dan_from_nz

white spot goes through stages, they will drop off the fish and split ithink and then take on other hosts the medication can only attack them when they are of the fish (in their cyst stage i think it is called) that is why you have to dose until 4 days after the spots dissapear. i have also read that you should turn your tank temp up to 28 deg c and i assume this is to increase the metabolic rate of the ich bacteria and make it drop off faster but i have also read that a higher temp will increase the rate of the fish metabolism and can allow disease to attack and kill faster. tonic salt can be very ucefull the ich (white spot) hates it and will drop off the fish much more rapidly

the essance of melafix is tea tree oil, but wouldn't recomend using it to get a stronger dosage as there is no idea how much you should dose i have used melafix and think it is great

cheers reef, rather interesting. the hard question is if it is less eficient (lumens for watt) than metal halieds and bulbs last longer what is the bigger cost power saving or bulb cost saving? and would anyone risk the life of their inverts based on what the manafacturer states the spectrum life to be? are there any accesable machines to test the quantity/intensity/spectrum of light than can be used for a reef tank?

yeah it may wreck our ecosystem but hey at least they made a buck it sort of comes down to the old argument the business model we have set up is wrong, when it comes down to lfs and reef, this site really replaces the lfs (but still doesn't help the industry grow)

the sea horse farm in napier is very strict on their terms of sale you have to have a set up tank for a certian number of weeks etc i wish there were more lfs that opperated like this, but the question is would they turn a profit?

yeah that is why i posted it made alot of threads alot more understandable for me

I'm kinda still on the fence here, i don't blame the importer, or the retailer for the following reason (although a slight tangent) I make this connection because nomatter what the request (or how stern) a retailer is going to sell somthing given the chance hell the first rule in business is "never turn you back on a buck" However i still agree that it is irresponsable, but why should the experienced reefers miss out on this coral because of everyone else? I agree that there needs to be some regulation, but at the same time excess polutants in the ocean killing reefs, maybe it is still important to get these corals into peoples tanks, as it may be the only hope of anyone ever getting to enjoy the hobby. I think regulation is required, but hate authority and the whole "some people can't keep it so say no to everyone" attitude

t5's come in ho dont they this does make them more intence than no ie more watts per foot, is this the subject at hand or are you talking about lumens per watt, i read t5's are MARGINALLY more efficient in lumens per watt because there is less surface area of glass to diffuse the light which makes scence but i doubt it would be a tangable figure, although there is a thread on rc about t5's and how some people like them better

just thought this link may be usefull for anyone that has troble understanding some of the acronyms used in the threads http://www.acronymfinder.com/

go to the thread "algea - an overview" (i think that is what it is called) that has a link that will tell you what algea is caused by what, also do a full range of tests algea will only grow when there is a surplus of nutrients (plants use nutrients in a specific ratio and will only use as much as the limiting nutrient then the unused nutrients go to feed algea, -this is kinda a bad explination maybe if somone knows what i mean they can word it better ) Good luck Daniel

interesting thread but isn't one of the passions of reef keeping the fact that you can keep some of the most rare, difficult and least adaptable species in the world right in your living room? obviously if this is true you can't blame the importer

stink would love to have one, i think it would be the perfect addition to my tank (well one of them)

equation is the surface area (.5xbasexheight) times the depth of the tank so you need to give 4 measurements (three sides and the height of the tank) from there it is easy to calculate

Kim i was talking to the sales rep of kongs, they are having discusions with jbl to convince them to organise a midication importing setup, so good things may come from that

somfy, australia make compact electric motors that run in a roller tube. You could design a system very simply using stainless steel wire ($3.50-$7.00/m) a roller tube (acmeda sh40 tubing) ($10.00-20.00/m) and the somfy motor ($500.00-750.00) they are a very powerfull motor can be used on canvas awnings that can catch large amounts of wind. Wouldn't be the cheepst option but would be a very nice simple tidy system. the other problem is you would need to do it (or most of it) diy and you would have to contact several different places to organise it although if you ever go to Kapiti 'Blind Botique' could sorce most the components but you would be paying more than stated as Steve would want to add his mark-up

has any one read randy holmes-farley's article on phosphate binders, it is quite interesting

the above pic a severe case of it, and aparently was still harmless

not cauliflower diease is it (Lymphocystis spp)

awsome pics

100 tests @ $100 is the same as the jbl phosphate test kit i have (30 tests @ $30ish) the only disadvantage with the deltec is that it is 3x the initial cost, it has the advantage that it is (or probably is) more accurate and you don't have to purchase the test kit as often. the $100 did that take into account aquanets margin and a retailers margin?

does the number of tests each one does vary?

I have an older model jebo (the green ones) and i don't find it all that great, as i said in an earlier post i found my atman 103 internal filter better, my sister has a small model jebo for her tank and she has trouble keeping the tank clean also, maybe i am doing somthing wrong (as i set hers up also)

when they are doing the work if they turn the power off at the mains they will still have acess to power (like a builder does building a house) they just tapp in further down the line, see if they can run an additional extension cord for you then you don't have to do any moving at all

Fair enough if they do that much damage

called the pet house i found the guy quite helpfull also no way near as helpfull as here though thanks guys (and gals?) :lol: