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Hi I change my carbon every 3 months. Most will say not to change the sponges unless they are falling apart and therefore not doing their Job. A decent rinse in old tank water will keep them going for many many months. If you are changing media, change one bit at a time so you keep enough...

I used the U2 in my 90L for about 4 months. It does a good job and I like the Venturi valve. I switched to a Fluval 206 external to better the water quality and allow for higher stocking levels. I'm happy with it now but have to say when I first put it in I was concerned with the higher flow in...

I like the sloped sand look. Never thought about it being for any purpose other than cosmetic. Do the deeper areas cause problems with trapped and buried debris. I've read a lot about the importance of disturbing sand frequently to kick up anything that's under the sand otherwise as it decays...

I had/have these. Pond snails. Just like you, I had none, then I had loads. Probably around 100 at their peak until I put 3 assassins in. Didn't make much difference at first but I reduced my feeding (no excess food for the snails), removed any I could get easily and once the Assasins bred...

Hi Laura Welcome back onto the forum. I had a read at your profile. I'm near you. You never know, I might take you up on your fish boarding service. Interesting. Good luck. David

Brilliant lol.

Hi DrRob, Your way is certainly a practical one but I also have to consider my better halves wishes. If I'm to have a QT tank it needs to look nice. I also feel you can observe the fish better in a proper tank too. Looks like it'll be about 4 weeks until I have everything I need. Cheers

Hi Welcome! The shop off great junction street is one of my favourites too. It's a branch of maidenhead aquatics. I'll be popping in their over the weekend no doubt. David

Hi kirky, Cheers, Re: why pay more to get glass? I've priced up all the stuff I need to buy and if buying the plastic one with everything else I need, it comes to £40. If I get the glass me and all the same stuff I need, it comes to £50. You get a light with the glass one but not withthe...

Just an update for anyone that's interested. I've been keeping a close eye on the white marks on the tail. They have gradually faded and now only one faint spot is left. I haven't noticed any other problems with any of my other fish at all, apart from losing a panda cory but that is another...

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Cool thanks. I will have a look for that graph coolie as it would be good to see how long before I would need to act. Eagles, I will check out prime when my current bottle of dechlorintor runs low. Happy to report all ok with the tank. I will be looking to get another few panda cory's to add...

Thanks neontetra97. Appreciated.

I know but what I mean is that while the filter is off, there is effectively no bacteria. Anyway, what's done is done. I did what I thought was best.

It was 6 hours. I disagree. I think 6 hours is too long with no filtration. While I don't know if I handled the situation perfectly, which is the purpose of this thread....to learn, I do feel some kind of action was required. As fishkeepers we all know how crucial the bacteria is. With the...

Hi eagles, The dechlorinator i use is nutrafin. Your question about my tap water made me slap my forehead because when tested it reads 0.25 for ammonia. So ive basically been putting ammonia in the tank whick cannot be processed due to the filter being off. Right? I'm not sure about...

Hi We had a power cut here in east Lothian from 6pm until 12:30am. A fire at the power plant apparently. Despite all my efforts I lost a panda cory. Absolutely gutted. Here is what I did. Please let me know if anyone would have done anymore as I want to learn from this in case it happens...

Hi I've nearly settled on a quarantine tank. I quite fancied the one Kirkyarcher recommended but pets at home do another one which is the same size (19L) but is glass and comes with a light and filter but it is £45. I can't provide a link to it cos its not on their website but it is basically...

That is a classic MBOU. Did they say anything or just leave, quickly.?

That was some crazy thunder here yesterday. Went on for hours and was LOUD! Scary stuff.

I'm near edinburgh and my tank hasn't gone below 27 for about 2 weeks. The heater is set to 24 so at least I'm saving on leccy. I agree with most of my fellow scots on here, we are not used to this heat and I'd love it to cool down now by a few degrees. We have a couple of fires here too, one...

Much clearer lol. :) I will give that a go next time I do it. Sounds promising, certainly better than turning it upside down as suggested by the seller.

Hi Kirky, Let me check I've understood. You are draining the tank of however much you change, removing the filter canister, emptying it and cleaning it, reattaching it, then with the aqua stop open you refil the tank? I think I've read your post wrong but would love to understand how you...

Hi It does seem to be fading slightly. I will look into helping with the slime coat. I've never had reason to worry about this before but have seen a few comments about slime coat. I like to know about things before I do them. Thanks for the reply. I'm glad you agree it isn't ich. I didn't...

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Funnily enough, I cleaned my filter yesterday for the first time in about 6 weeks. This meant emptying it, rinsing all the media in tank water and putting it all back together again and filling it up again. This is essentially the same as the first day I set it up with air now being trapped...

Hi again, This morning, the white marks are still there but I don't think they are as bad. It might be my imagination though. No marks appearing on any other fish. Does anyone know what this might be? I've had a good search online but it just keeps leading me back to ich but I don't think...

Hi Tonight I have noticed what looks like a small cluster of white spots on one of my lemon tetras tails. I have seen ich before and don't think this is ich. Below is a link to a pic where you can see it quite clearly. N the fish itself is acting normal as are all other inhabitants. I see no...

My new 206 made noises. Almost a loose rattling noise. Long story short, it was air in the system. I was told to turn it completely upside down while running it and then gradually turn it back up to release trapped air. I wasn't confident turning it upside down but I did shake it and tilt it...

The general rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon. For example, in a 20G tank you could have 20 fish that are each one inch in size or you could have 10 fish that are 2 inches. Remember to consider that the fish you buy will grow so you need to count whatever size they will be when fully...

The good news is that with those results your cycle has started because if there is nitrite, it means ammonia is being processed and if there is nitrate, it means nitrite is also being processed. But you do need it to be zero for ammonia and nitrite. Nitrate can only be sorted with water...

I think we have to assume your tank isn't cycled. Start doing BIG water changes daily to keep the ammonia in check and get reading up on cycling in the resource centre on this forum. In an ideal world you would have done a fishless cycle but what's done is done so you will need to read up on...

My sand was from dobbies. Not sure if they have a store near you but they stock a few different types of sand near me, if that helps any.

Not that this helps now but when I upgraded my filter I kept my old filter just in case this happens. I can then set it up quickly by putting some mature media in it until I get a more permanent solution. Once you've resolved your current issue it might be worth looking into buying a cheap spare...

I test each Sunday for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite are always 0 and nitrate usually between 40-60ppm. I test pH once in a while but it's always been 7.6 since I started. Like you, regardless of the results I do a 30-40% water change. I don't check phosphates. What are...

I'm actually getting a bit worried about my temp because I've turned the heater down to 24 but last night it was as high as 29. This morning it is 28.

Hi I've stuck in my effort for everyone to have a look at. Its my 1st time entering. Some nice entries so far. Good luck to all. David

Never tried this yet so I'll have a go.     verification:  

It might have been a different story if we weren't having this amazing weather. I've had to turn my heater down. The stat usually reads 25 but now up at 28. Crazy.

Hi They look just like the snail eggs that I had in my tank.