phoenix44

do you like chunky S. American cichlids?

how big is your tank?

I hate you both. the bird nearly took my ear off in anger, and now i am suffering from heart palpitations.

must have something to do with the incubation temperature

wones

poke him! :bounce: :lol:

the light should be good. I know the new tank feeling haha.. itss awesome. LOL you can introduce about 4-6 zebras and leave them be the day you get the tank, and feed them well - their poop will start the cycle. don't get more fish until the tank has cycled.

you could go down the matte effect route. sorry i am unsure on what product would be right or safe to use. all i know is there are different finishes for lacquers, polishes etc.

as much as I hate to say it, I have to agree. the "what if" chance of bringing some weird bug in would risk soo many animals that the utilitarian approach may just have to be taken. I don't like it, and never will, nor do i support it, but i can appreciate why it is done.

hi redracer, and welcome to the forums! you could get more acaras, firemouths, an electric blue jack dempsey

they should have euthanised the fella that smuggled them in :evil:

hi queen angel. welcome to the forums. :bounce: I too like fluvals and eheims as you don't have to muck around with them at all. plus many are willing to pay more for convenience. ok so with this tank you'd like to plant out - what sort of lighting does the tank have (what K tubes, usually a number like 6500K, 10000K, 18000K etc)? JBL aquabasis is a good plant substrate, but if you choose to go for undergravel heating (they are usually 5-15W so you will probably not notice a difference in power consumption) you make a zig zag pattern going from the front of the tank to the back, working across the tank. then you put the substrate on top, and strategically place a few plants in such a way that they can grow out once the roots establish. as suggested earlier, only use liquid plant supplements like PMDD and flourish etc once the plants show a little growth. since you are wanting JBL substrate, you may as well go down the DIY CO2 route and make your plants even happier. for cycling the tank, I would recommend zebra danios as they are hardy and look really nice in a group and are always active. HTH. ask away of you have any q's :bounce:

hmm.. may i be brave enough to ask you to not do a 70% water change? :lol: the haziness can be caused in a planted non bare bottom tank in particular if there is too much water being changed. but if its really getting on your nerves (i now it would get on my nerves lol) try using some "b clear" if the water is cloudy/hazy (white). if its particles in the water, you can make a pre filter for the cannister. mind you that is an additive so lots of ppl on here will be against it - I've only ever used it a couple of times personally to settle a new tank. seems to work well. +1 for the eheim pro media - i too shelled out the $100odd about 4 years ago, and its still going strong, so its pretty cheap really. its great stuff and I fit a huge amount of it in the fluvals.

Ive also been thinking :lol: if you do decide to throw it out - chuck it at me, lol. ill figure out a way to recharge it. but if you are going to chuck it out then maybe its better to use carbon and change it every 4 weeks? dunno what purigen costs, but ammo carb (activated carbon with ammonia removing thing) may work out cheaper?

i inject it into the tank, and it makes a million little bubbles. looks v cool. but even if you dilute it down, and then add it to the tank, since you're adding the same end amount of excel to the tank - it will have the same effect but maybe with less harsh visual symptoms.

did you seal the concrete with a lacquer of some sort to prevent the concrete from coming in contact with the water?

what is the pH now? if its too high use really soft water with a low KH and that may help. but apart from that, i think soaking it and changing the water every time the pH elevates will help in time. but it will take a while unfortunately. how do you want to clean the rockwork? (what do you mean, as in.. is it dirty?_)

send me some corned beef?

yeah for sure. flourish is great, but an overdose causes a white burn on the fish. rips off the slime coat, and you are left with this white burnt looking fish. just like what would happen with an acid burn. its really really harsh on some fish, and usually kills them - best way to save the fish is put them in a totally different tank with other water. my clowns got it once, and it was Baaaad! luckily they made it through. ive been careful using excel after that.

most bleaches are ammonia based, unless otherwise stated.

have you used flourish in the tank?

e. yellows are pretty peaceful. some say they are a community fish even. ive had them in normal community tanks, and they keep to them selves - but they look really really nice in an african setup. have a look HERE. e. blue haps are awesome but get a little larger, and take a while to colour up but are a truly spectacular fish. some people like UG filters, and some don't. I usually stay away from them cause I know i can get lazy with cleaning tanks, and well UG's are not so good if you get lazy :lol:

ask someone who has marines or similar and RO units. they should be able to help too. i also want to know the answers so am watching closely :lol:

That's a large footprint! lots of fish and coral?

that's a bit of a beast!! what size is your tank?