[Advice on the next step]

should I change it to the 2 oclock position?

yes

[Time to stir things up a bit.]

whoa, it's come along way since the last photos i saw. nice work!

[Cyanobacteria]

dont dose anything - it will just come back. keep syphoning it out, sort out your nutrient problem, increase water flow, replace old lights.

[Sump requirements??]

even 2 is enough for most sumps! under and over

[Best Beginners Setup]

I'm finding that the heater, even at its lowest setting, is making the water about 29deg - 31deg

This a problem?

yes

[Are Reef Octopus skimmers any good?]

I'd get one if I were setting up 500 litre tank or less, anything higher I'd probably opt for Deltec or similar

[Vomo Island - FIJI]

jeez mate you win lotto or something? its not just ya run of the mill fijian resort!

[Newbie possible going to the salty side :)]

hmm yeah- make sure no sorbitol eh Chimera

i didnt take that as a low blow - informative indeed and a very valid point! ensure you FULLY clean out all residue in any container you purchase. dont make the mistake i did and cause casualties in 2 tanks because i didnt spend 10 minutes rinsing it out :-? costly mistake.

[Newbie possible going to the salty side :)]

pity you're down in chch, i was going to say you could possibly get a food grade container free from here

http://www.nothrow.co.nz/wastex/materia ... =Available

all sorts of sizes. just need to ask whats been in them.

[SALTWATER WEB SITE UPDATE]

Sponsors forum

oh there's a good one

[Ca Reactor vs Two Part vs Kalkwasser]

What's pH got to do with calcium and alkalinity levels?

exactly what i said, measuring the effluent of the calcium reactor to be 6.7pH. *start sarcasm* yeah, like thats guesswork *end sarcasm*

my CR keeps calcium spot on at 400. alkalinity does drop a little so I dose baking soda every now and then. other than that, everything stays pretty balanced.

[Ca Reactor vs Two Part vs Kalkwasser]

No need to guess like you have to with reactors.

Yeah, like measuring the effluent to be around 6.7 ph is guess work. My CR keeps my calcium completely stable at 400. Only need to dose after water changes.

[My next skimmer]

it comes with a free ladder to clean the collection cup

[My next skimmer]

A device used to remove excess waste products from saltwater aquariums. Protein skimming (also known as "foam fractionation") is achieved by the device producing fine bubbles or "foam" which organic impurities are attached too. The "foam" is channeled out of the device and into a collection cup which can later be discarded

[Saltwater as a fuel?]

:roll:

[Setting up a nano.]

wow, you're finally starting to make sense layton :lol:

[Setting up a nano.]

Honestly, for that sort of information, you're best bet is to read forums and ask questions

:lol:

make sure you read many responses from many people on many forums, you will get differing advice from various people who swear black and blue that there way is the only way :lol:

[A little bit of history...]

8)

[Protein Skimmer]

Not all compaines, only the ones that have cheap skimmers so it makes them look like a bargain compared to the real quality skimmers

Too true. Halve the literage for the cheap skimmers.

[Low Alk., High Mg in a Cycling Tank]

hehe, marine backwards,... nice

[Calcium Reactor Solution]

plenty of people in the states do exactly this - as in force feed their reactors with peri pumps as they work very well against back pressure, its even suggested in some advanced aquarist articles. i did for a while but my peri pump was not adjustable, so i just went back to gravity feeding it.

[Another question for electro boffins]

i'd be interested in seeing it too scan it and post it!

[Opinon on setting up small tank.]

My plan was $500-$800 for complete setup.

Dont want to put you off but at that price I would not even bother starting, Layton is right $3k-$4k minimum is much more realistic. It all adds up... and then there is maintainance costs. ASW (varies, not sure how valid 16c/litre is), test kits ($25 each on average for 50 tests), Mg, Ca, kH supplements (can be expensive), bulbs (typically halide bulbs need replacing more often and cost more), fish food, optionally activated carbon, algae control products such as rowaphos, etc etc.

[Opinon on setting up small tank.]

yup agree, as wasp says!

[Opinon on setting up small tank.]

Enterococci which is tested by city councils around NZ

:roll: Isn't it bizzare how those quotes reference the USA and other non-NZL areas, only the 3rd quote references NZL and thats only one persons opinion regarding an ammonia spike which I've already mentioned there are traces of.

There is the possibility that NSW is the source of some of these problems

There is a possibility World War III will start tomorrow. Dont base your "facts" on possibilities.

Maybe you misinterpreted the study. It's doesn't make any claims to unpredictability. All it is looking at is whether an assay of a salt is comparable to the manufacturers supplied data. If you actually read the test procedure you'll see why they might have got the results they did

And you will also come to the conclusion that the study shows all brands of ASW have significantly higher levels of dissolved metals than NSW. There are arguments for both sides Layton.

You forgot risk. Although you might pretend it doesn't exist. It's there. It may not wipe out your tank in one go, but think of the money you might spend cleaning up things, solving problems which could have potentially be cause by using NSW, which you otherwise might not have had to

Yes and risk. This is of course based on the reliability of the source in where you are collecting water.

BlueTom - there are people who have been collecting from Takapuna boat ramp for the past decade without any known problems. Of course, there will be risk based on the collection point however since you're in Birkenhead, Takapuna is close to you and because of the number of people who have collected there without issues, it's perhaps the most recommended place if you choose NSW.