Plantman

there is always the case of supply and demand. LFS is always looking for the best and reliable deal. if they kill the local market, they also kill the changes of making a profit in their business. in the past, they have depended on rare fishes but many breeders has started in NZ and that is profit for both the breeder and LFS. someone said something about breeder have a choice to sell. if they sell too high, no LFS will buy and LFS would rather buy local fish because they are cheaper and dealing direct meant they have better control over the fish quality. when they do not have a choice, they have to deal with importers who has pump in heaps of money for quarantine and tax. they usually demand higher pricing then the local breeder. first of all, if there is no importer in the first place, there will be no local breeder. the choice is in the market for the local breeders, importers, LFS and the customers. no body can claim they are making heaps of money or taking advantage from one another. IF i want to dump my price to LFS, it is my foolishness. the LFS might be suspicious of the fish and might not even want to buy from me. as Alan and as many had said, maintaining a good reputation with our buyers is crucial if not essential. in the long run, price is not control by us but by the market; supply and demand. and our good sense of judgement

is the green leaves nice and rich or is the leaves melting? i guess the plant is melting, hopefully new shoots will come out. :roll: :roll: :roll:

basically there are: the stem plant which grow very tall. there are lots of maintenance trimming and pruning. this is good for the back section of the tank. the broad leaves which serve as the center piece, the main attraction. these are reserve for the mid section. and then there is the front lawn which is short and thus create more space for the fishes. the shape you created in the tank will be us to your imagination. it can be a auditorium layout or an oasis at one corner or an island by itself. there are also the stones and the wood that creates the underwater natural effects. there are also other plants; like the fern and moss that do not require lots of like. Blues has a good assorted of nana plants which is good in tieing to the wood and when they are properly grown, it create a little tree in the oasis. does that help a little in your imagination? :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

fertliser and lighting are more essential than Co2. but again there are those who has neither special fertliser and lighting and yet their plant thrives. if you just got started with planted tank, you can have the Co2 at the later stage when need arises. Co2 is there not to ensure plant's growth but is there to compete against the dreaded algae but still there is no guarantee if the aquarium keeper did not have a proper maintenance. Co2 does not eradicate algae but to keep alae under control and at the bear minimum. if are well into planted, you can always start a DIY Co2 which is not expensive like the pressured co2 system. maybe some fellow members of FNZAS will share some light for you and others who wants to know. have a good day

you are right. proof below. http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/b_Rotala_wallichii.php http://www.tropica.com/productcard_1.asp?id=032A http://www.freshwateraquariumplants.com ... ROD/BP/RWS i think the top one is Rotala Indica and the bottom is Rotala roundifolia. do you dose iron for the red plant? How much? they look great.

you will probably still need it, though. the pump will keep a good circulation in your tank. a good filter (ext one) will generate good bacteria and thus good clear water and good health for your fish. it will be good if you can place some ceramic noodles in the int filter. the more plant you have in your tank, the bigger the water flow is require.

where did you get the wood from? if by LFS, it will be ok, if from the nature, you might want to boiled, salted and sun before using it. changes are that your water system is not well maintain. the old wood is fine, just give it a good rinse and sun. don't point your one finger at the wood because 3 are pointing back at you.

Hi meesheelly, just a few inexpensive suggestion: Lighting: if more than 8 months old, you might want to change the tube. or you may want to increase one or two more hoursin your timer. or position it near a window water change: change it twice a week with 40% new water. for 3 weeks and see if there is any improvement. then go back to normal water change. fertliser: reduce your dose by half and dose every time you change the water. i suspect the plant has only being in your tank for a month or so. they are readjusting to your tank. florish excel help in growing healthy leaves but the root are not adsorbing the nutrient. made sure your gravel is a good 3 inches in height and have a good level of dayton aquatic mixed. if you have cories, or pleaco or botton feeder, you might want to put them in a seperate tank for a while until you plant staberlise with its root system. have a look at my aquatic landscaping. hope i did not confuse you. Cheers

congrats humming bird. after a while i begin to pull out the stalk of flower, that is just me. you do have the right balance in your tank. careful, you may have a jungle in your tank. keep up the good work. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Blue is right. plants that grown emerge is different from plant thats grown submerge. the conversion from emerge to submerge will take some time if you are successful. it is not a guarantee, that is why, i encourage people not to buy the plant that is grown emerge from the hydroponic. they grow a lot faster if it is grown above the open air. most LFS is selling them in their emerge form without knowing that the plant might not survive in the long run. the picture shown is definitely a difformis in emerge form.

another possibility is the in-balance of the ingrediant in your water. could be excessive: light - too near to the sun light 9or too near to the window with direct sunlight) for too long fertliser - cut down water change - not enough it can also be too many or too little fishes and plants Balance is the key. Cheers

red leaves do need a lot more iron. may be you could at a little more and cut back on other feretliser to starve the algae.

Malayan trumpet snails will be everyone worst night mare because they multiple very fast. do you have root fertliser or liquid fertliser in your tank? is you light strong enough or are your tank located near to the window? Cheers

try florish excel. the price could be a little dearer but it is cheaper because it has a better concentration level compare to other brand. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 185895.htm you might want to consider substrate fertliser. you can buy this from hollywood in ak or trademe. i think tankgirl3 sells them: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 259397.htm insert the ball among the roots area and you roots will grow nice and firm. no pleco is going to plug them out of your gravel.

my bristle nose like their tank dirty, even though i have change their water. you will never know, there might be a few hiding in between the drift wood just like the re appearing of your GBN. Cheer up, you still have done well and you will do better the next time.

have a pat on your back. well done on your fries. 8) 8) 8)

Any CO2? DIY or pressured sytem? DIY is cheaper and you will see almost instant improvement. what is the wattage per tube? if 36X2 is not enough. best is 100 watts and higher. the colour has to be between 6,000 to 10,000 kelvin. do you use liquid fertiliser? if substract fertliser is not enough, you can use JBL Ball fertliser. they are very good. what is the position of your tank? does it gets partial sun light? may be 36X2 wattage is enough with partial sun light but this is very hard to measure and will only know after some time. basically, you will still need 100 watts or higher. if it is the stem plants, cut off the rotting part and re-plant the upper good part of the stem into the gravel. keep us posted.

may be it was another model that uses PL light. so you have FL light and no PL light. yes, you will need to dismantle the unit to peep into the ballast. you might as well if you want to upgrade your lighting system. if your ballast do not support higher wattage, you will have to dismantle your ballast and bring it down to the lighting shop and look for one that has same dimension and right hole for fitting into your plastic hood. if you do not want to dismantle the ballast, have a good measurement of your ballast and describe it to your light dealer. Ballast come in all different dimension of a rectangular cube. as your dealer if he has one that support 55 wattage and above. i have a ballast that can support 2X55wattage in one ballast. so check with your light suppliers and see what they said. this is the easier way to upgrade your lighting system, otherwise, you will need to start drilling holes or use a strong epoxy adhesive to hold your ballast. there are also two kind of ballast: Magnetic Ballast: gets very hot and flicks a few time before the light is turn on. compare to Electric Ballast: does not get hot and turns on immediately. i favor EB over MB because EB can extend the life spam of the bulbs and does not shock the fishes. EB does not have starter as well. Cheers

HI Chris you mention "PL" in your second thread. so i though you have PL light. if you got FL light, could you check your ballast (rectangular cubicle shape) and see it is says 36 watts or 55 watts or whatever. if it is higher wattage, you can just but the right bulb and it will be fine. if not, you might have to change the ballast to get higher wattage. Cheers Henry

PL tube are generally called Philip light as Philip is the first to launch such a tube. it has a U-shape tube and has 4 pins on one end. FL is a Fluorescent tube commonly found in the market. if you can establish 3X50watts tube, you will be ok. ideally 200 watts will be better but not more than 300 watts of light. the spectrum you should look for is 6,500 kelvin. i just saw a 4 footer tube with 6,500kelvin in Bunnings. not sure if you have Bunninngs in Christ Church. Cheers

this is generally the problem with pre fabricated tank. they have limited space in the hood. you will either modified your hood and add in more lights or lose the hood and go with the standard light holder in the market. some time, this may not be pleasant to look at. to modified, you may need a drill, tube holder, tube, wire, ballast and end cap. you need to buy the right stuff. are you good in electricity? another easier way wil be to check your ballast whether it support higher wattage (currently you have 30watt X 2 and 20 watt X1). if your ballasts only support 30s and 20s, than may be just change the ballast so that it will support higher wattage tube. i have seen pl going for 55watts and fl going for 54 watts. three of this tube will be enough for you 300 litre tank. best of luck.

your set up is pretty good. i am not sure if $20 is worth the saving. there are a lot of work involve and more stuff to buy. you will need to buy a few tester to begin with. tester for phosphate, sulphate, iron, etc next you will need to buy the basic ingredients from Hydro phonic suppliers: may be you can read more from this site: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/pmdd-vt18191.html http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/pmdd-vt15495.html cheers

Hi Hands i am that club member. its Tonina Fluviatilis. i have had it before but have never seen it in NZ. i am not sure if this the same one in your picture. Blue can share some light

i agree with Alan. you might want to consider plants like nanas, crypt, java fern, etc. this plant does not need high light but i find this plant tricky at time with low light. i have tried crypt and java fern before but never with low light.

glosso will grow upwards only if your wattage is low. if you have a good wattage and the right colour. Glosso will not grow upwards until your whole bottom is saturated. that is where revamping is require. all these is part and pacel of aquatic landscaping in the aquarium. if you want, you should give hair grass a go. the tallest it will grow is about 5 to 6 inches. "Sagitarium" is another good plant. to me, all this is less prunning, stay short and cold water. but it needs a medium to high light because the plant is at its lowest point of the aquarium trying to get enough light for growth. hope that can of some help. :lol: :lol: :lol: