DiverJohn

"technically" i would say yes. The specs I have on T5 versus Metal Halide would suggest that a T5 is about 95% as powerful as a MH (mainly at low wattages 70 or 150W) MH has issues surrounding heat etc, salt water members could probably give you a hand if you want to know more about MH. When you see other forums about reef tanks growing corals and "marine stuff" under T5's, they are the way to go. HtH

Yep, sounds like a plan... just a note of caution tho, if you have been using "nitrazorb" keep an eye on your nitrate levels when you take it out... The nitrazorb may have also slowed down the growth of the benificial bacteria. But it sounds like your not 'rushing' which is a good thing

If you havent been fertilizing, then it could likely be nutrients, and perhaps not only micro nutrients ( like iron) but possibly even macro nutrients like nitrates. It is also possible that you may be 'suffering' from what i call 'LFS die off' thats when the plants you buy from the LFS look great for a couple of weeks then die off as they become aclimatized to your tank. Happens to about 50% of the plants i buy. But dont panic, if you have good conditions they should grow back, maybe even stronger than before. HTH John

I have recently put a piece of black fabric across the back of mine. looks heaps better than the "back ground picture" that was there...

Put two 2x24W T5's!! 8)

Sounds like a job for monster garage???

try this... No price http://www.aquasonic.com.au/catalogue/database.php?id=3229

A twin 2foot setup would probably help, I run a mixture of 965's and 865's but have recently been trying 8000K tubes with some success. As already said, if the tubes are more than 9 months old they will be past their prime. If the "15000K" tube is on all the time it will be due for replacement in about 4 months. HTH John

HI Nik Are you sure you have got your numbers correct?? 18 inches is 1 & 1/2 foot? Can you check with a ruler?? Even the lenght in cms will be OK. At one end of the tube there will be some printing... might be like this... Osram L 30W/72 What does yours say???

The red colur of the leaves looks alot like E.Orisis. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/plant_survey/aquarium_plants/?user_plants=52&cHash=d098544e42 More pics here

I have one of these and it wouldnt work as a syphon for your sump. (Well not in its "standard" setup) As suphew said..."they are designed for cannister filters " HTH John

IMO, you cant go past a BIG filter. On my 4 foot (250L)i have an Eheim 2028 (up to 600l tank) I am sure it was the key to making my tank so easy to look after. I bought the whole setup including tank, stand, filter and fish of trademe. Remeber you need to consider the system "as a whole". Changing one thing effects the other parts.

And come home to this I think this is "Marble Queen" And a few more pics here http://photobucket.com/albums/v626/DiverJohn/Plants

Thanks Eric... do you break the peas up a bit??

Wondering if anybody can help with a "problem" i seem to be having with my barbs (Gold and tiger) Last week i noticed one of my Gold Barbs having difficulty swimming, seemed to face down to the bottom and was using all its strenght to stop floating to the surface. I thought he was a gonner! Took the wee fulla out and put him into my tank i am using to "grow out" some E Orisis... I have been feeeding etc for about the last week and he is looking quite content now in a 60l tank all by himself. Then tonight i noticed one of my Tiger barbs really off colour and swiming face down as well. So i have put "him" into the 60l with the gold barb to see if he perks up. Any thoughts on what might be causing this??

I have use aluminium sulphate on my plants for up to 2 hours before putting in teh tank... make sure you rinse with plenty of water !

I suspect he doesnt have photobucket set up... Hi Alan, How is this going? As someone suggested... go to http://www.photobucket.com and create an account. Then. Using the options on photo buket you need to "upload" your pic's to your account. I would suggest you resize any pics BEFORE you upload them, it makes the upload smaller. When you upload them you will see a sample of the pic and some "link" options. One is called IMG (so you see this i will delete 1x square bracket [ at the beginning.) IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/DiverJohn/Rotala_Macranda15Aug05002SM.jpg That is what an "Image tag" looks like, and thats what you need to paste into your messages to show pics. When the forum thread loads instead of putting in text, it will download teh pic from teh photo bucket server and display it for all too see Unfortunatly threads arent like emails and you cant just "paste " a pic from your computer, also you cant really paste a "link" to the file directly off your computer ( computer geeks bite your tongues ok!! :lol: ) What happens when you turn your PC off??? Hope that helps a bit John

[quote="Ira Does GPS work underwater? More than just a few meters I mean?

No same north but slight difference in hemispheres ( dont ask me why!!) Apparently teh likes of Suunto make a Northern & Southern hemisphere compass. But unless your in the SAS doing a 2km underwater swim i dont think it would matter that much! But the SAS would use a GPS and a rebreather!!

Ermmmm Kind of :oops: The distributior is in Auckland, i managed to get a "look" at a DUI before I bought... so tried it on first... And i was close enough to one of the standard sizes. The Trilaminate CLX450 is quite roomy anyway. Not the same as a neoprene which you see mainly in NZ

You can make some big savings buying from overseas. To give you an idea, i bought a DUI drysuit for about 1/2 what they go for in NZ. You should also keep an eye on the UK websites. There is a big dive show in Birmingham about October and there are some wicked deals on then!!

Purely based on the information on the "fact sheet". IMO they may not be that good... CRI is low (70+) Compared to the biolux at a CRI of 90+

HI Steve, The Biolux is not really a "general purpose" tube. As well as having a hi Kelvin rating ( 6500K) the Biolux also has a hi CRI or Colour Rendering index. Thats what the numbers on the tube mean. 9=CRI, 65 = colour ( in this case not related to to 6500K tho). You can get other tubes that are 6500K but a lower CRI. 865 or 860. And you "general purpose" tubes you get in offices are usually in the "8" CRI. EG. 840 is a wam white The other number on teh tube is the Wattage of the tube and in most cases give you a clue to the lenght! Because the bigger the tube... teh more energy you use and the more light you get. 30W(atts) is a 3 footer, 36W is a 4 footer 18000K tubes are I think more for Marine use as the colour is quiet 'blue'. HTH John

Biolux are fine IMO Its what i use

Good advise from cookie extreme... Make sure your keen before you buy... as with most things the sky is the limit. but here's my 10c SOme things i woudl always buy "new" you have to trust you life with it. Other stuff you coudl get 2nd hand and be confident....There are some good brands and some not so good... Spend your money on good reg's, they are worth their weight in gold! Next i would say a good wetsuit is really important Good mask, fins, snorkel, and if your after crays... a torch!!! And BCD's all do pretty much the same thing so i woudlnt spend alot on the latest and greatest, 2nd hand would be an option. Dont worry about flash- harry computers even a basic computer will suffice for most recreational diving. Good luck 8) DJ