the-obstacle

Yep, I'm picking up a tank from Auckland City this evening. Should take me about 25 minutes to get there from Grey Lynn. The green terror auction has a question asking where pickup is and the seller states Waitakere. If that's Waitakere township it's a long way from Auckland City.

Or a bit of baking soda in the co2 mix to keep it stable.

Adrienne - let me know the location if you can't.

What's the problem with your computer?

when it's finished and I've cleaned the workshop/fish room (read: pretty much never)

My wife has been battling for years with diets etc. (I need to but don't) and she's just started jenny craig. The strict portions and dictated diet really help her not to cheat. She's lost 10 kgs in 6 weeks and has plateau'd at about 1kg a week for the last 2-3 weeks (been on it 7 weeks) and she's finding it really helps. She was always good at the 'just one more' excuses. She always thought that she'd have to be fit to really lose weight but now she's really happy that she's losing weight so she can then get fit without feeling like she's carying around an extra 30kgs. I'm not sure if this helps but there are ways to do it without the exercise if you're really having trouble with physical recovery. Good luck!

Wow, really? It'll be a huge spawn if she makes the most of that cave. Sweet! Put me down for a couple of pairs when they do spawn.

mmmm, fresh fish.... [segway] I just bought some more fish [/segway] Just added 5 lemons to the school - now have 30. Also added 3 more heckelii to make 6 in the big tank. Awesome.

The classic lemons work well and are big enough to not get eaten. They're also cheap I noticed the other day.

it's a great feeling finding babies you didn't know were there. I initially found baby cockatoos in a cannister and then found 3 guppies in another. The guppies were almost fully grown and had been so starved of light I thought they were albino but after 3 days they were 3 different colours and now I can't tell which ones they were.

You might find that it takes a few days/weeks for the plants to respond to the change and they might slow down ever so slightly while they settle in but I don't think it'd be noticeable to the naked eye. It's a bit like moving the lights closer or further away - it's a change so will take some getting used to. I think it'll be great for the plants ultimately. I'm going to go 10000k even up to 20000k as a test the next time I order bulbs. My 10000k t5s out perform my 6500k halides at the moment. Different tank though...

Yeah, I wondered about a swim bladder issue. It certainly looked like it was gut related. It's a strange phenomenon that the females don't get the same sickness. I'm wondering if there's something dormant in the tank stock at the moment. I got both my recent males from the same local store and they may have been the same import / batch as there were a lot when I bought the first one and only one male left when I got the second. Fingers crossed Nymox has better luck with them. Oh, he was very dead this morning when I checked the hospital tank. I left a little led light on for him to be able to see and he died right up against it. "Swim into the light"

I took a load of photos last night and then deleted them all. Oops. Lights are off now so I'll take some more tomorrow. That's about the lounge tank though. This thread is about the big tank and I'm definitely putting this sand in the big tank. It's awesome! I think I'll do it on water change day so I can add it in lower water levels and not spread it all around so much. yeah, pretty much

the sunsun ones are good value for money and most reviews are good. I would think that a 5000lph in an 800L tank isn't too high but it might be depending on where you place it.

Mine is exactly the same. It drives me nuts. I don't think it's going to last in the big tank because of it. It's been under 10000k t5 LO bulbs in a shallower tank and is red as a red thing. Under 6500k MH bulbs in a deeper tank it's just green. It threatens to go red at the top every now and again with a little pink but then goes green. sucks.

I suspect he means the TV dolphin from the 60's

Yep, sounds exactly like what's happening today. Re: Ferts - I've never had any problem with overdosing comprehensive but I have had issues with adding too much magnesium and NPK at the same time. I suspect the males doing the current rounds in the stores are just really really fragile and any change in water parameters seems to push them over the edge. I just feel bad for Nymox that I can't give him the group I offered. Still, there are more males available in the stores at the moment so it's not a huge problem. Unlike the lack of female cockatoos but that's another story...

Damn, they found me!

The crap thing is the 2 females in the same tank have now been through 2 males with no problems whatsoever.

I came home and found my apisto agassizi male stuck in a sword plant breathing hard and not doing much else. I moved him to a hospital tank on his own with a fresh water change and some melafix just in case. He seems to be happier in some fresh water but not much. He's currently sitting on his forehead on the bottom with his tail in the air (so to speak). Every time his tail falls down and he levels out slightly he gives a kick and tries to get upright but can't keep it up for more than a few thrusts and goes back to resting on his forehead and breathing hard. There are no obvious signs what is wrong but I suspect it's a reaction to the ferts I've been adding to the tank (lost a male the same way a few months ago). Temp is 26.0, pH 6.2 (with co2 reactor on), amonia and nitrite are 0 and nitrate is barely reading but there is some there due to ferts (under 10ppm). Worst part is I've been holding onto him for 3 weeks for Nymox to pick up. He's coming tomorrow. Just my luck.

I'd be interested to know if it's as smooth/fine as this stuff. This is as fine if not finer than the white silica I've had. It's heavier too.

Yeah, I think it is darker than yours, or mine has less of the brown mixed in it? The last lot I got from Muriwai was really brown but this lot I got from a different area. The background is matt black paint and it's not that black under light but it's definitely dark. The fish are loving it and I've never seen the cardinals and black neons looking so vibrant. I'll race you If you go to the dog walking area down the end of the road past the golf club, next to where the horses are parked and ridden onto the beach, there's a big dune along the river outlet (if you find the river you'll find the dune) which is where I got this batch from.

Actually, I don't have a GH tester. It's probably something I should invest in. The fish are in and seem happy enough for having just been caught and introduced to a new tank.

Here's my tank with Muriwai black sillica in it. The water is stable and there seems to be no issues what so ever. I've put a sword in there to see if the iron helps it colour up at all (which I'm not sure it will). Under the lights it looks kind of golden / brown but it's black to the eye in the room with it. Should have cleaned the kitchen... :facepalm:

it'd be interesting to know if there is a trigger. I've always just sat back and waited. She'll start hanging out in the top of the tank on her own for a while then the next day there'll be babies.