amtiskaw

Old joke... Q: How do you make a small fortune in fish keeping? A: You start with a large fortune...

My Ebay reg arrived today, so I gave Jeff a call. He just happened to have a stubby 6kg bottle ready to go. 30 mins and $200 later and I'm good to go. My order of macro-micro ferts and tabs from http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com also arrived today. Adiós algae :bounce:

JA Russell have ordered the ballasts in, should be here tomorrow. Ideal Electrical tried to tell me there's no difference between T5NO and T5HO ballasts, so I gave them a miss. Jeez, the proper parabolic reflectors are expensive

Cool, thanks for clarifying that for me. Looks like T5HO for me then I've found some waterproof end caps that look exactly like my T8s, so should be a direct swap out. I just need to figure out where to get ballasts from now.

I'd rather stay with T8 as my hood has a nifty waterproofing system. What I was asking was, can I upgrade to a higher wattage T8 ballast and tubes? Or is the tube wattage a function of length? If that's the case, is there a T5 solution that can stand condensation on the tubes? i.e the terminals are sealed? My T8s have an O ring sealed fitting that makes them fairly water resistant, so they can operate inside a sealed hood - no condensation on the windows

Hiya I have a planted community tank that I'm about to add pressurised CO2 to. My current lighting is apparently on the low side: 4 * 18 = 72 watts T8 lighting 53 X 48 X 148 = ~378 litres (measured from substrate surface, not accounting for plants and wood) 378 liters = ~100 US gallons 0.72 watts per gallon I've been reading the Barr Report site, and am going to give EI a go. Tom seems OK with light being the limiting factor, but would 0.72 wpg be too limiting? If I do want to upgrade, is it as easy as buying gruntier ballasts and tubes?

Haha, I was thinking "Michael Bolten, really?" until I actually watched it. Good on him for not taking himself seriously :slfg:

Skrillex - Rock 'n Roll

Hmm, been swotting on Val. I might have to go for a walk around a certain North Shore lake next time I'm up in Auckland

Hi, just read this thread from start to finish. 8) seeing your tank evolve. I'm about to go CO2 and planted, and was wondering what's the long thin plant at back left?

Sweet, thanks

Can anyone recommend a source of CO2 cylinders in Hamilton? I'm after a 5-6 kg one.

Cheers

Hi - great looking tank. Can I ask which CO2 reg you bought off Ebay?

Thanks for the compliments. Took some video tonight, do you reckon they are big enough to pass on yet? Dad is really coloured-up at the moment. Couldn't help adding some footage of the Red-lined Torpedo Barbs I got today. I think a Rummy-Nosed Tetra has adopted them :roll: Man. they were pricey, but they are great fish - very colourful and peaceful. They'll look great when they get bigger.

Here's the whole thing. Bit of a jungle at the moment...

Cool, I'll PM you when they are a bit bigger. Probably a week or two if that's cool? Anyone else? Free to a good home. No shipping, come and get 'em

I'm in Hamilton.

My Bolivian Rams have always spawned every three weeks like clockwork. Usually the fry get eaten by other fish in the community tank. However, mum and dad moved to a more defendable position a while ago, and the last batch have made it to the point where they are safe from the other inmates. :bounce: The fry are starting to behave like adults a bit, doing that darting forward movement they use for territorial posturing. Very cute since they are still tiny. How big should I let them get before passing them on to one of the LFSs? Does anyone local want any? I have about 30. Pretty hard to sex them at the best of times, let alone when they are small, so can't guarentee what you'll get. Great fish for cummunity tanks, very colourful and placid, yet not afraid to take on much bigger fish if they feel threatened.