maoripho3nix

Thanks for the info Sharn, I was going up and down the river for the shrimp, as someone on here had told me thats where to get them too, but also remembered that you said there is glosso up there too. Took some of what I thought looked like glosso and it was :lol: Yeah I keep looking at all the well planted nano tanks online and hopefully soon enough mine will look the same. Thanks John

Im using a 1.25L bottle, i mixed and filled to where the bottle just starts narrowing, liquid wasn't erupting out, but i think it might be my mix. The foam reaction on top seemed to reach the lid and start going through the tubes. I just spent the last hour sorting out a separator. Everything is goin ok now I guess, about 2-3 bps coming out of the pipe. is that normal??? Suggestions on a good mix? Experiences with mixes and results in bps??? Ive only got a 14L tank, dont want too much co2 in the water

Now I want one :lol:

Im currently using a desk lamp. 8) I got my one (bit more modern) on special for $45 and it also came with an Energy Saver Compact Fluorescent bulb in the box for free :bounce: However you can go into Mitre10 or Bunnings, Warehouse etc and get any desk lamps that take energy savers. Heres one from Mitre10 http://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/lighting_and_electrical/lamps_and_floorstands/desk_lamp_60_watt_black_101556.cfm?sid=1&rid=1&orderby=1 It comes in white, black or silver....and you can buy one that has a clip instead of a base, allowing you to clip it to the tank. I'm using a Phillips 18w (100w Equivalent) 6500K Energy Saver Compact Fluorescent. They come in the shiny green boxes. There are other bulbs you can get so I guess its up to you and your plant requirements. I have Hairgrass and Glosso, both going well Cheap desk lamp: $10 CFL Energy Saver: $8 Flourishing Aquarium: Priceless :lol: Hope this helps :bounce:

Thanks Stella, put my mind at ease a little bit, although I'll still keep an eye, my first tank setup ever and the day after I add the shrimp these things appear, most of them have been sucked up into the filter so I'm hoping I'm not responsible for the breakdown of the verge of a new found species in NZ :lol:

I got one and tried it, its conclusive that although it stops the mix getting to the tank, it wont let the co2 through.....well actually it blocked up and the line filled with liquid. Until I get the high tech stuff the failsafe bottle will have to do Worth investigating, especially something so small and cheap that may have been successful in taking the stress out of having yeast sugar etc pump into the water. It would have made the DIY co2 setup look a lil bit better. :lol:

Thanks for the info Zev, if I have to I'll use the second bottle method I might just go out and buy a check valve and see if this method will work for the sake of science LOL

Thanks for the comments, but I know what a check valve does in a normal air pump to tank setup. I guess my question wasn't clear. Can I reverse a check valve to stop the liquid from the co2 mix getting to the tank, if the water draws back from the tank to the co2 mix its no biggy, i just dont want the co2 mix going to the tank, but in doing the reverse check will the co2 gas still flow through the check valve. I guess the technical question to this is does a check valve allow gas/air to pass through bidirectionally, but block liquid from one direction? The idea of this is that I have limited space where my tank is, using a check valve if i can will be better than setting up a fail safe bottle. P.S. Your Sarcasm is not needed.........thank you :lol:

Hey all, I just setup my DIY Co2 System (Bottle, Yeast, Sugar, Molasses, Water). I have a hang on type filter and have the plastic tubing from the bottle to the inlet of the filter, impeller/filter works good as a Co2 diffuser/reactor. Sometimes a common problem with this DIY setup is that the mix in the bottle can fluctuate in reactions and send the mixture into the tubes, some people suggest connecting a second empty bottle in the tube system (Fully sealed), so that incase of the mix over reacting the second bottle will catch any liquid. Going along the lines that the goal here is to get gases(co2) let off by the reaction of yeast and sugar liquids in the bottle, to the tank, without the liquid mix also coming up the tubes, which is also the same setup you would have for an air(o2) system to get to the tank without liquid coming back to the electrical air pump. My question here is, can I use a check valve in the place of a second bottle? Can this be done?? so that it will allow the co2 to pass through but not the liquid from the bottle that sometimes gets in the tubes.

Did the best I could to take a pic In the last one that lil white spec in the circle is what im talking about, theres a few floating around. Anyone??

The 7 odd shrimp that are in the tank (including Bluey http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=44563) which I caught yesterday in the local river, have settled in nicely and have stuck to their cave like hole under my driftwood, they kinda dug themself a tunnel from cave to cave through the substrate. However I woke this morning to find 10s maybe hundreds of lil things in the water. Ill try update with a pic but its almost impossible to take a photo without a special lens. Hard to describe but its almost like the shape of a tadpole but 1/50th of the size. Will try to get a pic with the big camera, but anyone care to comment??? If it is eggs/fry........what do I do????

LOL Aliens!!!! Yeah i think i read that thread on blue ones a few weeks back, was lucky to get some pics, will keep an eye on that shrimp, I hope it stays blue too

Hey all, Finally have some critters in my tank, first tank setup ever. Its a planted aquarium and im starting off with shrimp. Caught a couple shrimp in the net, then on the last try I pulled up a slightly bigger and BLUE shrimp. Is this normal????

