Search results

I will try the petro jelly suggestion (will KY work?? :shifty: ). I would hate to have to give up on the 2126 because I really like the integrated heater. Thanks.

Thanks for the comment, but this does not help me. The motor is dead... how is plugging something into a socket that will power up anything but this filter considered user error?

OK, so I took your advice on the Ecco... dug it out of the cupboard, filled it with media, hooked it up, sucked on the output, and yes it did fill up with water!! All excited, I plugged it in, and the motor doesn't work. No activity whatsoever. Nary a click nor a hum. In the trash it went...

After not being able to start it as usual (with the input/output lines full), I drained both lines and pretty much installed it from scratch. No go. I am referring to the 2126 now, I don't care about the Ecco at this point. Thx.

I couldn't disagree more!! Based on my experience, if it says Eheim on the box, it's overpriced junk. I've had two Eheim's, both of which just decided they did not want to start working after routine maintenance. My 4 Fluvals, on the other hand, have been workhorses for the last 4 - 8 years...

Need help. :hyper: I've had 2 Eheim filters that would not start back up after routine maintenance. One was an Ecco that was only in service for a year or so (I've totally given up on it), the latest major disaster (today) is a Pro II model 2126 that's maybe 2-3 years old. Both were...

Since your test show you've got nitrites, I would suggest just leaving it as is 'til the ammonia drops. It should drop quickly as the nitrite level climbs.

The depth of gravel has nothing to do with how much muck accumulates at the bottom, but 10cm sounds like way more than you need for a 14 litre tank. You should definitely invest in a hoover and use it when you do your weekly water changes. It sounds like your tank may not be cycled if your...

Rinsing the plants in a 10% bleach solution will not harm the plants, and may kill any snails or snail eggs hiding in the plants and on the roots.

You say it takes a month, and you're only a week into it...

Well if it's called a Gravel Hoover, then I'd guess it's for hoovering the gravel! Use this indispensible device once a week to suck the fish crap out of the gravel. Then, replace the water you took out with fresh water. You're saying "ok thanks dude for the info so far, but how do we hoover...

What ratio of salt to water would you recommend, and for how long? Never had to do that before! Thanks

I actually didn't put it in the tank... it's in a glass of water right now for further observation. Also, I put the fish into a quarantine so none of my other fish are in danger. Possibly the one I have is a baby and would someday grow up to look the one in your pic. Thanks.

The little guy in the picture below came home with me from the fish store in a bag of fish. At first, he was sitting on top of the head of one of the fish, and I thought the fish had a bump or was deformed. Then, as I was netting the fish out of the bag, the "bump" swam away and attached...

For your sake, I hope you didn't leave a forwarding address! :shifty:

Well I guess you can't use that method then! :D IME, it works best to take a small tub or 5 gallon bucket, add some sand, fill up with water, swish it around, dump out the water, repeat 'til water is fairly clear. Didn't take no hours to do it this way!

After many many years in the aquarium hobby, no, I have never seen a bubble rise to the surface when moving gravel around. I've never seen it when moving the sand around either. This is what I base my "myth" theory on.

I thought it might be an English thing... and actually so is taking the pi55 ?!? Thanks for that add'l info. So it doesn't sound like the Eheim model I refer to is the complete unit you're talking about. Can you recommend a manufacturer/model? Sorry to be so helpless... ;)

Thanks WK for the explanations. That all makes sense, except for the "Tube - now I'm taking the Mick!" ... you lost me there! So, it looks like the only thing missing from the Eheim unit in the link above is a bubble counter. How important is this? Is that the only way to count the bubbles...

Well, because I don't think they're reliable/consistent enough, and you can't control the output. Even if they were reliable and controllable, I would need at least four of them for a 90 gallon tank. I wouldn't want to have that many of those little units.

Hello... Before you all jump down my throat about doing a search on this over-asked question, let me just say I did one on CO2, and it returned nothing... so there must be something wrong with the search mechanism here! And I looked at several pages of topics... I'm setting up a 90 gallon, I...

Unclear on what your question is.... are you questioning if the deadly pockets of gas are a myth? Or have you never heard of "deadly pockets of gas"? Or are you questioning whether anyone else has had a sand botton tank without those mythical deadly pockets of gas?

Good points. I never thought of checking for a date. The packs included in my kit are dated 01-2003, which would make it almost 2 years old. I'll be sure to check that when I buy the replacement packs. Thanks for the suggestion! After 5 days, it's still improving... output is now 2 bubbles...

I ordered from there a couple times, and was completely satisfied. I chose the overnight service, so my order arrived the day after I ordered. Both orders arrived in excellent condition... and the first order included many extra plants! The plants I ordered from them are thriving, which is...

I think that the "deadly pockets of gas" is a total myth. I've had a tank with sand at a depth of 3 inches running for a year and have not experienced any such gas pockets. Also, IME, holding the vac a few inches above the surface will not clean anything. I have to put the vac right on top of...

I just checked mine again. After having it run for 4 days, it's putting out 1 bubble per minute. So, I guess this is an improvement over the 1 bubble per 3 minutes, but still not up to the output I expected. It looks like it's headed in the right direction though!

So... what's the output rate like in your unit? Like I said, I'm getting bubbles, but only one every few minutes.

Does anyone here use the Hagen Natural Plant System? I just put one of these in one of my tanks, and I'm not sure if it's working right. The instructions don't say how many bubbles per minute, or minutes per bubble I should expect. I'm only getting one bubble approximately every 3 minutes...

A breeder acquaintence of mine suggested Cyclop-eeze as an alternative to baby brine shrimp, which are IME a real hassle to deal with. You most likely won't find Cyclop-eeze in your store, but can order it from marinedepot.com. You'll want the 'whole freeze-dried' product, which is misleading...

Thanks all for the replies. I thought I read at one time that barbels do not grow back.... It's good to hear otherwise. They are all in quarantine, so I'll keep a close eye on them for other problems and/or recovery progress. :)

I just purchased 3 julii cories, and noticed that one is sans barbels. Do they grow back?

Anyone?

Since my post so far has been ignored, and since you mentioned feeding fry twice per day, I'll ask my question here: Is there a rule of thumb as to how big or how old fry should be before they can be safely left w/o food for 2 or 3 days? I have rainbow fry which are a month old and currently...

Is there a rule of thumb as to how big or how old fry should be before they can be safely left w/o food for 2 or 3 days? I have rainbow fry which are a month old and currently range in size between 1/3" and 1/2".

True, Tahitian moon sand is nice. But you're talking $20 for 15 pounds vs. $2 for 50 pounds of play sand. If you want a natural looking tank... like a river setting... go with play sand.

You'll know you're done rinsing it when the water runs fairly clear. When you vacuum, just swish the vacuum about an inch over the sand to stir up the poo, and let it get sucked up into the vac. I wouldn't worry about the sand clogging the drain, it's small enough to go right through the pipes.

Are you referring to me? If so, please clue me in on whatever it was I did to you to cause you to have a problem with me! Not on good terms? We've never interacted prior to this, and it was just a friendly suggestion (note the smiley!!) :dunno:

Speaking of useless comments... ;)

IME, cardinals are way less hardy than neons.