stillnzcookie

Apparently you can pay to have a close encounter with the cheetahs, plus if you are there at the right time, I think you can help feed giraffes and stuff? We went last year when we were in Wellington, and they were just about finished building the new animal hospital/operating theatres etc. That would be the most interesting part, in my opinion, especially if they have an animal in for treatment. I don't remember seeing any fish, apart from a few sad-looking ones in the cafe aquarium, but there were frogs and lizards.

If you don't have them already, can you install motion-activated floodlights as a deterrent? Not the standard sensor light, but the really bright ones.

Point taken, but most of our fish deaths have been caused by pH problems (and a killer harlequin, but that's a whole different story...). It's not like we're actively trying to adjust pH all the time - we test for it, do regular water changes and have been using coral rock to try to stabilise it, but that is all we've done over the last year or so. When we first started having problems, we got sucked in by all the people trying to sell us stuff to alter pH, but we quickly realised that just created far bigger problems (and far more mortalities), so we take a hands-off approach now, which has been working fine until this week. Yes, the tap water was 7.4 on the night I put it in. Our tap water is very soft and, as a result, the pH varies considerably - I have measured it from 6.0 - 7.8 (and our test doesn't go beyond that). I have been told that the coral rock acts as a buffer, so the pH in the tank shouldn't be too affected by the pH of the tap water anyway. We do smaller changes than when we first got the tank - about 20-30% per week - but, as above, it doesn't usually seem to cause problems anyway. SO, I've chucked a bit more coral rock in the tank, as the pH was still falling, so I'm hoping that will stabilise it a bit. Thanks for all the replies, but I'd still love an answer to the original question - what could cause pH to rise over time? It's NOT because I'm trying to fix a problem, I'm just curious as to how it can happen! And alongside that - does coral rock cause a rise in pH, or does it just act as a buffer to stabilise pH? Thanks!

Ok, now I'm really confused... pH after water change last night was 7.4. Retested at lunchtime today and it was down to 6.8. I boiled our driftwood last night, as it was covered in algae, so I THINK this may have caused it? Am I correct in thinking that driftwood softens water, which can cause pH to drop? Fortunately, the fish seem very happy - they are more active and have their vibrant colours back again - but I'm nervous that there might be a disaster waiting to happen. So what should I do? Should I add more coral rock? (given that yesterday I was on the verge of removing some of it? :roll: ). Will adding more stabilise pH or just cause it to rise? Also, does temperature influence pH and, if so, how? For us, this has been the most frustrating and upsetting thing about keeping fish. Fluctuating pH levels are the bane of our lives - just when we think we've got it sorted, everything goes haywire again :evil: Just to make life more complicated - I know that stable pH is the first thing we should be aiming for, as I have been told many times that fish can live happily in quite a range of pH, as long as it is stable, but our fish really seem happier when the pH is just below 7.0. When it sits at 6.6-6.8, I notice that the fish are more active and their colours are more vibrant. If only we could keep it there all the time...

Thanks for the replies Yes, that seemed logical to me, except that we were told we would have to gradually replace/add more over time, as it would lose its buffering effect. It took us about three months of slowly adding more and more to the filter until it stopped the pH dropping, and that was over 18 months ago now, so if anything, I would have expected the pH to be gradually dropping, not rising by now. I will take out a bit and see what happens, but I'm nervous about doing it in case I remove too much and we start having pH crashes again (this has been the cause of almost all our fish deaths ) Actually, I didn't realise coral rock would make pH rise - I thought it just acted as a buffer to keep it more stable?

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we haven't always been quite as regular with our water changes over the last few months :oops: . Usually we do weekly water changes, and we ALWAYS test pH levels, as we have soft water, and have had problems in the past with pH dropping. Now that we have coral rock in the filter, the pH is usually between 6.8 and 7.0, which our fish all seem perfectly happy in (panda cories, harlequin rasboras and dwarf neon rainbowfish). We test pH both before and after each water change. However, I have noticed that, when we don't do a water change for a couple of weeks, the pH always seems to go up quite dramatically. Today it was 7.6 when I tested beforehand, and is now back to 7.4. Our fish seem to cope ok with this - the only change I have noticed is that their colours dull slightly - but I am aware it is not ideal for them to have such big swings in pH. Tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all always fine. I can understand why pH can drop over time, but can anyone tell me what could be causing it to rise? I know the solution is to keep up with the weekly water changes, but I'm curious as to what is causing it. Thanks!

"Good" and "Home" are the same combination of keys, and my husband always used to text me "I'll be good soon". I'm still waiting...

I know we can put different media in the new filter, just not what is already in the old filter! One of the reasons hubby chose this filter was that it had quite a large space to fill with filter media of any sort. Even if I did cut the old stuff out of the frame, I think it would all just fall to bits.

