wasp

How's it now?

How's it now?

Good point about moving him, etc. He has actually never been in the main display tank he lives in one of the frag tanks. The plan is to eventually get him into the main display but I'm still only working towards this slowly because of the whitespot issue. Powder blue tangs are extremely susceptible to whitespot even by tang standards, and if they get whitespot the outcome will often be death, check this http://www.wetwebmedia.com/powdbluetg.htm In the case of my one I felt treatment was essential he would have died (still might).

Yikes! Well I went and had a look tonight, course I know stuff all about plumbing but could see how it works. I can see what Suphew is saying it could in theory block. However as a test Craig put some bits of paper over the stainless outlet filter, and had to block probably 80% of it before there was any effect, so there is a lot of spare capacity. Of course if it completely blocked (unlikely, but I guess we have to consider everything), the water would rise in the overflow box and then the secondary overflow will come into action. The secondary is unlikely to block as there is no reduction anywhere it is straight through. However it is not big enough to handle all the flow, but then the chances of the primary outlet becoming totally blocked are small, a partial blockage will be more likely. I'd see it in practical terms as 99.99% fullproof, I guess the only way to achieve 100%, even for a durso, would be to have a cut out switch to the main return pump, if the water in the main went over some particular level. Anyhow I think I've learned more about plumbing over the last few days than I even wanted to But hey, the fish just love the tank it is big enough that they behave totally naturally, a pleasure to watch. The tank is extremely open, and the fish tend to hang around the rock "island" on the left of the tank, exactly as you see them hanging around rocks and reefs while diving. I am sure they are as happy as in the wild, or likely happier due to the lack of predation, and reliable food supply.

Hey thanks for the advice everyone! Great bunch of caring people! Yes Fay he is still eating. I've been feeding him heaps since his first bout just to try and keep him in condition, so in fact he is very fat. Which is good because no doubt all those parasites will suck it out of him before they drop off. Just for anyone who is interested, here is a link to the instructions how to treat whitespot with hyposalinity. It's a good method in that it leaves no toxic residue as does copper, but as I found to my poor tangs cost, you have to stay right on top of monitoring the salinity. http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevo ... inity.html

Well I'm not going to second guess Mojo because he has a tank that I couldn't even dream about. However, while his reasoning is sound, there is a point he has omited. He refers to the extra bacteria population being created by the addition of vodka, as being useful for nitrate reduction. While this is true, in fact, the main benefit from these bacteria will be the reduction of phosphate. This is because the vodka adds food for them, minus the phosphate. In order to utilize the food, the bacteria have to consume a certain amount of phosphate, and this will have to be drawn from elsewhere in the tank. The bacteria are then (hopefully) skimmed, and voila! we have phosphate reduction. However on another note about vodka, it has been apparent for some time that it's use can lead to a bacterial monoculture, or at least something getting close to that. Now I've been told the reason for that is that vodka contains ingredients that will favour certain bacteria, over others. In fact I have noticed when I have used vodka, that at first there will be a dramatic effect, but then it seems to tail off after a few months. It could be that this is due to this "bacterial monoculturing" tendency.

Some of those little tanks are pretty!

Thanks, yes garlic is great I have used it before with seeming success. Just this powder blue is a very fussy eater he will not eat it. I have mixed the freshly crushed clove with food exactly as you said, & he has taken a little. I'm planning to attempt to slowly train him onto garlic, to help him in the future, as powder blues are extremely susceptible to whitespot. But he's one of the most fussy fish I've ever seen. Won't even eat if I change brand of flake.

This is my powder blue, with major whitespot. Couldn't even capture how bad it is with the camera, in real life he looks like he is wearing a fur coat. When he first got whitespot he came down real bad gasping for breath I did not think he would make it. He would not eat garlic and I don't like copper, so I put him in a QT tank and treated with hyposalinity, dropping salinity over 3 days from 1.025 to 1.009. Did the trick, cured in a little over a week. But then I screwed up, the tank has to be kept at 1.009 for 6 weeks, to allow all the resting stages to die. But stupidly I did not do enough top off, and the salinity crept up to 1.011, enough to allow another infestation. So this is him now. The salinity is back down to 1.009, so provided he does not die in the next couple of days he should come right, but I'll have to start the 6 weeks again. Really have to feel for him he is SO uncomfortable, it's horrible to watch. If someone could invent a 100% guaranteed cure that could be done in tank, for this nasty disease, I'm sure it would be a ticket to become a millionaire!

