Caryl

I agree with the other two ?

Whereabouts in Aussie are you? After all, it is a little bit bigger than NZ ?

The pond is no more, neither are many of the shrubs that surrounded the pond. They had never been pruned and had become straggly and leggy. The Chinese silk tree, the first thing we planted when we built the house 43 years ago, had to go as it was shading the solar panels. The landscaper is readying the ground to re-seed the lawn. The pond is now a paved BBQ area. The concrete slab at the far end will have a large garden shed on it. Dirt between pavers and concrete slab will be grass with 2 flowering cherries planted. Grant can now get off the front verandah and circumnavigate the house! Hopefully they start on the back door ramp this weekend. The blobs on the stock trough water surface are pollen ?

Hi Sea Gull and welcome. It is when you lose a whole tank of inhabitants that you wonder why you enjoy the hobby then your other fish spawn and all is well again ? My husband and I are in the middle of making the house and yard wheelchair and walker friendly so have filled in our 9m x 3m (approx) pond to make way for an access ramp. We have 12 fish in a stock trough (saved from the pond) and they will be finding a new home next door so we will be able to visit them. We were having difficulty doing pond maintenance anyway but we had 16 years of enjoyment with it. That will leave us with just a 4ft tropical in the lounge (down from 18 aquariums at the height of the hobby). I am waiting for the seals to give way as it has been in situ for over 20 years now and they say you should replace aquarium seals every 10 years. Every time we have a decent quake I wonder if this is the one that creates a flood through the lounge, dining and kitchen area. Our 4ft only has Odessa barbs and gold and brown Ancistrus aka bristlenoses.

Having never used anything except aquarium gravel, I can't help you but hopefully someone else can. My plants have only ever had gravel and fish poo.

OK. If I remember, I will send them next Monday so they don't get stuck en route. PM me your address. It will be $10 for the crypt and anubias (total, not each) plus whatever the courier costs. Once sent, I will tell you courier cost plus my account number.

It's up to you but with the cold fronts predicted down your way, I think it would be a mistake, particularly considering how much it costs to courier stuff these days, especially overnight. I am currently away for the week but if you want to me to send some next week, let me know then.

Livingart, do you mean they can probably get away without heating? Well done for doing the research first, long before adding any inhabitants. I look forward to seeing progress and the final result. If the weight on the shelf isn't a lot, and the shelf is rather shallow, you shouldn't need support struts but that is personal opinion and not based on any experience with this sort of build at all.

We've changed and grown old, not just grown ?

It is with sadness I must say we are about to fill in our large pond ? We both have health issues and keeping it looking good and cleaning it out are now beyond us. We have enjoyed it for 17 years but it is now time for it to go. Hopefully a landscaper will be here next month and the plan is to get the fish out (a mission in itself) and put them in a temporary pond so we can find out how many we have. We will keep half a dozen for the stock trough (large circular one and much easier to manage) then get rid of the rest. There will be lots of lilies to go too plus one huge umbrella palm but I suspect it will need to be divided as it is too big to move in one go. The landscaper will make our front yard easy care and build a ramp down from the verandah to the lawn. We need a ramp at the back door too as Grant now finds it difficult to get himself, and his walker, in and out of the house. It has a wooden floor so is 4 steps up off the ground. Having built this place 43 years ago, we prefer to make it easier for us to live in rather than to move to somewhere with easier access.

They will make a good display. Are they readily available? I have been out of the fish buying game for many years and have no idea what is around these days. My 4ft must be due to give way at the seals as it is over 20 years old now and has no fish added to it for at least 15 years. All my fish are self replenishing. It only has Odessa barbs and Ancistrus in it. Some of the Ancistrus are 10 - 15 years old and the youngest about 3 months, judging by its size. Lots of plant and driftwood makes it hard to count fry and it is pure luck (or grandsons' keener eyes) when we spot more fry due to their size and colouring. The Odessas are easier as they zip through the Anubias and rotala.

They are sneaky like that. Hopefully it doesn't start to breed (having only one should slow it down a bit) while you are limited for space. What do you plan to put in it?

Have you still got that 54L then? ?

Will do but been watching the weather warnings for snow down south so it will be once the weather warms up again.

I have crypt (affinis) and Anubias but not keen to post this time of year, especially if they get delayed, or lost, in transit.

Do they stay these colours and patterns as they grow?

You're still going with the "everything was cheap and on sale" line??? Must have a new partner since you were here last if they're still falling for that one ? Unfortunately you won't find it the active site it used to be but we would like it to be so again. Welcome back.

I wouldn't worry about it. If the nitrites and nitrates are good and the fish are happy it's possible the ammonia has done its thing quite quickly.

Seeing the amount of rubbish posted is bad enough but to see such obviously wrong rubbish being believed and then shared is disturbing ?

Probably because we are the only two who regularly post in here ? It saddens me when I remember how vibrant and helpful a community it was in the beginning.

I was amused to see that after many many years of moderating this forum from its inception by Cees Lensink (I was the original moderator even before he gave it to the FNZAS), this morning I received a notification that said "Congratulations, you've increased your rank to Apprentice." ?

Fast little growers!

Hopefully, as the plants grow, they will out-compete the hair algae and it will disappear as the tank matures since all your parameters seem OK. It particularly likes slow growing, wide leaved plants like Java fern and Anubias. Perhaps adding more fast growing plants might help, like more wisteria. I used to plant some and leave the rest floating. I don't remember reduced lighting having much effect when it came to limiting hair algae.

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Anyone in Blenheim (or surrounds) want a Blue Planet aquarium 58cm x 30cm x 42cm high? FREE to take away. Glass is in good condition. Has live filter bacteria in it at the moment as I just started emptying it after putting the goldfish outside in a pond. Comes with internal pump & filter. Has a lid with a light built in but the light doesn't go. Easy to replace the light I imagine. Must be picked up as I have no intention of trying to get it to a courier.