Lady-Lene

Yay for me ...... carpet layers are coming on Tuesday so had to move the 4.5' tank. Didn't want to take the fish out so just emptied it to about 6 inches from the bottom (fish were freaking a bit). Lifted up the ends of rimu stand and slid some strops under there. Then had some burly guys lift the strops and moved it inch by inch. NO BREAKAGES ! I'm so stoked as I've been worrying about it for days, hoping the stress of moving it with water and substrate in it would not compromise the joins. Hehehe now I've just gotta move it back again! :lol: :lol: :lol:

- Cool - I think I'll give that a try. Its at least stable! I have 2 male cobalt blue gouramis, 1 male pearl, pair of honey dwarf gouramis, 8 corys, 2 platys, 8 cardinals, 1 red tailed shark, 1 rummynose, 3 clown loaches, 3 black tetras, 2 Basaam Tetras, 1 female siamese fighter, 2 glass catfish and one 'something' ... ah I think thats it. Which of these would be most likely to be upset by low pH? No - been meaning to get some pitbull plecos but they don't have them at LFS so have to go to Hams to get them. Best get onto that :lol: Used to have a large pleco but he was into landscaping my planted tank so had to give him away. Doing some renovating so have to move the tank (twice). Not looking forward to that Thanks for your help.

Hey all. 400 ltr tank is doing well except for a couple of hiccups. First problem is my pH seems a little low. Sitting between 6 and 6.5. Is that a problem? Fish don't seem to mind too much around 6.5 but when it gets around 6 my gouramis sit on the bottom a little too much (not good as one little powder blue is recovering from being sucked up the filter ). What can I do to boost it a little? I tried Baking Soda as I thought that would raise the kH and maybe make it a little more stable but it just keeps dropping. Tap water is only 6 so water changes make it worse. Some shells maybe? Annd if so how much? Second is green algae. Have scrubbed and cleaned and used algae fix, turned the lights off and still it persists on coming back on my driftwood. Any suggestions. Is it likely these problems are related? Cheers

Cool - he's ok. I've got a catfish with only one eye and it seems to do fine without it.

Ooooh nice.

If you placed the media out of your old filter into your new one you could take the old one out.

Was gonna post with exactly the same question but I'll not bother now. I have a nicely plant tank (now that pleco is gone). I wondered about a Pit Bull Pleco - can we get those here? How big do Chinese Algae Eaters and Otos grow? I have 400 ltre tank - how many would I need? SAE = Siamese Algae Eater? Wots the difference between Chinese and Siamese?

Zev - wot are 'sparkling gourami'?

If I'd read your post properly I'd have seen the tank was a bit small for clown loaches. They like to be in groups. I'm kinda hung up on clown loaches and gouramis right now. My favs. I'd definitely go with some bottom dwellers as suggested. I've got lots of corydoras but I'd go with sumptin that cleans better like catfish or small pleco. Hey what about a redtailed shark. They are super cool !

Thanks for that purplecatfish. I'm suitably impressed enough to try it out. Oh and thanks Jayci - yeah - you might get to see my fishies an all :lol:

Cool thanks for that. I have been wondering if I should get couple more to keep mine company coz he has a bit of an identity crisis and thinks he is a clown loach. He follows them everywhere and even lays on his side occasionally! Funny wee guy and friendly. Sorry for hijacking your thread IOU1

Aaaaaahhhh ... the filter saga .... I purchased it online from Petmart (in Nelson I think). Many emails have passed back and forth and still no resolution. They insist I must return it to the manufacturer in Tauranga. They could give me no time frame before it was replaced so offered to buy another one if they would refund the money on the first when it was returned. They flatly refuse any refund and insist the manufacturer has a 'replace or repair' warranty only. After much ado (during which time the filter was not working at all) I purchased another filter (from different seller and also different brand). Now I am left with a broken filter which I must drive over to Tauranga. They will repair it and I'll have a spare (which I do not need). Yes I quoted the Consumers Guarantee Act and Fair Trading Act but to no avail. I have now contacted Fair Go. We'll see what happens I guess. I will certainly not be shopping there again ......

