Fish Tank Filling

[NEWBY]

Ok I just bought the missus an 8 foot fish tank for her birthday and chrissy presents. She wants a reef tank with coral. I know it's not quite fishing but I was wonderin' if anyone knows IF you are allowed at all to take live rock and corals from ANY areas around Gladstone and if so where and what?
I went to the government sites and they are as clear as mud so if there are any Oxford schollars on here that can translate their BS and tell me in real language what the go is I would be greatfull. Maybe someone even called someone at the one of the various government departments and got some common sense out of them. Here's newby in hope :-[

[rajawolf]

Do you have a water chiller or airconditioned room?

Now that summer is almost with us, live rock and coral will not survive in a tank unless the water temperature is kept at a certain level.

[Rainbowrunner]

Need a chiller for live coral up there.
DONT talk to pets n Ponds,
See garth near KFC. Dont make the water. Garth should be able to help there too.
As far as I know you can take for your own tank. I have had live coral in the livewell(brought up with the anchor) and the fisheries werent even interested. Just checked the fish.
Easier to have either a coral tank or fish tank.

[Awoonga]

Mate, a man of your capabilities (well you do sell used cars} ;D ;D ;D should be able to convince her..that she just needs barra and jack in that tank....its easy to keep them...Those reef fish are very fussy and hard to keep alive .....everything must be just right... Now having Barra and Jack in there is a good barometer as to how the fish are biting......Trust me on that one ::) ::)

[theoldlegend]

Mate, if you've got any doubts as to whether you can or whether you can't, couldn't you ask Corry to get some for you?

I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

TOL

An anonymous phone call to the local DPI & F should confirm the bad news.

[NEWBY]

Do you have a water chiller or airconditioned room?

Now that summer is almost with us, live rock and coral will not survive in a tank unless the water temperature is kept at a certain level.




Rajah, the missus keeps sea horses and all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff now and she is somewhat of an expert at water stuff. I am sure she is aware of the temp but just needed to know where and if I can fill it myself with stuff from the ocean. Thanks for your advise though.

[NEWBY]

Need a chiller for live coral up there.
DONT talk to pets n Ponds,
See garth near KFC. Dont make the water. Garth should be able to help there too.
As far as I know you can take for your own tank. I have had live coral in the livewell(brought up with the anchor) and the fisheries werent even interested. Just checked the fish.
Easier to have either a coral tank or fish tank.

Thanks champ for this. I knw what you mean about pets n' ponds though. I will let her know about Garth. Thanks again. I will try fisheries and see if I can get someone to talk to me about what I can take and where I can take it from.

[bidkev]

Mate, I'm not sure on the regs with regards to taking coral but I know that for sure you'll have trouble keeping it alive without a cooler. You can hedge your bets by collecting/buying only coral that has come from inshore rockpools. These are subjected to higher levels of changing conditions in shallow water and are much more hardy than coral from open waters.

Good luck

kev

[Az]

speak to some local divers, they will be able to tell you where coral can be taken from and most likely will be able to put you in contact with someone you can get it from, also when filling your tank, next time your out on the water get some pristine salt water from the ocean for the tank as this is full of great nutrients to kickstart the coral growth

and don't forget to get some good lighting ;)

Good luck!

[Pwoida]

Miscellaneous prohibitions (oyster harvesting, collecting coral, marine plant destruction)
The following activities are illegal throughout Queensland:

Collection of coral without lawful authority

Need to clarify what defines 'Coral'. I'm pretty sure 'live rock' would not be classified as coral. I guess the moral question is, should we take it anyway? I'd hate to see some of these important breeding areas for juvinile reef species be slowly chiped away. Live rock is expensive to buy and I believe that those who sell it commercially have a license to do so and are given designated areas to take from. Theres a plenty of live rock around amity point and plenty of marine life to go with it. I once saw some people taking from there and they copped a mouth-full from a few onlookers. I guess my point is, if one does it, why shouldn't everyone else, and if everyone does it, habitats will be destroyed. The more breeding habitats there are in the bay, the better the fishing will be.