Thanks for the replies. Hubby is a water engineer, so he chose the filter and has now modified it to cut down the flow (It was the filter size recommended for tanks 60-100L). So the flow is fine when it is the only filter in the tank, but still a bit much with both filters running. When he gets back, I'll see if he can do a temporary modification to turn it down further for the time being. I agree it would be best to have both filters running 24/7 if we can.

Thanks Caryl. I'm worried there is too much water movement with both filters running at the same time - it doesn't seem to leave a still patch of water for the fish to sleep in. When we first put the new filter in (several months ago), we had both running during the day, but were turning the new one off at night, mainly because of the noise problem, but also to give the fish a bit of peace! I figured that the internal filter would still have water in it, even when it was turned off, so it would be ok as long as it was running every day. I can't use the old media in the new filter, as it is in a sort of plastic frame, and I want to keep it as a backup, so I don't want to cut it up.

Right, I've had a bit of a play around - please give me your thoughts, opinions and any more ideas! I tried suspending the new filter, but it needs to be touching something, otherwise it ends up shooting water upwards out of the tank. I am considering still using the suction cups to attach it to the back of the tank, but also padding it with a bit of sponge or similar. Do you think this might help? We had some coral rock in the filter (we need it to buffer our very soft water). This seemed to be making it slightly noisier, so I think I will take it out. If I bury the coral rock under the gravel, will it still work as a pH buffer? Otherwise I guess I can hide it amongst the plants on top of the gravel? I am going to remove all the filter media (as the filter has been out of the tank for a few weeks now), and clean it before I put it back in the tank. Will washing it under the tap be enough, or should I boil it all? We will put the new filter back in the tank for a while before we remove the old filter. If I ran the new filter during the day and the old filter at night, would that be enough to get the new filter growing lots of good bugs? How long should I run both filters before I remove the old one? Thanks!

We solved this in a 60L tropical tank by doing a big water change, then a 3 day blackout, then another big water change. It could be caused by overfeeding or sunlight hitting the tank (even a tiny bit of sunlight directly on the glass can turn water into pea soup, as we discovered). You can use algae-rid products, but if you don't find out what is causing it in the first place, it will just keep coming back. What temperature is the water at this time of year? I don't know anything about coldwater fish-keeping, but I wonder if a higher temperature could be encouraging algae growth?

my brother- and sister-in-law's company - www.localmall.co.nz

I think the short answer is yes... ...but it would depend on the design of the stand and how well braced it is. A 54L tank would weigh around 50-70kg, I think? (once it is filled with gravel, water etc) and 18mm MDF is reasonably thick, but I'm pretty sure it would have to be braced to keep it stable and prevent the top bowing. Also, how are you planning to coat the MDF? Remember MDF and water don't mix (it swells and splits if it gets wet) If you search on here for stands, people obviously use MDF for bigger tanks than yours, so yes, it can be done!

Thanks for the replies, and thanks for the link, SamH. I have just looked at the extra large tanks - exactly the sort of thing I was after! :bounce: Yes, we have seven harlequins and they are fantastic fish with great colours, so I agree with you that a large school would be amazing! We have also quite recently added three neon dwarf rainbows, and i would LOVE to see a huge school of those - in my opinion they give neons and cardinals a run for their money! Yes, there seem to be definite styles of tanks, but it helps show what can be done. I wouldn't want most of those tanks, but there are some great ideas, and it's good to see photos with large schools of fish. I have been wondering how well fish school once they know there are no threats in a tank? Is it terrible of me to even contemplate adding a couple of slightly more aggressive fish to keep the others on their toes? By the way, excuse my ignorance, but should I say a school of fish or a shoal of fish? Is there a difference?

Ok, so this is looking to the future a bit, but dreams are free, right? One day, we are hoping to live in a bigger house, and get a much bigger tank (2ish metres long). At this stage (and this could change...), I quite like the thought of having a big tank with small fish (cories, tetras etc). I love the idea of having big schools of a few different fish, in a large planted tank. I'm sure there are tanks out there like this, but I'd love to see some photos to give me a better idea of what is possible. However, all the sites I've managed to find show little fish in little tanks and big fish in big tanks. Can anyone direct me to some images of really fantastic tanks so I can carry on dreaming? :lol:

The tank is on the kitchen bench and will be moved to a side bench in the kitchen of the same construction. The units are just standard kitchen cabinetry, but the laminate bench is thicker than standard, so it is very solid. It has a pretty standard plastic lid/light hood, which is very light, so good point - this could be contributing to the noise. I'll have a look at suspending it and see if that would work - not sure how you would stop it moving though? Thanks for the ideas!