UPDATE: After a couple of rivers it seemed useless trying to find these little critters, and the last one I got to at about 7pm was overly vegetated, got to the bank and one swoop with the net got me about 3 in one hit. :bounce: Got a couple more the next swoop, and then one last swoop I pulled up a bigger one than the rest, and he/she was BLUE So now I finally have some critters in my tank, hopefully they will survive through, and hopefully the blue one (nicknamed BLUEY) will stay a cool blue colour. 8) Now im working on the cO2

I went to the LFS and tried to get some info out of them about keeping shrimp, they explained its difficult and only last about 6 weeks. BUt told me to give it a go and see how it turns out. They gave me spirulina flakes to feed them. will this work? What do you feed your shrimp? Congrats on keeping them so long 8)

UPDATE: I went for a quick tour up the lower hills, to one of the river locations that runs off some Falls. My goal was to catch some shrimp. Unfortunately there were none there or just wasnt looking hard enough. On my journey up and down the rocks and banks I stumbled across some Glosso!! Carefully took a small chunk, cleaned and divided, now i have some glosso in my foreground :bounce: Glosso http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44542 Full Side Front Left Front Right Still got to get some moss for my wood. While searching I found this page, think I might do this instead of plain colour background. http://www.aquamoss.net/How%20to%20create%20a%20moss%20wall/How%20to%20create%20a%20moss%20wall.htm Can't wait for this all to grow, still need to add cO2 setup.

My tank is 14L?, I have a cool daylight cfl 6500K 18w light which is equiv to 100w. Im hoping this is enough for the glosso, still need to install cO2. Tank setup: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=44517

YUSS! Wish I had walked up there on Wednesday before buying the hairgrass. Yup, I was actually a bit hesitant on taking anything, took a small chunk very carefully from a 50cm patch of it. Made sure it wasnt the only lot there, must be enough along the bank to fill a truck. Thanks for the confirmation

Went for a trip to the place mentioned above, few people down there, was about 5pm. Looked along a stretch of about 100metres of water, various depths from shallow to very deep, and couldn't spot a thing. Did see a couple movements in the water, went over to inspect but what ever it was it was gone. If it was something it seemed to be there alone. Complete n00b here :oops: am I there at the wrong time??? Are there any techniques?? Special tricks? Best time to go? Day or night? Best conditions? Fast or slow running, deep or shallow, drought or after rain?

I went for a short walk along a river bank up the hills and come across this plant, it was semi immersed. But from what I could tell the water levels were low and may have been submerged. Im no plant expert but from plenty of pics that Ive seen on the net, this seems to look like Glosso 8) Which is good news because originally this is what I wanted to buy from the LFS but they didnt stock it, instead I had bought Hairgrass, and even better that there is A LOT of it up there in the ranges, not that I would need anymore but if plants ever died on me I know I can take a wee bit to replant. Please can some one I.D. this plant. If it is glosso, is it safe for my tank, are their any procedures in using/cleaning/adapting plants from the bush grown naturally ,compared to ones that are already prepared to be used, at the LFS??? It seems healthy, the water I collected to soak it in was straight from the river (clear water) although some algae was present on the rocks on bottom of the river,however from what I can see there is none on the plant. So is it safe to use? Procedures in going from nature to tank? (Considering that it wasnt submerged) Comments and suggestions much appreciated

The water stayed murky for a while. Last night I added JBL Filter Start to the filter, this morning the water was crystal Amazing what good bacteria can do to the water. Also went digging in the shed last night and found a Sodastream kit, which contains a 1.5L cylinder of CO2 8) Might save up for some techy equipment for the future use of the cylinder. Maybe for a larger tank. DIY will do for now. I read somewhere that an airstone is sufficient for a DIY co2 diffuser??

Haha nope, most of it got buried under the gravel after I did a bit of restructuring, that lil tuff of grass in the pic came out of the gravel a lil bit but hasnt floated to the top so I just left it there. Ive only planted Dwarf Hairgrass, mostly from the mid part of the tank to the back (from where the rocks are to the back). Fresh green chutes have come off the lil tuff that u can see, and also a couple buried ones have grown through the gravel. Will post some pics when it grows a bit more.

Its the Aqua One decorative gravel, I got it from Kiwipetz LFS, they label it as Black silica, its almost fine like sand. Thanks for the thumbs up as its my first setup I'm trying not to rush into things, still in a learning phase as such. 8) Ive read quite a bit but always learn better when I do it, and get great advice through my posted progress Fingers crossed it all goes well. Update: Day one down, fresh chutes of grass coming through

Sorry forgot to mention that I have a heater. I didn't run it in the water just incase I was going to put Shrimp in there. Thanks for the comments though. Hmmmmm might take a trip to the LFS, set it off with some tetras, limited space though, could only get about 5.

Hey all, setup my first planted tank finally. Had most stuff purchased ready to setup except the plant. Went to LFS Kiwipetz in fraser cove in TGA. The lady I talked to seemed to know a lot about fish/aquariums.....and good local geographical knowledge as to the whereabouts of Glosso, as this was my first option to plants, but as they had none I took the dwarf hairgrass instead. Note: Pics are a bit murky, did some restructuring after I put the water in. Without Flash http://img691.imageshack.us/i/img5295small.jpg With Flash http://img168.imageshack.us/i/img5293small.jpg Side http://img16.imageshack.us/i/img5296small.jpg Current Tank Specs: Tank: 14Ltr 31L/18W/24H Lighting: 18w(100w) 6500k Cool Daylight 12hrs p/d Filter: Aqua one Clearview Hang over Filter Substrate: JBL Balls in Fine Black Gravel Plants: Dwarf Hairgrass Extras: Driftwood, Rocks Plans for tank: Plants: Glosso for foreground Moss for Rock/Driftwood Java Fern for background Technical: C02 reactor/diffuser Extras: Coloured Background Haven't quite put my finger down on what I want for fish, either just shrimp, just tetras, just kuhli loach orrrrrr tetra + loach. I still need to get my cycle along with adding fish. So far the setup has been going for 24hrs. How long should I wait before adding fish, and if I have to add now, can I use the above??? Comments and Suggestions please