Shilo

Shouldn't it need much more then 2000lph for a 650-700 ltr? 700ltr x 5 = 3500lph not including the head and friction (your piping size, number of elbows, valves etc). Personally I would use a 8-9000lph, a DC Jebao can be dialled down if needed.

The substrate can move from under it over time. If its not sized to jam between the bottom of the tank and the top braces (how I did mine) then put some rocks or similar under it instead of a "fluid" substrate like gravel or sand. Disadvantage of jamming: There will be a small gap between the background and back of the tank. This can cause water to stagnate because it will have no movement and if large enough trap fish or snails etc. Because the background will want to float, if gravel / sand is used on the bottom edge a gap will slowly widen at the bottom of the background and any gravel stuck behind it will mean it can't be pushed back without removing all the substrate. Disadvantage of siliconing: Near impossible to remove again in the future without breaking the background. But if you silicon it, you might as well do it right around so water can't seep behind the background. This of course will make it even harder to remove without damage.

Haven't used underwater lights but the first overhead lighting on my current tank was made from a RGB strip light. If the it the colour was steady and didn't change the fish were fine with it but if it was constantly changing "disco mode or fade" the fish freaked out (natives). My way of thinking is to keep everything as natural as possible. In a natural stream or lake you don't get abrupt changes of colour but only a slow fade from white to a "dusk" colour before darkness. And light never shines from the bottom. If you can't use an overhead moon light to have on for an hour or so after the main lights go out I suggest just resetting your timer so the main light comes on later in the day and off in the evening an hour before you go to bed. The room lights will give the "dusk" period when the tank lights off.

By the way, 40mm is the pipe diameter to use. You will need to size the holes in the glass to a diameter of a bulkhead that fits a 40mm pipe.

Pipe work for sump overflow: The larger diameter the better, but this will depend on the design of your overflow, how much room you have, and the rate of flow you want. At the very least if going for a 2 or 3 standpipe design I would use 32mm but much more preferable would be 40mm. Pump size: Depends a lot on what type of flow your fish like, and the head height it has to pump up to. A pump which will allow you to "play" around with the flow once set up is an adjustable DC type pump. A 9000ltr/hr Jebao DCT or similar would work if it is only pumping up from a sump under the aquarium stand. You will probably only need to run it at 1/2 to 3/4 power but it gives more options if required and the cost isn't much different then a lower powered model.

Nah, it gives them their daily exercise!

Advantage of a sump is that it is very customisable and can be designed to match your tank and fish. It can also mean a lot less maintenance - I've only had to clean mine once in 6 months and that was just the pre-filter. 1st thing you will need is an overflow for the tank water to exit. Look at salt water tanks for ideas on these, there are various forms and methods but a "Herbie" or "Beananimal" are easy to operate and silent. These require the tank to be drilled and are mainly DIY designs but a good glass aquarium company could do one for you. An alternative is to use an overflow syphon which means no drilling and manufactured models can be brought (from overseas sites). Other things needed are of course a 2nd tank to fit in your stand to act as the sump. A pump will be needed to move the water that can push 5-10 times the aquariums volume per hour (allow for the head height with this). And finally the media and a way of holding it in place. This is where things are very customisable as there are lots of choices to choose from. Personally I use a wet / dry filter made from a 3 tier plastic draw unit from the Warehouse, 1st draw is covered with those green pot scourers as a pre-filter, 2nd draw is full of bio-balls (above water level of sump), and the bottom one with ceramic noodles (under water). The water then enters the sump and flows through 3 different densities of foam and some polyester matting. Then it gets pumped back to the tank. This is for a 500ltr aquarium. But you could use a fluidised bed filter or a "wet" only filter (all media like noodles under water) or foam etc. Google salt water sumps for ideas but disregard skimmers and bubble trap baffles as they are not needed for freshwater. They are not plug n play like canister filters and take a bit of research and diy to set up but once running are almost maintenance free and can be easily changed in the future. Any spare room in the sump can also be used to grow more plants to help remove nitrates or as a nursery / back up tank.

The water in your aquarium even after a 100% water change will contain a lot more bacteria then water in your water tank. Bacteria need food and there is very little food in a water tank even one with sludge on the bottom will have very little bacteria because of the large volume of water it holds compared to the food available. If you are already suffering from disease then treat the aquarium, if you are afraid of introducing diseases then quarantine new additions and look after the aquarium and make sure you have healthy water parameters. I see no reason to go through the hassle of chlorinating then de-chlorinating rain water. Running the water through a strong UV filter would work better if you're still worried.

Better then Google maps is if you go to http://wams.org.nz/wams_desktop/index.aspx Then on the top of the screen where it says Basemap select Topo. This will bring up a topographical map of the area and it should have the lake name etc on it. The WAMS map also allows you to work out which streams and areas have public access or not.

Good on you for checking that out! Bet there are more then a few systems running from multi boards plugged into each other! Wish I had a sparky as a son in law - could come in very handy

So it was a brand new stand that came as a flat pack? Then like Adrienne said it will need carefully taking apart and re-doing. I personally think a 3cm movement will be much too dangerous to put a full tank on since it won't have the necessary strength from the panels / frame supporting each other. If it was brand new but ready made then take it back to the shop under its warranty. If second hand then do what I suggested above. A large square can still be used to check everything is at right angles despite curved edges by using it on the outside of the stand.

