Bishop

Good info to know. Would definitely save $ :lol:

Thanks for the heads up. You never use it? do you have a filter on your tap? I use bottles of the stuff because I heard our water was really bad.

I have the same style on my 50L, mine does it all the time, I just tip some water down the intake to get rid of air bubbles and to fill it up and it works a treat. I wouldn't stress just yet.

Mine does that every now n then after switching the power off. I am not really experienced in the filters but I do know the little motors they use for the smaller pumps can loose oomph over time and need a helping hand. Very rarely do the little motors stop turning though. ( at least in my non filter experience ).

Welcome, loving the pic too.

iatrogenic (med (of an illness or symptoms) induced in a patient as the result of a physician's words or actions, esp as a consequence of taking a drug prescribed by the physician)

Thanks, I just needed a sane mind to ease my worries.

Just a little update to check I am on the right track... Been doing some water changes for a while now, ammonia got quite high 6.0ppm ish and has started to drop, down to .50/.25. My nitrites are max ( for my test sheet ) 5.0ppm and the nitrates are max also 160ppm. The reason I post is because the nitrate and nitrite have been max ever since the substrate change and I don't wana hurt the fish but need the tank to cycle. Will the nitrite only drop once ammonia is gone? I am a little confused because everything I have read is from a standard cycle, not this "double" conundrum I have created. Should I continue with the changes every 2nd day or should I take the fishies out and let it do its thing? They have seemed okay for the last month but am noticing them getting stressed over the last 2 days. This is one hell of a learning curve but I guess disturbing the cycle midway through isn't that common :roll:

Yeah by himself he is good but by my dog it was WW3, hopefully I get to catch up with them soon. @ Zev: We used to have a pool table and he would sneak up and steal a ball off the table, used to take ages to get the darn things back. They sure can eat fast by the time you realise he has nicked food it is too late.

His name is Kaos, Ryda is 2 I think, I meet him and his owner a few weeks ago he gave me some info on pulling but I have since had reason to suspect Kaos may have hip dyspasia which means I haven't been able to run with Ryda until I get him checked.. He ( Ryda ) is a beautiful dog.

Ha, not sure how I would have taken it lol I am very attached to him. He is around 50kgs but not quite 1 year old so maybe end up at 50 - 52. Sometimes he is a complete moron stepping on and trying to eat everything, then he shows his intellect and blows me away. Scared as hell of him bumping one of my tanks.

Thanks guys. @Zev: Yeah my naughty dog ( Malamute ), he is the size of a small house.

Very true, but there must be some acknowledgement on the purchasers behalf that they are buying something cheap and its longevity will be lacking.

Interesting subject matter. Being in the advertising world myself, the bottom line will be that selling those little tanks with gold fish puts food on the table for the seller, the marketer and the constructor. They will sell like wildfire for the xmas period and as long as fish in the general community are not cared about then the food on the table will always win over. I hate to say it and I am sure most of you know it but the "general" parent buying the goldfish knows that it wont survive, what is worse in this case is that animates will know the same thing. In their defence they do give out brochures about the fish and fish cycle when you buy fish, I am sure that some will take heed of the advice given, the fate of the rest probably bare not think about. Ignorance exists, don't make your day worse by thinking about those that suffer from it.

Thanks guys, glad to find others as interested as I am. And happy to be part of the forum. I like the technical side of fish keeping and the fact that the results are beautiful and right in front of you. I had no idea fish keeping could be this intense and never thought in a million years my monies would go on water testers rather than my now neglected car. If only I can decide what to do with my new tank :-? Update: fish seem a bit happier Ammonia seems to be decreasing so that is a start.

wow thanks Ice/Obstacle, I guess I really needed somebody to explain things to me in laymans terms so I can understand why rather than just reading "do this" on the net somewhere. Thanks.

Small addition to anybody thinking of doing this. Dip the cutter in a sponge ( or similar ) filled with kerosene or turpentine. And break the glass straight away, don't leave it to make a coffee ect.

Hey Kerryn. This place is great, thanks for recommending it. oh and welcome

Thanks for the welcomes guys. @Zayne: My 50L is currently cold water set up and I havn't decided what the 200L will be, at this stage I will just be happy to put water it it:) @ living art: consider it done.

Appreciate it I have read sooo much on fish keeping and read something different every time, slowly coming to the conclusion there is no substitute for experience .

Hey folks just joined up here thought I would throw out a hello to the regulars and introduce myself. New to aquatica, have a 50L and currently building a 200L so stay tuned for pics of 200L of water all over my carpet Not sure how my little fishies are still alive but they are so be prepared for an influx of questions about how they have managed to survive my beginner techniques. See you round.

@ Living art: Thanks @ The obstacle: just tap water I washed the media for a short time trying to achieve a 20% clean and left all the media in place. @Phoenix: really? the person at the store gave it to me for cycling, in this instance I will trust your judgement ( tis the reason I am here ) Update: 20% water change ammonia is going down, nitirites are sky high. should I continue with water changes every day?

ok so I have a 50 L that was almost fully cycled and I read somewhere that it is good to clean the filter out of about 40% of its gunk every month of so but to leave most of it in there for the good bacteria. Now me being me and rushing into things decided it was a primo time to change the substrate and add some soil for the plants. I saved around 30% of the water and returned it to the tank. So as I understand it I have reset the cycle of my tank and now my ammonia, nitrite and Nitrate have spiked because I have removed the substrate and cleaned too much of the filter. But I am still reading of people cleaning out there tanks once a month and sometimes changing the substrate. Is there something I have missed to this? My main confusion comes from the fact that it has now been 3 weeks and I am seeing no change in the ammonia ect tests. I was doing about a 30% water change every 2 days for the first week then everyday up until now. Still no change in the readings. :wtf: I am using... Stress zyme Stress coat ammo lock and flourish excel. I am testing with the API Master test kit. Okay, so as well as that I have live plants in the tank and WAS injecting Co2 into the filter but it has dropped my PH all the way down to 6.4ish.** After I did the substrate* change my KH dropped to 0. :excl: And the result was that the PH couldn't handle the Co2. * the substrate I changed to was sterilised play sand. And Daltons aquatic mix underneath. **PH from the tap reads high 8's So if the sand is the issue and I need to change it for the little guys to have a better life, then I will have to go through all this again? A lot to answer and I understand that I may have made some rookie mistakes here and laughing and pointing is welcome as long as you tell me what is going on. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks EDIT: I also have and outbreak of diatoms but that seems to be under control ish thanks to the my 2 otos. Happy to provide any other information at any time.