Caryl

Did you know they have a problem in the USA with people buying pet meds to treat themselves and their families cos it is cheaper than seeing a Dr? There have always been restrictions on meds here.

We have high nitrates in the tap water and I don't usually have a problem with cyano, just the once when it came on infected plants. Have a look at this. It is part of an algae article that will be in the next Aquarium World magazine... BGA - Blue Green Algae, slime This type of algae usually occurs from beneath the substrate, and rises up. You can visually see this happening before a breakout begins, so it always worth keeping an eye on the higher levels of the substrate. BGA is actually not an algae but a mixture of Cyanobacteria & Algae. It grows in sheets and can have a bad smell to it. Causes - A) Low nitrate levels B) Areas of poor circulation with low O2, such as the substrate Solutions - In my experience the best way to totally get rid of BGA is to perform a 3 day blackout on the tank. Doing this will stop the development of the algae, as no light will be entering the tank. Plants will do just fine with this, as they have a more complex system over algae that allows them to survive longer without the correct environment. To perform a blackout it is very simple and risk free. 1) Cover the tank completely so no light gets in, i have used bin bags to cover small tanks as well as old rolls of wallpaper.. you get the idea. 2) Turn off any CO2 system that may be running. 3) Use an air pump when covered. 4) Do not feed during the 3 day blackout 5) Upon completion of the blackout, do a 20% water change. If the outbreak is really bad, it is worth checking the filter to remove any excess BGA that may be there. In all the cases that I have done this, the algae has died totally, and the plants give a nice growth spurt when the lights and normal conditions are resumed.

I am talking about a small outcrop of rocks, a popular rest stop, just north of Waipapa. Nowhere near South Bay in Kaikoura or the Half Moon Bay on Stewart Island. Check if tuatua are restricted.

As I said, they were all in the rock pools by Half Moon Bay. We had shrimps, anemones, sea cucumbers, chitons, starfish, brittlestars, rockfish, triplefins, and anything else that moved in the rock pools. Never had a skimmer on it. You need patience to catch the shrimps, plus one big net and one little net.

but the question was how many angels

Hmm I never fed mine anything very often. The shrimps would reproduce and the young get eaten. I made sure I had varying sized shells for the hermit crab to move into as well as he grew. We gathered our critters at the rocky outcrop by Half Moon Bay.

What is in the rock pools you will be collecting from? Use similar. I gathered rocks from around the rock pools - especially if they had anemones and chitons stuck to them, and sand as that is what was in the pools (I went down the Kaikoura Coast)

What sort of trouble - you weren't rabid about it were you? :lol:

Yeah, just a bucket

We use 30L barrels we got from a paint shop. They were used to transport paint powder from Italy apparently.

I answered in the other section

I'm at work and didn't offhand know what that was in litres

I have never treated any driftwood I have added to tanks. Just gave it a thorough hosing and a scrub with a nailbrush or similar and made sure there was nothing stuck in the holes and crevices.

I would assume so. I only used an AquaClear cos I had one spare Be careful of metal parts as they will corrode in the salt

As long as he has plenty of places to hide he should be OK. Keep an eye on him though.

Not sure offhand what a 15 gallon tank is but, assuming you aren't overstocked, what are the water readings for pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates?

Many of the odour removing products have baking soda as the main ingredient so save money and just use the baking soda

Thanks for that. Have passed on the information and given contact numbers for your club.

I didn't change the water very often at all. About once every 3 months or so if I got around to it. You don't replace all the water anyway, just some of it.

Hi guys, I have just had a query as to when and where your next meeting is. Any idea? I assume it is this Saturday.

Depends on your house Milet and insulation. My tank was fine here over winter, it was the summer months that were a problem. I rarely did water changes and rarely fed the inhabitants. Occasionally I would get some sea lettuce and drop that in. Not only did they eat it but it would be full of all sotrs of greeblies for the little anemones and things to eat. I did top-ups when necessary with fresh otherwise went to the beach to get seawater.

The recommended antibiotic is Erythromycin and is used as a last resort. It is a prescription only medicine. It works well as long as the cause is also fixed. Try blacking out the tank for a week. The fish won't mind but the plants won't like it as much. They will recover though. Do not feed the fish during this time either.

It is common in a newly set up tank and hopefully will disappear as the plants grow and the tank matures and balances. Just wipe it off in the meantime. Why are you doing so many water changes?

I asked about it, I didn't say it was dark. I assure you if I am in a bedroom, I am not under the bed! :lol:

Someone might tell me I am wrong but I believe the gallery is for FNZAS members only, not forum members. Being a member of this FNZAS forum does not make you an FNZAS member. For this you need to belong to an affiliated club.