Either the floor is not perfectly level, the stand isn't level (any feet under it not wound down or missing?) or the stand itself is not true and the corners aren't at right angles. But an easy fix if the floors not level is to just add shims under the stand. These are ramp shaped pieces of wood, plastic or metal that you can jam in under the part of the stand not touching the floor. Easy to make out of wood by cutting a piece on an slight angle (sharp one side, right angle the other) but plastic or metal would be preferable if the tank is over 500ltr. You will want to add as many shims as you can to help spread the weight. If the Aqua one is on its original commercially made stand then I would also use a right angle ruler to check that all the corners are at right angles. If they are not then it means that the integrity of the stand is no longer there and I would reinforce it and true up the corners before putting a full tank on it.

Also check the expiry dates on the bottles, they will decrease in accuracy the further past the expiry date they are. Then do another test but make sure the test tube used is rinsed out quite a few times before testing. Don't know if it effects the Nitrate test but I've given myself a few scares checking PH using a tube that I hadn't rinsed properly.

I have carved polystyrene with some tungsten carbide wire stretched between a piece of U shaped ply and connected to a 12v power supply. Worked like the filament in an old fashioned light bulb and cut the poly like a hot knife in butter. But that was 2 feet long and used for a surf kayak mould, you can get small commercial model making ones of various shapes that would work well on a background.

Thanks Livingart, some nice light reading.... "Our regional-scale predictions indicate that, while RES are able to survive in several areas throughout New Zealand, the potential to establish self-sustaining (i.e. breeding) populations appears restricted to the upper areas of the North Island where mean daily temperatures in the hottest month exceed 24˚C, such as Northland, Coromandel, and parts of the Bay of Plenty. Due to the temperature-dependent sex determination of RES, it is possible that conditions in these areas may produce primarily male hatchlings, however, with the constant supplementation of individuals (including adult females with the ability to store sperm) to the population via deliberate releases and escapes from captivity, combined with their longevity, the potential for negative impacts on the New Zealand environment exists." So the potential for them to breed in the Auck region is there but unless there is an extremely hot spring (breeding season) only male offspring will result. Which is probably why the council hasn't been able to confirm a self sustaining population. The paper mentions that the council has been looking into it since 2007. Whether it is right the council should list them as a surveillance pest or not who knows. But personally I think there are more common pets out there that are already causing more environmental damage that need to be controlled and have restrictions placed on them before spending money and resources on a potential.

The council is looking at reviewing ownership laws yet they don't know if the turtles can breed in the wild or what damage they are actually doing? Surely they would have done an impact study on the turtles before changing ownership laws. But then again they did the same with Blue Tongues which weren't even found in the wild. Maybe its because they aren't covered in fur or feathers..... Pet shops and breeders need to be more proactive and make a point of advising that if somebody buys a turtle (or any animal) from them then they must be prepared to look after it for its whole life span. But short term money talks and it looks like they will miss out on being able to sell any red-eared sliders now.

I did one not long ago. Used some polystyrene sheet from the hardware store which I carved "boulder" shapes using an osculating multi-tool and a small rasp. To build up the boulders thicker then the sheet just cut excess poly to shape then glue in place with a hot glue gun. Use tooth picks to put them in place before glueing to test that things look right. Once the shape has been defined either sand it (120 grit) or use a hot air gun or both to clean it up. If you make a mistake just cut off the offending bit and stick on another piece of poly in its place. I then coated mine with cheap tile grout which worked well for a month until the tanks PH level started to sky rocket. Normally this happens as soon as water is added then reduces over a few weeks but I removed mine and coated the grout with epoxy. While the epoxy was still wet I poured sand (black beach sand on the humps and pool sand in the hollows) on it to make it more natural looking. Been great so far. Things to think about when making one: Avoid any straight lines, there are very few in streams, lakes, etc and they look out of place as I found out with the first attempt when I made too many straight lines in error. What I was going to do and should have done is to take a photo of a water worn rock face or bank and draw it on to the polystyrene before carving. Polystyrene floats so you will either have to jam in between the tank bottom and top braces or silicon it to the back glass. Depending on your tank you may also have to cut it into 1/2 or 1/3rds to get it in. Make the cuts flow in the hollows like a jigsaw so the joins are not noticeable. When designing it use the opportunity to carve the back to hide any returns and other plumbing. Lastly: Carving polystyrene makes a huge mess. If you do it inside you will be finding polystyrene beads & dust for the next century despite a major clean up afterwards. If outside then your neighbours will be wondering why it is snowing at summer!

Malaysian Trumpet Snails are normally used to stop anaerobic air pockets forming in sand as they burrow in during the day. Never had them but have heard they can get to plague proportions if they are not kept under control. The other types of snails available don't burrow. If you are worried about the sand becoming anaerobic then one way is to keep the depth shallow (about an inch in the deepest part) as this should still allow oxygen in and avoid gas pockets forming. Shuffling it about with your hand after you vacuum any waste also helps.

