Lucas

Cool, what about the proper ones at the LFS? Are they just an expensive option?

I'm not too happy with the light output of my dual 24 inch fluros. They are the original tubes that come with the aquaone light housing and I've been told they're not great and wont last as long as good bulbs. I want the tank to look like daylight, but not washed out or way too yellow. Theres plants galore, but not fantastic growth at the moment. moderately stocked with gouramis. What two bulbs will give me good output and colour?

nice one 8) I've heard the Chinese Algae Eater gets lazy, but thought the SAE might be an exception. Oh well. If he gets four times the size and eats quarter as much, that should still keep the algae problem fairly much under control! Also just got a couple of Pearl Gouramis, a Dwarf Gourami and a Khuli Loach. One big happy family... until breeding time

haha.. yes I've heard mixed reports about the cleaning product, but the jury's in regarding SAE usefulness IMO.

Gourami guy died! The LFS is happy to replace. I need to be prepared to diagnose and treat or euthanase if necessary in future I think. At least I have some meds now though for if the healthy ones come down with anything. They're looking fine at the moment.

I'm only new to tropical fish, but if anyone hasn't got one of these fish and has beard algae, you need one!! I just finished cycling my tank and battled beard algae and every other form of green scum and scourge for a month. Then I popped in one tiny Siamese Algae Eater and BAM the algae is gone! He gutsed down the beard algae on the first day I put him in, then turned his attention to the rest on the plants and wood. When I heard they eat the beard algae, I thought it might be the last thing they eat, since they are one of few that like it. I shall call him 'BAM' (pronounced loudly)

Poor little guy... I'll have to work it out with the lfs. Hopefully the other one is no going to have problems. Cheers

Help! I have just brought 3 very cute little pearls, but almost the moment I put them in the tank, I noticed that one of them had what looks like a curl in the gill. It appears sunk in closest to the eye, but petrudes outward toward the edge, then curls inward a bit. The curled bit seems to be holding air bubles, which are coming out fairly often. I think the bubble is causing the fish to swim slightly on a lean too. There isn't anything in there that I can see, so I was wondering if this is some sort of defect rather than a fluke? This fish and one other of the three as a tendral shorter on one side that looks like it is split.

Absolutely. I never did want to add ammonia to the tank for weeks to supercharge the nitro-cycle in prep to fully stock. Some articles online claim that you can do that, but I don't think I'm convinced it would be safe. I reckon that's when it would be cruel (for the reasons you suggested) I figured there would be an imbalance with the fishless cycle, but now I'm curious; whats worse... excess minerals from the deceased bacteria or an ammonia spike??? :-? If I had begun the cycle with a fish.. with no established cycle whatsoever, I imagine this would have created an ammonia spike higher than if some level of nitro-cycle was set up to support that first fish (by means of fishless cycling)? Without wanting to sound like an animal rights fanatic; How does cycling (with a fish) effect that fish if it does survive? Posts from other members would be appreciated also!

HAhahaha... yes I'll make sure to post political updates on the back wall of my tank. :lol: My next question is.. If the bacteria has to suddenly die off according to reduced bioload, will that have a negative effect on the new arrivals? Does the dead bacteria affect the remaining living bacteria or the fish? I definitely see the sense in your argument to add fish slowly after the basic cycle is set up.

Why do you say that Alan? Tho, I have heard that certain types of beneficial bacteria may not be propagated in the fishless cycle... is that why you take that stand? I kinda thought that if you even partially set up the cycle, your first fish can 'hit the ground running' / 'hit the water swimming'? If the first fish from a 'fish instigated cycle' should survive, would it's health not be compromised from the beginning? Would that fish then create a suseptability to disease in your community? I don't know the answer to this for sure. Just posing the question.

Hmmm... it's clearer to me now that there has to be a compromise somewhere in the formula! My thoughts at the moment for stocking are: 1x SAE 2x Pearl Gouramis 2x Dwarf Gouramis 3x Leopard Corys (would love a cooli too!) I'm going to scrap plans to over populate my turbo charged aquarium and just get a bigger one down the track. Thanks for all the advice!

Thanks Ian

Is the filter alone going to make that much difference? It looks, shall I say 'substantial' for the size of the tank, especially considering a small HOB filter should do the trick. I kind of figure the '1 inch per Gallon' rule is a guide only, but to what degree can it be manipulated by increasing bio-filtration and adding O2 via plants etc.

I was moving the spray bar this afternoon and I squeezed the pipe that leads to it. Some thin white material came out of the spraybar and I had a closer look and noticed that all of the pipe internal surfaces are covered with it. Is that likely to be nitrobacteria? It certainly wasn't green or brown like algae!

Hey, thanks heaps for the advice! I'll do as you suggest and check nitrite levels tomorrow afternoon. I'll keep you updated

If: - My tank is 100L - The surface is 600x350mm (450 tall) - Using an eheim 2213 canister filter - plan to use CO2 + plants - Stocking mostly with Gouramis and Corys Will I be able to stock more than 26.5 inches of fish? Would it be unreasonable to?

If I take the ammonia away for a couple of days, does that affect the nitrobacteria?

Cool! Are Siemese Algae Eaters funny about going into a freshly cycled tank? If I also want to put in Leopard Corys and Pearl Gouramis, what order should I add them or does it not matter? Also, I'm on farm well water (that shows no nitrite, but a little Nitrate) so is any kind of conditioning or ageing of the water necessary?

The ammonia I add every morning and evening quickly drops to zero by the next scheduled dosing (several drops - weak ammonia). Been cycling for about 2 weeks now. I'm glad the first replies aren't saying "you're crazy, why are you fishless cycling"!!! I must admit it feels like some kind of crazy science experiment at the moment. I might go and get a white lab coat to complete the picture

I am probably half way through cycling (fishless) my 100L tank. I have been dosing with pure ammonia as per instructions found online. Maybe I should have just cycled the old fashion way, but I thought I'd give this a go. Beard algae has started to grow on the plants and bog wood, and brown algae is forming a thick covering on leaves of the plants. I fear for their lives! Cleaning is tricky because the ammonia/nitrite is caustic and I have fairly sensitive skin. So far I have Nitrite which keeps a fairly steady reading of 2 ppm. I also have Nitrate, but it's hard to measure (poor test kit/inexperienced user?) but looks to be at least 20ppm? My main question is; If I choose to abort the fishless cycling now, would there already be adequate bacteria built up to support one algae eating fish like a SAE? After a major water change and flush! :-?

Hehe... yes, but I can't compare! I, like most people prefer the safe choice for a first decision. I have a large second tank (hand me down) hidden in a spare room, so if this first tank cycles well and proves to be fairly low maintenance, I just might give the VersaMax a go on that one. Consensus rules. AquaClear it shall be

Thanks all, I think the message is clear... AquaClear to be exact! I just hope AquaClear comes out with a hansom face lift model sooner or later. Cheers, Lucas

Hmmm... It seems that this is a real new comer. Apparently it has very similar features to the AquaClear; such as the 'Put in whatever fliter medium you like' feature.

Hi again! What would be a good water test kit to go and can anyone suggest a good supplier?! I guess they aren't all created equal, and I would really like to avoid making mistakes from the beginning! Thanks