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Yeah I know this is an old thread but its easier and tidier to revive an old one than start a new. This product sounds interesting and the claims are bold but has anyone got any real evidence to back the claims up? Seems very unlikely that it can do all that without removing trace minerals...

After reading this I went out and bought one to replace the dodgy Hagen heater I had that looked broken inside. Its great, it sticks out a little more than a traditional round one, but its black and made of plastic - so it looks a hell of alot better. Can't exactly say how it rates with other...

My mother-in-law has an open top tank and about 6 months ago she was cleaning behind it ... 36 dried up fish ... she had wondered where all her fish had been disappearing to. :byebye: So while luminaires have that fashionable look about them they do have a number of downsides.

I'd go with the interpet compact t5. High Power T5 Compact Lighting. # Available in the following wattages/sizes: #18W (217mm/8.5") # 24W (308mm/12") # 36W (406mm/16") # 55W (531mm/21") The single tube ballasts start at ~£18 for the 18w and the double tube ballasts end at ~£40 for the 55w...

Some people seem to think that because the hot water may sit for longer in the pipes it will pick up copper etc. Personally I'm not too convinced and I've spoken to people that have been using water from the hot tap for years without any problems. I think it is a bit of an old wives tale...

Shame about ebay ... I'm always a little apprehensive when I buy things from the far east ... not been ripped off yet though. What do you do about getting them to lay eggs?? Do you need to have a peat substrate and gradually take out the water from the tank??

The bacteria in your filter require a pH of above 6, they do best around 7 to 8. Below 6 and you just wont cycle. I doubt though that it is simply the bogwood that has caused the pH drop, another cause could be that you have added too much ammonia and I have heard that the bacteria themselves...

It has been warm .. I got back after the weekend to discover that my 22-24C tanks were at 30C ... after a quick head count it seems some fish had disappeared. :( Exactly how the rest will survive a hot summer is anyones guess. As for your Goldfish, you really should have done a fishless cycle...

It seems logical to make such an assumption, and the nitrite spike and its time frame IMO points to some inhibiting effect ... I just don't buy the other explanations as to why a ubiquitous bacteria should take longer to establish when it clearly responds (once established) to available...

It would depend upon why you have nitrites in your tank ... did you cycle? What are your other water stats ... how big is your tank ... how many fish do you have? Doing water changes will bring it down and will allow you to manage your nitrite levels ... but you need to know why you have those...

Yes, definitely do a fishless cycle. To plant or not to plant ... If you plant now you get a chance to discover which plants are best suited to your tank conditions - water, temp and light. You also get a good opportunity to play around with your planting arrangement. My final planting is...

I'd go with silver sand. Unless you have a marine set up or you want to change the hardness of your water you shouldn't use coral sand.

Ditto with above.

Sounds like a pollutant.

Have you been doing any painting etc recently?

The vast majority of all goods, especially food are shipped using container ships. Air transport plays a very small role in world trade tonnage wise. As for transporting fish around the globe ... well the sooner that stops the better. Can we get by without oil? Well that really depends ...

I find Java moss in the tank with the Danios does the trick. Just vacuum over the moss when you do your water change and put the water into another tank. I'm over run with fry.

Yeah no need to feed them if its only a couple of days ... some people on here recommend using the gel blocks if you go away for longer.

I would ditch the CO2 until you've cycled. DIY versions are notoriously unstable. Especially as ideally you want the temp at 30C - so less oxygen already in the water ... so you really could do with aerating the water - as this also helps the bacteria - so CO2 at this stage isn't such a great...

I found some here www.petsintown.co.uk/search_results.asp?section=477 its not that expensive considering £8 with a filter bag. Though I agree with the above that its probably best all round to take the fish back and do a fishless cycle.

I had never considered this as a problem as all my taps have copper piping and as far as I can remember every house I have lived in has had copper pipes - apart from when I was a wee baby and the pipes were just being changed from lead to copper. Also I doubt that my fish would appreciate...

You really should have done a fishless cycle first. As you haven't I would definitely recommend that you do frequent water changes and keep an eye on your stats. You should use some dechlorinator in your replacement water if that's what you have use it, if not just get whatever is the cheapest.

Couldn't agree more, the 70 is much better. However, you are much better off getting one secondhand ... for £40 you can easily pick up something in the 125ltr range. ... Or just buying a cheap clearseal tank would give you plenty of options for personalisation - I find the lights on the Jewel...

Doesn't rubbing sand on glass create micro scratches?

Bad luck, but good that you got it exchanged and had your wits about you to save the bacteria. I would get the stand changed.

Yes you could ... probably best to squeeze out a bit of the gunk from the old filter onto the new one as well.

Yes, I've read that too. Earthy smell = good

A new impeller will cost you less than £5 ... its about the only moving part in the filter.

Lol, Interesting as I didn't know that there were different kinds ... I've always thought the Aros a bit ugly but that Saratoga in the pic is a nice looking fish. Common names have always been a pain in the bum, don't even get me started on plants names. The biggest problem with common names...

You should be able to buy a new impeller, if that's the problem. No need to replace the whole filter - they should last for years.

I wonder if the reason they give for not having plants is that they have an effect upon the buffer rather than the buffer harming them.

If its an important article you can do a search for citations and thus find more up to date research. Personally I doubt its down to one or even two, there could be a whole ecosystem going on down there.

I was talking to a scientist today and they pointed out that there is no test for Nitrate. Apparently the tests are basically just nitrate tests with extra chemical(s) that convert the nitrate to nitrite ... you learn something new everyday.

It will be interesting to see how you get on with the Cabomba, I had loads of it in my tank and all it did was slowly disintegrate, mainly due to the fishes nibbling at it, some fish just seem to love it.

Definitely if you live in an area that uses chloramines. If its chlorine then you can let it degas but tbh you're best off just using the dechlorinator, it doesn't cost much gives peace of mind and saves you having buckets of degassing water hanging around.

If they're anything like their terrestrial counterparts there'll be more than one species and very difficult to, or not presently possible to culture. Likewise in soil there are 1 billion organisms and 10,000 different species per gram ... makes you think

I feed them more than once a day and they eat everything in 15-30 seconds, they seem to be happy and healthy. Good pointer on the eye count Tolak, feeding less is better is definitely a good plan especially if you have plants and algae.

I knew someone more knowledgeable would turn up with a more likely answer.

A picture would be helpful ... while their colouration is similar you can easily tell them apart if you have seen pictures of them. Also sucking loaches will grow much bigger, I've had an Otto for over a year and it is 2" which I think is near the max. The sucking loach I've had for ~6 months...

I'm sure that you could have some cunning system with an anaerobic sump that would do the job ... though I hear that heavily planted tanks also need fewer water changes. I'm sure I also read somewhere someone claiming not to have changed their water for over a year. Personally I think a 10%...