When you add fish just remember that only adding a few fish in a fully cycled tank will mean the bacteria in your filter will die off until it reaches the limit of ammonia that those few fish produce. If you then add a few more fish to the system later on then there will be a spike in ammonia until the bacteria catch up again. IMHO that if 3ppm ammonia disappears in 24 hours and the nitrites are also 0 then 100% water change and add all the zebra danios at once. For the next species add one fish at a time keeping an eye on the ammonia & nitrites each time. A combination of fishless and fish addition cycling.

Drat, now have to clean the blood stains of the brick wall from banging my head. "You can actually add all the fish at once if you do enough water changes and I will bet a dollar to a proverbial that the fish will be better off than swimming in detergent regardless of the concentration" Which is why it is called a FISHLESS cycle - there is no fish to swim in it. Water changes are still done when using ammonia and the speed of setting up the tank is the same fishless or with fish. Only seeding with matured media speeds things up (which I think the OP has done, thus 2 weeks instead of 2 months). Apart from pointing out a con of fish addition to cycle I have not said fishless cycling using ammonia is the best way. It all depends on the individuals requirements and tank set up, planned fish what is best for them. But the OP was not asking for advice on the best way to cycle, she was wanting advise on whether or not her tank has cycled. I just advised a way for her to do that (checking with an ammonia dose), your advice to her is?

Yes there are other ways like different ways of cycling a tank and each has their pros and cons. Using Ammonia, Using rotting food, Slow addition of fish, Using bacteria in a bottle and so on. If it is to be debated then maybe a different thread? The fact is Runningwithscissors is already cycling her tank with food. Her problem as above is measuring the speed the ammonia & nitrites are being converted and by adding a known amount of ammonia then measuring after 24 hours she will know if her tanks cycled. Hard to do with food as she doesn't know how much ammonia is being formed. Livingart: The 3ppm is used because it is the optimum amount the bacteria seem to be able to process at a time (been revised from 5ppm). Any more and the bacteria growth slows down (poisoning?), less and the full potential won't be reached. The theory is that once the ammonia is converted within 24hrs then the bacteria population has covered available surfaces of the media the same as in a fully stocked tank. How many fish depends on the size of the tank - a 100gal tank will have more bacteria then a 10gal and more ammonia has to be added even though the concentration is still 3ppm for both.

No fish in the tank and the amount of soap in cloudy ammonia used at 3ppm is so minimal it won't effect anything. A water change at the end of the cycling (which should be done anyway) will take care of any residue. Did a lot of research on it when building my tank and nobody that used it had problems from the soap additive. What you don't want is the brand name cleaning products where ammonium hydroxide is an added ingredient to a whole lot of other chemicals. On the con side of just slowly adding fish is that it can stress the fish each time you add one until the bacteria numbers grow to cope with the increase of ammonia they produce. The bacteria numbers will only increase by the amount of food (ammonia) available. So each new fish means there is an increase in ammonia until the bacteria population increases to cope with it. The amount of ammonia is probably not enough to cause damage if only small fish are used but its there. The advantage of fishless cycling is that once done you can introduce a full stock of fish at once, everything is ready to cope with the waste produced.

Yup, normally cloudy ammonia. It will be in the cleaning supplies isle of your local supermarket like this: https://shop.countdown.co.nz/Shop/SearchProducts?search=ammonia#url=/Shop/ProductDetails%3FStockcode%3D18229%26name%3Dhomebrand-liquid-cleaner-cloudy-ammonia%26search%3Dammonia Using cleaning ammonia is another way of doing the fishless cycle, no fish food just keeping topping up to keep the levels at 3ppm. Once the bacteria gobble it up within 24hrs the tank is ready for the fish. In your case I reckon it can be used as an easy check that the tank is cycled or not.

Not harmful, just unsightly if in abundance. To control try either dimming the lights a bit (if they can be dimmed) or shorten the time they are on by a couple of hours per day. Also get a phosphate test kit and see if the levels are high. Your plants will out compete algae for food and light but if there is any excess that the plants don't use then the algae will grab it and grow. An aquarium is all about balance and too much light &/or nutrients will feed the algae, too little and there is not enough for the plants to grow. Finding that balance can be just a matter of trial and error. I also take it you haven't done a water change since you are still cycling? If so then the phosphate level will be high from all the rotting food over the last couple of weeks and a few simple partial water changes over a period of a week maybe all it needs. Bacteria doesn't get rid of phosphate like they do ammonia and algae loves it so will thrive on any excess the plants don't use.

Problem with using fish food etc is that you have little control on how much ammonia is produced and thus how fast the bacteria is converting it. What you could do is to use cheap household ammonia, dose the tank to 3ppm and measure it over the next few days to see how fast its converting to Nitrites and then Nitrates. If 3ppm converts all the way to Nitrates in 24 hours you are good to go and add fish. How much ammonia to add depends on how many litres you have in your tank. Use this calculator to work it out: http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm (bottom of page). So long as the ammonia is the cheap stuff from the supermarket that doesn't have any other added ingredients like detergents it will work.