David R

Looks like a sump set up for a marine tank that has been converted for FW use. Not really sure what you can do with it, but if it were me I'd probably get rid of all the baffles and use it with a filter sock and submerged media like matrix or ceramic rings. You could keep the first baffle and the overflow "ramp" to make it quieter, then suspend the sock under the ramp with a couple of small pieces of glass directing the water into it. Ditch the last two baffles and add more ceramic rings in bags. Alternately, you could just run some filter wool on top of the bioballs to catch the worst of the crud.

I'd check TDS rather than pH.

Another example; http://www.fnzas.org.nz/?p=2088 I used Cemix mortar rather than "concrete" though. I wouldn't be too concerned about it raising the pH, though I did find it increased the hardness a bit and the TDS considerably. Far from ideal for the type of fish I was keeping, but maybe not an issue for rift lake cichlids? There are sealants out there, or you could just soak it (in rain water would be ideal) fior a while until the bulk of the leaching is done.

This is what I need to complete my tank, they're on the list even...

It sounds like it needs some more mechanical filtration, IMO. any pictures?

To me they look more like Clarius Spp., aka Walking Catfish. Saw loads of them in the ponds at Singapore Gardens, someone would throw in some bread and they'd all swarm to the surface to grab it.

+1, this sort of scenario is the only time I would consider using the "bottled bacteria" necessary. I'd also suggest cleaning out your filter more regularly so this doesn't happen! How dirty was your bio media?

My aro has been growing about 2" a month since being moved to the big tank. Blacks might not get quite as thick and solid as silvers but they still should reach 30" in a proper set up. A jardini would be the best bet, but you'd probably be looking at a solo specimen, and even then IMO the tank isn't really big enough. My 45cm green looked big in my 180x75x60 tank, I wouldn't have wanted it in anything less.

Got it in one, I can barely reach the back of the tank with my long rake thingy, I don't think I'd have a chance to keep the leaf litter "tidy"...

According to the numbers in the link I posted the maximum gravitational flow of 25mm pipe is around 2300LPH, how sure are you that the pump was actually pushing 4000LPH? What diameter was your return pipe? I've found those numbers to be quite accurate and from what I've read others have too. With my current set up, one of the 50mm drains will handle the flow of about 8-8500LPH (which is a conservative estimate of what the pump should be running) at a full siphon, with less than the "minimum vertical length" required to achieve the max flow for that diameter pipe (~9100LPH). If you've got 600L of water in your tank and you want to turn it over five times an hour you'll want to have a pump capable of moving 3000LPH of water at the required head height. A single 32mm drain running at full siphon should flow up to 3500LPH, so would be adequate. A 40mm drain will flow more like 5000LPH, so would certainly give you more of a safety factor.

The size of the drains needed will depend on the amount of flow you have, not the size of the tank. Here's a useful link for this sorta thing; http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... Flow-Rates I'd be inclined to go with at least one 40mm drain for a tank that size, especially if you're just going for a traditional single-drain set up (not a herbie/bean animal tyle multi-drain system), it's always good to have redundancy with that sort of thing. Depending on your pump size you could probably use 25mm, but no harm in going 32mm and it will probably work out cheaper as you can use PVC waste fittings instead of the more expensive pressure pipe ones. I use the RXPlastics bulkheads and Marley PVC waste pipe for the rest with returns and drains. Cheap, easy to cut, glue and drill, can be painted with Krylon Fusion spraypaint if you want the returns to look a bit less obvious in the tank.

I'd be growing them all out from juvi's if possible, starting with at least a couple of each so you can pick and choose and thin them out as they grow. Ideally you'll have all males or all females, last thing you want is a couple forming as all hell could break loose. I'd stay away from flowerhorns IMO, they tend to be exceptionally nasty, even by CA cichlid standards. There isn't really an "ideal" stock list for this sort of tank, it is all trial and error trying to get the balance right, and it is certainly easier to start off with too many small ones and thin them out as they grow than trying to mix adults together. Silver dollars would be OK as dithers but they can be a bit skittish with big cichlids. Roseline sharks would be nice (albeit pricey), larger rainbows would work.

With #1 I think the midas would end up running the show, possibly to the detriment of the other more mellow species? It is the luck of the draw though, and with a female you might have better luck than a big alpha male. With #2, I think the EBJD could be a bit of a wuss compared to the others, it would be a bit of a gamble and you'd want to keep a close eye on it and be prepared to remove if necessary. I think the addition of some fast-moving dithers would help, and/or some smaller cichlids as targets like a couple of male convicts. You've got some potentially big fish there, but I've seen similar heavily stocked tanks work so long as your filtration is up to the task. I think Duncan7 has a couple of jags, couple of midas, texas, jd, cons, and maybe a few others in a 6x2x2', filtered with a sump and FX5. I think you're better having either one or a pair, or a whole bunch to spread the aggression and prevent too many turf wars. As for the nice jag in the video, he is a good looker for sure, but most large jags should look close to that if raised well. and anyone suggesting Africans must not have watched that video, that female festae and the big jag trump a bunch of blue and yellow torpedos any day!!

I agree with Ryan, it's always best to play it safe with large tanks inside!! This is the very reason why I sold most of my fish/tanks when we moved up here from Auckland, moving big glass tanks is always a risk. Depending on the size/nature of the crack it may be as simple as siliconing another base on-top of the old one, which would make your tank 10-12mm higher but be a hell of a lot easier (and probably stronger) than removing the old base and replacing it. I'm sure Greg will sort it out!

Seems cheap! I'm still going to wait for the other models to come out, we're saving for a holiday in March plus I think it's good to let others work out the bugs with a new product. Given that it plugs in-line with the DC plugs, I'm guessing I'll need two of them plus a couple of these; http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-suppli ... itter.html

you dropped the tank?!?!

Hey Davy, I'm not in Auckland anymore so don't have that problem!! I have collected rainwater in Auckland, but only used small amounts of it (~100L in a 1400L tank). I know others who use it and haven't had problems too.

Re-read my previous post. Adding crushed shell will increase your hardness, which may be worse for your fish than any minor fluctuations in pH. A small change in pH like that will not kill your fish, in fact they won't even notice it. Stop stressing about your pH and try work out what is actually killing your fish. Tell us a little more about your set up, stock, maintenance etc.

:thup:

... and how big is your tank, how is it filtered? What species of loach, what other fish are in there?

I do quite like Lego... :lol: As for the bioballs, I know ideally they work best when in a trickle-type situation, but if submerged they still have a fairly good surface area (more than lego bricks I'd say!) so will still work ok as biological media. After all, with biological filtration all you are doing is providing as much area as possible for beneficial bacteria to colonise, it doesn't really matter if it is bioballs, rings/noodles, Poret, pumice, Lego, Barbie doll heads, if it has a surface then it will work for bio media [to some extent].

I can't see the pics on that site, but I got the email direct from the source [Glaser] the other day; http://www.aquarium-glaser.de/en/ein-ne ... _1531.html Very cool fish, certainly worth subscribing to their emails if you're interested in being made jealous of what is available in Europe!

If the peat is working to lower the pH then I don't think it will really matter as the hardness is obviously fairly low. Just keep using the peat and don't do ridiculously large water changes.

Nothing is going wrong, it is normal for pH to fluctuate to a certain degree, more so if you have low hardness.