reef

Pretty easy answer, Why sink money into a product that makes no money and has been declining rapidly in retail over the past two years. If current trend continues you won’t see any marines. Maybe retail needs more competition? Not Many hobbyists have tunnel vision and just want cheap. Reality is that Retailers are not making big margins and many would be lucky to break even on marines. If you want marines then support your local marine store or in the near future no lfs will be holding any marine stock. Prices are what they are and will continue to go up as we have no control over airfreight and MAF costs. Like most things prices rises due to inflation.

I believe you will be soon able to buy a full nano set up. Hagen has one coming out shortly to all retail stores which will have everything included. You will find most budget items like the nano set ups will be on par with overseas prices anyway so why bother getting it overseas.

This has happed to me on the odd occasion. Generally linked to water quality and have read that if nitrates are to low this can cause issues.

Have to quantify that ,as if you can get some NSW in a none developed area then it could be fine, however it still could contain high nutrients like silicate etc.

They are nice units, from what i have seen on reefcentral theya re not cheap. i think the acls computer is over $1000. I would think the t5s would be over$1000 also.

New product to be released soon for advanced reefers. Not cheap but available for reefers who want quality equipment . Trying a few of these on my tank will get some pics up soon. What is ACLS? Advanced Control Lighting System (ACLS) is a patented electronic dimmer which can reproduce a sunset-sunrise effect. This is the first dimming system for metal halide HQI lamps allowing a gradual 0-100% increase and decrease in the lighting level (other systems will not decrease the lighting level below 50%). Key Features of the ACLS System • ACLS mimics natural light which means that fish and corals grow and react in a similar way to when in their natural habitat. • ACLS can reproduce the natural cycle of the sun, day/night and variable day-length according to the season. As the change from daylight to dusk and vice versa is very gradual the fish and invertebrates in the aquarium are not shocked or stressed by a sudden burst of light or by suddenly being plunged into darkness. • During the sunrise-sunset phase the dimmer increases/decreases the lamp's power consumption offering energy savings in comparison with other lighting systems. • The electronic dimmer keeps the lighting level extremely stable avoiding any problems with flickering lights. This also means that lamps coming to the end of their life can still produce a good lighting level and lamps can last 30-40% longer. • After a power failure, most lights have to be left to cool down completely before they can be turned on again. With ACLS this cooling down time is reduced by 50%. • The creation of natural lighting conditions in the aquarium, particularly the moon phases, could improve the success rate of breeding aquarium inhabitants, especially invertebrates, which are known to spawn in tune with the lunar cycle. • The ACLS incorporates longitude and latitude settings which means that it is possible to automatically replicate the lighting levels of a particular place in the world e.g the Australian Continent or the Caribbean Sea. • With two bulbs and at least two ACLS units you can recreate a sunrise-sunset effect with the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. • With ACLS you can avoid the shock of a sudden increase in light when you replace older lamps with new ones. The "NEW" function reduces the power of the new bulb and increases it gradually over a period of days (exact number of days chosen and set by the user) until the lamp reaches its maximum power.

Good idea, you see so many people use seawater and have so many problems, some importers use NSW and they have wiped out shops tanks with diseases, Rotorua and living waters have had major problems recently i was told. Did a microscope test on some NSW and you could sea all the parasites. The main problem with NSW is the bacteria in it, can cause serious losses to livestock.

Yes please , i am really tight and also want to get in a hobby that i cant afford, please can someone get some cleaner shrimps for $5 as that is all my budget will allow. I want the hobby to fit my budget. Wake up am smell the coffee.

you can cut out the small part the sticks out. the more you cut the wider the flow. gives you a nice wide even flow,

Try vodka and dont feed frozen foods

Tanks are ok to about 30c, make sure you have plenty of water movement as this helps a lot. so far never had a chiller , temp is currently on 29C. Cheap fans from also help to reduce temp.

seen a few this year already. most tend to be cultured. here is one similiar but has lighter green polyps.

its a common green sarcophyton from indonesia. hollywood had a few some time ago.

Sure you can use them on freshwater tanks. you cant use any protein skimmer as it has to be designed for freshwater. they are expensive. They will reduce nutrients thus reducing nitrates. They are no good for planted tanks as they will remove all the co2

i have seen guppies at western springs in auckland. They survive all year round. are they not guppies.

nice cut out for mce500 Deltec skimmer. 6x39w will be enough to keep most corals, especially sps coral.

Build in a few computer fans to create more airflow, this will help keep things cool. T5s are designed to run at a certain temp, so if it gets to hot they wont work as well.

Nice photos alright. The tank does seem to have overabundance of nutrients as the cyno is out of control. Do you use a skimmer on the tank? What is you po4 and nitaret levels?

Nice article on Davids tank. Changed alot since i visited him 5 years ago in London. http://www.ultimatereef.com/TOTM/2007_jan/

I quess they dont have a list anymore as no one imports auqarium plants as far as i know.

Same reason everything else cost more in nz, quantities sold are far smaller so you have to work on a bigger mark-up. we also have lots of compliance cost for importing some products and you have additional cost like, MAf, gst,customs, freight forwarders etc, the list goes on. Also in general salaries keep rising so product cost keeps rising. Also eBay is not a store so comparing pricing on eBay from a pricing from a shop/trader is not a fair comparison.

here is some information on what is in the country. on the right side of the page you will see a tab plant survey list. These are the plants that are in the country and explain which are banned. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/plant_survey/ i doubt if plants will be able to be imported as you will not be allowed to bring in new species. If you want a new species they will have to be approved by ERMA. I costs would to much and unable to be recovered.

would not be a problem at that height.

there could be the answer. build up of nutrients due to lack of water changes, especially in a closed system as it builds up. Water changes will help if it is clean water ,