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I have always placed my filter opposite the heater on the theory that placment would promote circulation although I bet in most cases with tanks 50 gallons and less it probably does not make much difference as long as both are properly sized. Scott

Hmmm, 400 gallons you say, 1/4" plexi you say, some kind of metal bracket you say. I say over 3000 lbs just in water weight, 1/4" plex would work good here in spans not exceeding 4" x 4". But hey with the ecelctic, non compatible tank full of fish which you have kept 'successfully' for "about...

thx

With a small tank a simple powerfilter is quiet, easy to maintain, and gives good performance. The brand is not important, get one where you can get replacment media locally and inexpensibly. Scott

I think it was J. Paul Getty who is credited with 'If you have to ask, you can't afford it. sorry, couldn't resist :shout: Scott PS, I keep em because they make me smile.

Hey Tessla, What I really don't get is the difference between GH and KH can you put it in plain language? Thanks, Scott.

pH refers to acidity/basicity NOT alkalinity. Rainwater by definition cannot be alkaline as it is the product of water vapor, all of the minerals are left here on earth. What you are telling us here makes no sense. Water by nature is neutral, impurities make it either acid or basic, soft or...

Sorry, I am not a live plant man in indoor stuff, I do have an 8000 gal lined pond with lillies, and all sorts of other outside stuff and koi and goldfish, but on the inside I'm an artificial guy mainly because I like the kind of fish that eat things. Let me go back to the filter one more time...

I like them also, here we call them Dojo. Most people will probably tell you no given the size of your tank. They are very mobile, swimming from side to side and up and down. They also sometimes bury up in the gravel and 'dissappear for days on end. My thought is if you have a stable tank...

People get fixated on pH and that can be a problem. Once you have a properly cycled tank what is really important is dissolved organics, (nitrtite, nitrate, phosphastes) pH is used in a general way to measure this because as nitrites, and nitrates rise pH generally falls. Chasing pH is bad...

Highfire, try dropping in a few sinking pellets after turning off the lights, I have the same problem with a semi-aggressive community and this works good for me. I use a fairly large brine shrimp pellet, it can't be swallowed all at once. Scott Except by "Mango Fish" (avatar) which is why I...

It is so nipped is has been starved half to death. You need to watch this fish closely and feed it regular small meals or you will loose it. You might want to consider a hospital tank so it does not have to compete with others and use something like Melafix to hasten the healing. Good luck it...

You need to know what your base water is. The fish prefer no nitrites, nitrates, or phosphates. The ordinary biological processes of keeping fish in an enclosed environment foul the water with these substances, the pH also has a tendancy to decrease over time which creates an environment more...

Yes good point, the diatom or cannister filter with micron cartrtige will remove single cell aglae. As I said I don't think the sterilizer is the appropriate way to deal with algae do that with water managment. The benefit of the sterilizer is it kills bacteria which can infect fish. Scott

The suggestion of installing and running the new internal filter is a good one. My first tank had ugf, state of the art 25 years ago, and it worked pretty good except you have to take it all down once year. The filter you are considering is not an efficient one, you should rethink a cannister...

Free floating single cell algae is caused by excess nutrients in the water. It also requires warmth and light, your fish require the warmth so you can't eliminate this and you require the light to be able to enjoy the fish, so you can't eliminate this. The way to control single cell algae is...

Yes the UV sterilizer will kill single cell algae and as has been mentioned if you are going this route you MUST also use either a diatom filter or a cannister with a micron cartridge. The reason you MUST do this micron filter is that the sterilizer will kill the algae which if not removed will...

How large is your tank? I keep a 48 gal tank uniformly @ 78f with a 100w heater. 400w is huge unless you are 75 gal or more. Scott Sorry just looked at your sig, unless your room is crazy cold 400w is way too much heater, sorry you lost the fish but 200w is max for 55 gal under most...

This is a real problem, you can imagine having them come in and out, keeping tanks clean, having good help... I wouldn't own one for all the tea in China. I finally found a good one. He will order specific fish for you and he goes a couple times a month and picks the fish himself. In my...

