WEKA

Local H. abdominalis

These tanks are being set up for seahorses so octys are temp residents - not good flatmates

Any chance of some pics of your seaweed so I know what to look for puttputt.

Thanks for that Mystic. Hey it's saltwater puttputt what else can i use?

Thanks Hazara Mystic has offered to post the pics for me. I have included a couple of pics of my 600L cold saltwater which I have just set up again with the background now coated with resin and sand. Still a bit murky as only done yesterday. Temperature is up a bit as I am running on my backup cooling system while I add a water cooled condensor to the fridge unit. Thanks Mystic

The two octopus have settled in well but only show themselves in the evenings. The tank is in the lounge and they come out from under their rocks even with the lounge lights on. I think the two brittle stars which came with them may have been devoured as they have not been seen after the first day or two. I feed them small pieces of mussel and live crabs. They make short work of quite large crabs. They seem to be getting a little more tame each day. I have taken some pics but still have not mastered the posting of them on this forum. If I could impose on someone to post for me that would be great, PM your email. Cheers WEKA

The octopii are now residing in my 80L hex in my lounge. They blew a bit of ink as they swam to the bottom and promptly dug into the shingle under a rock. They are even smaller than I thought they would be. I have some raw snapper which I will place near them later today and see if I can tempt them out. Nothing to photograph at the moment. They came with two very small starfish, I think they are brittlestars. Like the octopuses they seem to be both different colours even with the same background. Thanks again Hazara.

I have an empty/secure 600L established cold water marine tank waiting for occupants. Would be keen to keep for a while and maybe pass on to somewhere when it gets too big. Can you PM a pickup address if you are interested. Cheers

I have a cemix patch over poly background which I have used black oxide to colour and have epoxyed the back. I am about to epoxy the front and coat with dark sand from Taylors Mistake. I have a hot wire cutter which you are welcome to borrow if you wish. I also have a quantity of black oxide you can have. Send me a PM if I can help.

The biggest danger now is injesting air into their stomachs as they snik up the brine shrimp on the surface of the water. The brine shrimp are photostatic and are attracted to the light at the surface. If you can black off the tank from the top to just below the water level and side light it you will improve the survival rate considerably. Good luck.

Irrigation Warehouse just off Blenheim Road. Have good selection of Hansen fittings and all stock cheap. Well worth checking out.

The heat pump should not cause evaporation unless you are in cooling mode!!!!!! The HRV will be more likely to be the cause as it really does dry out the house. Maybe the air absorbs more moisture when you are heating.

Best investment I have made. Had dehumidifier running 24hrs to keep water off window sills. Not even a mist now from day it was installed. Mine has indicator on panel to tell when filter needs replacement. Have not required new filters yet, only a few months old. Strongly recommended.

I feed mine on no1 liquifry to start with and some of my own receipt made from egg yolk and things. Also give them spirulina powder on occasions. Make sure you mix these products well with water before feeding. I believe brewers yeast is also good.

Have a look at our Kaikoura dive lodge on the site. Available for use by anybody.

Come and join up with us at the CUC. http://www.canterburyunderwater.org.nz/

What kind of fish were they?

chimera Two bare tanks running off a common outside plant room. Approx 500L of N/S water total. The plan is to collect local cold water critters. Running 17 deg at present.

Thanks tHEcONCH I have continued adding 30ml of ammonia each morning and 24hrs later when I test there is 0.0 ppm ammonia and 0.0 ppm nitrite. My nitrates are sitting at 10 ppm. I have dropped the temperature down to 17 deg since the nitrites disappeared as this is a cold water set up. I stopped adding ammonia this morning to see what happens. I have no stock at the moment.

Reef So what will keep the cycle going if there is no food for the bacteria.

Hoorah Yesterday when I did my daily tests the nitrites had suddenly dropped to OOOOOO. It is now 40 days since the nitrites appeared!!!!!!!!! I stopped adding ammonia for six days and bingo. After my tests yesterday I added 30mls of ammonia and this morning no nitrites, no ammonia and nitrates are on the way up from 20 to 40ppm. I will continue with the ammonia now and see if the system is stable. Planning to pickup NSW on Thursday and do big water change. No stock yet so will keep feeding ammonia in meantime. Will start dropping the temp daily down to 18 deg. Thanks for all the advice, patience won in the end.

I have a DIY denitrator in the system which is cycling as well. Was hoping to get the nitrates up and see how it works but I guess this will not happen until the nitrites start to drop.

Cheers Morcs This is to be cold water with local critters so will carry on with ammonia until stock available. I am using nsw so changes not a big deal, can pick up 400L at a time locally. The 30+ mls I add each morning is gone by the following morning so something must be working. I am just a bit surprised that the nitrites have not started to drop yet. I am pleased with the way the fishless cycle has gone so far. Took a while to track down the pure ammonia, got it from Binn Inn, made in USA.

Thanks for all your comments. I still cannot understand what will keep the bacteria cycle going if I have no stock and no ammonia for several weeks.

puttputt It is my understanding that the whole process will stop if I don't keep feeding it ammonia as I do not have any livestock to go into the tank at this time.