Shilo

Haven't tried it but would assume that if a fry swims against the protection (mesh?) the current could still be strong enough to hold them there. Personally I would either put a large mesh cage over the whole pump to keep the fry away from the intake current or use a mesh "baffle" to separate an area from the pump.

Yup, Homebrand with the red on the label (still got 2/3rds of it left on the shelf). The cheapest I could find, figured the cheaper it was the less other chemicals would have been added since it would cost the manufacturer.

As a side note: I used cloudy ammonia to cycle mine a few years ago. The amount of surfactant added is very minimal and didn't effect the process, 100% water change before adding fish (which should be done anyway) and not a problem. If the food doesn't work, give it a try. A lot of what you read are from the over cautious who never tried it and are just repeating what they read from others who have also never tried it. When doing research I didn't find one case where somebody used cloudy ammonia and experienced adverse effects because of it.

Could always take the heater out and try it in a bucket of water in the garage or somewhere. Leave it on for a few hours set to 26C and then take a reading with the thermometer. Use another thermometer for a 2nd reading just in case. This way it removes the environment (house temperature) from the equation and checks the calibration of the heater. Might narrow the problem down a bit.

Have you tried a different thermometer? The tank temp could really be 25C but the thermometer is broken and stuck on 29.5C.

They are a powerful fish and can jump. May never happen but since they have the ability it would be taking a risk, all they need would be a scare (mine jumped from a quarantine tank once).

Shouldn't matter if it is raw, cooked or frozen, once it starts to rot the ammonia will start to build up. You are not introducing bacteria with the "shrimp" as its naturally in the air - you are introducing food for it. Instead of going on how much, get a measuring kit (API Master test kit or similar) as you will need this to know if the tank is cycling. Throw in a couple of prawns or fish pieces and use the kit to measure how much ammonia is in the water - you want up to 4ppm. If after a few days of adding the shrimp or fish pieces etc there is not enough ammonia then throw in another bit, too much take some out and do a small water change. Over 4ppm and the cycle may stall because the excess ammonia will kill off the bacteria. Continue until the nitrites show then continue until both the nitrites and the ammonia go from 2ppm to 0 within 24hrs and you have nitrates showing. Water change then stock the tank with fish. The kit will show you how much to add and how long things are taking - anything else is just blind guess work. An alternative to using rotting fish is to use bottled ammonia from the supermarket (even cloudy ammonia works). Takes some of the guess work out of it. By the way, don't forget to use use water without chlorine or at least add prime when doing a cycle.

Duckweed. Tomorrow the numbers would have doubled, and the next day doubled again..... Some fish like gold fish eat it but yup removing every last bit is the only way to go. It doesn't like too much surface movement so the return aimed at the surface etc will help but removing is the only sure way (every bit as even 1 leaf will mean it returns with a vengeance).

Think dilution. The more diluted the ammonia is the safer for the fish. A small amount of ammonia in the water (below 1ppm) won't harm the fish and the bacteria population in the filter will eventually grow enough to deal with this amount. When this happens another fish can be added to increase the amount of waste etc, the ammonia levels rise again then time is needed for the bacteria population growth to catch up to this level and so on. Advantage: you get to have life in your tank straight away. Disadvantage: You have to keep a constant eye on the ammonia then nitrite levels (the fishes life is at stake) and it takes longer to get a fully stocked tank. With a fishless cycle you can get the ammonia level up to 4ppm so more food for the bacteria = faster bacteria population growth = faster cycle = fully stocked tank sooner. I won't say " a couple of small clowns in a 140L is Ok" because it all depends on whats considered small and how fast the bacteria population grows (depends on filter system, water parameters) etc. Every tank & situation is different. Instead if you go this route then test 2x a day and if the ammonia then the nitrite levels get near 1ppm do a water change. Keep doing this until the tank is fully stocked. This is why the fishless cycle is more forgiving and safer for a beginner. Throwing a couple of fish in a tank, waiting a few weeks then throwing in the rest may work out Ok for you, but there is a good chance it won't.

Agree there is nothing cruel about it if the parameters are kept within a healthy range of the fish in the tank. It used to be the only way to cycle, although always better to use media from an existing tank if possible. But once the tank has been cycled for the 2 fish, additional fish have to be added slowly to allow the bacteria numbers to catch up with the load. If somebody went from just cycling with 2 small fish to fully stocking the tank there will be a ammonia spike then nitrite spike until the bacteria numbers increase enough. Because of this in my opinion it takes longer and there is more danger of mistakes being made by a beginner that can effect the fish. By using the fishless cycle with allowing fish food etc to rot or by adding ammonia (more controllable) means the tank can be cycled up to a full bio-load and the tank fully stocked straight away.

They are direct China and with a Aust warehouse, depends on what is in stock in Aust where it gets sent from but still arrive within a week or 2. You can also get the same makes here in NZ but when I was first looking I couldn't find a local supplier. Because I don't live close to a city it is just as easy ordering online from overseas for things I'm not in a hurry for. Some of their products have a drop down to select what sort of plug (Aus/NZ etc) but others need an china / Nz adaptor. China is 220v so everything there works here.

Bacteria in a bottle like Seachem Stability? It works to speed up the cycle but I personally wouldn't stock the tank straight away, might work for some but if anything is wrong and the bacteria doesn't establish fast enough to cope with the instant large amount of fish waste then there would be problems. Instead I suggest using it as per directions but still do a fishless cycle (feeding with ammonia or fish food etc) until the ammonia and nitrites have disappeared and there are Nitrates showing. I used it when I set up my current tank as because it is cold water was taking a long time to cycle, stability seemed to speed things up more. I reckon it would cut the time in half but hesitant about using it for instant stocking.

Only on the pulse cycle and then its faint, in the vid he has it on a pulse cycle but I wouldn't say I could hear mine 4m away. My tank is large for it so keep it on full blast and a constant cycle and don't hear anything. As per build quality - I have 2 Jabeo DC pumps and this wavemaker and haven't had any problems with them at all. I find the build quality to be excellent, one pump and the wavemaker have been running constantly for nearly 3 years now (other pump is a spare - hospital tank etc use). Like any product your mileage may vary though. Another option that looks even better is the new Coral Box wave maker. Haven't tried it but like its low profile and how it distributes the water: https://www.fish-street.com/coral-box-rn-1-reverse-nano-pump

I have a Jebao SW-4. Small profile and DC so controllable. Completely silent if used in the constant mode but very slight on/off hum if used in the pulse mode. My tank is a 500ltr (freshwater) and it still moves the water well over 3/4 of the length.

Search for "Ethanol" instead of alcohol (same thing). Denatured Ethanol contains a small % of methonal so its not fit for consumption but fine for tinctures etc. A quick google search brought up this: https://www.purenature.co.nz/shop/Cosmetic+Ingredients/Solvents/Ethanol+-+Denatured%3Fsku=ETHA.html