Search results

The idea of going to Alton Towers to see an aquarium is perverse to say the least ... There are worthwhile public aquariums all over the country ... and the ZSL is building a huge one somewhere in the docklands London.

Boboboy - Technology has moved on mate ... Go take a look here, they also sell ballasts for those wanting to dim LFLs using a standard dimmer switch ... h**p://www.varilight.co.uk/Pages/page%20digiflux.htm btw - no amount of wrong makes a right.

It can't be that hard to dim LED's ... I've got one of those torches that you shake to make power ... the LED gets brighter the more you shake it ... so it's basically a case of limiting the power so a simple variable resistor should work. I've also just bought a CFL that claims to last 8 years...

Over filtration is an oxymoron. You can only ever filter out what is there and going beyond that apart from being a talking point is plain silly. As for the two is better than one ... well one working and one still in its box (free from mechanical wear etc) is even better. So in a nut shell...

I bought mine from ebay, and apart from having to cut it to size, it works great. You can also buy the stuff from garden centres btw.

I have never ever seen any extra support for a bath and I've lived in quite a few houses around the country.

As it happens I use a vivarium heating mat (I can see no difference in principle between it and substrate heating cable btw) to heat my small 45l tank it works a treat and is hidden from sight. So obviously substrate heating isn't a waste of money, especially as I got it for free ... as to...

Porosity wouldn't make a difference ... there would still have to be a driver to make the water move through it, perhaps this is why some people use substrate heating.

Yes and no. The water in the air is from the tanks. So any water you take from the air will change the equilibrium and further water will enter the air from the tanks. So a dehumidifier is pointless in an area with loads of water, even having a fan isn't that great but unlike a dehumidifier...

I seriously doubt that the age of your copper pipes has anything to do with it. Metal toxicity is closely connected to pH because at high pH (7+) they are not bio available and so simply are not a cause for concern. The previous poster is right EDTA is the primary (if not sole) agent for...

Make sure that all the joints are covered, you could skim it with that artex'y stuff that they sell at B&Q for smoothing walls (own brand will do and cheaper) seal it using PVA (follow instructions - something like 5 to 1) then a couple coats of paint (kitchen and bathroom paint is best). Any...

Bees wax it.

Dave - I'm living in Leagrave at the moment, moved here from N.Wales (Gerlan) wish I hadn't. You might be right about the ADA soil but from their website it's clear that they want you to believe it's made from Black earth. I spoke to a soil scientist about this and she assures me that due to...

I would guess that ADA's soil is not clay based as it claims to be black earth based Also ADA say that their soil will have an effect on the pH and KH of the water. So you might as well use peat under the substrate, in fact I'd suggest that it would be better than carbon on its own. The...

I know nothing about ADA Aqua Soil ... what I do know is that your statement regarding carbon just doesn't make sense.

The whole point of carbon whether it be in a granular form or coated on a sponge has nothing to do with absorption The sole use for activated carbon is because of this process adsorption So as far as activated carbon goes, whatever form its in, the principle is just the same ... overall...

I bet its anus telescoping out was nothing more than a bloodworm being passed out. I've seen the same thing when I feed bloodworm to some of my fish.

Couldn't agree more Bignose, though it also depends upon pH. As at a high pH metal toxicity isn't really a problem. MW - filter wool works just as well as a biological media ... the only real way to 'polish water' without compromising your biological balance is to use something that you change...

What are your water parameters? Where is it building up, above or below the water line or everywhere? What does this stuff look and feel like ... pics?

You could use a beauty tube. It has a mellower colour and to my eye seems about half as bright as my similar sized grow tube in my other tank. As it happens it doesn't seem to have a major negative effect on plant grow either... admittedly I'm only growing low light plants like Anubius and...

The Dwarf Chain Loach (Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki) formally known as Botia Sidthimunki grows to 2.5" and occasionally comes up for sale in lfs, mine in Luton had a tank full not too long back, I wish I had bought some then. I'm pretty sure that I saw some at Maidenhead Aquatics in St Albans...

