the-obstacle

That looks very cool! I wonder if the neons would harden up after a few days under that light or if it really is too much for them?

What size are the tanks? The difference between a cheap steel frame and a well built one is whether you then need to shim and level the frame before you can ever consider using it. At the end of the day it's cheaper to pay the right amount for something that will be straight and true from day 1.

+1 it looks exactly like what I'm after but could be the lighting...?

That'd be perfect! Oh well, I'll concentrate on finishing the tank first and then see what's available.

The cupid doesn't quite have the look I'm after unfortunately. I'll keep researching but may go with good old fashioned surinamensis/kiwi altifrons from very small juvies and see how they mature in the tank that already has teritories for the apisto/ram population.

Bummer. There goes that plan... I assume this includes the acarichthys heckelii?

I've got a german blue pair already. I'm pretty much set with apistos, rams, panda cories, angels and lemon tetra, just need a geo/eartheater of some sort to be the feature fish.

now if you had have said it 30 times I might have been convinced....

The line actually goes into the bottom of the internal filter through a course sponge, through some filter wool then into the powerhead. By the time it comes out it's pretty much the same size as the micro bubbles that come out of a ceramic diffuser. look at me getting all defensive :slfg: Yeah, I'm getting the little bubbles everywhere at the moment. The tank looks a bit cloudy because of them. That and I haven't sorted out the overflow to suck the film off the surface (it's halfway built, just need the sump return plumbing) so the bubbles all sit under it until they get blown around a bit by the single outlet that's rippling the surface.

DIY into an old internal filter powerhead. It's not perfect but it's working. I have a co2 extinguisher on it's way next week so I'll be going pressurised in a couple of weeks. Thinking of going with a reactor up front but will probably get an ebay ceramic diffuser to start with. Not yet. Turns out I'm a little bit picky :roll: :facepalm:

I had done a water change the evening before and yeah, they slowed down. Still pearling in the evenings but it takes all day under the halides to get to that point. All the stem plants have taken off! I've split all of them once already and I'll have to do them again on the weekend. Alright!

Start a new volunteer initiative?

SPCA? Police? CYFS? MAF? who can we call? If someone had the money up front would the stock pay for the purchase if thye were to be sold on? I know they'd be in pretty bad condition but with a bit of love they might make $100 a piece...?

Sorry to dredge this one up again but I've got a co2 extinguisher that I intend to use for my tank and would be quite happy doing it this way. I'm in 2 minds about getting the tank re-valved, on one hand it'd be more convenient but I'm not sure it matters. Bilbo - can you recommend the people who did the work for you? Does anybody know the cost to get a cylinder re-valved/certed? Thanks in advance.

sweet. give it time I guess... good luck

I'm picking up a co2 extinguisher tomorrow. If I get the handle changed to a standard screw valve is this all I need for the regulator/solenoid or is there a differing standard for screw fittings from overseas?

surely that's a good outcome?

did you try just removing the stones from the sand areas?

You were so right! Today the plants are pearling like they are soda stream machines! Even the crypts are pearling which I've never seen before. It seems one of my cannisters has decided it will go through a cycle again as I've got a bunch of brown algae on the rocks near the front. I'll give it a really good clean out tonight and a water change and see if that helps. Amonia and Nitrites are still at 0 since day 1 so there must just be a subtle change going on.

Maybe just take the rocks off the top of the 2 sand areas in the front corners? Also - if the sand is course instead of smooth they won't spend much time on it. They love silica so might just take a bit of time to get used to the new stuff. Mine no longer bother trying to sift through the Daltons No.1. It looks like I'm going to go silica in the front again because of that.

with the bleed valve open it should just float off with a slight tug on the hose joints if there's nothing else to hold onto. without opening that valve it is very very hard to take the tops off.

I find if you've got open sand areas near the front the pandas will spend hours sifting it but as soon as you put too many stones in it they'll take comfort hiding in the planted areas. I suspect that's what's happened here.

It's not cheap but you use hardly any for each water change. I think my 150ml bottle was just under $20?

That's pretty much how I do it but I'm really only changing 20-30 litres. The first 10 litres gets the .3ml the dosage says to use then I keep topping up the bucket as it gets low. I've never had any problems with this approach.

Come to think of it mine did too. In the end it took a really thorough clean to get it sorted. It's possible that the gunk in a cannister could be creating gasses as it breaks down but I doubt anybody else is as lazy as me so probably has cleaner filters than I do (or used to - I learnt my lesson).