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If I had a tank that large, I think I'd go with two EX1200. At least that way you can alternate any filter cleaning. The 2400 does look an impressive brute, though, doesn't it?.

50% water change every ten days, small dechlorinated top up inbetween.

The review in PFK said that it still exposes fish to high nitrites. I'd go for mature filter media every time.

OK, let's cut to the chase. You have far too many fish for such a small tank. Fish exhale and excrete ammonia. Ammonia burns the fishes gills. You bought a tank and fish at the same time - the filter has had no chance to build up the bacteria that will deal with ammonia. Do you want to HAVE fish...

You really need the ratio of Guppies the other way round; 2 (preferably 3) females to every male. It makes life much easier for the females. If they're outnumbered by males, they can be literally worn out by the constant attention and breeding; it's this that has weakened Guppies so much...

Always work on the theory that if something will fit in a fishes mouth, that's where it'll go.

Just because you have a large tank, it doesn't mean you can (over)fill it with large fish. Whatever filtration you have has to be able to cope with the amount of fish you have. A lot of large fish means a lot of waste and VERY large water changes. The simple fact is that what you have now needs...

If the LFS will let you have a little mature filter media, that'd be several light years better than the bottled miracles some shops would like you to buy.

Tanks, or rather filters need to be cycled. They need to build up a colony of bacteria that can deal with Ammonia (which your fish breathe out and excrete). Lots of shops give awful advice about this and you've found one. Please take the fish back to the shop and start reading the pinned threads...

Hmmm, that doesn't sound quite as impressive as 'a year's supply', does it?. Now, if I won a year's supply of Creme Eggs, I'd make sure the manufacturer never offered it again...............

Just out of curiosity, exactly how many tubs IS a year's supply of flake food?.

How often do you do water changes, how much do you change approximately?.

As Maximinimus says, very badly overstocked. You really need to have a rethink about the fish you want to keep.

Agreed; a lot of people that come back to the hobby after several years away are often surprised that fish they kept years ago don't seem too good now. I'd always try to find breeders of fish like Guppies, Neon Tetras, etc.

Get them to write the results down in numbers; don't just let them say ''It's fine''. That will tell us nothing. Let us know what they are. The last thing you need to do at the moment is to add more fish.

The easiest way to clean filter tubes/taps is to have a look on eBay and type in 'trumpet brush'. These are VERY long and flexible. I bought one about a month ago for about £4 and it's the best money I've spent on the tank. Of course, if you have a musical instrument shop near you, you'll save p&p.

TBH, I only really test the water if I'm thinking about adding fish, which doesn't happen very often.

Neons aren't very good choices for a new tank - far too sensitive. Best to introduce them after the tank has matured (NOT the same as being cycled), a good 4/5 months. If you go for Guppies again, I'd go for a ratio of 3 females for every male.

Tetratank, Sorry to hear you're getting the s*** end of the stick at the moment. If I were you, I'd do a decent sized water change then start the course. If the water quality isn't good at the moment, it's just going to prolong the treatment time. Make sure there's no carbon in...

I can't hear my EX700 at all; I can't imagine the 1200 should be any different. Did you buy it online or at a shop?. If the latter, give the shop a ring.

Just be aware that Guppies aren't as robust as they once were, due to massive over/inbreeding. I'd keep 1 male to 3 females, otherwise the males will pester the females to exhaustion. Make sure, too, that there is a shop that will take surviving fry once they're a sellable size; a tank can get...

Hi Gun Welcome. Unfortunately, Neon Tetras aren't very good fish for a newly cycled tank. Much better to leave them for a good three months. They'll probably nip the Guppies fins, too, not good fish to keep together. Take your time, have a good read of all the pinned threads here, but...

Plain black for me, too. Really makes the edges of plant leaves stand out. Cardinals and Harlequins look fabulous against it. Just changed to a much darker substrate, which also helps.

I'd be very wary putting any tank on something that wasn't made for the purpose. If you've ever had a tank stand to assemble yourself, you'd see that the screws and such are of much better quality and are made to tolerate the tremendous CONSTANT weight of water, substrate and tank that will be...

IIRC, you don't have to stand the 4 Plus upright; it can be laid on the bottom, too. Just make sure you don't block the intake.

Definitely Visitherm; five year guarantees aren't to be sniffed at. Never had a second's problem with mine (had it four years now).

TBH, if you're going to take out the fake plants and replace them with live ones, I'd change the substrate to a darker, more natural colour. It'll REALLY bring out the colour of your fish.

Being a big fan of 'The Goon Show', I rather liked Spike's term for dosh: 'Spondoolics'.

A quid actually used to be worth a quid.

You could always try floating plants.

If you want to save money, buy a pack of fine sponges for either the Fluval 3 or 4 Plus (internal filter) and just rinse them out when they're clogged; I've had mine for the best part of a year.

If you're after the smallest internal filter, I'd go with either a Hagen Elite, or a Fluval Plus 1. The Fluval takes a couple of decent sized sponges, whereas the Hagen is probably best for a small fry tank.

Bad news about Greenline, I'm afraid; see my post in 'Plants And planted Tanks'.

TBH, the only thing I'd put in a BiOrb is shrimp. Even the smallest fish need swimming space and a BiOrb can't do that. VERY expensive for what they are, too. You can get a large Aquacube for around half the price; all you need to do is add a heater, substrate, 10-12 small-ish fish and away you go.

You'll need 2 (3 is better) females for every male. Once you add females it won't be long before you're overrun with fry. Will your LFS take the fry when they're large enough?.

I've never found it to make any difference.

Just make sure you leave out the one ration of food and hide the tub somewhere - they might just be tempted to give them more. Fish are opportunistic feeders, they could go for days on end in the wild not finding any food. Don't worry.

Don't worry about it; in the four years I've had my five Otos, I've rarely seen more than two of them together. As long as they're fat, they're happy enough.

Please don't neglect water changes; they're as important for fish you're planning to add as they are for the fish already in the tank.

I'm sure that anyone who ever bought from Greenline would like to see Andy come back from this.