petplanet

Are there any stores in NZ that stock streams and controllers? Seio's may have there problems (had 1 out of six returned) but they are easy for shops to get. People like cheap. For example, cheap Aqua One/Jebo heaters would out sell Jager by at least 10 to 1.

Ring me....

Probably 20-21. Check local stats. Will be higher up north and colder doen south. my tank hit 32 last summer. Corals looked sad and the tank did not look right. All I did was open my tank hood, removed two small lids and placed a small warehouse fan ($13 I think) blowing across the water surface. Dropped the temp to 27-28 and evaporated truckloads of water. I left the fan going day and night that way there was no chance of me forgeting to turn it on. I would go for a fan over frozen bottles.

Agree with that. Not sure on the new Seio but the Rio powerheads and internals are crap. We were running them in the shop. Had to replace a lot of impellers. Have replaced most with Aquaclear powerheads which kick butt.

Is anyone using or has used one of these? Thinking of trying one out. http://www.redseafish.com/Product.asp?dir=y&CatId=-1&SubID=45&proID=184

I am going to make some myself. Going to use cement (not concrete which already has sand in it), coral sand and coral chunks. That way the rock will still be porous. Planning on making holes through the rock using various sizes of plastic pipe during construction. I have been told that if you vasaline the pipes first, the concrete will not stick and you can pull them out when the concrete hardens. I have used normal concrete to join larger coral pieces together. Either way, you need to soak your rock in saltwater to cure it once it is made.

My tank has been going for years and still gets that buildup. I use an Eheim surface skimmer on one of my cannisters. Works a treat. Atman did a cheap copy but I don't think they do them anymore. I found it worked better than the Fluval.

Yeah, still looking at the RO/DI units. Probably going to bring two types in. 4 stage and 5 stage with all the bits (bench tap, drain saddle, storage tank, thing that goes into the water pipe). The 5 stage is meant to produce the best drinking water.

We do the 20kg Instant Ocean for $119.95

2-3 times the volume of clean water is normal unless it is sending it through a second or third RO membrane.

No, PhosEx is for both. Clearmec, which does nitrite, nitrate and phosphate is for fresh only.

JBL PhosEx did it for me. I just run it in the cannister.

Don't know how good it is but we sell the Weipro Protein Skimmer SA2014. Tank up to 560L. Pump Capacity required 1900L/H 210cm head height. - $139.95. You could use a Pondmaster PM2600 $104.95 or a Eheim 1260 $299.95 to run it. I thing Ben fro DeepBlue sells one with a pump (Via Aqua).

Isn't volcanic rock the same as tufa rock?

I found this one which uses argonite sand. Would cost the same to buy rock in NZ. http://www.garf.org/newreef/arag.html I was also thinking of using volcanic rock. Heaps of them around Mangere Bridge. I thought I could drill them to create an open structure and they are porous so should be great for bacterial growth.

Ok, I have concreted rocks together before and am thinking of doing it again to custom shape some rocks. I have heaps of small rock chunks which I was going to bleach (to remove all the dead organic stuff) and then mix them with concrete and shape. Any suggestions or tips?

4ft is a great size. Especially if you ever have to move. 120x45x45 will cost $150ish. That's 240 litres then add a sump. You could light it with basic fluros (T8.) or T5 fluros (better, a little more pricey) or metal halides. T5s are great and you can always reuse them if you add a halide.

There is a relatively new product on the NZ market. http://tlc-products.com/pages/8/index.htm

Hope it goes well. You are starting in the right place for advise.

If you could only smell the pictures :oops:

From what I have read, to get the best brineshrimp, you need algae cultures (green water - which has a habit of crashing) which you then feed to rotifers, you then feed the rotifers to the brineshrimp.

I was thinking mechanical/design/construction failure. Husbandry is another isssue all together. The big dollars will be the skimmer, other than that it will not cost a massive amount apart from power. The return pump will cost the same as the head height would be no different with one tank than four. Gravity will provide most of the water movement. Lighting hill only be the refuge part. Dead? Bacteria live in it, pods and all the other thinks you can't see live in it. Bottom of the ocean is not dead. Freezing cold, no light, massive presure but there is life. I think water volume acheives a lot.

1.What system of sand bed/ non sand bed do you use? 1-2" 2.Why did you choose this? Looks good 3.a)Asthecticially which type do you prefer? What I have. b)practically which do you prefer? Ditto 4.Have you ever experienced the "crash" if using a dsb? What happened? No 5.Are you happy with the current system you are using? Yes 6.What are the benefits/negatives you have found when using this system? No negatives. There are a lot of critters that live in the sand and some fish ,like wrasses, use it for hiding in. Gives larger fish, like puffers, something to do. Had a dog face that would turn all the sand over (by puffing) looking for things to eat. 7.Have you ever changed/considered changing your sand/no sand system? If so Why? Have considered going DSB. Will use BB in a sump tank. 8*.Labour or National Blue like the sea (on a good day)

Yes the water changes will be big but I figure they will be easier to do. Close off water change tank, do water change while emptying water change tank into main system, mix new saltwater in tank, bring to temp and rejoin to system the next day. As far as more maintenance, the auto water top up will save me a lot of work, same amount of time testing, water changes a little longer but they will be easier. More things can go wrong but then who is better of, the person with the small sump that fails or the large sump. It would have to be a mammoth failure for the whole system to bite the dust. Also gives me a lot of options for future developments with the system. I think there is more potential for grief if I use closed loops in the main tanks. There is something that just bothers me about drilling holes in the bottom of tanks.

Handbrake has set a limit on the upstairs tanks. There is a funny half wall in the house. I am picking it is not structural but you never know. If I can take it out then I will have a rack with two tanks on it, double decker style. That way the tanks don't take a massive amount of floor space and I can have heaps of fish. I figure you just can't have to much water in your sump system. I will use pallet racking for the sump stands. That is why the sump tanks will be big to fill the shelves.