chimera

statistically,... it kinda makes sense

i'll be changing my m/h bulbs in the next couple of weeks too. whats the general consensus now for the best spectrum? 10k, 12k, 15k, 20k? considering i have very few blues, i was thinking slightly higher in the spectrum, say 12k or 15k. is this too intense? pies didnt you get 15k's recently?

that would have been my suggestion too morf. so does the temperature drop enough during water changes? or perhaps its because the goodness in the new clean water gets them so drunk they need to eat to sober up :lol:

thanks steve, i see what you mean. essentially the spray bar and om 4-way are t'd off from the pump so the spray bar is always going and the outlet's from the om are alternating/switching. not really an option to drill since the tank is already in place and functional. unfortunately the bottom holes are 3/4" and combining two of them to give 1.5" to the pump is my only option. however at 13,500+ litres per hour @ 0 ft head even a couple thousand lt/hr less is not really a concern dont forget that the tank is only 5 foot and it will ALSO have streams. the closed loops are purely to shift water and hit any dead spots (under the reef rack). each outlet back into the tank (near the top) are drilled 3/4" as well. each outlet is also running a rotating flow nozzle which disperses the water around the tank quite well. not sure on how these will go at such a large increase in flow rate - not a concern if they dont work though, millions of ideas to play with! the streams will sit at either end near the front pointing across and slightly towards the back. remember this is only a 5 foot tank - i dont particularly want my fish to go surfing :lol: here's a pic of the back of the tank again, holes drilled near the top: rotating flow nozzle shown here (old photo, oct 2004):

never heard of it - but go hard and let us all know how it goes! any links to it?

i was lead to believe kH (Carbonate Hardness) and alkalinity (Acid Binding Capacity) were separate things... KH is that portion of the alkalinity whose charge is balanced by divalent cations such as Ca and Mg ... in other words KH is a measure of hardness and has nothing to do with total alkalinity (since charge can be balanced by any number of cations)

not quite with ya joeblog,... can you rephrase?

here's an update of my new closed loop idea i know, changes every 5 minutes!!! i figure that a single aquamaster 3000 pump capable of 12,000 litres per hour passing through an oceans motion 4-way is a clean setup. tunze streams will be added at a later date too. here's a pic of the closed loop idea: There will be one stream at each end of the tank as well. The largest advantage of this system is that if my downstairs Iwaki packs out, I can go without the closed loops and use the larger pump in it's place. Also this idea, while more expensive, keeps the plumbing simple due to the design of the Oceans Motion 4-way.

i assume you're meaning waiting for the nitrogen cycle to complete. about 30 days is a typical "rough" estimate for most tanks. discus are a bit more temperamental so if it were me, i'd wait twice as long. send a PM to "new zealand discus man" or email [email protected] im sure he wouldnt mind assisting otherwise wait til tonight there are some discus guru's who will post after me for sure

yes this sounds pretty normal. ammonia will spike first, then nitrite then nitrates. you probably missed testing the ammonia spike. continue what you are doing and nitrifying bacteria colonies will build up and slowly consume the nitrites (then your nitrates will go up next ) except... how many fish are you adding? at 34 litres you should be keeping no more than about half a doz average size fish (and im talking from the fishes point of view!)... and even then you should only have one or two in there for a good month or so. any reason for keeping such a small tank? much harder to keep stable than a larger tank. Read these: http://www.bestfish.com/breakin.html http://www.bestfish.com/newtank3.html

almost any size DSB (im talking area, not height) is sufficient - getting the right size substrate is most important. i have a very good article somewhere, will post it when i find it...

quality and price

:lol:

I still have a 25W one for sale if you're interested, same price as listed... http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=4372

nice photography bro! any more shots of the tank as a whole? some closer up, say split into thirds. if you're clever enough, you can "collage" them together and have it run off the side of the screen

can you elaborate?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

cracker has a squashed one you can buy cheap

sounds like a waste of a good snail

so the shadow is from your boot then?

Peter - what about the Iwaki 40RXT pump you have? Not hooked this up yet?!!!

a highly recommended device to have for marine. will set you back roughly $100 - $150 odd depending on 2nd hand or new.

likewise - a BIG improvement - more than i had anticipated.

keeping it in perspective,... you forgot to post: thats 9 years ago, alot has changed in reef keeping even since then. additionally: personally, i have only been in the hobby coming up to 1 year and have had my anemone 5 months without ANY problems. however, to add some truth to the matter some anemone's are much more difficult to keep than others - i opted for one of the easiest to keep (bta) and purely purchased to keep my clowns happy

and i never even called you simple :lol: im a little the opposite,.. I only spend money on quality equipment that is far less likely to fail. i've had cheaper pumps at the bottom of my closed loops that have leaked - never again. :-? admittedly i've spent a $#@%-load for the size of my tank - but reefing is a lifetime hobby and i've got a life to enjoy it - not to mention a life to live outside of reef-keeping so the less maintenance for me the better (albeit an expensive one to setup!)