Janey

Yeah good point. Hermits are small though (size of a small finger nail), but your right. Yeah get the lights down/off. I got really eager when my tank was cycling, and all I got for it was green hair algae, and lots of it. On temprature, most things can't handle the heat. I run my tank 24C. Good luck Pies

Patience... I brought a Deltec, and i'd be surprised if my next skimmer (should I EVER need one) will be Deltec too (although i'd condier a TUNZE as they are smaller). Check the trade and exchange or ask 'reef' on this site to find you a skimmer. FYI I paid $850.00 for my skimmer, including taps, and the Ehiem pump, and was greatfull for it. There is some 2nd hand stuff about. Pies

When we were in Turangi for the Exec meeting last month the swamp was very dry, there was only a very small amount of water right out in the middle which was impossible to get to without very long gumboots! However, I drove past there last weekend (unsuccessful skiing trip) and it looks to have filled up with water again. Not to it's original level but a lot better than it was! The land development sign is still up, but nothing appears to be happening yet, so fingers crossed we have a successful molly hunt next month!

Hi Fallen Where in Wellington do you live? There is a Wellington club (not part of the FNZAS) which meets in Ngaio, and there is also the Kapi Mana club which meet in Plimmerton. My partner (Pies) has a tropical saltwater tank at home, and he has done heaps of reading about lighting and other stuff, so could probably give you some tips. Do you get your saltwater straight from the ocean? We added a whole lot of glass shrimp to the tank and they don't seem to mind the warmer water, and they are good algae eaters. Where do you get your seahorses from? We do a bit of diving around Wellington but haven't been lucky enough to see one in the wild yet. Apparently they are more likely to be seen at night. Jane

Hi Fallen! The Wellington club isn't affilliated to the FNZAS, there is an Upper Hutt Club and also the Kapi Mana Club which I belong to. You are most welcome to come along, our next meeting is this coming Wednesday (let me know if you want more details). Also my partner and I have just built our own tank from scratch a couple of months ago, it is made from 10mm glass and is 1600mm x 650mm x 700mm (approx 700 litres) and is now housing some awesome marine fish and invertebrates. We're not sure if we would build our own tank again, probably not! But Jo's suggestion about contacting Peter at Port Nicholson Glass is a good one, he is really helpful and will make a tank for a reasonable price. We are looking at building a bigger freshwater tank soon, probably another 5 footer, and we are going to get Peter to build it for us (less stress!) Good luck with your tank

Or get a bigger monitor

Luckily my sore throat didn't turn into much, just a bit of a cough and a croaky voice, and I am almost over it now. Has everyone else recovered from their ailments?

well YES. but not a cold. We got home about 5pm on Monday and by 9.30pm I was in a bad way. I spent most of the next 12 hours in the toilet, I must have thrown up at least a dozen times! On Tuesday I could barely move, I was completely exhausted from being so sick and lack of food and still couldn't keep any food down. Took Wednesday off work as well to recover, and managed a piece of toast and a bit of tea. I am over the stomach bug now, but to top things off, I woke up this morning with a sore throat, it better not turn into anything! :evil: Mum also had Tuesday and Wednesday off work, she had a headache and sore throat. There must have been something unpleasant going around!

Hmmm, that was supposed to be a not a oh well!

Me me me! I am going down on the 2pm ferry next Friday, with the other half (Pies) and 6 of our club members. Hopefully we will all recognise each other and meet up on the boat! Caryl, we aren't going back until the 1.30pm sailing on Monday 2nd June, hope that's OK with you? Otherwise I'm sure we can catch the bus )

Hi all We have had one club member pull out of attending conference this year, so I now have a spare ferry ticket. I can get an 80% refund on the ticket but thought that I might see if anyone else who is going wants to buy it off me first! It is for the 2pm sailing from Wellington on Friday 30th May and returning on Monday 2nd June on the 1.30pm sailing. The ticket cost $59 return, and there is no problem changing the name on it. If anyone is interested please let me know! Jane

Hi Warren Here is something for you... you have different details for me under exec committee and club officers... Both should be: Jane Rattee (with 2 t's!!) 93 Fox Street Ngaio Wellington Ph 973 2713 Email [email protected] Thanks! Jane

Sorry if it sounded like I was 'moaning' about the year book delays. I am on the committee and understand that the delay is not due to any one person. I promise I wasn't moaning, just pointing out that correspondence is more difficult without updated information! :-?

I have a Silver Shark who always hangs out at the end of the tank, nose against the glass wiggling from side to side. I always figured that he was either admiring himself or thought that he could see another Silver Shark? Maybe my theory could be wrong if in fact the fish can see out!

And please don't withdraw from the Federation, it would be a real shame! The FNZAS executive committee are having a meeting this weekend, so hopefully we will be able to get things back on track again Please bear with us. Jane

That fact that no year book has been forthcoming is probably contributing to the communication problems. Hopefully it will be sorted soon! :-?

Hey Nico (missed you at club meeting on Wednesday!) My partner Mark (Pies) is currently setting up a marine aquarium and had to get two 25mm holes cut in 10mm glass. I would definately recommend getting it done by a professional. We went to Wellington Glass on Torrens Terrace in Wellington, and they charged $5 per hole, not bad for piece of mind really! 10mm glass is expensive and it would be a shame to break it! Jane

Thanks Caryl I have just booked ferry tickets for 9 of our members, and we have another couple of 'undecideds' still. We decided at our meeting last night that we didn't want to miss out on any of the 'action', so we are catching the 2pm ferry across on the Friday afternoon, and leaving on the 1.30pm ferry on the Monday. Will get those registration forms to you as soon as they arrive Jane

Hi Caryl Can you post the registration forms for the Kapi-Mana club to me at: 20 Mexted Tce Tawa Wellington I am doing the organising for our club, so it's probably easier if the information comes to me. Thanks! Jane

Can you actually get these past NZ customs now? I looked into getting some for our club members about a year ago and Brine Shrimp Direct would not ship them to us as the last order they sent to NZ was destroyed by customs. I forget now, but it might have been a mis-labelling issue. Can someone tell me what the eggs should be labelled as to get them past customs without any hassles? Thanks Jane

Here is the web address for photos of the marine tank we visited in Auckland - http://www.aqua.net.nz/html/tank_pics.html It was very very impressive !

Hi people... I need help! The PH in my community tank has dropped to below 6.0, I'm not sure to what exactly as my colour chart only goes to 6.0 but I'm guessing about 5.5. The tank has been set up since I moved in June and I haven't tested the PH at all, but.... a congo tetra died 3 weeks ago for no apparent reason, and I noticed a few other fish looking distressed, so I tested the water. The nitrates and ammonia are fine, but I got a shock when I discovered how acid the water was! Poor fishies The tank is approx 160L with a 1200 l/h external filter, there is NO wood in the tank, only schist (sp?) and plant. I did a 1/3 water change when I discovered the PH level, and brought it up to 6.2, I did another one 4 days later which brought it up to 6.6. I can't get it any higher than this, as it keeps slipping back down again. The PH of the tapwater is 7.4. Does anyone have any suggestions what is causing this? And what I can do to fix it? At the moment I am doing very frequent water changes to compensate, but don't want to keep doing this forever...! Thanks in advance... Jane

Richard - The Christchurch aquarium wasn't too bad, I think it was possibly overpriced for what was there though. Only $2 cheaper than the Napier aquarium and about 1/8 the size! They had a couple of very 'out-there' kiwis, which were cool, and some very large crayfish. We also went to Orana Park while we were in Christchurch. Those giraffes they have are ultra friendly!

Cat... Mark did that at the Napier aquarium when we were up there at Labour weekend, his finger got nibbled by their puffer fish! Didn't draw blood but sure left a dent. Speaking of which, I was in Chch last weekend and went to the aquarium at the square, they have the biggest puffer/porcupine fish I have ever seen! If anyone wants to come and see the marine tank at my work, you are most welcome to. No I don't work at a Japanese restaurant! I work in an office and I can see the tank from where I sit The guy who looks after it knows all the 'right' people, so getting fish and other animals for our tank at home shouldn't be too hard. Peety... we have a 500 litre tropical tank as well, and a couple of smaller ones, but the marine tank concept appears to be so much more complicated, more equipment and more that can go wrong! Does the sump have to be any particular size? i.e. 25% of the main tank size, and does it need to be full? I guess we should get the main tank made first! I think we have decided on 4 x 2 x 2 feet.

My partner Mark is about to start setting up a saltwater tank (with me helping I suppose!) He is busy investigating all the necessary equipment etc. Does anyone have any helpful hints or suggestions? The tank will be approximately 400-500 litres, we will have those metal halide lights, and a protein skimmer. We eventually want to have hard and soft coral, live sand and rock, anenomes and of course some fish! But will be taking things very slowly and making sure it's all set up right first. I am quite spoilt, as I have a 1600 litre tropical marine tank at my work, it is so awesome to look at, now we want one at home too Any advice would be much appreciated...