smidey

Hi all, I'm sure this is common but i have two Pearl Gourami that often "kiss". What are they really doing & why? Smidey

I like the cabomba most, fast growing so you can trim it here & there to see what looks best. Its seems to be open enough for most fish to swim through & with the right fertilser is a brilliant green colour.

I have a 1000mm Sunsun, found it to be very good, filter is good but have added a canister to it as well, both filters make it exceptionally clear.

I reccomend "acid cure" silicone, probably easiest to buy from a glazier. Tell them what your doing & they'll know.

I also have a Sunsun 1000mm, all of the above applies, although I think the filters are good good for the amount of filtration provided. My tank is around 200L, the factory filter is rated at 900L/hr which is ok, I have added a CF1000 canister filter (the hood item still running) & the water is so clear it doesn't look like there is any in the tank. Also the value of a Sunsun setup was les than half the cost of an aquaone unit & IMO the alloy hoods are much better than the plastic aquaone items.

make sure you havn't mistaken a blocking cap for a jointer for the spraybar & capped it closed.

I have tried the opposite way today & it works as well, the "spout up" means that the bio rings are only "dripped on", the other way means the rings are submerged

Hi all, (Hood filter, spraybar>filterwool>thru box containing bio rings>feeds back into tank) can anyone confirm for me the correct way the "boxes" are placed in, is the water level supposed to get very high in them & submerge the bio rings or just cover the bottom of the rings? If i put my filter box up one way the water level does not rise, if I put it in the other way the water level in the box gets quite high & almost overflows but at same time submerges the bio rings. It has worked for 8 months or so with the level not riisng much but i suspect this is the wrong way.

To be honest i'm not sure. i have had it "box Spout" up like the photo on the left for 8 months or so & it worked fine. I have just tried turning one of the boxes over & it seems to work too, this way keeps the bio rings submerged which I guess is what they need for the bacteria to survive but the water level is very high. I will create another thread to see what other "hood filters" setup are.

The only thing ive found you have to be careful with when using two filters is the flow of water inside the tank, I have the spraybar from the canister spraying into the back wall as both the filters pumping into the tank made a current that was pushing my plants over. The more filtration the better, my tank is around 200L & I have 2000L/hr & the water is crystal clear. As for the overflowing issue, I'm not sure how its possible with a straw, I believe all the straw does is change the way the water flows into the feeder. I have had straws in mine for over 6 months with no probs, the straw is too small to stop any major flow.

Hi lady-lene I have my filter setup with ceramic bio-rings in the box & filter wool on the top, no carbon etc. I also had the gurgling problem, from advise here from people with aqua one tanks that did the same, I put a straw down into the feeder. the straw sticks up to just below the spray bar. That seems to fix it most of the time. What size is your tank? I have a 1000mm one, the hood filter is good, will give you clear water but I have recently added a canister filter as well & it looks like there isn't any water in the tank its so clear. PM again if you want more advice. Smidey

my in-laws have a pond with goldfish, all he does is put the hose in when its too green to see them anymore to flush it

You are right, the 50 odd beaches within an hours drive of whangarei are amazing!

i have mine at about 60 degress close to the bottom beacuse the more horizontal the better as the length of the element will heat more water & heat rises, thats how i figure it works.

Good effort, that looks outstanding!

I noticed when i used flourish excell to get rid of BBA all the other algae around the fittings diappeared to, may be worth a go.

my "brand" tank has a hood filtration system as standard, I added a aqua1 CF1000 canister & it is silent, I can hear the standard hood unit but not the canister.

the other option, which I have done is to have a storage tank for softening the water. I have a 200L plastic drum that I fill with the garden hose. I have peat in a stocking in it & a air pump which evaporates the chlorine. When I do a water change I replace the water removed with water out of my storage tank.

The reason i bought a "brand" tank was the cabinet came with it, the hood matches but most of all the rounded front corners, I liked these alot more than the butt join of a custom made item.

I have a 1000mm Sunsun tank & its brilliant. Filters are good but I have added a canister to run with the standard hood filter. This gives me crystal clear water. The hood itself is aluminium except for the end caps, I have viewed a few aqua one tanks & think the plastic components are not as sturdy or practical as the sunsun items. Also the cost from joshua on trademe is excellent, roughly half the price or less of the comparitive aqua one item. My tank & cabinet cost me $439 & all i needed to purchase additionaly to get it running was the heaters. The water clarity was good with the standard filter but the canister made it un-believable. http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g183/ ... 9cb488.jpg Smidey

I tried the freeze dried worm cubes that are supposed to suction to the glass in my community tank. Angels, gaurami, tetras, skunk & clown loaches etc & they all had a taste but no more. Smidey

Hi all, found my first dead fish tonight. It was a Serpae Neon Tetra. It had bolgey eyes previously but otherwise looked healthy. The water quality is excellent, PH stable & no signs of any other serpaes or any fish at all looking unwell. Any suggestions about what it may have been? it is probably something common, I have had fish for a year now & first dead one so no experience with this. Smidey

I have found a bit more info. They are commonly called Brazilian Puffers as above, but are ofthen called SAP (South American Puffer) & Latin name of Colomesus Asellus. There are actually 17 breeds of freshwater puffer, see the "pufferpedia" on the puffer forum as link below. If anyone can find a SAP or any of the other breeds please let me know. http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug. ... fferPedia/

Hi seth, nice to see another northlander. your right, they did have it in the plant tank for sure. When I bought the plants it had what I thought was dirt on some of the leaves. Being kinda new at this i didnt take too much notice then the fastest thing growing in my tank was the algae. lesson learnt now, it does come from the supplier like that though. I have found the CBD store not as helpful as the maunu rd store although I do buy fish from both to try to mix the sources so if they breed they aren't so closely related.

Hi snowkiwi, welcome & good to see another northlander.