Air Pump

[rosebud280282]

I have just got my tank setup yesterday, a friend did it for me showing me what to do. It was a second hand tank so all the tubing was in small pieces so we had to botch it together to reach. I have two tubes coming up at the sides for my undergravel filter and the flow in one is very weak because of the botched together tubes I expect.
On the box for the ugf it says that instead of carbon filter cartridges that go in the top of the tube, I can use zeolite cartridges which are for new aquariums. Are these any good and will they affect my fishless cycle?
Plus it says to replace them every 8 weeks, will this not get rid of the helpful bacteria?

Anyway i'm going to the fish shop today to buy more tubing and an air pump with two outlets. What I want to know is if I turn off the pump to fit my new one will water syphon back down the tube into my pump and make it blow up, or do I need to take the tubes of it before I switch it off?
I'm then going to use my spare pump to run an airstone.

Also, anyone good at maths, i'm not.
I have a 20gal uk tank and I want to run a fishless cycle. I have ammonia that says it is 9.5% and I need to know how much ammonia to put in the tank.

Plus when adding shrimp do you have to count them in the fish per inch ration?

Thanks

 

[ajbettle]

i can answer one question..i think!

the 1 inch per gallon ratio rule really sucks IMO, shrimps do not contribute alot of waste so u could have more shrimp than u could fish...(if u catch my drift) ??? but i cant help u with the air pumps and air tubing; y dont u give the post a try in the hardware section? hope i helped a tiny bit!

 

[keiths]

If the air pump is below the tank it will syphon into the pump. Just unplug it really fast and take the hose off and bring it above the tank. I would suggest picking up a couple of these from the store also:

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...1&N=2004+113403

They prevent the syphoning problem.