10 ppm is the upper limit for nitrates. Think of nitrates as ferlilizer it is a form of nitrogen. Levels of 10 ppm are sufficient for the support of single cell algae which turns the water green like pea soup. The fish can stand higher levels but it puts them under stress. You need a bigger...

My only concern would be bacteria. Rainwater as it falls from the sky is relatively pure, even in an industrial area with lots of emissions after a minute or two of rainfall they are washed out of the sky. Likewise water from a well (is this what you mean from bore?) is usually quite pure...

The problem with UV sterilizers and the algae liquid products is they do not address the root cause which is as mentioned earlier too many nutrients in the water. In fact the sterilizer and algaeacides can cause a spiral because they do not remove this excess nutrient they only kill the algae...

You haven't said how long you have had this fish, is it a new addition. Sometimes they get injured in transport and just never get estabilished, as you have other which are fine this might be it. I have albinos and after shutting off the tank lights I drop in a few brine shrimp pellets. Scott

I have tetras in a semi aggressive tank. I keep skirts (?black widow?), albino buenos aires, serpea, lemon, silver dollar, and bleeding heart. Along with these I keep a blood parrot, a rainbow shark, and a handful of albino cories. Most of the tetras are semi aggressive the exception being...

Correct, as I mentioned thicker sections take longer to cure, silicone cures from the outside in. The silicone directly on the rock surface is cured, that is why you can pick this cave up and it not fall apart, it is the thicker, 'globs' if you will that are still not completely cured and...

As I mentioned silicone requires the presence of moisture to cure. It will cure underwater. The problem with silicone is that in the curing process it releases an acid, this is the vinegar type odor you are describing. The acid in sufficient quantity is harmful to marine life, you will notice...

Thick sections of silicone take a long time to cure, silicone does not 'dry' the moisture in the air actually causes a chemical process to take place making the silicone cured. The fish tank safe thing is a sales gimmick to get you to pay more for the product any 100% clear silicone which has...

As many earlier poster have already said, stability is more important than a particular number. The RO route is expensive and then you have to remineralize. Unless you need a particualar pH for say breeding purposes I would not worry about it. Scott

Slate is available at any garden center or home improvement store Lowes, etc... Use either galvanized or SS screws both will corrode over time the galvanized is common steel coated with zinc, the amount of metals leached into the aquarium will be so small over such a length of time as to be...

Most filters do not clean small particles from the water, to 'polish' water you need a diatom filter or a canister filter with a micron cartridge. Scott

This is an excellent article it explains in easy to understand terms, put simply kh is a measure of the 'hardness' of the water, some fish species do better in hard water. A reading of 8 is over 140 ppm very hard. Scott

Yes the hot glue and the silcone are safe for the fish, no they will not adhere to the wood. The only practical way to go about this is to take a flat piece of rock, slate works best, drill a hole and secure the wood with screws. The boiling you refer to will not only kill anything hitchhiking...

Green water is caused by single cell aglae, it is too small to be filtered out unless you have a filter capable of filtering 1 micron. You will not have a green algae 'bloom' unless there is significent dissolved organic material in your water caused by overstocking, overfeeding, inappropriate...

Yes correct as a general rule, however if you want to breed or keep say Discus or Siamese Fighters or ...... Best to not generalize and instead study the needs of the animal you are keeping. Scott

I keep mine oposite the heater on the theory that the circulation keeps the water temp more uniform. Scott

Using additives to adjust pH is dangerous. What you should be most concerned with is stability. Fish will adapt to a wide range of pH as long as the water is free of nitrites/nitrates and at a stable temperature. What you should be more concerned with is the quality of the water you first put...

For the glass surfaces I use one of the magnetic ones and it is great, during a partial I use a scotchbright disposable (very thin) on the silicone and other surfaces, works good. Scott

Glad you figured it out. Better to be safe, make sure your heater is alway submerged when plugged in. Scott

Amen, if you are so satisfied with this supplier why do you keep comming to this forum with complaints. Do you want advice or a ongoing argument? Scott