hovmoller

The math involved in calculating aquarium heatloss is anything but simple.. The German site you linked to is far far too conservative.. e.g. a 400L tank, room temp 20 tank temp 27.. it says I need 350w heating... that is BS and we all know it.. Besides it doesn't take into consideration the shape of the tank which determines surface area (all 6 sides) where heat is lost.

Wow that is the largest sump I have ever seen in a private setup! PP Did you use regular beach sand or aragonite/coral sand for your deep sand bed? I see you are in Kerikeri.. must be nice having so many fantastic beaches nearby for collection. Hehe don't worry Sophia I will still keep my snails.

Cool thanks.... will start saving for that book too then...

Does anyone have this book? Quite an expensive one.. what are your thoughts? Any recommendations for other NZ marine books? (I've got "Coastal Fishes of New Zealand. an identification guide")

Yeah no harm done.. But I don't think a non return valve would have prevented the mix going into the tank... they prevent water from syphoning out of your tank though.

How big is that tank and what do you use for filtration?

Thanks for that PP.. Just what I needed to keep the motivation going.. can be a bit daunting going from fresh to salt.. but I got a skimmer too now so almost there.... NOT! :slfg: Very nice animals you have there!

For substrate in the tank itself I was planning on using sand collected from a nice remote coromandel beach.. Im already using this sand in another freshwater setup and I did a little vinegar experiment and found it contained around 20% calcium carbonate (shells). Would this work ok in a saltwater setup? or is there a problem the the silica content? I suppose the shell content would help keep the pH high.

Hi there and welcome, Yep insulate all my tanks with 25mm poly on all sides I don't want to see through.

Yep want it! pm'd

Agree C. agassizii Agree with Sophia.. Whatever they are they are super chunky! hehe Oh and your glass is dirty!

Ok will go with the coral rock then.. are you saying to do the aquascaping with this rock? Sort of build up piles of it and then placing rocks I collect from the sea in and around this? My first idea was to have a shallow sand bed in the tank with rocks collected from the sea in rock formations as scaping and do the filtration in the sump... but how much coral rock for filtration do I need? I have read around a pound / gallon of water. So in my 400L tank that is around 50kg of coral rock!!! would need a big sump, would you agree with this? Also is it problematic to use sand for substrate or should I rather go for something with calcium such as aragonite or crushed shells?

Love a good experiment... Thanks Ira

Thanks for the input Fay.. Big fan of your tank by the way No I'm gearing up for a native coldwater marine tank... have the tank and sump already but by "gearing up" I mean saving money and gathering other eqipment needed (skimmer, chiller, etc.) So I will not be growing corals but instead use rocks collected in the sea for scaping. For substrate I was thinking sand but have read that it may not be a good idea? something about silica? will need to research further. Anyway I want to do all filtration (bio) in the sump and I have bucket loads of ceramic bio noodles and was wondering if I could use those instead of getting dead coral. Another question: If I have all the media in the sump. Should the water run through it or should it be more of a huge pile that the water runs over? Thanks

So I've read a bunch about marine tanks now and get the idea of live rock etc... My question is: Could one not use other porous media such as sintered glass noodles or Eheim substrate pro (on their website they say it is for both fresh water and marine) or similar? I mean to go in the sump, not in the tank. Would it not do the same as porous dead coral? I know coral has the added benefit of adding calcium to the water but if I don't need to grow coral then would this be so critical? Any input much appreciated, thanks!

You could easily fit 4-5 discus in a 180L if you have good filtration and change water often enough. Few rams and some cories as well..

Ah darn... we just sold our spacegear that was full kitted out as a camper... awesome 4wd too.. would get you far closer to all those streams you will be looking for up the mountains or in the forrest, hehe.. And it didn't look like a camper from outside.. Sorry to rant on... this is not helping you at all.. :dunno:

What's your budget for the van? if I may ask..

If cost wasn't an issue I still wouldn't pick you Henward :slfg: sorry... I had to.. But anyway.. I use NLS wafers and I find the fish love them.. and the fish are nice and healthy.. Havent had them for long enough to tell any difference or growth but so far they are a hit.

At Spirits Bay up north.. also saw a few 3m+ Bronce Whaler sharks from the beach.. after that snorkling became a bit more "interresting" I google this and yes I think you could be right there... they do indeed look like those.. and says that range is southern Aussie to northern NZ... Also says max life span is 280 days.. Just enough time for them to eat the tanks other residents and then die... bummer.. might not be a good candidate for a potential coldwater marine tank. (have the tank and playing with the idea atm)

Hah.. that's what I first thought of... but after extensive googling I coul dnot find anything on NZ cuttlefish. Puttputt have you tried keeping these in your coldwater marine?

Managed to snap a photo of these little fellows last week snorkling. Sorry about pic quality. Anyone know what species they are?

Assuming the following: 1500x600x600mm tank (uninsulated) Tank temperature: 27degrees Room temperature: 20 degrees You will need a minimum of 212 Watts (continously heating 24/7) to sustain the 27 degrees. So, yes 300w will do. (for those circumstances... if temp drops during winter nights you might be in trouble) HTH

Hehe yes indeed.. thanks for the input anyway.. I think the cold water idea will have to wait until this tank gets a place in the living room.

Depending on how long you are staying there I guess: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=57012 I know this is my own post and I haven't gotten any firm solutions yet but seeing as you are living in a mining town you might have some serious digging equipment handy? :slfg: