misnoma

Okay.. i've watched this enough to get some kind of idea... So.. given I have a 4ft tank sitting here (430L, $160 new), and a stand (about $150 in parts + some elbow grease ) It seems to have a semi-successful and non-suck setup I should be looking at the following: A Sump - something like a 3ft tank which would fit inside my stand? (given the price I paid for the 4ft, it would probably cost ~$70-80 - won't need to be 10mm for a start) - Could someone sum up in 30 words or less the purpose of a sump other than increasing the water volume of the system? (or is that the whole idea?) Two or three powerheads - Michael suggested Aqua One ones on a budget - what else is there, or is there something more recommended? A skimmer - I saw another post where someone got a Deltec for ~$750, and another for $375 - what size would be suitable for my tank size? Being a freshwater person, skimmers are a nice foreign concept to me Piping of some sort from sump to main tank - and I'm guessing some holes cut in the main tank for this piping to go in? A pump to get water from sump up to main tank. Again, what is recommended/required here? Rock/sand/test kits etc etc etc are a given, as is livestock - however given you're going to want to cycle the tank before even thinking about livestock, this would be a suitable time to plan/save for said livestock, right? (i.e. initially you would want your rock/sand in the tank for cycling, but nothing else) From what I've read - 90% of you swear by having a sump/skimmer, so it seems like I would be silly not to consider this at the start, I understand it can be done without, but seems I would end up wanting them at some point anyhows. My "on a budget" comment was purely so people didn't come back with "well if you get this, this, this, this and this, you can have the great barrier right in your lounge for only $20k!" - because I do get the point that with saltwater the sky is pretty much the limit for spending Righty... hopefully that helps clear things up a little

you're more than welcome In fact, if you click on the "profile" link near the top of the window, you can change the timezone to your local timezone so things seem more normal to you

That should be sweet, just keep an eye on ammonia levels for the first week or so.

Jansens Mt Eden have one - or so their email tells me

If you have pics and need somewhere to put them so you can share let me know, I can host them for you - just pm me

Ira... what is RO? other than that... you've pretty much given a damm good starting point (other than cost for 4ft tank and stand, but hey )

multiple tank syndrome

I was actually going to say that looks well photoshopped

I've seen people with tropicals and goldfish in the same tank (Hi Graeme ) and they are thriving. So yeah - Just let things settle for a bit, I'd be interested to know what temp your tank is however. 10 Gallon = about 40 Litres? - unsure which gallons you are using

Is this freedom gravel :lol: Anyhows... It sounds a little strange to have a goldfish in with tropical fish? Otherwise, now you have things somewhat stable.. just let it sit for a few weeks, resist the temptation to add more fish etc and keep up the waterchanges

If it's on the same topic, reply to the thread, don't post a new topic

So I was wandering around the LFS (as per usual on a Sunday lol) and found a lovely male bristlenose to go with my female. They're both around 8-9cm long, and the male has fantastic bristles etc. Now I've got the candles lit, and the barry white ready... however I know nothing about breeding these fish - they're currently in their own 4' tank with about 10 baby convicts (who will be moving out soon - anyone want convicts for free? ). So.. what conditions should I be looking to create to make them comfortable enought to consider breeding?

You can cycle a tank without fish (I haven't tried this), search for "fishless cycling" on google. I think now if I ended up in the situation of having no cycled tanks to run filters in I would find someone else with a cycled tank and ask really nicely if I could run my filter in it for a week or two before setting my tank up.

Just a quickie for anyone with these.. how many bubbles should I expect it to produce/minute ?

muHAHAHAAHAHA

They love coming to the front of the tank to say hello

Thanks Iduncan - that's what I was looking for. I guessed the tank was large enough to be more stable - that works for freshwater too heh. I have been reading on the net - hell, what else does an IT geek do at work lol So really I guess what I'm looking for is "what's different from freshwater".. it seems you can cycle without fish (and should do)? If anything I'm digging a little here because I think the site would benifit from peoples opinions on what should be done for a beginner - I have read on the net, but as I said.. opinions here matter more, and I think this would be beneficial to others

If you would like some - free... come visit (I'm in Auckland CBD) heh.. urm... for small fish, they have big attitudes, unless you have a cichlid tank of sorts they'll generally make trouble - especially if you end up with a pair who want to breed (which is far more common than rabbits ) So yeah - they're really cool, you just need tankmates who can deal with it, that or make sure you get all of one gender.

I'm somewhat aware of the costs (in fact, the last comment I heard was "it's cheaper to keep a horse" ) and yeah, it's something I can deal with. It would just be good to have an idea of what is required for a tank like that - especially for myself and others who are considering the idea.

Petshops deserve to die for that advice - I was given the same lol Cycling is the name given to the process that happens when bacteria colonys grow in your filter/gravel etc that consume ammonia, turning it into nitrite. Then bacteria colonys grow, turning the nitrite into nitrate. Both ammonia and nitrite are poisonous to the fish, as is nitrate (but nowhere near as much), and it takes time for these colonies to grow. However without ammonia present, the colonies won't grow at all (hence the leaving tank empty for a week thing doesn't do anything). Once they have grown (generally 4-6 weeks after addition of first fish - someone correct me if I'm wrong - that was my experience) the ammonia and nitrites return to zero, and nitrates can be easily controlled by weekly water changes of about 10-15% Over the cycling process, if you have ammonia and nitrite testing kits, you will see ammonia spike for a bit, then as the ammonia drops the nitrite will spike a little (less than the ammonia) and then both will return to zero as the bacteria grow to be able to reach an equilibrium with the amount of waste produced by the fish. It's this equilibrium that a "cycled" tank lives in from day to day, almost an ecosystem in itself, where the fish waste is processed and deat with, and you generally only have to do a weekly waterchange of about 10% to deal with the nitrates (plants also thrive on nitrates, but that's a different story). Right.. that should do it for now... I'm sure others can correct bits lol

I may be opening a pandoras box by asking this, but I will because it's something I don't know, and will ask ;-) I have a 4x2x2ft tank - and one of the options for it (somewhat remote, but I want to explore it anyway) is to try a marine setup. So.. What hardware does one need for such a setup? Budget is a consideration, however not a limitation from doing things right (if that makes sense) I think it would be a good thing for the saltwater forum to have anyway for beginners - kind of like a "basic startup guide" type thing - at least from a hardware point of view. So. What hardware (pumps/filters/skimmers etc) would I need? Do I need to run a sump? How do I cycle a marine tank? all the general beginner questions. Now I know I'm asking a lot, and I could probably find out over the net through hours of reading etc etc, however I've seen some incredible tanks from members of this site, and am far more inclined to believe what I read here (so long as it's not a discussion on tank additives ) than trying to filter out what is correct or not on the wider internet. So if you could indulge me it would be fantastic.

Heh.. I was considering the final size of the fish In which case it's overcrowded heh.

Hi and welcome Someone will mention that a tank sitting without fish doesn't actually help the cycling process, so I will (I learned this the hard way hehe) with that many fish added, you'll want to get (at least) an ammonia test kit, and test daily/do ~15% water changes if needed to keep the ammonia levels down - I'm not sure how much bio-load those fish will generate (I'm used to keeping large cichlids ) but it would be good to keep an eye on it till the ammonia hits zero, Otherwise welcome... I've found this site to be an indespensable resource of information and friendly people, so hopefully you will to. oh.. token "Come into chat at 9pm - because we all do" no really.. it's generally fun and we do occasionally talk about fish

Anyhows, I'll see you convict, and raise you.... another horny convict!

One of my oscars dealt with the breeding issue 8)