941 445

Nothing happening this weekend, its a pity but pregnant wives and families come first so we have delayed it a bit. If anyone has got a house free in the next couple of weeks let me know. I know I have been a bit slack of late on this board, but a couple of business ventures and the imminent arrival of a baby have caused me to spend a little less time on the computer Good Reefing NickS

I,ve put two streams a 6060 +6080, no controllers just plug in and go. Lost my sand to the back of the tank. One of my best buys,paid $220 each. My tank is L1200 x H720 x W600 and its made a big difference. Do the Rio's come with little hammers to hit them when they jam ???

Blue is good, mine was blue !! I just used some test pots, but it was a waste of time as coraline took over and now it is shades of pink and purple Anyone need any turbo grazers, I got 100"s Nicks

How about it, instead of our usual Reef BBQ lets copy the rest of the world and indulge in a bit of swapping. I propose that we leaves the wives at home and swap other equally loved livestock instead. I am going to take a pair of clippers to my tank right now in antisipation of this meeting Even better lets do it in Jensens car park on a Sunday afternoon Seriously I will send a group email out with directions to the swinging address soon Nick Sparks 09 4739474

Good Thread its good that we are willing to experiment with different systems as that is the basis of this hobby, One size does not fit all. I am happy with zeovit, as I am happy with a good deltec skimmer, low fish stock and NSW. I think the main thing is low nutrients and and a stable environment, my tank looks best when I leave it alone. How you achieve the low nutrients is the best thing about this hobby as with the reef technology around today you can do that in all manner of ways, some in vogue and some not. I saw an amazing reef in the UK it is the TOTM on Ulimatereef. Stunning in size, coral colours and number of fish (pan size) in 17000ltr. Run on a Very Big Deltec Skimmer, Rowaphos and Shuran Calcium Reactor, 14 x 400w halides!!!and Kalkwasser. Regular water changes but as a % of total volume not much. Really a good basic tank management although on a large scale produced a truly stunning tank. If you have a system that works keep it. ps. My daughter has decided to drop her afternoon sleep so I do not get as much time to Suft reef site of late. So if anyone in Auckland wants to have a Reef Meet at there place even a frag swapping session??????? Let Me Know Nick Sparks 4739474

Oh no not Miracle Mud!!!!!! Beware as Miracle Mud as it seems to be a "snake oil" solution in this hobby, and may be dirt out of some guy's back yard. First it was Rowaphos and Carbon... Then came a Zeolite type (not Zeovit) in a canister filter then A zeovit reactor with Phosphate removers now miacle mud :-? More Protien skimmers and light combinations that I can remember I cannot keep up with the changes that go on in Alois Tank. just makes me wonder who is paying for it...The NZ Hobbiest Still nice Acro's