hovmoller

No need to make the problem worse than it already is by a "seeing if these guys will breed" attitude. Keep it natural I say (ie. try to breed as true to natural species as possible and avoid excessive inbreeding as well)

Remember to tell us how it goes

Probably won't hurt either... at least you would be able to confirm or rule out anything stuck. I agree that you should take action while it still has strength..

The wood looks quite "fresh" I mean that it still has bark on it.. So it will still leach tanins into the water for a very long time yet in my experience.. but yes it will get better with time and if you follow all the other good advice.. I agree that you need more light. If you like your plants don't put them with Geos.. if you really really want plants then you have to anchor them between big rocks unless you want them floating I do think this tank will look awesome once everything settles though Edit: Please don't choose tetras that are too small (lemons are fine).. They WILL disappear in the night... Geos don't hunt tetras but if one drifts too close in their sleep it will become a night snack.

Wow that's a lot of carp for $10!... Nice one Josh!

Sorry to hear this Henward.. I have no experience with this but when I read your post I was thinking a bath with a seditive in it to knock it out and then examining the throat properly to eliminate anything stuck in there.. if he is still energetic he should survive fine. You might have to get hold of some sort of vet or something to do this properly.

Ah yes.. "the limiting factor".. I remember that from biology.. Good one P44... explains things so well without all the bla bla.

Sounds like a very good project you've got there.. Wish I had room for a 6 footer.. I presume when you say "suri's" you mean altifrons? My experience with them is that they are very peaceful with anyone not their own species (except when breeding) but can get a bit mean to the females of their own kind especially when territories are establishing. Both the Geos and the Firemouths will want territory and the weakest fish will get chased from one to the other. I think your fish numbers are good to start with but will have to be reduced as territories form. Also make sure the tetras are not too small e.g. neons or the will go missing during the nights. Sorry if I'm stating things that are obvious to you.. I had a look at your photobucket and it seems you know your way around a fishtank, hehe My first thought when I saw your driftwood was that its really nice but I would be worried that it could poke out an eye on a large skittish Geo.. not sure if this has any merit but that was just my first thought. Also I would definitely go with a sump if you have the space and if you already have that pond pump and the tank already comes with holes. Would love to see progress pictures

Thanks, Yeah I'd been searching for ages for the perfect mesh and then it was right there in Mitre 10 all along.. hehe. The substrate have been carefully scraped off the top layer of a beach on the east side of lake taupo... Then washed, boiled, dried and sifted over 3 weekends through a kitchen sieve.. hehe.. Damn hard work but now I just love that sand! Geos seem to like it too.

Are you thinking of this one?: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=48031

Last night they locked jaws through the mesh and had a little tug of war going on.. So nice that they can still perform their little courting rituals without the woman being beat up. So happy it works...

You can also put separate tanks hard up beside each other along your long wall perhaps only with a layer of polystyrene between them and thereby eliminate heatloss on the sides (or at least loose it to the tank next to it)

I wanted to keep my Geophagus altifrons male from beating the female but still allow them a theorical chance of breeding succesfully so I made this divider to try and achieve this. I have a number of small tetras in the tank that I wanted to have free access to both sides of the tank. I must point out that it is VERY important that the fish are either a lot smaller or bigger than the gaps in the divider so fish does not get stuck there. Made with 17mm green plastic trellis from Mitre 10 garden center fixed between two 3mm acrylic frames using silicone: And here it is installed in the tank: (notice the little pump on the male side (left) that creates a current from his side on to the spawning stones on her side. Should give the eggs a better chance of being fertilized)

Thank you for enlightening me

Maybe I'm just dumb but I don't know what a "pc ups" is??

David is right you can save the most power in doing a really good job insulating the room... by far the most power used in fishkeeping is for heating the tanks. It's very important to insulate the entire "shell" of the room with no "cold gaps" and the ceiling/roof is where you should insulate the most since 40% of the heat is lost through there. So do you have a window in this room to provide a bit of light? If you are planning on having this room at a constant temp of 20+ degrees through winter then you might save more by insulating over the window and hanging some fluroescent lights in the room and run them say 10 hours a day.. a lot of heat will escape through windows. How are you planning on insulating the room? It's a garage right? what are wall & roof/ceiling in your room built of? 100mm timber frame eg.?

Ok.. thanks.. But back on track here.. I'm not talking about the temperature of the tank (sorry should have been clear on that) I am talking about the bacteria colonies in your filters that will quickly use up the oxygen around them if the filter is without power.. If these bacteria die because of lack of oxygen then they start breaking down and releasing toxins like ammonia.. if the power then commes on again all this will then get pumped into the tank itself and possibly kill your fish with a massive spike in e.g. ammonia. It is this scenario I am asking about.. Generator is a good idea Kiwiplymouth and I guess almost a kind of insurrance if you have a fishroom..

Just had a powercut that lasted an hour.. I have 4 canister filters full of bio media so I was starting to panic that all the bacteria would die. I then started pouring tank water down through the intake tubes and that seemed to work but of course then the power came on again. So what do you guys do when this happens? especially those of you with many tanks and whole fish rooms..

Eskimos and penguins?? Think you've got your poles mixed up

Any pics or vids? 60 Clowns schooling... nice!

I have 3 tanks all with canister filters and all with various mismached bits of pipe and hoses on the in and outlets.. Was thinking of doing a complete makeover with eheim installation sets, ball joints etc.. It would look soooo good!! I've search on ebay aus before but strugling to find any that ship to NZ

www.aquatics-online.co.uk Anyone ordered from here? Good experiences? bad? Or does anyone know of a better site to order eg. eheim parts from?

That's not a bad idea there.. So you just get 19 more 1200L tanks.. put one clown in each and I bet you will see a slightly better growth rate!!

Hi Dan, 3 tanks in 4 months?? you're not wasting time are you!!

Found it!! In Mitre 10 Mega.. "Green plastic trellis 17mm squares" Have now stuck it between two acrylic frames with silicone and waiting for it to cure.. Will post in technical when I've put it in the tank..