RnB

mmmmm

I have wooden floors and no significant other - clean it up later!

beats 25L containers any day... I need a good trailer to move everything from WGTN to AKL! business expense!

if you trailer the 1000L tank, then you would prob want to fill it in about say 20mins.... so 3000Lph or 660GPH I would if possible go bigger rather then smaller. Beware the cost of the cable required, but if you have electrical mate connections they can often slip you an offcut.....

this is a very valid point re $$$$$ and as a aside the pumps may not be truely reef safe..... low contact time tho! I would not overly worry about this point!

re water temp they are culturing the rock... we are just flushing the rock of dead crap... way different... given the water movement I suspect 3 weeks in NZ NSW would have way cured rock... then just a gentle 1 week temp change up to 25c

as a sailor i would go with a higher volume bilge pump... tho they do need much thicker power cords depends on how much you need to collect but i suspect if you wanted to get lots of water say 1000L its worth the investment.... I can load the car, drive to north shore, collect 200L and get it all home in 40mins! without a pump but i will be getting one for my trailer conversion...... Its a very valid ide, you just have to make sure it can drive the water about 10M and have about 2-3M head IMHO Why not pop down to sailors corner at westhaven and see what a good high volume brand goes for retail then start watching trademe.....

This may all be a great lesson in the end. 1st lets try and find a temp home for it... anyone (my offer still open from thursday when i get back...) 2nd - Did the LFS ask "anything" about your tank etc before selling it to you? 3rd - relax - I am not about to throw any stones and suggest we all think back to one of our own learning episodes :roll: :roll: but agree these guys do not have a good life expectancy.... BTW my blue linkia still seems to be doing fine Pies.... they can REALLY move when they want to.

I could look after it from thursday night for you, am in WGTN till then, ask jetski - he might be able to look after it!

where are you located may be possible for someone to host your coral for a little while if necessary?

agree... because experienced tropical hobbiest often already have a a spare pump/tank/heater sitting around, its really only skimmer / rock etc cost. I have sourced a good buy on some 12"/8" and 6" PVC pipe for homemade DIY skimmer.... Its not clear acrylic but the water level indicater tube will be... more importantly i need a large skimmer for the import room and I do not want to drop silly $$$$$. I will be starting the DIY - Skimmer thread shortly, I just want some piccies of "comparable" units. I am going to dive in my spare rock near rangi... I do not think it will move around much.... if i find a nice hollow spot, takes a LOT of a storm to move rocks around 10m down. Just have to wait for the new rudder 8(

wow that tank is going to look awesome! the lifting job....... I really feel for your lifters, that would be a heavy tank!

maybe put them into a spare tank before your mainone to make sure all nasties gone, not that i can imagine anything thats a reef nasty living in NZ temp waters..... This is exactly what these guys are doing on a commercial scale in florida... http://www.tbsaltwater.com/ lots of leases given by florida authorities..... Reef tanks are big business in the US! while being 1/200th of the us pop size... we are a lot smaller then the US in marine uptake.... IMHO we will equalise over the next 10-20 years, most growth will come via traditional tropical people moving across....

in reaslity if you have a 6inch damn at the door, given say 15-20 square meter site, you can effectivelly contain a 3000L very little chance that many break.... unless major quake and then the whole building in big troble anyway.... the two sites i have seen and mine would cope with major loss of tanks..... i think you could do it but it would be more difficult, Invercargill would not be easy tho either, where there is a will to save money there is always a way.......... Vet time could well be an issue tho, MAF can subcontract local vets tho i believe, best to check this one tho.

Here is the ACC lowdown. If you where to convert a room in your house from a bedroom to a fishroom, the ACC would not be involved, its the same thing if you convert an existing room in an existing building to a MAF import facility. If you operate as a business then you have to fall within the "Home occupations guidelines" this discusses noise, smell, increased traffic, etc. They advise seeking a COC (Certificate of Compliance $200 fee) so that you have a piece of paper with council approval saying your operation complies with the work from home guidelines, however this is a option only as you have a right to work from home as long as you do not breach the guidelines. As a quick note the discharge of chlorinated water is ok as long as you have followed the MAF guidelines and neutralised the chlorine levels. So apparently i have a Right to do this as long as i do not breach the work from home guidelines and these only apply if i operate as a business, which implies trying to make a profit etc etc, while i have some personal tax reasons why this might be desirable your millage may vary. Now if I want to put a new shed on the back of the property thats where things get more involved, not because of what it is, simply where i am, In Ponsonby its a character zone, so i have to have a resource consent to do ANYTHING. I would have to comply with height restrictions, % use of land etc etc, not a biggie as its just paperwork but paperwork never the less. Still not a major, an i need to do this anyway on a longer term storage perspective. So it seems that it is not really a biggie to do the MAF import thing, more a building issue that everyone will have if you propose to put up a new building.... a possibility - council does not require approval if below 10 sq meters and you are inside the % use of land limits. as long as this buidling meet MAF requirements... ie council suggest this being a desirable no cost no pain route!

lots of flow in the tank and lots of rock in it. overskim your tank, I know lots of people using skimmers rated for 2000L on 800L tanks. I am still toying with the sulphur thing, but i need to find a suitable variable rate low volume pump...... but will prob just make a home made lactose feed unit. i think these are a lower risk unit.

