Jennifer

I have a Fluval 405 and a Fluval 205 and both are equally as quiet - I would presume the Fluval 305 wouldn't be too different - just a gentle low hum in the cabinet that you wouldn't notice when you are across the room (much quieter than a refrigerator for example). One thing I would recommend if you are getting a Fluval is getting one bigger than you think you would need. I had a 205 on my 170L tank and it just wasn't moving enough water so I upgraded to a 405 and am much happier (and the flow is easily adjusted if I need to turn it down). Now I have the 205 on my 40L tank and believe it or not, it is not too much flow for that little tank. I really do like them though and wouldn't hesitate to get another. That said, I have an Eheim on another tank and it is pretty grunty...so there you have it. HTH

Wow, awesome Sam! Well done! :bounce:

:lol: Thanks!!! :bounce: I am not an expert about ottos but I do know that they aren't touching the brown algae that is down at the base of the hairgrass even though they cleared the rest of the tank within a day after I put them in. They also won't touch any food that falls down into the hairgrass. In fact, I never see them anywhere near the hairgrass which kind of hacks me off because I got some brown algae on there that I want them to clean off. :evil: I adjusted the photoperiod and have balanced the CO2 and ferts so now the sag is producing O2 bubbles all the time! Still annoyed about that brown algae on the hairgrass...looks like it is dying but I know that it isn't ....grumble grumble

My 40L tank is now covered with hairgrass and dwarf sag, virtually no substrate is visible. I have a dozen cardinals and a couple of ottos but am wondering if I need a scavenger/bottom feeder. I am in two mind about this. At the moment I am very careful about feeding very small amounts at a time so none of it ends up down in the plants but at one point a pellet fell out of the courgette that I had hanging for the ottos and it just rotted down in the hairgrass. Do I need some bottom feeders? Or do I just need to be anal about hoovering up any food that falls down there? Or do I just leave it for the plants? Any thoughts?

Nice. Are you shooting in RAW? A little RAW manipulation could corrrect the midtones and make those blacks and reds pop.

Oh, well maybe they aren't as expensive as I thought... :roll: or maybe it is the larger porosity that is cheaper. The one I have was somthing like $40 for the frit alone but that is about 40 microns. The visbile bubbles would be at least 100 microns. I heard that some of these cost upwards of US$100 including glasswork but the glassblower here is a mate of mine so we'll see what he can come up with. 8)

I am waiting on the glassblower to get a catalogue with the ceramic porous frits and get back to me with availability. These frits come in many different porosities allowing for invisible bubbles through to larger bubbles. I don't know how they would go with a pressurised system though - however I see them used in Japanese planted tanks for CO2 diffusion and those must be connected to a gas cylinder, right? My own frit is non pressurised and the frit porosity is below 40 microns so the bubbles are invisible. Will let you all know what I find out as to availability but be prepared, the frits are quite expensive to order out of the catalogue and the glassblower has to use a special process to fit it.

I am no expert on this (so anyone feel free correct me on anything ) but the basic idea is that you want to have at least mechanical and biological media in your filter. You can also have chemical media. The mechanical media is to remove your organic waste particles which is good not only for the clear water but also to allow the biological media to not become clogged with rotting organic matter so that it can work more efficiently. Mechanical filtration can be things like sponges or small ceramic noodles (e.g. Eheim Mech). The mechanical filtration can get clogged easily if you have lots of debris in the tank (e.g. rotting leaves, fish waste). The biological media is where the nitrifying bacteria colonise so generally these are media with a high surface area (e.g large porous ceramic noodles or bio balls). I use Eheim Pro balls which are expensive but I think they are worth it in terms of how well they work. People have lots of oppinions on this but genrally the higher the surface area, the better. The chemical filtration is where you can alter the chemistry of the water by adding buffers, carbon or things that remove certain chemicals like ammonia. Many people don't need to use chemical filtration but it is handy if you are trying to remove medications, toxins or to change the pH. The general order that is used in many types of filters is for the water to pass first through a mechanical filter, then through the biological filter. You can then also use filter wool of varying types to 'polish' the water. If you are using a chemical filter you can add that after the mechanical filter (but anywhere would be fine really). I hope that helps a little. It sounds like you are well on the right track with the substrate and the replacement media. Let us know how it turns out!

Aren't you a star. 8) That's ok tho, I was just dreaming....my tanks are chocka at the mo so would have to get a new tank (....hmmmmm :roll: :lol: ) I will just sit and hope that my brown algae turns green someday .... N1CK: mwahhhhhaaa, that's brill!!! :bounce: But I still think soft mossy algae on rocks is still cool. 8)

LMAO...too funny...make me one too, would you Sam? I will have to put a corral around it though to keep my BN off! :lol:

Wow, looking good Sam, love the green algae on the rocks.