[Az]

yup, cheapest way is to buy from licensed divers rather than shops, they will get you what you want and your not breaking any laws

[bazzaman]

spot on pwoida! ;) ;) ;)

right on the money!

[NEWBY]

Miscellaneous prohibitions (oyster harvesting, collecting coral, marine plant destruction)
The following activities are illegal throughout Queensland:

Collection of coral without lawful authority

Need to clarify what defines 'Coral'. #I'm pretty sure 'live rock' would not be classified as coral. #I guess the moral question is, should we take it anyway? #I'd hate to see some of these important breeding areas for juvinile reef species be slowly chiped away. #Live rock is expensive to buy and I believe that those who sell it commercially have a license to do so and are given designated areas to take from. #Theres a plenty of live rock around amity point and plenty of marine life to go with it. #I once saw some people taking from there and they copped a mouth-full from a few onlookers. #I guess my point is, if one does it, why shouldn't everyone else, and if everyone does it, habitats will be destroyed. # The more breeding habitats there are in the bay, the better the fishing will be.
Thanks for that and I do agree with you about destroying habitats. Hey, after all, my future "big ones" that get away will come from them BUT, if a commercial collector can get it and sell it to me, why can't I get it without having to pay 4 middle men? Doesnt seem fair does it?

[NEWBY]

Thanks to everyone for the help. I have called fisheries and a few friends and aparently there are areas that you can collect from, legally. I will be requiring around 200 kilos of rock for the tank and @ $9.00 a kilo I find buying it commercially a joke. Its bloody rock for christ sake. 9 bucks a kilo for what nature provides. I will be seeking the man made version I think.

[Rainbowrunner]

I used to get my water at the boat ramp on Wild cattle creek at tannum sands 1-2 hrs b4 high tide when the weather has been alright for awhile.
8ft ~ 1300ltrs? plus sump
12 volt 1inch bilge and 1000lt plastic tank on a trailer was what I used.

Havent been to Gladstone for a while, I hope Garth is still there.

I can arrange delivery from a local wholesaler down here for you, fish only tho.

[CQ_Fisher]

Hey boys, dont take this as gospel but i think Garth is gone (is he the bloke with the prosthetic leg?). Well his old shop definately is cause there's now a brand new supermarket on the same site. Whether he has set up shop somewhere else i do not know.

Cheers
JD

[Rainbowrunner]

thats him
;)

[Needmorerum]

Hey Newby, have you thought about having African Cichlids (spelling). They look the same as reefies, and still fresh water.
Garth has moved on, he closed the shop down and didn't worry about opening another one. The best one left in town now is over by IGA on Toolooa Street. I've found him the best. Last time I went into Pets and Ponds the guy was putting out a joint as I walked in the door. Not my scene.

Corry

PS. Hurry up and get that pool in Newby, it's getting hot, and, what time do you finish work of an arvo. Was over that way the other day and didn't know whether to drop in or not. PM me.

[krause69]

yeah mate all the advice i can give you is that talk to your local divers and fishries department and so what you need in the tank a good fish shop will tell you all that you need because i just got a 6f tank with tropical fish and have a saratoga in it with some other big tropical fish sheers krause

[devocean]

Mate kept salt tanks for over 15 years and you name it I have kept it. You can take water that is no worries but you cant take fish or coral. Only pro fishermen can take live fish back to the ramp big fine if you are caught.

In NSW the permit is 50 bucks to collect fish and coral in QLD a big no no. Take my advice start with just fish and you will be right. Keeping coral is hard when strating especially in summer. That goes for live rock to as the moment the temp goes over 28 all your corals will strt to die increasing the nitrate in the tank and the tank will go cloudy then killing your fish.

