HelifaxNZ

We live so close to Fiji and other island with abundance of life and yet what I have seen at HFF and Jansens is no where near as good as what you can get from overseas. I can't understand why.

I suggest you do a lot of reading and have a look at some of the american forums like reefcentral.com and nano-reef.com Also read this book because it is easy to read, and gets you started The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide by Michael S. Paletta. I've started researching marine aquariums 2 months ago and I'm just starting to get the jist of things and started to get the things necessary. Also these guys and girls on this forum are great. So if you are stuck on anything, someone here should be able to help.

Here is a couple of great websites to explain a few things... http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html http://www.dursostandpipes.com/ Good luck.

Check out Mike from Pet Planet. He might be able to help you. He is sometimes online here too.

I must go and have a look at Steve's setup. Just looked up Blackwoods & Paykels and they are just around the corner from where I work, so I might pop over tomorrow. Thanks.

Thanks for the tip, but the only issue is you would probably want a 4-5cm wide opening on one end, and on the other a 1.5cm hole.

Hi folks, I've been looking around the hardware stores for plumbing for the tank I'm designing, and I havent seen anywhere these flat nozzles for the return pipes. Do any of you use this type of system to direct the flow? Where can I get them from? Many thanks HelifaxNZ

Thanks for your comments guys... So if I purchased a Venturi skimmer, would that be just as noisy as the ViaAqua, or is it isolated to just the ViaAqua system?

Hi, I'm wondering whether anyone has used a ViaAqua Multi-Skimmer, either with a UV light or without. I don't know whether it would be more convenient and easier to use than to have separate components. It does "look" impressive. Any comments would be appreciated. Cheers Helifaxnz

WOW. If Jetskisteve uses it then it must be OK (not said in a sarcastic way). But one place I would totally avoid is Milford Beach. They tend to get sewage overflows after a heavy storm. I hear they are trying to fix this, but don't know what the status is. I'll definately keep this in mind when I finally get around to starting my tank.

I wouldn't collect any NSW from Takapuna. You're better off going further over towards Torbay or Rothsay Bay. Less polution. Everyone uses Takapuna for swimming, boat ramp, storm water, etc.

Hi Folks, I'm wondering how far down from the water line should you drill the holes for your sump return pipes? Cheers Helifax.

Thanks for the answers. Do you know whether it is normal for them to be quite big around the middle?

Hi folks, I have some questions about these lovely Golden Algae Eaters. I have 3 and one of them is very fat and the other two are medium sized. I'm wondering whether it is a female, but I have never seen an Algae Eater this fat! At this time two of them look like they are fighting. The fat one and a medium sized one. Could I be mistaking it for mating? I've been thinking of separating them. The two medium size ones seem to be getting along ok and the third one seems to be keeping out of the scrap the other two are in. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Helifax.

Thanks Pie. Good explaination. All things to consider for sure. I'm still wading through the link about your new tank setup. Very impressive. Moving it through your window reminds me of when we had to move a computer mainframe to a new location and we had to pull out a window on the 6th floor of the building and get a crane in to move it out! Cheers

Does anyone know how you figure out what size power pump you will require in your sump to feed the water back up to your tank? I hear people saying for example that they are getting a max. flowrate of 300GPH to their sump and I'm amazed at how they can work that out. Cheers Helifax

This has been a very interesting thread, as I am just learning too. Control mentioned about a sump, and this has got me a little stuck too. I hear about it but I can't seem to find any diagrams or instructions on actually setting one up, and where to drill a hole in the tank to accommodate one, etc. Can someone help on this please? Thanks.

Hi Brianemone, what type of food do you feed the anemone and corals?

Hi Folks, I'm still doing my research before committing to a marine tank. This may be a silly question to those experienced, but, do you feed the corals, anenomies, clams, polyps, i.e. everything else that is not a fish? Oh, and I'm currently reading the book "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael S Paletta, which I find really good so far. Any other really good books (besides "The Concientious Aquarist" which I will be getting next). Cheers!

Thanks everyone for your feedback and thanks Chimera for the link. I tried to find another thread on this but obviously missed this one. Cheers!

Hi, I'm interested to find out what colour and type of paint you use to paint the back of your tank. Cheers Helifax.

I'm interested to find out how people cycle their new tanks. The obvious one is to use live rock, but have people also used pure ammonia to cycle the tank too? I have experience in freshwater tanks and have been cycling using pure ammonia. Just wanting to know whether you can do the same for Saltwater, and whether you can have live rock and use ammonia at the same time. Very interested to hear your comments. Thanks Helifax.

Thanks folks for all your replies.

Thanks Caper! I've been searching for a site with a calculator to work out this. Cheers

Does anyone know the formula. I know that hxwxl will get you the volume, but is that in Litres? Cheers