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If you want some advice on where your at in your cycle, i would set up a new thread and post all your ammonia / nitrite / nitrate and any other water stats you have on a daily basis. There are a few people on here (notably Waterdrop) who are Gods on the fishless cycle

im no expert, but i would guess they're not as good. I think energy savers work by outputting less heat (and therefor more efficeint light) and if this was 100% true, then i dont think it would matter. But i have a sneaky suspition its not a simple as that. Maybe thats a question for the...

Also read up about how to gravel-vac if you havent done so already. This is a much more affective way of reducing levels and keeping your tank looking clean and tidy

fair play. Yea mine love the water. In fact i have started using it as a landscaping tool - aiming the water around a bogwood 'bridge' to create a bit of a pludge pool for my plecs to swim about...

the dial on my heater is never that great. Just ignore the numbers and set it so its the right temp on your thermometer. You got any photos of your set-up?

i doubt you will get enougb wattage to grow plants with an energy saver. Im pretty sure you can buy the connectors for Juwel tanks, so you could probs do it that way? might cost a bit more, but at least you know its fit for an aquarium. Moochy13 - i would whack both in. On my tank, i have one...

AKA Odessa barb? yeah these guys are great with fantastic colours, but they're quite big. I would go with more barbs though - either up the number of Cherry, or a similar sized fish such as the drape fin Barbs? And yes, i would avoid Tigers. They won't get along with your Betta, or tetra, or...

i've got one that big in my 30L BiOrb...

that sounds cool to me. If your worries about water, you can buy condensation trays that sit on the top of the tank. They are quite good if you have your tank in the high 20s anyway so all you water doesnt boil off

better safe than sorry!

yeah i would up the tetra to maybe 8-10, then i personally would get a pair of dwarf gourami

yeah thats the stuff. But i doubt its good for humans in small quantities, let alone fish...

i would go for 75% stock at first. In theory, you can go 100% but as a beginner its probs best to ease into a routine of water changes etc. If you do just start with the 8, thats fine. Just bear in mind when you add new fish not to add too many at once. I think the rule is no more than 50%...

sorry - forgot how small they are... Im guessing you dont want more gourami? a pair of bigger ones? I might go for a BN plec & a shoal of 3 golden barbs but im thiking these guys would rather be in bigger numbers, so maybe 6 cherry barbs, or 6-10 tiny tetra (eg neon - but you dont like them? how...

some LFS will take them, but not all. Or for smaller scale you could probs shift them on here. or e-bay?

am i right in thining you don't have a hood? If you just hang the tubes from the ceiling, i would recommend getting some reflectors, so its not a giant up-light (unless thats what you want)

bed sheet will be fine. Anything to stop the light. As for teh plants, im no green fingered expert, but they have a tendancy to trick you into thinking you have fully cycled your tank (they act like mini filters doing their own little N cycle). IMO, i would leave the plants until your confident...

was this a new tank? gutted! Also, the bumblebee cats? are they Corys? i have seen the in a LFS and am tempted. Almost look like little puffers... What are they like? how big to they grow?

i would be tempted to ignore the 'never use deturgents' advice (it is good advice...) and nuke it with some limescale remover. But make sure you clean it like you've never cleaned before with water once your done.

cool. I think optimal temp is about 29, so aim for that. If your bothered by alae, cover your tank with cardboard so it cant get any light. This should kill it off within a few days. If not, just leave it and sort it out after the cycle

Also, your fish will grow! Just to answer your question, yes you can add all your fish after doing the cycle, becuase you have (i assume) been adding ammonia which is basically fish poo, so you have contidioned your filter to handle your stocking. People say 'add a few at a time' because the...

that was quick! Are there any plants in your tank?

you soon get the hang of sucking on the pipe without getting a mouth full of water... I like the idea of the powerhead dropped in the bucket. I have to turn my fiter off anyways when i do a change, so that might be a great idea. Also, slightly off topic, but when i set my tank up, a little...

bump... i also have a Rio 180 and am wondering this myself. As for 'a rio with a bigger capacity' - go for a bigger Rio like the 400? If you were talking about the same footprint, am not sure, becuase i believe as Malawi are bottom dwellers, the length of the tank is most important

Have you read the pinned topics in this sub-forum? Recommendations include over-filtering. Personally i would go with a powerful external. IMO, i think its nicer than having a big box in one corner of the aq. Heating - im no master im afraid Decor - that sounds good. A point well made in the...

good luck! i am hoping to set up a malawi tank in the future, so im gunna keep an eye on this one! If you can, keep us updated with photos whilst you're in the process of setting it all up!

red tailed sharks have got a bad name. They are great fish, but either have to be kept singularly (sp) or in a big group. On the assumption your just having 1, you should be fine. The only think to make a note of, is they get aggresive with other fish that look like them, so keep away from any...

i would go Rio 180 (because thats what i've got!) Did you say you were off the ground floor? make sure the floor is solid enough. It should be for a 180L, but if your putting it on top of a full, heavy sideboard it might be worth checking! On a side note, my red tailed shark gets on great with...

im with the above. Either buy a special razor scaper, or just buy some stanley knife blades and scrape away! (without sounding like my mother, be careful if your just using a blade - those things are beyond sharp!)

i would go with cherry barbs

howq often do people changes their filter floss? I hadn't used it before, but i inherited some from someone who has given up on the hobby, and it had been in my filter 2 weeks so when i did my weekend water change, i gave it a bit of a clean (yes, in old tank water). Im assuming this is OK, or...

Either Bolivian or German Blue's. But there are lots out there that look stunning - its just a case of finding them! RN tetra are one of the nicer ones. I have got some Buenos Aires Tetra, but they might be too big. Tetras being common does mean that you can easily find them though. It just...

hm... i would have guess your Rio 400 was 400L = 105 USG, but based on the measurements, its more like 550L = 150 USG... Either way - yes you are over-stocked. Also i would consider getting a 2nd filter, as the Fx5 is good, but you might want more

i think you should be OK with that stocking, and have room for a pair of bigger chaps. Especially if you over-filter it. Maybe a pair of Rams? Personally i wouldn't go with tetra's, becuase i always think they're a bit... common (obviously depending on species) Maybe get some killifish or...

i keep on meaning to get some pics up, but am always a bit self-concious of the fact some of my plants look a bit... dead. Maybe i'll bite the bullet and put some up this eve (at work at the mo)

personally i would ditch the Angels and go for a shoal of about 50 Tiger Barbs (mixed with Green Tigers). I would have thought Tigers will be fine in a large number, becuase they will only be aggressive to their species, but that is a guess based on the stocking of my (slightly smaller) 180L tank

Yeah those pitbull's look nice! The other thing i should have mentioned is that i have gravel substrate. Is this going to be an issue with these little guys, or any other loach / catfish you can think of?

whats the best way to tell the difference between a BN and a common plec? i was quite sure i had a common, but now looking at some pics, it also looks identical to a BN.

I am in the process aof re-homing my clown loaches and hopefully my common plecos will be gone soon too. Its a shame to see these go as i have grown to love these guys, but i am fully aware of how big they will get... So - i am looking for a new bottom feeder. My ideal atributes would be as...

they really could do with a web designer for that page... If i was anywhere near, i would go :(