Pegasus

Hi Ballistic, I use the FTP in Dreamweaver (File Transfer Protocol).. but there is one in Powerpoint if you have it. Don't know how easy it is to use as I've never used it, but if you type in "FTP" in the help section it will give you all the details. Failing that... there are lots of free FTP's on the net.

Wondered where you had got to. Good to hear you are ok, and bugger the tank.. the fish will be ok... get yourself fit again first. You will have to manually remove the stringy/slimy stuff.. not much will eat that once it gets to that stage, but after a good cleanup you should get it under control again. Take care now

Hi again, Been a week now, and if it is still cloudy then the only possibilities are... You have a decomposing fish somewhere.. under rocks.. gravel.. or stuck up the filter tube.. You have decomposing food in or under the gravel... perhaps you disturbed the gravel too much and it brought it to the surface. Your gravel, ornaments, or rocks are breaking down.. lime based rocks will do this. Other than that you have a bacteria explosion and your filters are not doing the job. Any diggers in the tank at all...?

Obviously a bit of confusion... So here you are referring to the "cloudy water"... not the actual tank.. Definitely sounds like bacteria if this is the case. Ok... Give us the rundown on your filtration... What type.. what service you give it.. ie: medium change etc... Do you change all the medium, or what...? How do you clean the filter..? Is the filter running constantly..? How long has this particular filter been running..? What is different NOW... to last week... What have you done..? Have you added anything different... ornaments.. rocks... medication.. additives of any sort...? Are you ageing water by storing it... if so in what...?

If the rocks or gravel don't fizzle, then they should be pretty safe. At less than a week old your tank will take a while to settle down and could be months before it gets that 'established' look. The quick answer to your prob is to scrounge a grubby old dirty filter from a mate plus a few handsful of gravel and a bit of old tank water. This will have enough benificial bacteria in it to get your tank running in the right direction. The above must be added quickly.. (1/2 an hour or so after getting) otherwise the bacteria will die off. Just out of interest... how many fish have you in the tank at the mo..? This might be worth a read http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=1817

My Pleco's hang upside down under the worm feeders and refuse to let any other dfish near it until they have had their fill.. which is usually when the feeder is empty Buy.. (or make) one of the stick on the glass worm feeders and watch the pleco's go for it... lotsa fun, and even the corys go mad to get the worms in there.

Now I don't want to stop the wheel turning, but depending on what is causing your cloudy water you could be adding to your probs. If the problem is algae, then this could start to die off in a darkened tank, and if it does, then you will have more probs. Also the fish need light for a certain time each day (even subdued light). They apparently derive a certain vitamin from the light.. "A" something or other... can't remember. If it is a bacteria prob, then you should find out the cause... dead fish somewhere.. rotting food... decaying plants.. overfeeding.. etc. If it is cloudy due to something in the tank, you should check.... the gravel and rocks for decomposition... (do the vinegar test and see if a bit of gravel or rock fizzles when placed in vinigar... if it does.. dump it).. or it could be an ornament, or piece of wood you have added.. but they all need checking. Normally a tank will be a bit cloudy for a day or so when first set up, but should clear quickly after that time. Try running a small box filter with some carbon in... this may help, or add some to your main filter.

Hi Varven, If you go to your profile.. (top of the page).. then look in your profile about halfway down there is an area that says .. "Always Notify Me Of Replies" Tick yes in this box and you will recieve mail. Now you don't want mail arriving for "EVERY" post that is made, so when you make a post and are about to click the "submit" button, tick (or un-tick) the "Notify Me" box. This way you only get notified about the topics you are following. Hope that helps. Great to see you here BTW

This is an example of a wooden tank made by a first timer. His name is, Ken Hall of Nanaimo BC Canada. Size is 48x33x20 Tank had only been set up a short while, so is a bit cloudy, but the end views work it seems

Great posts guys... love the bit about the pool pump I suppose you could store a few gallons in the hot water cupboard if you have space Jaze.

I mainly do a 30% changes very fortnight, but sometimes just top up to compensate for evaporation. If the tanks were all planted I would be perhaps only doing monthy ones... if that ... but the majority of my tanks are bare bottom and the muck looks unsightly, so every fortnight is about the average. Every tank has a filter of some description, mainly box types. I've been doing a trial with one of my two footers. It has a simple home-made undergravel filter... nothing else, and it hasn't had a water change for over a year. The fish (30 odd guppies and a few Cory's) are as healthy as can be and breed quite often, and the water is crystal clear. I haven't lost a single fish from this tank since it was set up and have obtained some good looking fish from the drops they have given me. It does however have a fair bit of plant growth in there. This wouldn't work for all situations, but I do feel that some people go overboard with this water changing business. Having said that, I have on occasions replaced 40% of the water once a week on some of my various fry tanks and such. You can never get an acurate answer to this question (that is often asked) for each tank is different... fish stocking levels... amount of plants... filtration... size... temp... pH... even lighting... amount of feed given... how often fed... types of food..fatty/non-fatty... water supply... ect.. etc... etc... the computations are enormous.

Hi Morz, and welcome to the fishroom. I see you are another night owl... late post.. (or is that early) :) Heaps of interest here, and the crew will be along to welcome you later. How long have you kept fish for..?

Hi Chuckles, Hope you will return... been a couple of weeks since you posted If your pH is at 5, then something is causing it to be so low, so as Caryl points out.. Find the cause first. Have you any logs.. bits of wood... peat in the substrate or in a plant mix of sorts... ? All these will lower your pH, so check this first. Bird grit (as Ira says) will raise the ph. Pop some in a corner filter and it will raise the pH slowly. Replace every few days as it loses it's value.

Hi Jammos, What you put in is what you will you will hopefully get out, and the first foods are important. The ideal first food for Angels is (as Alan says) newly hatched Brine Shrimp. They "can" be reared on liquid food, but BBS will give them rapid growth, and result in better quality fish.

Hi Varun, Really enjoyed reading your intro, and glad to have you join us.

Hi Sweston, Welcome to the NZFR. You say... Just a bit concerned about this, seeing you have cloudy water. Once your filter system is up and running the pump and the filter should remain on all the time The filter (no matter what type) becomes the home for the benificial bacteria that you need to sustain a healthy tank, so once this bacteria start to produce you need to keep them alive. Without the flow going through the filter they will die in a short time. Hope to see you here often. (another small block owner... and ex pom)

Hi Brett, Not all of us are asleep he he. Glad you found us and a warm welcome to you. What sort of fish do you have at the moment..?

More info... It appears that the fish were labeled.. "Centeratus" in the store. This convinced him that it is "centrarchus." Thanks again guys

Hi Logan, Besides the above (all good info) you should take note of the cycle of the sun, as during the summer months it rises and falls differently than in the winter, so your tank could be getting a good shot of sunlight while you are out during the day. Try shading the tank, or drawing the curtains. The correct method of reducing the feeding is to feed only half as much as you would normally, and feeding once a day is no good if you pour enough food in to last two days If they don't clear every bit in five mins, you are feeding too much. What size is the tank... how many fish... what filtration...?

Hi Jerry, Think I welcomed you before he he. If you have 40 "settlers" in your two foot you are still treading on thin ice if the conditions (filtration .. water changes) are not kept to a premium. Your guppies will soon start reproducing, and possibly your "Petties" (Platies possibly) Before you know it, your 40 fish could turn into 60 or a 100 in no time. Hopefully the "recommendation" you got was to buy a larger tank This is pretty basic, but might give you some thoughts. http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/grumpy ... tions.html Good to see you back

Hi Midas, I have no idea as the pics were taken by a friend of mine who was in Jamaca. (I too thought there might be a bit of mixed strain in them)

Never gave it a lot of thought really, I was just asked to ID them (late at night) and wanted to be sure. Over thirty years since I kept Severums, and am not really up with the present variations of most Cichlids. Thanks for all the interest guys

Anyone know what these fish are..? http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/grumpy ... OWNS-1.htm Many thanks

They are the new species he is working on... Corydoras Disculatus :) Good to see you back on the boards Clothahump

Great pics Sue, they certainly look a healthy bunch