bobo

Cheers for the reply Actually going to go for a regular tank, because I want to be able to access the tank readily with my hand - i.e. hand feed the betta. If I stick a filter in one of my tanks, and then in a month's time use that filter and water from that tank to set up my new tank, will the new tank be 'cycled' - i.e. have skipped the process? Cheers

Yeah, seen that tank before - it's cool. Not quite my style though

Hmmmmm Sorry to pester: 1) Will the dark corners cause issues? I want to have pretty full coverage. 2) Will I be able to put the lights on a timer? Pretty essential tbh. 3) I heard the lights heat the water up, will this be an issue? Cheers

Hmmm I can't really be bothered mucking around, changing the light system. So, if the defacto lights aren't up to growing some crypts, java ferns, etc, I think I'll go for the regular tank rather then the 'Edge'. It just looks so slick

Just got permission from the wife to be to buy a Fluval Edge, cos they look cool. Anyone know much about these - I assume the lighting will be good enough to grow some low light plants?

So you think glosso will be too time consuming? I have had only one fling at it. I could stick 8w of T8 light over the tank and grow java, or crypts, or swords - does that sound easier? Maybe with a sand substrate? No dosing? Any thoughts on the heater? Can all submersibles be run horizontally? Cheers

Yeah Sam, that was something along the lines of what I was thinking. How do I get a heater to fit a short tank (I think it's 23cm). I thought I could get a 25W submersible, and run it horizontally. Can you run all submersible heaters horizontally?

Cheers for the replies. Yeah - I love the tank/concept - but am too lazy to aquascape like that. I just got a free tank. Rectangular, a little over a foot long. ~20L. I was thinking of a glosso carpet, with maybe one feature plant, and/or rock features. 16W T8 6500K Lights. Dosing with Flourish and Excel. Base - Flourite? Sand? Sound like it will work? Again, thanks for the feedback

Hi guys, I have an office next year (yay!), so I want to have a small tank in it. I want it to be low maintenance (so no stem plants). The tank will hopefully be 20-30L. It will have a Siamese Fighter as its occupant - I'm not sure if I will put anything else in with him. I was thinking of two ideas: 1) Put 20W of light over it, dose with Excel (I figured it would be cheap on a tank this size) and grow glosso. Would this work? Would it be low maint after the initial set up? 2) Get one of those self contained tanks with a modicum of light, and plant some swords or crypts. Thoughts? Cheers

6500K. All 4. Must be about 3 months old.

T8. Cheap tubes froms Corys. Dosing Flourish (~1.2ml three times a week - thinking of increasing this). Planted into flourite. Thanks for the replies guys - obviously I had heard some misinformation - I will switch the fourth back on. Cheers!

Hate to hijack the thread, but it seems relevant: My glosso seems to be growing quickly/thickly, but also 'up'. I read that this can be caused by not enough CO2 for light strength. I have four cheap 40w lights over a 120l (40cm) deep tank and use two DIY CO2 mixes. Should I switch one of the lights off? Cheers

1am AND success I think! :bounce: I took the canister's top off, then: 1) Took the impeller out, which was attached to the propeller, which also came out. They didn't seem to be obstructed in any way, so I reattached them. 2) I filled it to the brim with water, which seemed excessive since most of it was displaced when I retured the top. One the above fixed it. A question. There was a metal cylinder attached to the propeller (above it); I think it may have been magnetic- it seemed to attach to the inner parts of the canister. It was really hot. I could see almost imperceptible smoke, and it was hot to the touch. Normal? I figured it is; simply because of the friction that must build up? Anyway, thank you to everybody who responded to this thread; much appreciated. Hopefully the filter is still going in the morning... ahahahaha... *cries*

*sigh* Think I'm about to try that...

I placed the outlet into a buacket, placed it on the floor; it then filled really fast (the flow seemed to grow stronger nearer the ground). I then placed the outlet back up on the tank and the flow completely stopped Does that give us any ideas?

Do you mean to clear it in some way? Take the outlet from the tank, place it in a bucket, and place that bucket on the floor- while the whole thing is running. Then place the outlet back into the tank? Did I understand correctly or am I being dense?

So, I think I'm going to have to be happy with 80% flow for now (since it's late and I'm going away for a few days tomorrow). My concerns: After my repairs the filter was running for about half an hour and then suddenly stopped, completely, for no discernible reason. I had to shake it a lot to restart it. If the filter stops while I'm away, will the fish be fine? I'm coming back on Thursday and did a 40% WC today. I actually use the spray bar to break the water's surface and create oxygen bubbles. If the filter dies while I'm away, are my fish in danger of suffocating? Should I run an airstone? Thanks for all your help

As of this moment, I'm not inclined to disagree.

Heh. It's a battle of attrition; I have sworn at it, shaken it, kicked it, attempted to bribe it, and primed it a lot. The result being it's up to c.80%. So I might just continue beating on it for a while yet. Thanks for the suggestions Scottie, but I'm too scared to stop it now - I have spent about 6 hours on the stupid thing - it has given me all sorts of grief today. Thanks for all the ideas guys - I'm off to get dinner - then kick it some more. I'll let you all know if I managed to 'fix' it. Just repeat after me: NEVER DO MAINTENANCE; in my heart I knew it was a bad idea. Again, Cheers!

Thank you for all the suggestions guys. I'd estimate that I have about a 50% flow - it can't make it all the way down my spray bar. 1) If it running half ass, like it is, would it still be worthwhile adding more water to the canister? I would have thought it is now full? 2) When I fiddled with the propeller - could I have potentially adjusted the flow rate? I don't even know if you can adjust flow rate? Again, frustrated, but very appreciative

Thanks for the reply. Do you mean remove the propeller and look behind it? What is a impellar shaft? I just gave it a shake (while running) and now I have very low flow (as opposed to none). Is it ok to shake it while it's running? My gut instinct is 'no'. I just don't want to turn it off now I have some flow. Cheers Scot

Hopefully I'm being a bit melodramatic.... I decided to give my filter (SunSun 304) a clean today - the first time since buying it (5-6) months ago. When I tried to restart, it wouldn't go. 1) I had the canister filled up most of the way. 2) Then I clipped the top on. 3) Switched the switch to enable flow from the pipes to return. 4) Primed it. 5) Turned the filter on. 6) Primed it some more... 7) Sat there frustrated and aghast. It makes the right noises. When I prime it, water comes out the output bar. When I do nothing but watch, nothing comes through. Any ideas? Could the propeller be stuffed? It was stuck. So I loosened it a little. Mistake? The propeller doesn't seem to move smoothly. Any help would be appreciated Cheers

Awesome - thanks guys! As always, I appreciate the help

Hey guys. For DIY CO2, do you need a check valve if your bottle is sitting above the tank? Or am I safe ;p Cheers

Cheers - I'm not entirely convinced yet - I think I'd like to go more wild. But we'll flesh this out properly first.