Squirt

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Nemo

Hi Pretty much as per title, because we don't have HC in NZ I though this would be a nice substitute? Or can I use Hemianthus micranthemoides to form a carpet by regular trimming to keep it at a low level kind of like HC? Cheers

My grant got accepted by the council! :thup:

Aka hornwort? That stuffs in Taupo/start of the Waikato river as well.

I quite enjoy both, not sure what the connection is though. Also enjoy science so when you learn something new in biology or chemistry or even physics you can apply it to fish keeping

+1 But I agree with you Liam, unsure if it's like a browny yellowy or more of a grey. I'll have to go and see if there are some more landscaping stores around here. Quite like the look of a stone called seiryu stone. A very unique kind of rock, probably impossible to find in NZ though :roll:

Hi all Ive been looking at lighting and was wondering, would this 2.2W LED suffice? http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/fish/fish-tanks-aquariums/auction-472550084.htm Or would T5s or T8s brighten up the tank more? (If anyone has some lighting that they want to sell PM me) The Tank is 40cm x 25 cm x 28 cm. Also, I "plan" to use Dwarf Hairgrass (Elocharis acicularis) and Glosso (Glossostigma elatinoides) (I presume both of these to be available and legal in New Zealand?). To my understand they are both root feeders, so could I get away with using flourite/substrate with JBL balls (or similar) and dosing little fertilizers? Went into the LPS and asked if he can get me some Dragonstone. So I will wait and see. Is there anywhere else (apart from the internet) to buy Dragonstone or Seiryu Stone? Im liking the look of these. Cheers

Went into the LPS and going to see if they can order some dragonstone in for me :thup:

6 is only slightly acidic. It is better to just leave it, you don't want a pH shock. 6 is preffered by plants. What is your tap waters pH?

7 is neutral and fine for an aquarium

Hmm :slfg: I've ended up making a fry box and I've stuck him in my 540L. Not very see through so I'll check up on him tomorrow. I've noticed that one of my danios have a slight bent back. It's not bad but it may get worse, I'll see what happens. :-?

Yeah, or a mini external but on my budget probably a HOB.

Nothing as of yet. probably something easy like emerald or dwarf rasboras and maybe an Otto or two to help keep algae in check.

Yeah the new one, pretty keen to get this up and running again. Hopefully with some good equiptment this time it will last longer.

Would moving them to a new tank (presumably) with different water chemistry not shock them even more?

Yeah, seen his auctions on TM, those serbais were pretty cheap. That's option number 3

Yeah, liking the curved glass though :slfg: But that is my other option. I went back in today, and just couldn't justify the $85 so I might try the shops in the Hutt (animates and the Pet Centre) to see if they have anything.

Okay, I guess I should update this. I'm not planning to go away for a while and schools pretty relaxing at the moment so I thought I would retry my failed project! Okay so in the weekend I tipped out the substrate and did a leak test. Okay so it wasn't water tight, so when dismantling it I chipped one peice and broke another :oops: . :slfg: I'm not very good with DIY so I going store bought this time. Same project different tank. Tank I'm looking at getting is a curved edges, 40x25x28cm tank. This particular one they had a combo deal with an internal filter ($45 on their shelves) and water condishner and some food. $100, which isn't bad but I don't need an internal or food so I queried on how much just the tank was figuring it would be about $40 cheaper. $85 :facepalm: I might go to the owner and ask him because she wasn't too sure. I will be going with flourite this time (in the LPS, they sell one kg bags of flourite for $7 so I figured it was pretty cheap :thup: ) probably black or grey. I will be going iwagumi, hopefully with some "better" rocks I guess. I figure the last lot of rocks was to big for the tank. (I saw some nice rocks on a local landscapings website so may go pop in there) Plants will most likely be Dwarf Hairgrass again and some form of carpet. Lighting I'm still a bit unsure about. I'm running a budget on this tank and don't want to spend realistically over $40 on lighting. I've read a few posts on lighting lately, not too confident on DIYing a light. So is there any suggestions on cheap store bought lights for this tank? I will be using the Nutrafin Natural Plant System on this tank but without the ugly ladder and hopefully a ceramic/glass diffuser. Any suggestions are welcomed. Second time lucky :thup:

All in one will set you back ~$60 that's ammonia nitrite nitrate pH ect. Yeah, most pet shops will offer this service you may want to ask first :thup:

If money is short and a pet shop is near maybe you can bring in a water sample to said pet (fish) shop and ask if they will test it for you.

When the fish arrive, because this is when the ammonia will be produced and need to be removed. I still suggest you get an ammonia and nitrite test to check if your tank is cycled.

+1 I agree with Carole and change some media from a cycled tank to the new tank. Or even change the whole filter and do small (depending on size of tank) WCs on the angels tank

:slfg: all good. I took it as a learning curve, I've never owned delicate fish and made assumptions but hardy animals like danios and turtles can take a 90% WC whereas more delicate fish can't. pH and a change in temperature is a killer, but if you're doing daily WCs then you're tap water and tank water should have similar chemitrys (in terms of pH) and if you get the temperature right it should be OK (not that I recommend anymore ) But I don't test pH and my tank went from 28C to 32C and back down to 28C and I still have all four danios to this day :thup:

:dunno: I presumed it was fine. I thought discus breeders did large water changes (90%?). I normally do 50% weekly water changes which never stints the filter or fish (but in saying this I have 4 danios and a turtle in a 540L) ammonia=0 nitrite=0 and nitrates=10ppm after a 90% water change on Saturday.... :slfg: But anyway I'm pretty noobish compared to some people on this forum, but if you can't do >50% I would do atleast 2x20% WC a day. Especially with 50 guppies in a 3 footer. Plus IF fish die then they will need to removed ASAP either wise you will have an even larger ammonia spike. JMO