I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Perhaps I should clarify that I'm a very light sleeper and a classical musician, so I'm very sensitive to noise! We had it running in the tank for a number of months, but were turning it off at night (and leaving the other filter going), so I think it's a bit late to take it back anyway. During the day, with other ambient noise around, it's not a major problem, but it is at night. Regarding the suction cups, I find most suction cups fall off after a period of time. In most cases this isn't a problem, you can just stick them back, but I'd hate the filter to fall off and land on sleeping fish! The suction cups do seem quite small compared with the size and weight of the filter, so I may see if they can be replaced with bigger/stronger ones, but that still doesn't solve our noise problem...

You said early on that you have previously been able to save money (were saving for a house), and that you had enough saved to live on for the previous two months. You then said that you had used your overdraft to get out of contracts etc. If you had $2000 overdraft (or $4000 if you both have one), how can that not have been enough just to tide you over for the month before your partner started uni? Surely you didn't spend the whole lot getting out of contracts? If you have enough income to just cover the rent each month, with a bit left over, you should be able to live for several months on $2000 quite comfortably. I'm not having a go at you, but I just can't see how this all adds up... On a different note, I hope you've had as much luck with the power co as the phone co in deferring payments. If you have a good record, they should usually be accommodating, as they want to hold onto good customers.

We are shifting our 54l tank, so have bought an internal filter, as the HOB will not fit on the new shelf where it is going to be. It is a Blue Planet Tankmaid Pro 1000 and we put it in the tank to run for a while before we shifted the tank. However, it is so noisy that we couldn't run it at night (our tank is in the kitchen, but we could hear it in the bedroom) and we have just taken it out. I am going to have a play around with it, but as far as we can tell, the glass of the tank is basically acting as a soundboard and amplifying the noise. If we hold the filter in the tank, rather than use the suction cups to attach it to the glass, the noise it makes is negligible, but as soon as we attach it, it gets a very disconcerting buzz/hum which sets your teeth on edge. Does anyone have any suggestions for how we could muffle the sound? I'm not impressed with the suction cups anyway, as they occasionally come off (and our cories liked to sleep under the filter), so is there any other way to keep it in one place in the tank?

Good for you buying something and thanking her properly - I know it's just simple courtesy, but so many people wouldn't even think of it these days.

Have just reread some of this, and answered a couple of my own questions! If you have always paid your bills on time (ie you have a good relationship with power, phone companies etc), contact them NOW, before you miss paying a bill, explain your circumstances and find out your options. It sounds like you are looking at one month of real hardship, then five months of being able to survive (if your partner gets a bit of work), then your life gets back to normal when your partner starts full-time work. You may be able to defer this month's bills, then pay them off gradually over the next 6-12 months. Whatever you do, don't just not pay a bill - sort something out before it arrives and keep a good relationship with your power and phone companies. If you are both tied into mobile contracts that you would have to pay to get out of, do you need a home phone line as well (If you're both going to be at uni, you certainly don't need home internet)? Even if you have to pay to get out of a contract, it may work out cheaper in the long run (and I know you have no money right now to break a contract, but you need to consider how you will save money for at least the next 6 months as well. Perhaps both sets of parents could afford to lend you a small amount for the short term - a phone contract is typically about $100 to break, so they may each be able to lend $50, for example)

According to your budget, how much extra money do you need each week to see you through the next 6 months (if I read correctly, you should be out of financial difficulties by then)? And what do you need it for? Is it just food, or are you unable to pay any of your bills at the moment? Is there a student budgeting advisor at uni? Sometimes they can be more helpful than WINZ in letting you know all your entitlements. You say there's no point selling stuff if you are only going to replace it again in the future, but I don't think that's entirely true. Perhaps you are better to sell stuff to tide you over now, and delay replacing it until you are really financially secure again - even if that means you go without for a few years. I know it seems unfair, when you have worked hard and been careful with your money, but you can honestly live without a TV, stereo, Wii, mobile, internet, car etc if you have to, and even if you don't get a huge amount for each item, it will all add up. Even clothing, DVDs/CDs, books etc may be worth selling. It seems to me that, if you can't get financial assistance to tide you over, your options are to sell stuff you can live without (if you only need a bit of extra cash to get by), shift somewhere cheaper (if you need more money), or get more work/put university on hold for a while. I do feel for you, as it sounds like you haven't been reckless with money and unfortunate circumstances have led to your current position, but sadly, that happens to a lot of people. Keep your chin up, make the tough decisions, work through it and imagine how good it will feel to come out the other end knowing you have done it by yourself!

Our supermarket had their hot cross buns on their Christmas display table last week...

Yes - Step 9 - Keep on topic! It's all about basic manners and civility, isn't it - but it's amazing how the anonymity of the internet makes some people forget all the lessons they were taught as kids...