Hamstar99

yeah you should have nitrite readings by now unless you tank has cycled for the small bio load you have. It could be possible that you are cycled and the ammonia reading you are getting is false due to Prime or another additive?

There are plenty of suitable silicones for acrylics. Its just a matter of finding an "aquarium" product that will do it. Can always just do a test piece first. Heres some thing that could be helpful too. http://www.duboisi.com/diy/BNdiytank/bndiytank.htm

Most brands, Holdfast, Selleys etc have "aquarium Silicone". Silicone for glass is an acid cure silicone and should stick acrylic as well. Not sure if there is any difference between "glass" and "Aquarium" Silicone apart from the labels on the tubes. My tanks are made with "glass" silicone. Two different techniques with plastic welding and silicone joints. Siliconing would be easiest in my view. you need to leave a gap between your joins if using silicone as this is where the strength is. Plastic solvents and welding rods are available but i reckon have more chance of failing unless you are pro.

Width is fine i reckon. Its wider than mine. I think length is more important than width and it certainly has plenty of that.

Or any Glazier around your way.

Hi Phil. I started only a few months ago with yellows, Demasoni, Tropheops, and also added some Eyebiters in as well. I avoided some aggression issues by stocking with young fish. Electric yellows and Demasoni seam to be the stock standard beginner setup, but im sure the more experienced guys on here can point you in the direction of other groupings. Also see here http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/quick_reference_list.php for cookie cutter setups as well. One advantage of fish less cycling is the ability to stock all you aggressive fish at once. cheers.

See above. Getting more normal readings now

yeah you should get some on a case by case basis. Not all vets have much experience with birds though.

good news. nearly ready for some fish. :happy2:

Cant imagine that. There will be no ammonia spikes if he cycles with 20mls of ammonia then stocks with 6 danios then

yeah you could be right. i dont know how big the tank is or what ammonia measures after adding it but it was dealt with in 24hrs. The next stage certainly needs to develop more and will stall until those nitrite levels are brought down. Mistakes were made by rearraging the plants and substrate which wouldnt of helped too.

Doesnt look like too much ammonia was added to me if it was zero again the next day. I reckon - like the others said- do daily water changes to bring you nitrites down under 5. Dont disturb your substrate. Also You will not get true nitrate readings while you still have nitrites. cheers

Yes i think so. But I would probably try sprays and dusts first personally unless you have quite a bad infestation of them. We did kill a bird once by accidentally skirting it and overdosing it. If it is mites your aviary will probably need a good clean out. Its not just the bird that will need treating.

I know you were told not to but for lice and mites on our canarys we used 1 drop on the back of the neck as needed. Literally one drop. cheers. Make sure they are warm and have good shelter out of draughts too. They can be pretty susceptible to the cold and changes in conditions. But im sure you already know this.

Of course. Private land owners dont have to allow public on their land. There are alot of walks around the area but i thought Puketi Forest tracks were all on Public conservation land? Havnt been there for years but i know we didnt pay when we were there last.

I have actually heard of this when i used to get problems with swim bladder. But i came to the conclusion it was the fish not the flake. Instead of mucking about and soaking the flake just give it a quick stir and it sinks.

Yeah. Surely your only cost would be a hut pass or a guided tour. Doc land is free.

Hi. I use 1 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of epsom salts and 1 tsp of standard non iodised salt per 20L of water. this keep s a constant ph of about 8-8.2, Kh13, Gh13. How ever i do have limestone in the tank which would help minimally with buffering. Cichlid forum says 1 Tbl spoon of epsom salts. I found this was way too much for our water and put my GH of the charts. Cheers

10ppm is quite low. And changing out 35-40% of your water should of bought it down. Could be just misreading the subtle difference between 5-10ppm. Did you have the two tests side to compare? i would not think a nitrate reading like that would be causing your fish to flash, would think it would be another stress.

I think i have seen Flying foxes recommended a bit but on further research im not sure. Maybe the Siamese algae eater? Bristle nose is certainly the most common

yeah as long as the window and access arnt in the shower inclosure it self that will be a nice idea. the chimney will support one end of the tank and if the end is close to walls down stairs it should be ok as long as you arnt loading up any timber joists mid span.

Re the flue, you could just take the chimney down and put a new stainless flue up. that would give you more room but not all the space. There may also be implications with venting you gas as well. Some heaters have limited venting options. I think id just have the viewing from the living room. Not sure how much you want to spend but you will certainly have water tight issues if you had the tank backing on to the shower. Maybe a cupboard or doors over the top of the tank for access. Cupboards under for sump etc. Also have to watch what you are loading your tank down on to as well if your tank starts getting big. PS borer love the old rimu. If its there its probably in a lot of the other rimu around the house as well. Nothing to do with the damp.

Removing the chimney can certainly be a big job. The demo, re gib, new floor and roof. Do you have any pics of the situation now graham?

I guess it doesnt really matter if you dont add enough fish and some bacteria die out, enough bacteria will survive to match your bio load. You would get a spike if you had too bigger bio load. And surely if your tank is cycling 2-3 ppm ammonia in 12 hours that is a pretty massive bio load. Tests have certainly been done to measure the amount of ammonia produced and im sure people who cycle with fish and have experimented with how many fish they can add to start a cycle and tested their ammonia levels would have an idea on this. Tests ive seen were basically based on inch of fish per gallon of water and ammonia produced. So many variables though like feeding etc. End of the day- just like cycling with fish- it comes down to experience and no doubt alot of the info we get today is based on trial and error. Some Pros with fish less cycling; ammonia is cheaper than fish you dont have to expose fish to ammonia, no daily water changes etc to keep ammonia below harmful levels. Can be quicker than cycling with fish as you can have optimal bacteria growing temps and PH levels that may not be suitable for some fish species. Tank can be fully stocked immediately Some Cons; Clear/ pure ammonia can be hard to source, Cycling with fish food, shrimp can be hard, slow to measure You dont have fish in your tank immediately

some rocks are glued some are stacked. If you look carefully in the photos you can see some grey blobs of glue as well. In the end i just glued the ones that where just balancing, or if it had others stacked on it precariously. On my rock stacks i tended to have a big "foundation" rock at the base for stabiltiy and stacked the others on it.