dom

thanks for all your replies. Seems like I might take a shot at using a bit of hot mixed in. Yes I meant Aqua Plus not Cycle - my mistake. cheers Dom (From Welly !)

cheers for that - so in a 100 litre tank it would be ok even if i was to add 25% cold water straight from the cold tap (as long as i add conditioner) ? regards

Hi - I've read mixed posts on this one. What do other members do ? Do you use the hot tap to get the temperature to the same as the existing temperature in the tank when doing a water change ? The reason I ask is I've got a larger tank and my old method of filling up a watering can and leaving it in the house overnight won't work as now my water change will be larger than 1 watering can. But if i use water from the hot tap will sticking in some Cycle (or equivalent) do (to get rid of chlorine and choloramine) or are there more chemicals I need to add to cater for using the hot tap ? Not too keen on adding chemicals if I don't have to. cheers

OK OK - I'll do it as soon as I get in tonight ! Luckily no dead fish this morning and they were all down the bottom again. I also am getting a Test Kit today. BTW regarding water changes - is it OK to put in water from the hot tap to bring it up to temperature of the aquarium ? I've heard mixed thoughts on this one, but I need more than one watercan full now (I can keep one watercan in the house filled up from the night before).

ok will do - they seem a lot happier now with the air sponge filter running. I'm going to be lazy and do the water change tomorrow. regarding the new tank - how long do you recommend running my old filter in the tank alongside the new tanks filter ? Also I will eventually take out this air sponge filter as its too noisy for my liking - but i will run it for a few days yet. cheers

Hi, no i just rinsed the gravel really. Its got a few furry bits in it too - mu;m i think ? He used to keep goldfish the guy I got it from. I've put in my noisey sponge filter and will also do a water change before i go to bed. I think i'd better get one of those test kits as its impossible to know whats happening without one and I can only get to the LFS on a weekend. Thanks for your help. cheers

Hello, I did a TM impulse buy at the weekend and upped my tank from 60 litre to 100. I used the grave; the guy gave me with the second hand tank and filled the tank with about 2/3 of my 60 litres water. The rest was tap water and conditioner. I tested the temperature was ok and then added the fish. They seemed fine but today I noticed a lot of them are going to the surface for air (the loaches vertically). Last time this happened in my old tank was because the pump went. I'm pretty sure its not that this time as I am using the in built pump that came with the Blue Planet tank and also I am using my filter from the old tank. Unfortunately I don't have a test kit to see the composition of the water (and I guess i really should buy one now). I don't know whether to do another water change (even though they had a large one yesterday as part of the move to the new tank) or if its an ammonia/nitrite problem. Any ideas ? I do have a sponge filter i could throw in too if you think that will help in the short term. cheers

now i've seen that video i'm a bit more reassured as that's what they do - some more often and more madly than the others. I have noticed they like a water change - same for the neon tetras. Thanks for your help.

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll take it to the LFS to see what can be done. cheers

Hi, Yes the plastic had melted around the top of the first one and it used to make a horrendous buzzing noise. Again tonight when I have just come in from work I can see minimal/next-to-no-flow on the surface. I've had it with these pumps - can you recommend something more reliable ? Also this pump has a bit of a design flaw as fish get stuck behind it as it is an internal one with suction cups. i live in Welly and would really appreciate any advice on a new pump for a 60 litre and where to buy from. My nearest place is Porirua so I could look there. I am tempted to ask for a refund as its not been a year and it will be the second replacement. My main issue is I am going away for 4 weeks too so I need a reliable pump. Also if I get a new pump is it likely to affect the chemistry of the tank as I won't have my old filter with all my nice bacteria pumping around ? cheers. Dom

Hi, I've got one of these filters in my tank and twice now the pump has stopped working. In the past it totally stopped and nearly killed my fish so the LFS replaced the pump bit for me as it was only about 4-5 months old. But yesterday it seemed to have stopped too so I took it out and put it in again and it mysteriously worked. Are these notorious for it ? Is there anything more reliable ? I have a 60 litre tank. I'm a bit concerned as we're going away for 4 weeks holiday in July and whilst i can probably get someone to keep an eye on the fish every 3 days if the pump goes they would not really sort that one out I think ! cheers

well sometimes it looks like he's bouncing on his side.... !

er - what's flashing ? Mine don't wear clothes ! :slfg:

Hi, I have 6 Neon Tetras, 2 chain loaches, 1 polka dot laoch, 1 zebra loach 4 small BN's. I have noticed one chain loach flicking a lot on its side when swimming and sometimes the other loaches do it too. I have not noticed any other fish do this. I am sure there is something wrong with (especially the chain loach). How do I determine what's wrong with him and try to remedy it ? I have a goldfish bowl i could put him in to quarantine and ply him with drugs if I know the right ones to get. Thanks for any help. Dom

ah OK - no worries. cheers

Hi - thanks for that. The guppies are skinny little things and to be honest one of them looks not brilliant anyway - part of his tail is not formed. I might actually just flush them down the bog as they're not adding much value. Then I will be left with the 5 neons, 1 zebra loach, 1 polka loach, 2 chain loaches and the 5 BN's. I'll switch to a weekly water change too. cheers

Hi, I'm Dom - I'm relatively new to this game - had my 60L tank for a few months now. Got 6 neon tetras, 4 brown BN, 1 albino BN, 1 zebra loach, 1 polka dot loach, 2 chain loaches and a couple of small "local guppies". i've been having probs with my BN's - had 2 die on me. Had 1 tetra die the other day and then couple of days later a BN. I was hoping the BN might have died cos it ate something from the dead fish. My albino belly is looking a bit big recently and it disappeared for a few days. I did a bit of research and am hoping its not bloat. I have just dropped a chopped broad bean and a shelled bean into the tank in hope. I am wondering though if my fish have parasites as I see my loaches seem to flick on their side quite a bit. How do you know if your fish have parasites ? Am I supposed to put them into another tank and give them some meds ? I have an old plastic goldfish bowl i could use as my fish quarantine bay. Thanks for any advice. I'd like to see my BN's grow long rather than wide and expire ... ! I am wondering if it is because they eat the fish pellet I drop into my tank for the loaches rather than the algae wafer ..? I change the water every 2 weeks - 8-9 litres at a time. cheers