blueether

Did you have this there because there are fry in the tank? A sponge from a airlift filter could work?

That was my first thought as well, but I don't know Loach at all

Other problems with larger fish ( >100mm) are: > that they often don't accept food other than live food > that they may never settle in to captivity > you are taking breeding stock out of a wild population other than that yes they will try the smaller fish on as live food

I have started to buy from the LFS and not HFF/trademe for my last few purchases (food/pump)

Keep up the [daily] water changes (I think this is the one thing that every one agrees on :roll: ) to dilute the ammonia to a safe level, use prime etc to remove the chlorine and have patience, it will take time

you will find that most canister filters run under a vacuum. ie they suck the water out of the filter, not push it through the filter (not sure about the expensive ones, but all the cheep ones I've seen do)

Could be degasing, but sounds like too much air for that. Are all the connections tight? The push together ones on the U bends, the short collar ones, the screw and the hose joiner on the canister...

My ex-boss has a HSV walkinshaw, I could get used to the window controls if I had one of them

I have read that in ideal conditions that the various nitrifying bacteria can double their population in about 24h (this is slow for most in the bacterial world)

I would live to something like those with natives (bullies and a Giant kokopu), it just would lack the in-water planting except maybe for some moss. Would need maybe 2000 x 600 x 600 or better yet 2.4 x 1 x 1m

I believe that they die at about 26.5 or 27 deg

I don't know how much waste they create, although I would imagine that it would be a lot less than fish. Remember that they might fight as well if you have more than one or two.

I see no problems in running the two inline like you first said, if there is you could turn the smaller one off and remove the impeller

I would be tempted to wash the sponges of the cf1200 in tank water, and then use that water to full up the canister of the cf1000 and then run the two on the old tank untill the new one is ready to start.

What, take a tram to the library to look it up in an encyclopaedia?

am I showing my age by saying I can remember school savings books from the PO

I dont use any of the above but it looks like ammolock and prime do the same thing http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/detail/view/seachem-prime-100-ml/m/927/ http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/detail/view/api-ammolock-118ml/m/1179/ stability? is that a bacteria solution? If you have used it then they should be inthere...

So, you can blow air through one way, but not the other? could there be a non-return valve that is around the wrong way on a pipe?

so you cant even suck air through the pipes?

As said above, I would move to a 20 - 30% water change daily untill the ammonia gets down to below 1ppm, and then watching for nitrite and then nitrate. Live media will speed this up.

Can you syphon water through the filter? Once the syphon is working turn on the filter. Then, if as wok said, you get wet it's working

We want NO3- to be above 0, or has it already tested +ve for nitrates?

Smelt might be ok if caught young enough... I have had both smelt and inanga swim into a 5000 l/h wavemaker, they tend to come out dead :sick:

5 min. Ask your self this: how many litres of water will be in the tank, how many litres of (salt) water will be in the log and how fast will that salt come out of the wood... If it will fit why not? You could attach it, but it wont start to cycle unless you add some food for the bacteria, it could be just as easy to add 1/2 (or a proportion suitable for the amount of fish that will go into the new tank) of the old media from the old tank when you setup the new one - less faffing about. I would think that the amount of salt would be fine in the filter [see above] would be fine

Reminds me of a dark cherry and chocolate cake :love: