kinnadian

Why dead rock and not live rock? They typically cost the same, plus you typically get some nice coraline with live rock. Will take months to get that cycled, vs live rock which is a week or two. Easiest way to know if there is enough debris on your dead rock is of course to test it. A bit of extra ammonia won't really effect your cycle, the only thing that might happen is you get too much ammonia-eating bacteria which can die when the ammonia food source dies down. How do you like your light? Hard to say without corals in, but I think those have too low a color temperature (7000k vs typically 12-16000k) and too few blue lights in them. Why FOWLR and not a couple easy corals like zoos or mushrooms? Planning on buying an RO unit? I found one on ebay for $175 delivered (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Titan-Water-Pro-Counter-Top-Reverse-Osmosis-Alkaline-Water-Filter-75GPD-/130591523948?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e67dc846c)

I wouldn't keep a beardie outside in Dunedin, it is far too cold. If you want to keep him outside through the winter you will need a fully insulated enclosure (not wire mesh like most outdoor enclosures) and a couple ceramic heating elements hooked up to thermostats. It is really much more work than it is worth, though. Beardies can get spooked from noises and such. Also waterproofing the enclosure and the lights etc would be a nightmare. Most breeders will ship anywhere, check TradeMe regularly. I would recommend buying a standard 200L fish tank and making up a mesh lid and just using that indoors for this year, until you move into your bigger house and have space for a good 2 metre enclosure. If you do this you NEED the wire mesh lid for ventilation, and you NEED a thermostat to prevent overheating (easy in a glass enclosure).

I don't disagree that it can be used out of context, it is just a general rule of thumb used for typical dimensioned tanks. The point I was trying to make was that I believed that my tank had insufficient light for what I was aiming for, and this general rule of thumb would agree. I don't have an adequate testing kit for CO2, only the basics. I hope to get a kH test kit soon. OK I'll look into it. Still not sure if T5HO is overkill vs 2xT8 though...

I don't intend on only increasing the light. I've started dosing liquid fertilizers and CO2 but my lighting I don't feel is sufficient, thats why I wish to upgrade it... It's a 3 part upgrade and this is the final part. What specifically should I be looking at for bulb quality? At the moment I have a high end decent output T8 from a hardware store. Are bulbs like Hagen Aqua Glo or Aqua One Sunlight much better? They appear to be 10K which I thought was too high? My understanding was these are just basically rebranded high end hardware store bulbs that get a $20+ markup.

Everyone always prattles on about the 2-3 watts/gallon rule. Right now I'm at 1.3 watts/gallon, which as far as my reading goes, doesn't suffice for "medium" lighting (2 watts/gallon). That's the basis of my question, I guess. I'm dosing a small amount of Excel Flourish as well. About 2 months old. Plants in my tank ARE growing, but they lose their vivid green and med/high lighting plants barely grow at all.

I've got a heavily planted medium-tech 2ft tank (54L). Currently it has a crappy single 1x18W T8, and I need to upgrade. I'm dosing liquid ferts, have DIY CO2 and just need lighting upgrade. All plants seem to be doing OK in my tank as is (not growing, but not dying) except for carpet growers (eg dwarf sags). I don't mind the $50 upgrade to T5HO, I'm just worried that too much light will promote algae growth. Getting algae off plants and glass is a PITA. Is T5HO overkill for a 2ft tank?

Easier than all this is to use http://tineye.com/

I'd like to hijack and ask: I'm aiming to do a very heavily planted medium-tech 2ft tank (first time venturing into non-low tech planted). I don't want high growth (because it is quite a small tank), but I want vivid greens (right now plants get dull a few weeks after purchasing), so providing too much co2/nutrients/light is an issue for me. I currently DIY CO2 dose @ 1-2 bps. I'm upgrading from 1x18W T8 (way too small) and have two options: 2x24W T5HO light hood (http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/detail/view/aqua-zonic-t5-60cm-24w-double/m/2972/) 2x20W T8 light hood (http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/detail/view/aqua-zonic-t8-60cm-20w-double/m/2972/) My thinking is that the T5HO will simply be overkill and will be too much for some of my low/med lighting requirement plants, and will promote algae growth? Either way for bulbs I was planning on 1x 10,000K and 1x 6,500K. Also, has anyone ever tried to upgrade their single tube lighthood to a double tube? I would imagine it is as simple as getting another ballast, end caps and then wiring it up? I'm having trouble selling my near-new single tube hood on Trademe

I think ira swears by satellite+ for med/high output.

Some of the borneo suckers can be OK down to 15 degrees, but much lower than that and you risk death.

Two are 2 years old and 2 are 1 year old. It's nearly entirely aquatic with a large rock and a piece of wood sitting in the water, probably 90% aquatic. We have it moderately planted with some minnows. Keep temperature below 21. It's a 200L tank so no shortage of places to go but they simply don't. We change it every month or so but they spend all day sitting on the rock or the wood. Even if we put them in the water they will swim onto the rock, wood or a floating plant.

They are kind of rare in NZ. Show up occasionally on Trademe but are typically $40 each. My girlfriend has some and honestly they are boring. Never do much. just lounge around.

Well maybe 1-3 months. Depends on the seller. They "Post" it very quickly but they usually send it on a series of slow boats from China packed in a container with other crap. With free shipping you get what you pay for, I've just learned to order things before I need them! BTW thanks for the crickets Matt, my locust colony is finally reproducing at a steady rate (400 babies in last few days) so no more money for you :slfg: I tried one of those, they are horrible. The buttons are really crap, the one I got had the buttons fall off, and the plug section fell off too (I had to superglue it back on) AND the thermostat cord broke away from where it was soldered to the board (had to resolder). I personally don't trust 240v electronics where multiple bits fall off before I've even used it!