my blue starfish seems to be doing ok, no issues, sometimes very active sometimes seems to stay put 24-48 hours, normal so i read. It still freaks me how fast it can move an arm sometimes.... like a horror movie :lol:

talking to the council, Mike used to live in my council area and had same zoning, so i do not expect much of an issue, its all about how visable the activity is, noise, increased traffic etc, I do not see a problem but who knows will report as i go along. Regarding wwaste water, you can use poolchlor at about 200ppm it takes about 3 scoops to take my spa to this level and that costs about $2-3 max prob less actually in big drum... not often you need to dump this much and compared with other costs not much. big costs are frieght maf fees loss of stock your time the original fish/coral price is very low.... the other costs involved are probably between 800-2000% of the purchase price of the fish, 1st shipment i will detail all costs, expect to have it ready to go by the end of Feb 2005. Given install time, etc etc etc then have to mature the system a bit before first import.... I am also looking for a much cheaper source of dead dry rock..... Same rock, just if brought in in a large shipment, shipping gets way lower, its all basically shipping cost and transport here and profit, its way cheap to get by the tonne up in the islands....

either a chiller or aircon for the room they are in, other wise over summer you will have dead seahorse...... Why not look at a aircon unit off trademe, prob about $600-700 installed if you can DIY, keep you and seahorses comfortable over xmas! Sometimes i wonder about the LFS advice... I saw someone in a LFS talking about how important a skimmer was, then showed the customer the output of collection cup of a deltec... then proceeded to sell the virtues of a $130 unit once customer baulked at a more expensive unit. Check out seahorse displays at most LFS, they almost all have a chiller inline.

Re Exporters - there are a lot of exporters - see http://www.aquafind.com Re freight forwarders - thanks for the tip I will talk to them. yes have considered lots of things regarding clubs, groups, co-ops, but also understand the concept of group dynamics...... and MAF MAF likes, in fact requires, to know exactly who they are dealing with. This will simply happen faster if I run it for now, I am a Project Director by trade and I am used to making things happen fast, especially fitout type projects. Once its up, I will definitely be asking for operational help from other people. I do not think that I have the space required to do both marine and freshwater... but lets see the Autocad first. I have considered it, but would only personally be interested in Discus..... I think importing most other fish type in NZ would not be economic for the hobbist.... FW have a 6 week Q period, Marines have a 3. I am going to try and make sure the fish and coral are in separate rooms so that fishroom can be used for either freshwater or marine while a coral import is in Q. MAF prefer separate rooms, though physical seperation through dist can suffice, I do not have that distance.... While it will be quite a small facility, it will be about the same physical size as other marine import stations at the moment. I have pictures from when Marine Reef Enthusiasts operated Oceanic Images... Mikes station, much of what can now be found at aquanet I believe. Though I recognise Barrys old MH light fitting from Mikes coral tanks :lol: man NZ is a small place in this hobby. Marines and Discus both offer huge potential savings for the hobbist. I want a discus tank too..... :oops:

oh no the piemafia has arrieved........ protection tax already!!!!! I have the building consent stuff 95% done, so hope to be skyhooking sometime before xmas. The building is based on a 20ft insulated ex shipping container with containement fitted. Mounted on concrete /stell foundation, I will be doing everything myself to reduce costs. I am trying to source a cheap, read second hand, aircon unit if anyone knows where one might be???? about $300-400, there is a large judder bar outside my house if anyone has a truckload going past.......

but the issue is actual cash that I have to drop as a hobbiest to make this happen for me...... I will get everything back at the end of the project to reuse,sell etc, your millage will vary, I am convinced I could get this setup for about 3-4k if I had the shed already....... :roll: don't worry an actual cost of the project will be issued in due course, along with the costs of the imports etc etc etc This will be an open book excercise on how much it costs for a hobbist to import there own corals and fish.

I have been toying with this idea for a long time, but I have been working away from AKL for so long it has firmly stayed on the too hard basket. I will soon be AKL based full time and so the planning has begun. This thread will explain the joys and disasters that will occur along the way, and should remove any doubt as to the ability of a simple hobbist/group to make this work. The first steps are to understand the regulations of MAF http://www.maf.govt.nz/biosecurity/border/transitional-facilities/animals/154-02-06.htm The MAF guys have been really good so far, put me in contact with the MAF vet who will answer written questions, They just want me to make sure that the facility is safe, meets regulations and is soundly operated. I am meeting with ACC to discuss this tomorrow, regarding the building ACC Building Permits..... are here.... http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/services/buildingconsents/default.asp I have done RM and Permits before but if you had never done it it would be intimidating, easy once you know what you are expected to submit though..... What is this going to cost...... my estimates not including my labour time (I have December off so should have plenty of time on my hands.....) $3700 Building of the Facility including Permits and inspections $400 Tanks have glass make my own jobbies..... $250 Stands etc - have a tennant who is a welder 8) $500 DIY Skimmer - will be a 2 pump needlewheel recirc unit, made out of irrigation pipes - only clear bit will be the collection cup and water level indicator. $0 Pumps - have a lot of bits lying around $0 Lights - have 4 x 250W units sitting around. $0 Power very little as i am a electronic engineer and have many sparky mates who will do the connection work. $300 Pipes, taps and bends (got real cheap stuff a closeout of building depot. also got lots of more costs to come and also autocad of the 1st cut room..... A major cost at this first choice location is the building, I have other properties that have garages but want the facility very close to me.... This shed will easily be a fishroom/storage unit at a later date........

Pies :oops: Hate it when that happens. I am just trying to get building permit install a 20ft insulated container into my back yard... will need a huge sky hook, approx $600 to have it lifted into place.... but no other way to get it in. Its a very quick way to get something up and running tho. It will make a way cool fish room however. Going to run a trademe air con for room heating/cooling and then titanium heaters..... tho with HQI lighting, expect to cooling may be more important then heating.

if you have tested your tap water and are happy with the levels you have found then i guess you could use it. think about collecting natural seawater.... "don't collect NSW after rain as the runoff is bad".... thats how most of our drinking water is collected, run off either in the waitakere's or even via the Waikato..... I have not yet seen a good looking AKL based tank using tapwater as makeup, tho it may be possible in other locations.