the-obstacle

Never say never

Best present in our house has to be the remote control helicopter. I've finally got the hang of flying it around the house and my son (who's present it really is) is getting the hovering sorted out too. Hope everybody else had a great day.

what sort of hood is it?

I have a 60L nano as my first marine. I'd like a 120-130L as my ultimate starter tank. something like a 900x400x400 or so (which is 150L but near enough). You are going to spend lots of money on lights. Also, if you can plan for a sump your life will be easier but it's not entirely necessary.

these guys - http://www.wellforces.co.nz/ - it worked out to be about NZ$65 each which was cheaper than it cost to get them landed from boostLED.com where I got my controller from.

They were underpowered and tended to flicker a lot. I also didn't like having to turn dials to fade them. I think if I wasn't picky they'd be fine but the meanwells create better light at the same power output.

I found the ones I aclimated over a few weeks died really fast. The ones I just chucked in to see if they'd last are still going strong. Except the ones I poisoned to death. Those ones don't ever last long.

I've got a tank full of them at 26C.

Yeah, just an in tank skimmer. I got a Hydor Slim Skim Nano from the states. It worked out to be the same price as a tunze nano skimmer locally so if I were to do it again I'd go tunze but this looks better I ordered the dimmable LED kit but didn't use the drivers that come standard as they're horrible. I used a light controller that uses a PWM signal for controlling the dimming so I got the meanwell p series drivers to match. If i were to do it again I'd order the LEDs and heatsinks only from aquastyleonline.com and get the meanwell drivers locally. They get hot but not enough to really need the heatsink. If they were on a ventilated piece of metal with a bit of air flow they'd be fine. With the fan running the heatsink is cold to the touch with the LEDs running at 80% max power. I read somewhere on reef central that most LEDs don't get anywhere near hot enough to cause problems for themselves.

it's a good deal for 7 stunted discus

the next one is going to be a rimless 1200 x 1200 x 400 with an overflow in the middle and custom stand / light hood. I don't need a table in the dining room. I do need a job before I can invest in that though.

a few pictures - none of very good quality but it gives a view of what's going on for now. I'm having quite the green algae outbreak but I've got some snails and a hermit going to work on it at the moment and it appears to be running out of steam. The anemone both moved to places they seem to prefer and have stayed put for now. One of them is being rehomed this week, hopefully. I want to get hold of an acro or monti frag to start on the top of the zoo covered rock.

I can't believe the stock list on this one. I hope the tank doesn't belong to anybody on this forum as I'd hope you'd know better. http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/fish/fish-tanks-aquariums/auction-431674597.htm

the bridgelux LEDs with meanwell drivers will grow pretty much anything. They're a ton brighter than t5s and about on par with metal halide while using a lot less power. I think I'll do a test tank with the left over LEDs from my marine and see how they work out for growing.

+1 - mine are in aquamix and sand and they've never melted in any water conditions.

same. even when I leave them in an unheated tank like they are at the moment they're doing well.

youtube or vimeo is the way I'd go. I prefer vimeo's look and feel but youtube will do the trick too.

the island in the panorama could easily be Rangitoto but given your location I assume it's not. Just fitted my ATO unit to the cube. Should keep things a bit more stable.

My crypts are all fine too

I think the problem is more that the base might flex and the outer edges might fall away from the middle. Glass doesn't bend very well.

check with Greg Kingston too if you're going to buy new. He can organise shipping.

yep, you'll have to replace the whole end sheet. It's not hard work, and you're already used to silicone so it shouldn't be a biggie. It'll easily fit on most trailers or in the back of a van without seats. Good luck

The filter media in a saltwater case is the live rock. You'll want about 20KGs for a 200L tank and if you can get that much and it comes with the water already cycled with it and you've got a skimmer and the lights to look after whatever corals you're having then you can start on day 1 but chances are you'll still trigger a mini cycle so hold off on adding fish for a few weeks/months. I made the mistake of adding fish with a anemone (actually, a splitting one so now have 2 anemone) to 6 month cycled live rock with original water (essentially what you're suggesting) and I've been doing daily 10L water changes for the last 4 weeks. I've got my fingers crossed that I'm not going to lose the nems but it could still go either way. The fish and corals are really happy. I'm living proof that patience is a good idea. I invested in a RO-DI filter unit and make my own ASW as I got sick of driving to the beach every day.

Yeah, I second the damsel comment - not a lot of tank for 3 marine fish.

leathers, softies or mushrooms but all will be about 3 months after you start the tank. I have a huge grape coral which is growing rapidly at the moment and it's very easy to care for and hardy.