Rouseabout

A septic tank with zero nitrate? Maybe when brand new.... :rotf:

Thanks all, Fed them morning of 23rd then again evening of 28th - no issues or damage observed so all good. As well as there being algae on the rockwork, I added three chunks of courgette before going and there was zero left when i returned. :nilly:

Advice please - going away over Christmas and my Malawi tank fish won't have anyone to feed them for four days. Is this likely to be a problem? Reluctant to purchase an auto feeder as I am rarely away these days.

:gpo2:

:gpo2: :iag:

5 as below - two in lounge/dining, 1 x malawis in office and 21L in teenagers bedrooms.

:gopo: Thanks Greg, think i will try that rearrangement. Current sequence is as supplied with filter wool as the LAST stage. Cheers Chris

Thanks Camtang. Yes i have ceramic noodles in the middle section of each filter. In my planted tanks the bio balls trap bits of plant debris.

agree they have a large surface area however they are solid plastic and definitely not porous!

Just wondering, given that I have no plants in my African tank do I really need Bio Balls as the first stage of my two CF1200 filters? There is basically nothing in that part every time I rinse my media out. Would I be better off having coarse foam first instead?

Sorry dont know why that posted twice

- Does your water contain chlorine?* Yes - Do you use a dechlorinator?* Yes Seachem Prime - Do you know where your water comes from, if so do you know the average levels (eg residual chlorine) in your water supply? Manukau supply no idea of chlorine level (EG. Mine comes from Ardmore and Waikato, and according to the 2013 Water Report their averages are, in mg/L, 1.10, 0.95 and 0.97) - How old is your tank? 18 months - Does your use of dechlorinator change based on the "maturity" of the tank? No

:nfs: I've got approx 35 in my Malawi tank (with two x CF1200s, air, and wave maker) and have had zero issues with the health of my fish in over a year. Feeding NLS with occasional Nutrafin spirulina sticks and Nori (having seen Likomas fish scoffing it). I now also have pothos growing out of top of tank but early days and haven't seen nitrate reduction just yet.

:iag: I have been running two CF1200s on my 260L malawi tank for over a year with zero issues.

I dont have dems however I have a male dog-tooth in with lots of other fish (yellow labs, zebras, peacocks, dragon bloods) and he's no trouble at all.

e-mail on its way

+1 even when dosing heavily for BBA it hasn't affected my Indian fern

Heck that's cool! :bggrn:

Got some cuttings of pothos in the weekend - looking forward to getting them to work in my Malawi tank!

Thanks Ryan, I was hoping for that sort of response. I would still like to understand why the KH isn't higher given all the coral sand and rock now in the tank. I have no interest in raising KH or pH by using pH powder or similar though. :bggrn:

Hi experts! Despite having coral sand as my tank substrate and only high-pH rocks (Alpine schist from Stone and Water World) and no wood - my KH is only about 2. I added a 1.1kg piece of coral rock a week ago however KH has not increased at all. Tank pH is always 7.5-7.6. Tap water is currently pH 7.9 (was 7.7 at start of September) - my other tanks have pH around 7.0 to 7.2 This tank gets a weekly water change of 70 to 90 Litres depending on nitrate level. FYI water clarity is pretty good (running two CF1200s, plus wave maker, and Stellar 380D for air) and I currently have two females holding - Hap Brownae and Electric Yellow. I haven't lost a fish in this setup in over a year (and that was a specific incident of the power being turned off inadvertently for a period) - barring the fry that provide tasty snacks from time to time of course :rotf: Have also had fry successfully survive to be too big to snack on. Should I be concerned about the low KH and/or the pH which is clearly staying higher than my other tanks?

Not entirely fish-related I know, but I once watched my uncle clip the electric fence tester onto the fence wire while holding the earth clip in his other hand....the language which ensued was fairly colourful :rolfl:

So any chanceyou can share some of this with us? :env:

Looks great - had a quick glance and some stunning fish - are you getting physical copies or on-line access?

:cophot: :dnc1: