GrahamC

Ahh... didn't know that. Zev is a Hebrew male first name. Has there been a gender reassignment?

If the bubbles were not at a higher pressure than the surrounding water, they could not form right? I've kept my eye on an O2 bubble formed a few hours ago in my planted tank .. it's still there.

I'm up for a challenge. I'll pm you my address to send the kids. :slfg: Just wondering what else might have stopped your filter working properly.

Why not do it now? Looks like your tank is starting a new cycle. Is it possible you killed your filter with chlorinated water?

I know some people do it, but doing a fishless cycle using fish food ( or dead shrimp or other organic material) is not recommended by some people because it encourages the growth of Saprolegnia in your tank. Better to use pure ammonia. Since you're using Seachem Stability I can guess which who your local LFS is! Since Zev is your neighbour, perhaps he can donate some live filter material to get you started.

Maybe someone can google a reference on the rate of oxygen dissolution in a pressurized air bubble but I suspect it's not very quick. If you look at a planted tank you see lots of bubbles of pure oxygen being formed, and they seem to stick around for quite a while.

Pomacea diffusa is said to primarily eat decaying vegetation. This was the apple snail found in the wild in the Waikato River.

Yes, you can run a step down transformer. Why not just purchase from Europe instead?

USA runs 110 Volts, and we run 230 Volts.

Yeah, I bought mine from the local SOG ... interestingly their online price is cheaper than their store price, but you can't pay the online price in the store!

If your ammonia were 0.25 ppm and you did a 50% water change, it should have dropped to 0.125 ppm. So, I suspect that you're not reading the colours right, or the kit is off. I suggest you retest with tap water and compare the colours ( need another tube if you're using the API kits ). Nitrates should not rise after a water change. Nitrites should not be 0 if your ammonia is 0.25 ppm after 6 weeks. Dunno if anyone else here has used Seachem Stability, but looks like others here have had great success with TLC StartSmart as their bacteria in a bottle.

You could use leca instead of the JBL.

Interesting, I thought piping is what Scottish ladies did with cakes.

No, it's a stock photo of an eel like fish! I'm guessing that someone has kept the eel taken from this guy ... perhaps it'll turn up on TM lol

Where's the betta gone? Doesn't make sense unless the tank has started to cycle again. Why don't you do another test and compare with tap water to see what you get.

You should try it outside of a tank!

And that would allow the siphon to restart once the water level rose? ( my water source was several feet higher than the tank )

I had this continuous water change system setup where I was siphoning water using an air stone at the source end, and it eventually blocked up. Tried boiling and it made no difference. had to toss it. The air stone was there so if the water level dropped below the level of the air stone, the siphon would not break.

On my bottle, it says in bold at the bottom of the instructions "DO NOT OVERDOSE!" Seachem tech support also do not recommend the use of Flourish Excel as an algaecide ie. it's an off label use of the product. No doubt it works though!

A gut load.

Excel is a reducing agent and can lower oxygen levels in tanks if used in excess of the recommended amounts.

Or, to make it more interesting .. when did your ancestors first arrive in NZ? Me .. 1870.

BTW, did the newspaper report if there was an air stone found inside as well ... if not, should report this guy to the SPCA.

Too verbose! It will become known as NZ's attempt at setting a fad like planking ... and it will be called "eeling" for short. So, how many of your friends go eeling?