Tell us what species it is, and also some stuff re your tank ie salinity, flow, light. Sometimes these things can be saved. But also, a big one dieing in a tank can make quite a mess.

These are really cool little gobies that share a burrow with a shrimp. The shrimp digs the burrow and maintains it, and the goby sits outside during the day keeping an eye out for food, and danger. The shrimp keeps one antennae on the gobies tail, and if anything threatening happens, the shrimp can tell by the gobies body language through it's tail, and dashes into the burrow, followed by the goby. They keep a small rock by the entrance of the burrow, and each night when they go in, the goby places the rock over the entrance. Here is a vidoe of them in action. This video also shows a much larger wormfish, which sometimes shares the burrow also, but contributes nothing. http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/movie ... s_high.wmv If you are lucky enough to get one of these shrimp / goby pairs, it is the next most sought after symbiotic type relationship we can have in our tanks, after the clown / anemone one.

No more ghetto than mine! Don't worry about it, it's what you do inside it that counts! Once you have it up & running, the eye is attracted to what's in the tank, the flaws in the silicone will hardly be noticed. Also, the foam underneath, long as no water leaks into it it will be fine. However, it does look like it's an amateur built tank, would pay to fill it with fresh water for a few days to check for leaks, and perhaps some extra bracing for strength. There are some unobtrusive ways to do extra bracing, such as triangular pieces in the corners, and long strips on the bottom. Another problem could be they did not use marine compatible ( anti mould free ) silicone, but not sure if this would be an issue with an octopus.

Well that's quite an achievement Pies! Even though as you say, it may be easier to just buy one, there is still the pride & satisfaction factor to be able to say "I made that myself".

Layton you are a true scholar! Now those dang evil metal eating bacteria are eating the Titanic! Whatever will they get up to next? Uh Oh here's a bunch of 'em now :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Yes you dude! That was one of the most informative posts I've read. I've always had thoughts about making my own tank, as no doubt, have many here. Actually, I did once make a very small one & it was OK, but what that taught me was I would be struggling to make a big one, holding the first bits of glass in place until it is all assembled. How is it done? do you use a jig or something?

Thanks Alan, that's great info! Just wonder, why not actually do the re silicone yourself?

Perhaps one of the people who re silicone tanks all the time could chip in. Or alternatively, Layton knows everything, and lives in your town. If you drop him a pm, I am sure he will know the best options available in Christchurch. He will be keen to offer advice. Just don't ask him anything about iron

Read about this at Wet Web Media, re-siliconing was not recomended, by them, anyway. Had to do with the difficulty of removing that last microlayer of old silicone. Not sure if that was just one guys opinion though. However, it won't cost much in the overall scheme of things to get a new 3 foot tank, and would certainly have more of a sleep easy factor. The cost may be offset somewhat by selling the other tank as a turtle or lizard tank or similar. BTW, you showed an octopus pic back a few months ago, I thought it was yours.

Actually it had me puzzled but there is a logical explanation. Deltec is imported into the States and taxed accordingly on the way in. Presumably to protect local product such as Aqua C. You will therefore see them cheaper on some other sites than in the States. Good ol' American free trade. ( Long as it's advantage America! )

Oh, so they still sell skimmers with eheims? That would mean parts are still available. Yes. Of course I would not throw a pump away that is functioning perfectly well. Just, if it clapped out, wouldn't want to have to throw the whole skimmer away. ( And I have had an eheim melt on me. That's right, actually melted.)

Thanks Fay. Yeah, them and the anemone are the best thing I've got. Just the stupid anemone after a couple of years in a prime viewing location, has moved to a not so visible spot. Oh well, for something with no brain they do have a mind of their own!

It'll depend if parts are still available for the eheim, I'll check into it. Do you know if this skimmer will take the new pumps without modification?

Give me a gauge on what I might have to pay for it

I thought you already had an octopus?

Sounds like everybody knows something except me! Are you selling one Chimera? If so, how much?