chimera

Hi, I bought a couple of these ecosystems on a kickstarter campaign with the idea to have one at home and one at work, however I'm out on the road more often than in the office now hence why I'm selling one of them. Its brand new, a self-contained tank with pump, LED lights, etc, the filtration is the mint or basil plant you place in the top of it. You can see more about them here. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kevinzl/ecoqube-c-your-window-to-nature First to PM will buy it. Obviously even though its new, I can't provide any direct 'warranty' at all. Would prefer to sell to someone with experience due to the small size of the tank. You just need a US -> NZ plug adapter (the DC power supply does 120-240V though, so just the adapter needed) Now on TM... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1076115885 Cheers

looks like a real marine tank only colder :lol: you should becomes a real *cough* reefkeepers...

:lol:

Ah... the dreaded Valonia. PITA. Remove the rock and scrape them off. When they pop (and if you have that many, they will) I believe it causes them to spread more. Once you scrape the rock, wash (ie: shake/swirl around hard out) in a bucket of fresh saltwater to remove any extra crud from the rock. Then, when the rock is back in the tank you need to regularly blast any detritus that settles on, or is inside the rock, off with a powerhead. Hair algae and Bubble algae grow really well on rock thats full of crud. Ditto

That would be exponentially... Fair point.

eh, i dont mind being that dumb primate... They breed pretty hard out anyway, like 400 eggs or more at a time. Not sure on survival rate though... ?

i often wonder why such highly intelligent creatures are kept in relatively small tanks... IMO Mystic, the size of that octopus relative to the tank size just looks cruel?

if you have mico's in cantebury, go there. they get all their ball-valves and similar parts from plastic systems (disty). ask for trade at mico's, its cheaper than buying direct from plastic systems. make sure you get the grey ball valves with blue handles (coloro brand) not the white ones with red handles! use hansen for the tank valves (or "bulkheads" being the american term)

Even less reason to be overly concerned with water parameters (obviously need to cycle first - but long term, you're using water that these critters live in anyway) Consider using some form of live rock, its not just for bacterial growth, gives inhabitants a place to live/hide etc

got live rock? that will be full of detritus that will take, even if seemingly "good quality", years to breakdown. even the bacteria have a certain lifecycle, they die, create levels of ammonia (albeit tiny) which the next lot of bacteria feed off. oh and someone forgot to mention test kits aren't 100% accurate... even though something may measure 0ppm, its very very unlikely. you will always have traces of something. take the reading of a test kit as a "rough indication" - not an "exact measurement". to say 0ppm of ammonia, nitrite or nitrate is only giving you a rough indication you are on the right track. as conch says above, base it on a healthy looking tank - don't rely or get overly concerned about "1ppm of X, Y Z"

http://www.nzmas.co.nz/site/memberlist. ... &start=250

pfft, you're putting your wedding before a marine tank? jeez dude... you got lots to learn :lol:

I'll 2nd that

More than welcome to come see mine, send me a PM. Alternately you could browse the memberlist at NZMAS..., sort it by location http://www.nzmas.co.nz/site/memberlist.php

whats salinity got to do with a skimmer? amount to add is on the back of the bag - just be aware it changes with temperature so heat the water as well. best to add a little at first then measure and see what change X litres makes. then work out from there and bring it up slowly.

Nano is generally defined as < 20 gallons (about 80 litres) Pico is generally defined as < 5 gallons (about 20 litres)

traces of phosphates stunts acro growth (as well as poor colour) aim on getting those to zero. i use a bloody big skimmer, rowaphos and macro algae to keep phosphates down. run a calcium reactor (also with mg chips) to maintain calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. also dose baking soda every few days to keep alkalinity up (calcium reactor can't keep up with demand). also dose kalkwasser (calcium hydroxide) in topup water to maintain calcium and also helps keep phosphates down. overall try and maintain calcium at 400 or higher, magnesium at 1300 or higher and alkalinity always above 7 (preferably 8-9) feed my reef phytoplankton and cyclop-eeze every few days, as well as mixing up frozen brine in some water weekly. also dose amino acids every 2 days.

my favourite shot i've taken yet, amazing what a difference a decent camera makes :lol: (canon 450d)

dont expect to rely on any natural predators (wrasse, butterfly's etc as listed above) as they can be hit and miss. best thing i've found is joe's juice - around $30 for a small bottle from the shops but it nukes them pretty well. if you have a considerable number of aipstasia, then remove the rock and use boiling water / basically start over curing the rock again. the key to killing them is injecting a small amount of paste into the mouth - they MUST digest the paste in order to kill them. if you just get the tentacles or outside of the mouth, it'll melt that area but wont kill it.

:roll: Pfft. What does experience provide a politician with? A greater ability to cover up lies and deception? The fact he's a fresh face is a GOOD thing... as president he is the highest political official, the head of state and government, but that does not mean he governs alone. IMO, a president is moreso a face for the people, a figure to provide the reassurance of democracy and the US constitution. and anyways, you're all missing the point - change your way of thinking, consider who Obama has just replaced 8) Even some of my fish are smarter...

Very sad news. From the few times I met Bryan he was a great guy with a big heart and of course a huge passion for the hobby. My sincere condolences to the family. yes

how else do you think labour keep their unemployment figures so low

not alots changed here then :lol:

yeah most people went to a dedicated marine site - one that was started so i could make millions of dollars through advertising and allow the likes of steve and nick to sell direct cutting out the lfs and make the same fortune... ...but of course that would be a far fetched theory. the new zealand marine aquarium society has been formally established and is undergoing the process of attaining members and working towards the good of the hobby.