Tryst me ... That's a bit forward MW ;) A structural engineer isn't going to be able to give any guarantees without you shelling out more than the tank probably cost, of course this pales into insignificance when you consider the value of the house. I wouldn't be so happy about concrete...

I would agree with Rabut, the bioballs are much better than biowheels. I wouldn't say that they were ahead of their time though, I'd see it more as how trends and fashion affect the hobby. It sounds like a great tank .. I like the idea of the magnifying dome.

Depends on your water. Only way to know is to try it and see. Why ask for info that only you have the ability to know the answer? Is it a trick question? I know that my water pH would stay the same, but then I have hard water at a pH of 7.8

What have you done with it? I'll happily take it off your hands if you've not binned it.

I think the main point is cost. It doesn't come cheap to run the experiment and tbo I doubt that the results would be any different under the same conditions and from a scientific point replication is all that counts. I'm most definitely not accusing Hovanec of falsifying his research. So...

The arguments surrounding the PR process are hardly difficult to find and TBO I don't think that its up to me to bring people up to speed on common knowledge. To understand the flaws in the PR process you have to understand how it works. The 'peers' are only those that want to do it. Request...

Your flippant comment about altruism tells the lie on that comment. No it is you that appears to have misunderstand the scientific process and the motivations behind this particular piece of research. Lol, are you really that naive ... the commercial bit comes on the patent application, not on...

Never had one survive more than a couple of days. There is a branch of Maidenhead aquatics in St Albans ... That's near'ish to Hemel ... It's big and has a nice stock, I bought a few fish from there and they've all survived.

Don't be silly Corleone ... you evidently don't understand the meaning of 'pure research'. The last bit has become increasingly important in the last couple of decades but it wasn't throughout most of the 20thC ... and even big commercial institutions like IBM still have active pure research...

Its completely OT to talk about the flaws of peer review, or even the process. There is plenty of stuff that you can Google if you really want to know. Likewise, just because a paper looks scientific doesn't mean anything. Each journal likes its papers in a specific format and you will not...

After reading Walstead's book I'm not too sure that removing all dead plant matter is such a great idea as it seems that organics and DOC play a role in binding metals and other contaminants. That aside though, going from waterdrop's train of thought I suspect that doing a near 100% water...

Duh! Perhaps you should read carefully before jumping to the wrong conclusion. So where exactly is the ad hominem attack? Pure research is what the 'research councils' in the UK for instance pay for. Research done without an ulterior motive other than to move knowledge forward. Sure there is...

I take it you've done tests? Only 1% of bacteria in soil or water may be culturable ... so it really depends upon the assay used to determine levels of bacteria in tap water. If the test are only for coliform or other known and culturable pathogens ... and why would they test for harmless...

I agree they are much better looking than neons and cardinals.

Hovanec is first and foremost an industry guy. I'm not quite sure what you mean by his university papers, I seriously doubt that he's ever been involved in 'pure' research outside of the industry angle ... or at least thats how his CV reads. I don't mean to imply that his work is any less...

I agree that its good practice to always use dechlor if your water is treated. Though the interesting thing is where does the AOB & NOB's come from? If they, as some suggest, come in with the tap water then neither chlorine nor chloramine must be much of a problem to them. Locust267 - Water...

The dormant stage for a bacteria is not necessarily a spore state, it really depends upon species. Some will go into what is basically a persistent vegetative state. The main causes of death are (1) predator species i.e. Grazers (2) Poisons secreted by bacteria/fungi/actinomycetes (3)...

You mean de nitrification surely? N03 - N20 - N2 That aside you're really selling the idea ... I'd always thought it was difficult and costly, but now I'm thinking it might be worth a go.

I was just reading D Walsteads book and it seems that she does very few water changes, once every 6 months by the sound of it. From her point of view, the plants and DOC from rotting plants are more than enough to filter the water and clear it from heavy metals etc. I was also looking at some...