The buggers will dig into sand and if you have any rock structures they can collapse and crush fish. I had 4" of sand in one tank and my rocks pushed more than 2" into the substrate and they still dug under the rock. If you're keeping cichlids the shells will help raise the pH slightly, benefiting your cichlids.

Tried hot glue before a couple times, it breaks down under water in a very short time and is next to useless. Aquarium safe 100% silicone is like 10 bucks for a tube from bunnings/mitre10, no reason to not just get that.

Really nice one mate.

Koura get big, you will probably need a 200L or 250L if you want some room for growth. Stocking limits for 150L/200L would probably be a koura, shrimp and ~30 minnows. If you want a planted tank you will need quite strong lighting to penetrate 45cm of water, probably a double T8 18W 90cm light hood. Go for a canister filter tank, rated for 5x the flow (1000L/h for a 200L tank). A GOOD cheap brand is this one: http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/fish/pumps-filters/auction-689328853.htm. Comes with media and you can get it shipped for $100 (other comparable branded ones are ~$200 for that size, and the well known branded ones I find are worse!) Depending on where you live, you may need a heater to keep the tank above 16-18 degC in the winter. Tank brands doesn't matter. Just get a plain glass one unless you are particularly fussed about black hoods and all that (it will cost you a lot more for those though). You will need a stand obviously to keep it at waist height. A strong dresser is more than capable I've found, otherwise just a sturdy looking table.

No a thermostat won't break a ceramic bulb, as Rabbit said they are indeed a heat inducing wire inside of set ceramic. When you disable the current the wire simply cools down. Reptapets thermostat are ridiculously overpriced. The thermostat that Alan is referring to is: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/220-240V-Temperature-Temp-Thermostat-switch-relay-incubation-control-Controller-/400520293591?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item5d40deacd7&_uhb=1 Expect a 2-3 month delivery time. I can't recommend them enough, well built with lots of features. However, again you will be messing around with 240V wiring so you may have legal issues. I've wired 3 of these myself in my house.

If you have house insurance they may deny you a payout if they find you've done your own 240V wiring. I don't really care and do all my own 240V wiring. I have a number of dimmers and thermostats DIY installed with 240V power leads. I know what I'm doing and don't feel I am endangering myself.

Here you go: http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/reptiles-turtles/other/auction-690272207.htm

pH can cheaply and easily be made slightly basic by the addition of coral rock in your main tank or crushed coral in your tank/canister filter/sump. Also prevents pH swings.

If you're referring to the reptile carpet, completely not necessary as reptile carpet is the same as astro turf, available anywhere in NZ. Also I find ebay a lot cheaper and ebay AU (practically) guarantees 240v stuff and also generally guarantees you can actually get the item shipped to NZ. Most Amazon sellers won't ship to NZ.

A heater set to 24 and a chiller set to maintain temperature at 25 will work. 27 is too high, above 26 (25.5 is my personal "max") most corals will start to melt. If your chiller can't regulate temperature, a thermostat like this one works REALLY well and are cheap. In terms of cheap chillers, it depends on your tank size. "Normal" chillers will do a 150L tank, but will cost $500+. There's a second hand one on trademe for $500, though I don't really approve of the Hailea brand: Link Same unit brand new for $700: Link Similar units will be cheaper on ebay AU or ebay US but long waiting times. AU dollar conversion is really good at the moment though! A cheaper one like this chiller can do 70L and is around $250 delivered, but you will need to wait probably 1-2 months for delivery (I assume since you are asking this question you don't have a tank yet and will be worried about NEXT summer?) Alternatively if you have a cold basement/garage that doesn't get above 26 that would be preferable. I have researched at length DIY chillers. None are reliable and consistent enough to risk $1000's of fish and corals on. The best method that I could find was using a dehumidifier and unbending the coils and placing them into a chilly bin which you pumped water through. The idea could work but I could never find a cheap dehumidifier to test it on. You needed to pump the marine water through PVC pipes submersed in the chilly bin as obviously you don't want your marine water in contact with the copper pipes. Another similar option is using the cooling unit on the back of a fridge/freezer, but it would be awfully expensive and ungainly to have near your tank (unless you pumped water through a wall or downstairs, where the fridge/freezer was hidden). I also tried using a water cooler (like a bench top one) for a chiller, they do VERY little cooling and are NOT worth it (if you run water continuously through it you actually heat up the water).

Yeah they typically use it for kitchen counters or cupboards. You'll find it in the kitchen/wood section of any hardware store, essentially just big sections of white wood. It's mdf inside coated with the melamine coating.

It's just a big wooden box with glass front doors, on double-U window sliders. I used melamine rather than plywood because melamine is hygienic and can be cleaned with a bleach solution without absorbing anything from the beardie. I sealed all corners and edges with 100% aquarium silicone, just to make cleaning easier and prevent any poos from getting into hard to clean edges. I have a few aluminum vents on the sides and back, but I have the glass tank open for quite a few hours a day for air flow. I find my temperature is pretty stable, if the ceramic heater is off it drops around 1 degree in 40 mins after which the heater turns on. Even on some 28 degree days never had any overheating issues. Its really quite easy, just get the right dimensions to suit you (120cm x 60cm x 60cm should be a minimum, mine is 120x60x80 just to give some extra height for hiding light fixtures), figure out what size and lengths of melamine you need, cut them and screw together, fit double-U track and glass window front. I use tile for the base because its good for grip and they will slide around with straight melamine. Some images -->HERE<--