Belgianbiscuit

Fish have survived a 4.5 hour trip by car and plane. They were somewhat stressed as they did not show much color but they are all happy in the new environment. Placed them in a cool bag from countdown and purchased a heat pack at HFF for $7.50. Will definitely do this again Cheers

I am going to HFF on Friday in Albany. They seem to have some apistos. Can anyone give me their thoughts on: -Apisto Hongsloi -Blue Apistograma (Are these cacatuoides?) And is it best to buy a male and a female? Or more? Not planning to actively breed.

Thanks guys, Will let you know how it goes :-)

Hi Caper, Yes it has disappeared. Pretty much brushed it off a few times and did a 20% water change.

Not sure. It's coated in3 layers of cement and epoxy

I am in Albany this week and planning to visit HFF. I was wondering if it is OK to transport some fish back to Palmy via plane. I estimate 4 hours or so between purchase and arriving home. Cheers

Hi, I was thinking of getting some java fern/mosses and was wondering how best to attach those. I noticed people use cotton thread but not sure how that would work on my polystyrene background?

I brushed it off a second time last night and this morning it was pretty much all gone. I don't think algae would disappear like that? Will be interesting to see what it is like when I get home tonight. Caper, yes I have a post open about cycling and was about to throw some fish in my tank when I noticed the white stuff. Sophia, My driftwood does not look as scary as the one in your picture ;-)

Just gravel that came from other tank but I rinsed it well. I have added a pinch of dry food twice. Read that this helps with cycling. I brushed some of the stuff off plants earlier and it is visibly less. Will be interesting to see how much is there tomorrow.

Haven't had the chance to measure nitrate yet. Or ammonia and nitrite for that matter. Don't have any test kits yet. Do you suspect NO3 levels are to high/low?

Not sure if it is related, I also noticed a bit of white on my piece of driftwood. This looks more like salt. I got the piece from Himitangi. I ringed it thoroughly and even put it through a cycle in dishwasher. Without soap that is ;-) Thanks Phoenix may have to take you up on the offer

Haven't added anything other than filtration and plants. Just tap water but pH is ok. Was going to buy a few neons today to help with the cycling but then I noticed the problem and thought it would be silly to add neons. I don't wanna be stuck with a goldfish :-)

Not sure Graham. There seems to be a lot more in that picture. If it is that, what is causing it and how do I get rid of it?

Brand new filter and media.

Hi, I am cycling my tank. I have no fish yet. I have about a dozen plants and now I noticed that there is white stuff which looks a lot like onion skin hanging of every plant. My tank has been running with filter and heater since Sunday. Yesterday I did a 20% water change and I did not notice anything then. Any ideas?

Thanks guys, These are some good posts. Still not sure which way to go though. Excuse my ignorance but does a product like Aquarium Complete get the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels right in no time? I am not sure if you are familiar with the program tanked on Animal Planet but these guys fill a tank, add bacteria in liquid form and set the fish loose. Is this what "cycle" products allow you to do? Would it be ok to add a few neons now? Water has been in there for a few days, filtration going, temperature is ok and I have plants. I just don't want to hurt the neons :-) Also, how frequently would I change water at this stage and how much? Cheers

Hi all, I am ready to start cycling tank. I think I want to do it without fish. It seems the fish I want to keep are not hardy enough (Neons mainly) and I don't want to be stuck with guppy's or something that I used for cycling. I have a new filter and placed about a dozen plants in my gravel. Should I do any water changes before I have fish in it or just test for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate every few days until it is right? I had a look at the article on the site. They talk about adding ammonia. What ammonia (brand maybe) should I get? Or am I better off to let it occur by adding more plants and some food (think I read that decaying food helps) Cheers

Hey guys, I am almost ready to start putting some fish in my tank. Put some plants and rocks in today and I am pretty pleased.

Hey guys, I was amazed how different it actually looked when there is water in the tank. We also managed to reduce a lot of the scratches and now you really have to push your nose against the glass if you want to see the scratches. Cheers

After all that hard work it turns out that the front of my glass is full of scratches. I did not notice it until I actually turned the lights on. I am not sure if it will look any different with water in it. Tank is empty right now. My background has been glued to back so it will not come out without damaging it. I don't think there is a way to remove these scratches and I put too much time and effort in to be stuck with a tank that will look ugly. Guess the best thing is to remove the front panel. I don't want to do this myself. Is there anyone in Palmerston North who can fix this for me? Cheers

Thanks Phoenix, I am still leaning towards gravel as it seems sand is just more work but more than anything I want to start cycling my fish tank this weekend. Been waiting long enough now :-) I have a bag of this sitting in the garage now http://www.daltons.co.nz/home-gardening/retail-products/decorative-aggregates-and-pebbles/fine-decorative-pebble

Yeah really!! You can tell because there are water marks on the paper!! And it is hard to get off now :-)

Hi, Excuse my ignorance on this one. I bought a 2nd hand aquarium which comes with an aquarworld light fitting. There is a paper cover on the plastic sheet that sits over lamp. I would have thought this needs to be removed but obviously previous owner used it like that. Thoughts?

Has anyone used Dalton's decorative pebbles? It has pumice in it so not sure if that is ok? Can't find anything I want in pet shop or I don't wanna pay what they charge. $38 for 10 kg is crazy. Any alternatives I can find around Palmy? Maybe in garden shops?