You can boil the media and stones for a few minutes to get rid of any bacteria, be careful of melting the plastic balls though (you could always take this opportunity to replace them with some good media like Eheim pro). You might want to dispose of/replace the carbon as well since it may have absorbed something toxic - if you wanted to be extra safe. I do wonder if the breathing at the surface is related or if there are multiple problems here....After the overhaul you filled the tank with 100% new tap water and you put the fish in 24 hours later right? Did you treat your water after you did the complete overhaul of the tank? If so, what with? Do you have good surface agitation by way of your filter outlet or an air pump? Hope the boiling works, keep us updated.

Oh poo, I wish I could send you one... I have been wanting to get another one but they have to be made by the glassblower... I have been stalling since I didn't want to pay to order the frit disc but I can look into it tomorrow. Works a treat!

You could use a porous fritt. I have a couple now that I use to diffuse CO2 but the bubbles are so small they are invisible - however I used to have one with lager bubbles that I could just see. The bubbling suface wasn't teribbly large though...approx the size of a 50 cent piece. I get them from my partner who is a chemist at the Uni. :roll:

I am happy to host, not sure what is involved but it can't be too hard right? :lol: I can also easily do the 11th. Just let me know! Jen

Wow, awesome pics!! :bounce:

It could be something else but failing an absence of plants, animals or ornaments causing the problem a 1 point change in pH is not completely unexpected from water out of the tap. If the water has travelled a long way in city pipes or was held under heat and pressure in a hot water cylinder the amount of disolved CO2 will be different (perhaps lower) than water in a fish tank with surface agitation and water circulation. Atmospheric gas exchange = increased dissolution of CO2 = increased acidity of the water. I notice changes like this using my pH metre when I do water changes but since I only change 40% at a time the fish don't seem to mind and the natural buffering capacity of water means that it is stable in just a few hours (depending on the size of the tank). Of course this is an oversimplified explanation....just an idea anyway. :roll: BTW, welcome! :bounce:

Sorry for coming to this a bit late :oops: ....in medicine we use intravenous fluid giving sets that range from 10 drops/ml to 60 drops/ml - that is a significant difference (due to the size of the dropper's aperature). Just something to keep in mind ...would be nice to know the number of mililitres per dose and then a syringe could be used for accuracy. :roll: HTH

Yeah, I did a similar thing but moved all of the old noodles/media into the new filter in addition to a bunch of new media and turned off the old filter altogether (since the media itself was essentially all still there). It worked beautifully with no water problems. Over time I am very gradually removing the old media and replacing it with new media so there is always a good population of biological filtration while the new media is getting established. Enjoy your new filter!

LMAO I am loving this thread - you guys are a riot!! :bounce: BTW Sam, the tank is looking great, I can just picture where it will be in a month or two. 8)

Whoa! I got the Fluval 405 and hooked it up last night...it really flows and is more than enough for the tank, in fact I had to turn down the flow a bit!! Very happy, now. Thanks for all the advice folks! :bounce:

Ug, I had a similar thing happen. I pulled this big log up out of the tank and I held it above the water for a minute or so to let it drip and let anyone jump off. Then I proceeded to walk to the bench but along the way I heard this big *SPLAT* on the tiles and there was one of the striata loaches flopping on the floor! I was so afraid he might get brain damage from the long drop! He's just fine though. :roll:

The wood is huge with a big cave and tunnel so the fish have lots of places to hide. Also, this tank has a hood and only one area for the intake/outflow hoses so a HOB or two sets of filter hoses will pose a problem. It sounds like I will be ok with just the 405 and it will fit in exactly where the 205 is now so I will give that a go. Cheers! :bounce:

Two?? Well I would like to have a lot of filtration so I suppose I could add a 405 to the tank while keeping the 205 as well but I was actually hoping to just have one filter (for power and space reasons). Is there a single filter that would fit that purpose?

Five weeks ago I purchased a Fluval 205 for my 90L tank. It improved the water conditions so much I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Then I was promptly gifted a new 170L tank. I swapped the Fluval over to the 170L and it worked fine (water chemistry was consistently good) but I noticed a little cloudiness and the water wasn't moving as much as I would like - so this last week I decided to up the filtration by adding the large powerhead that came with the new tank (it is running over sponges and wool whereas the canister has Eheim pro media, large noodles, small noodles and sponges). The difference is amazing in terms of water clarity and the fish are much more active and colourful. The problem is, I don't like the large powerhead in the tank and I really want more filtration to keep the water in top shape so I am thinking of upgrading to a larger filter. With the 205 I am getting a water turnover of around 600l/hr and with the powerhead it must be more, but likely not as much as double that. I note that the fluval 405 is around 1300l/hr so that is a consideration. What about an FX5? Is that overkill for this tank? Tank specs: 84 W x 58 H x 44 D cm Stock: 3 x small striata loaches 2 x small GBNs 15 cardinal tetras 6 dwarf neon rainbows (would like to add 6 hatchets and/or a pair of boesmanis once I get filtration sorted) Loads of plants and a big log of wood.