Totara

Entry #3 22/02/14 I went to my LFS today and bought most of my stuff. He was going to charge me $50 for gravel, so I went to the landscapers by the tip in Nelson. They had an entire shed dedicated to Aquascaping materials. I bought 20 KG of Otara Gold gravel for $30 so if anyone in Nelson wants to buy some, I am happy to sell. I have sort of done things out of order, I have filled and started cycling today and will be doing my hardscape tomorrow and adding plants. Dont worry im sure I can handle it. Will post a pic tomorrow after the hardscape, and again after the plantscape (Is plantscape even a thing? lol) I will do a before and after pic too Next week I will be going to get a Bristlenose. Seems like a good fish as any to start with, then I will get 6 neon tetras 1 week after. Thanks, Totara

Thanks for that, can you reccomend any good guides? I have read a couple but they weren't very in-depth... Thanks, Will

Well recently I visited Christchurch's container mall. I thought - Man, it'd be cool to start a public aquarium like this! With the closure of Touch the Sea in Nelson it'd be perfect too... But if I did do it it would be years off... Will

Entry #2 19/02/14 Added the extra support last night, wont be posting a pic as there's nothing really to see. I will show a pic when I wrap it in MDF. Thanks to Adrienne for telling me I need to add the support. This Sunday I am heading to my LFS to buy 10 KG of gravel, polysterene and the rest of the equipment I need (Gravel Vac etc.), the Landscapers for some rocks to go into it and Mitre 10 for some MDF . After that I can do the exciting part of getting the plants !! Will

I know it would need to be pretty thick acrylic, I was more asking about the feasability of the idea

Today I had an idea, What if you took a shipping container and added some acrylic viewing panels? Would this work? Would like you guys' input on this. Thanks, Will

Thanks for that Talking about LFS's, can anyone tell me the best Fish Store in nelson? I know of two, PetMart and PetFever. I havent been to either, anyone been to them? Thanks, Will

Is Christmas Moss suitable for the 15 Watt light in my tank? Also, with the polystyrene, do I put it under the little frame on the bottom it has? Or inside it Thanks, Will

Ok thanks. I am going to buy a sheet of MDF today and some more 50 by 50 today, the mdf so I can cover up the edges of the frame etc. For the interior of the tank, I think I will make it look something like this: I like the look of it, maybe with a piece of driftwood in the middle. Also it is pretty good at hiding the filter and heater. Can anyone recognize / suggest the plants in there, and where to get them? And if I cant get them in NZ, alternates? The rocks I am not too sure about, if I was to get some rocks for this from a river (The rocks that make up the plant platforms, not the substrate) and boil them for a few minutes, will they be ok to use? Or should I buy them from my LFS Thanks, Totara

Hi there, Thanks, yes the tank is a Juwell Korall 60. Also I havent put any polystyrene as the manual specifically said NOT too. It has special bracing in it to spread the load. Also the tank is already filled I will empty it out as best as possible tonight and add some bracing to it. Thanks, Totara / Will

Hi guys, It seems a few people make a diary as they setup their tank, so I thought I will too. Partly because I want someone to yell at me when I screw it up :bggrn: The tank is 54 litres (61 cm long, 36 cm front to back, and 31 cm tall). Entry #1 17/02/14 Tank arrived on my birthday Because I built my own stand I want to check it works before I add expensive stuff like fish. So I am going to let it sit here until Saturday when I can get to my LFS and buy the gravel etc. I believe I will need 10 KG of gravel, can anyone confirm this? I would like to plant the aquarium, so it will need to be reasonably thick. The light is 20 W I believe, which plants (if any) are suitable to this wattage? Thanks Guys, Totara / Will

Hi guys I am getting my first tank soon, it is 54 litres and 61 cm long, 31 cm wide and 36 cm tall. The stocking plan I have come up with so far is: 1 x Golden Honey Gourami 1 x Plecostomus Catfish 6 x Neon Tetras 3 x Cherry Shrimp (Or similar shrimp) Now based on the 37.5 cm of fish I can fit on my tank (I think I can have that much) I have 13.5 cm of fish left I can fit in. Is this true? If so can someone please recommend some fish to fill that space? Also I think that the Gourami and Tetras prefer a well planted tank, do these have to be live plants? Because its my first tank I would prefer to go with plastic plants, but I am willing to give this a shot if I have too. I think I need to keep the tank at 25 degrees celsius? Is that correct? Also is the hardness / softness of water in Nelson suitable? And finally are those fish compatible? Thanks Will

Hi guys, I am just about to get my first aquarium, it is 54 litres. I was looking at test kits and wanted to know is the API Freshwater Master Test Kit worth the $48? It seems to test everything but I am not sure. Also, I have a friend who will sell me his 7 litre Blue Planet Hexi Neon for $5. Is that tank too small for a quarantine tank? I know it is relatively tiny but it is just for a quarantine tank and it has a filter etc. My aquarium is tropical so I would have to put a heater in the Neon, is that tank too small for a heater? Thanks, Will

Hi there, I have found an alternate supplier for the Juwel Korall 60 Tropical Starter set, who is selling it at $160. Am I getting a good price there? Or should I head down to my LFS and try to negotiate it there. On that note, can anyone in Nelson reccomend which store to go to? I only know of three, PetMart in Richmond, PetMart down by the refuse center and PetFever in town. Am I missing one? Which is the best one to goto, Edit: I have found one on trademe for $130 brand new, including shipping. Is it worth getting? Thanks, Totara

Hi guys, http://www.pet.co.nz/product/fish/korall-tropical-fish-tank/5661 Is that a good starting option? It looks like a good simple tank that has some good aqua-scaping opportunities If this tank is a good choice, could anyone please come up with an example stocking plan? As in what will be the final tank, not the hardy fish to cycle it. There is so many fish and so many warnings about not trusting the pet store to give you good advice I just don't know what to get I just would like a few nice pretty fish really, maybe a few snails to help keep the tank clean? A couple of schools would be nice too, maybe Neon Tetras? Thanks, Totara

Thanks for that, I have read all of those posts.

Hi guys, I am looking at getting started into the hobby and want to find out a few things first, firstly can anybody recommend me on whether a $250 budget is reasonable? I would like to keep it under that, I would prefer to have a tropical tank as that means I have a wider variety of fish. If that budget is reasonable could anybody recommend me a setup? I am not sure whether to get a pre-built setup with inbuilt filter lights etc. or whether to go the way of buying a tank, filter, heater etc. separately. Also, is there a list somewhere that details all the things I will need to start and manage a aquarium? Sorry for being so clueless, Thanks, Totara