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Thanks for the good info - we don’t have too many power cuts here in UK but i once lost a load of corals during a 48 hour one when I wasn’t at home. Since then I bought a cheap Smart UPS from EBay that quietly sits in a cupboard and monitors the power flow. If there’s a spike or dip it balances...

1st November 2020 Amazon delivery today with my Smart Plug Sockets - So now with my Logitech remote thingy and the TCP plugs I’ve set up some routines that allow me to auto switch the lights of and on along with the bedroom lights and tv etc. Altogether its building into a nice little home...

I just use my normal cheap siphon thing but i fitted A short and thinner tube when i need to remove gravel - the thinner tube seems to be maintair a higher pressure. Ive also seen videos of people using a Wet & Dry hoover - they literally suck the entire gravel bed out in about 2 seconds

Its best to start off like this so any mistakes don’t cost you the earth and hurt a lot of livestock. I learnt the exact same way so now I feel a lot more confident with a bigger tank. This was my first tank and the same as you i always thought a little child had aquascaped it.

Hi all! This is 450 litre Rena Aqualife tank. Ive had it for about 2 months now after upgrading from a 100l tank. It’s a Malawi Cichlid tank - parameters are a stable: 24c / 8.1 pH / Ammonia , Nitrate and Nitrate 0 / Hardness 14 dH LED’s are chinese 5ft with a custom built Smart LED strip i...

Hi all 3-11-2020 I thought its about time I posted my new tank build thread. I’ve had a number of tanks since the 90’s, mainly tropical with a brief foray into marine. I always end up going back to freshwater and I have a nasty habit of buying ‘L number’ plecs for exorbitant prices and never...

And yea theres a few brands - the prodibio i used has a initial ‘start up’ then a ‘digest‘ and a ’stop ammon’. Not sure why, maybe its the concentration - (based on the cost and the tiny amount in each vial i think it is) but it worked well and my tank is stocked and stable.. Ill put some more...

Yeh sorry we’ve hijacked the OP post. I’m actually just typing my build thread but basically threw in 25 vials then 4 hours later the vial of ammonia and tested. Then every 4 days added another 5 vials

These were very impressive. I haven’t seen them in little glass vials before that you snap open - very posh but about £15 for a pack of 4. For 450 litres i needed about 7 packs.

Am i allowed to? Mate I didn’t want to harp on as usually you get feathered and tarred for not doing the tried and tested cycle. Bascially I was given about 4 packs of them and within about 8 hours i could add the ammonia vial and it was eaten up. I moved more and more of my livestock over and...

thanks for the info -a GH of over 300ppm seems high compared to the info I’ve studied up on from books and online

Ill take one in the morning I don’t want to freak the entire tank out by using a flash ;ow the lights are off. yes dechlorinate prior to using

I know that these products can be a bit contentious on forums but over the past 30 odd years ive learned to listen to the advice but also try things out myself... I still do the normal cycle as above but on my last Cichlid tank I used these little glass vials that you break open and put in...

A lot of the LFS’s that ive visited over the years don’t like you to read the forums as they may know that there are a number of threads not painting them in the most positive of lights

Thanks all for the help - slowly dropped the temp and adjusted the heaters to take into account the dodgy probe and they’ve moved from the top of the water already... Lights off and everyone to bed...

If ammonia is still at a dangerous level then the fish could be experiencing ammonia stress or poisoning. Signs of ammonia stress are : Lethargy Loss of appetite Hovering at the bottom of the tank (especially for surface dwelling fish) Gasping at the surface Inflamed gills Red streaks or...

I’m on the case - thanks everyone

The STC controller was at just over 25 so if its 2.5 out then it must be hitting over 27

Yeah - tbh i wa a bit nervous about having a bigger tank so ive been testing every day and logging in Aquarimate. The readings have been more stable than the other tank.

Mmmm, Ive just stuck my temperature probe in some iced water to see if its accurate and it looks like its 2.5 - 3 degrees C off. Would the elevated temp be making them gasp?

Ok so they were in my 3 foot tank. I bought the 5 footer, set it up and moved over some filter media into the Eheim external. Cycled the 5 footer then slowly moved them all over. Theyve all been in the 5ft tank for around 3 weeks now. The tank was cycling for about 2 weeks with the other tanks...

8.2

GH is 4 KH is 6 so its on the low end of whats ok , could it be the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water?

Various Mbuna Malawi cichlids, seems to be a group of 4 Pseudotropheus cobalt blue

Hi all Just after a bit of advice - this isn’t my first tank but I’m by no means an expert. My new 5 ft tank ( pictured ) has a fairly low stock level, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are all 0. Nothing seems out of the ordinary but there’s about 5 or 6 of the 40 or so fish constantly at the top...