Caryl

Do you have any driftwood in there? I gather this is a vital requirement to help them digest their food properly (although some pellets have wood chip in them). They live a long time. My oldest BNs would be 8 or 9yrs now and still zipping around. Did the 5 or 6 lots of fry disappear too? The males don't usually kill the females. He will chase her away so he can look after the eggs but doesn't get vicious like some species. Why is the temp 28C? This is a bit high. My tank is 22C though most keep them at 24 - 26C. 6 moles? I do hope you mean mollies :lol:

It wouldn't be a main fence. It would be attached to the main fence . Might leave the plants to grow and cover the old one for now. Day 11 and they have dug up the remains of the old lawn and brought in a couple of truckloads of topsoil. Most of the day was spent working out where to lay the pipes for the automatic irrigation system.

I might be wrong (I am occasionally) but I think plants need 12 hours straight, rather than a break in the middle, to photosynthesise. Too much cleaning around the plants isn't good as they feed off the nutrients there.

My son is 23 and hates me referring to him as 'my baby' so I do it as often as possible :lol:

Sorry to hear about the losses kermit. All our gear runs on UPS's.

OSH - Occupational Safety & Health. The government service responsible for inspection, information and training activities in the area of occupational safety and health. The landscapers read this thread last night - I think they think you are all nuts :lol: They did appreciate your kind words re their work so far. They are out there digging up the old lawn, laying new topsoil and putting in the automatic irrigation system as I type. Look here http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/publica ... gehogs.asp for a pic and some information about hedgehogs Caper.

"white stuff" is the technical term for it

If you have no plants, just turn the lights off by pulling the plug. The fish won't care. The light is needed for plants to grow.

Hold onto your pride until you've checked the bracing holds after the tank has been filled with water

Why blame the UGF?

Hi Ben. Be prepared to buy lots more than just one more tank

That nature reed stuff looks good and I was thinking of using it around the other side of the house but it is so expensive! The fence looks terrible doesn't it? I was thinking of just staining it until the plants grew to cover it. Would actually like to remove it (was originally built as a wind break as we were the first house in the middle of a paddock) and replace with brick columns and wrought iron palings but that too is expensive. We now have a reserve over the fence and other houses so wind break not so much needed. May replace with colour steel or Hardies stuff. Will give it some thought. Just found this site http://www.brustics.co.nz/index.php which sounds interesting and has lots of information. Thanks Luke. Yes, I have been thinking about my pond for 26 years now since we built the house :lol: . I had a fair idea what I wanted it to look like but left the finer details up to the landscapers. They seem to have understood me well and I am very pleased with how it is coming together. They chose the type of rock, using bark, and the types of plants. We had said we liked hebes and grasses then left them to it. They also know Grant is allergic to a lot so had to take into consideration too. I wanted a natural look rather than something formal. My biggest worry will be the hedgehogs. They have a habit of falling in our sunken baths (I grow daphnia in them) and drowning. Don't half turn the water dark green fast!!

Welcome Gizmo. Hope the oscar improves

Were they sold or did they die?

Day 10 and they have finished the front edge of the verandah, done more gardening, worked on the end seating and started on the other side of the yard (but not enough to be worth a pic yet). The tall section on the left houses the filter. It has a lift-off top. I can see me sitting down here on sunny days with the laptop, surfing the net while watching the fish

It would pay to put it in a freshwater forum too as many of the freshies don't read the SW

I don't know the filter brand (it is a genuine pond filter) as we bought it years ago at a garage sale but it is about 40cm x 30 x 30. A black box filled with different grades of filter material. It sits outside the pond and will attach to a large (not home at the mo so can't tell you what brand) pond pump that will sit under the water near the base of the waterfall. It does not have a UV steriliser. I am hoping lots of plants, moving water, plus shade cover (tree and shade cloth on pergola) will keep the water relatively clear at least.

I don't like underwater lighting as I don't think it loks natural. I also have no intention of doing water changes! :lol:

It does not necessarily come back. I got mine after adding some infected plants to the tank. Nothing I did worked until using erythromycin. That worked well and, as you will have noticed at the meeting since you were sitting next to the tank, it has not returned. It was dosed over 12 months ago. My pills were tablets, not capsules, and dissolved slowly in a small amount of water. I did not turn the filters off either.

Hi Fishman and welcome. How about you tell us a bit about what fish and tanks you have?

No cost for sparky as Grant did it. You do not require an electrician to install an outside electrical outlet believe it or not. He is an electronics technician mind you and does have a limited electrical certificate or something.

Day 9 and more plants have gone in and more rocks set in place. There's even a little bit of water in the pond! They must have watered the plants as we have been 19 days with no rain 8) The seating at the far end has been started plus the covering of the filter unit. They have also started planting along the verandah.

This isn't actually a SW site. It covers all aspects of fishkeeping. SW is only one thread of it. Having said that, it is possibly the only NZ site with SW in it (I may be wrong though). As a Mod I would respond to 76 - 90% in all but the SW thread as I do not keep marines.

I would have thought the drugs would also kill the bacteria in the filter but I seem to remember an article somewhere refuting this. Something to do with them being different sort of bacteria so not affected. Whatever, I certainly had no trouble with mini cycles or spikes in my tank during, or after, treatment.

Day 8 and things are starting to take shape. The rock placement has started and so has building the waterfall. The filtration unit will be hidden behind it. The pump is submergible and will be in the pond. Planting of hebes has started and the gravel will form a winding path down the side of the pond