Yep - Def some clown loaches. I have a tiger barb that is great friends with 2 honey, 1 pearl and 1 cobalt gouramis. Not sure how a bunch of them would go though.

Ooops - Sorry (sneaks out with red face)

I got some on TM called Rhodorsil V2. Says it is a Transparent, Waterproof Silicone specifically formulated for Aquariums. Cost $14 plus postage. (Not that I've used it - just got it in case of emergency) Pegasus ... I wonder if SubZ made the same assumption as me - that no prices were mentioned and therefore it must be EXPENSIVE! :lol:

Dimensions 74 x 38 x 38cm/29" x 15" x 15 Surface area 0.28 sqm/3.01 sq ft/ inches sq in Volume 107 l./24 gal. (28.27 US gal.) Probable volume 96 l./22 gal. (25 US gal.) :lol:

OK Purplecatfish ..... googled 'microtec' and 'sinotec' and came up with scanners. What is this stuff and where do I buy it from?

Nice .... the place I bought it off tells me I have to return it to the warehouse in Tauranga! I asked how long it would take as I have a 400 litre tank and very little filtration while it is gone. He said he didn't know but offered to sell me another filter that I could use whilst mine was being repaired or replaced. :roll: :roll: :roll: I changed the media around and rammed the black rod up into the impellor hole and at long last it is filtering. Starting to clear :bounce: But the catch is still broke!

OK - had enough of this. I've asked for my money back and am waiting for a reply. Meantime - where is the best place to buy a good fluval?

I have a tiger barb (loner) that thinks he is a clownloach! Looks like one too from a distance - exactly the same colour. He hangs out with them all day and plays and snuggles up to them. Get this ... he even lies on his side like them! They don't seem to mind during the day but when he tries to get under the log with them at night they shoo him away and he looks very offended. He might not know hes a tiger barb but the loaches do!. Very funny to watch! :lol:

Is that a fly on the geckos back?

Thanks so much for your help. - Washed it all thoroughly first. Hoping it won't have to as I used all the media from my old filter along with the new stuff (bigger trays) Yep I'll do that - makes sense Yep already thought to change it around a little later but wanted it to settle in first. HERE LIES MY ANSWER :bounce: :bounce: The black tube will not stay pushed in there - it is loose enough to fall down the hole in the middle. Obviously the impellor entrance does not go right down to the seal hence a mix of both filtered and unfiltered water is going back into the tank. What if I wound some plumbing tape around the tube to ensure it stays in there? Is plumbing tape safe to put in there? Thank you soooo much ... at least I know what the problem is now. Don't know how I would have managed over the past few months without such wonderfully, knowledgeable people to call on as there are here in the forums.

I have ceramic noodles and a sponge in the top basket, a sponge and pumice type stuff (CeramiSub) in the next tray, a filter wool pad and pumice type stuff again in the 3rd and and carbon and filter wool pad in the bottom one. No this is not air Markoshark - its definately not filtering in fact I think my little CF500 did a better job! There is garbage in the water, its turning a yellowish colour, the glass and all plants are dirty as. I now also have the cloudy look (bacterial bloom?).

This new tank is turning into a real mission and I'm about fed up! My new filter (11383 Aqua One CF2400 AQUIS Canister Filter) is just not doing the job. Had first glimpse of whitespot today - gutted! http://www.aquaone.co.uk/aquis_advance.php Found the picture on the above link more helpful than the instructions that came with it but something must be wrong. It should filter way better than it is. I can actually see fine particles blowing out of the spray bar. There is a short black tube that is supposed to drop down the hole in the baskets - should this be pushed into the hole where the impellor goes? I tried that but it just drops back down when I turn it on. Its difficult to see but I'm not sure the impellor hole actually meets with the black seal on the hole down thru the baskets. Wish it was see-thru! Do you have sponges in all the baskets? I only got them for the first two trays and the diagram in the link above shows them in all four. Would this make a difference. Thanks for your help.

Yep I head that too and I get a more accurate reading with it tilted. Also I found that if the heater is too close to the spray bar the cooler water coming from the filter messes with the reading.