Start with a a hermit crab and see how he goes. Then by a damsel (not a humbug) keep it small becuse they can get quite aggresive. The get a coral bueaty or something and strat from there.

Make sure when you by a fish get the guys to feed it in front of you and make sure it eats, many fish wont eat. Also watch the fish closely for more than 15 minutes and check it is in pristine condition scales wize.If the fish is skinny I woulndt buy it.

Also no ! rule do not over feed your fish as the build up iof waste will kill your fish. Also dont add saltwater to your tank when it starts to go down just add freshwater from the tap as the salt content does not decrease.

Getting water from the sea is the best way. Freshwater is so much harder than salt and once you get it going its no worries. If uyou wont any info on fish you want to buy let me know like I have said I have kept fish from rare blennys, lion fish, moray eels, red sea fish all the way down to a painted crayfish which I have at the moment. Some fish wont go well with others.

Also if you want to collect coral you need to be careful what you collect most corals will not live in tanks and will kill your fish, stay away from staghorn coral especially, things like clams and brains are fine.

Start smart and just go the fish and wait till winter comes around before you go into the corals. Personally I prefer to keep the 2 sepearte one tank for fish and one for coral with maybe 1 or 2 fish. Treateing fish is easy if they get diseasd as all you have to do is add copper to your water however this is hazardous to your corals, hence the sepearte tanks.

This is also what you will want o ask your dealer. Ask himn if he treats hs water with copper because if he does as soon as you take the fish home and put it in your tank the disease will come back and if you do have coral and you add the water into your tank it will kill that as well.

Hope I havent put to much in PM if you want more info.

Cheers Dan

[kevin]

We had a 6x2x2 salt water the lights I used were nickel metal hydried two only great for coral also a uv stabalizer to stop the algee growth.you know about the rest so I won't bore you,collecting the rock was easy around the foreshore you'l find all the washed up coral rock you need make sure you clean it first
good luck

[Zeeke]

When i worked in a petshop a few years ago.. this topic was farely common.. collecting live rock, corals and shells and also molluscs like clams is illegal... they are all protected... so.. collect quietly... or buy it from a dealer

Tim

[Rainbowrunner]

I agree that live coral and rocks with growth on it(live rock) is illegal to take but you can take whatever fish you want as long as they are legal size if on the list at all and you are not selling them.

[bazzaman]

Ok how do you blokes collect your water from the sea???? Whats best method?? I have a 700ltre tank to filll and will take a hell of alot of buckets to do this! Any ideas??


Shane

[cooky]

I had my salt tank at home for years with minimal probs and never used sea water - one bad case of Whitespot - killed over 15 fish in a matter of a week. Lots of money down the drain. Easy to keep really - I reckon easier than fresh water once established (3 to 6 months usually). As long as you don't introduce too many changes (introduce slowly) - eg. adding 5 fish at once - you should be fairly right.

For the last year or so I've had my tank in office. Was a bit sick and tired of getting too hot in Townsville (algae growth, etc) at home as I don't have a chiller. Better temp control in office and I pay an expert dude to come around every fortnight and do a 1/3 sea water change. Tank in excellent condition. ONly anenomi and live rock + fish.

I used to just add tap water and leave it in a bucket overnight first - help with chlorine diluting or dissappearing or something.

[devocean]

To collect water I have about 30 litre containers which I fill aty the ramp than I have a couple of good friends who help me carry them up stairs. For you this will take a while but it will be worth it.

If you are in brissy up around caloundra way is a great place to collect around those rock pools nice nudibranches and stuff

[bazzaman]

nope im at the knob.....Yorkeys in Cairns might take the boat for a run ! Fill up all the buckets i have! Ive had salt tank before ive moved here from brissy and just startn the tank back up!


Shane

[Rainbowrunner]

when I moved into my house I paid a guy $100 for the initial water and then do water changes of 100lt 5x20lt drums and take one or 2 drums in the boat and fill up in the channel.