Jason_F

Hi, the instructions that come with the Aqua One tanks are pretty shocking. I got my tank off Pet Planet who was kind enough to provide more detailed instructions, but if you can put together a kit set shelving unit - then no problem. I managed my way with the stand unit ok, and the top compartments are pretty self evident. Be careful where you put the back board piece, as you might want cords to go inside the stand, so give yourself enough room to slip a power plug through. My only big mistake was that I ripped the little satchel of carbon open and spread it through the second compartment! :oops: I left the little pieces there for about 3 months, before giving the whole filter a good clean out and getting rid of them. I can sometimes still find a black rod of carbon sticking out of the gravel in the tank! My filter set up is: 1st compartment spray-bar then filter pad (to collect large debris) then ceramic noodles (circular thingies) on bottom. 2nd compartment is reversed with filter pad on bottom and ceramic noodles on top to weigh it down. That's it. One additional point is that I use a black piece of plastic board that I cut to fit in the groove at the back of the tank, instead of painting / picture or nothing. Costs $8 at local art store and makes it look a million dollars. Good luck, Jason

Hey Shauntilyard - in my opinion the advantage of the tall over the normal 620 is that you can see the fish better standing by it or walking past it - that's how I got my wife to go for the one I ended up with. But I'm sure you'll like whichever one you end up with. I do have a bubbler in mine - more for aesthetic reasons than airation, but I did get paranoid about overstocking my tank and the amount of surface area available on my tall tank to the volume. So you probably don't need one - and in my tank the bubbler is the noisiest component - so I often turn it off. Before I tell you my stocking rates, the 620T is 130 Litres and the normal 620 is 90 Litres - so you will need to reduce the numbers. Also stock gradually, with weeks or months between additions. What I have in my tank are: 4 Bronze Corydoras (for getting scraps and occupying low levels) 2 Clown Loaches (for fun and snail control) 11 Platties (all different colours - with 5 being born in this tank) 8 Cardinal tetras (for schooling in the middle region) 3 Pearl Gouramis (who hide up the top) 1 Zebra Danio (the last one surviving of the fish used to cycle the tank) My initial stocking intentions were 4 Corys, 4 Platties, 8 Cardinals and 8 Zebra Danios. But once you start - you just want more! I try to do a 20-30% water change weekly, but the tank has survived without problems for 3 weeks without a water change. Hope that helps. Cheers, Jason

Hi Shauntilyard, I have an AR620T and love it. No leaks at all and it has been going strong for 9 months or so. It's a deep tank, so make sure that you can touch the bottom of the tank without too much difficulty. If you are concerned about aquascaping when it's up and running, just do it when you do a water change. I have tall growing plants going nuts in the tank which suits the height of the AR620T. Depending on the frequency of your water changes, and getting it cycled properly, you can stock this tank with a lot of fish. They will occupy different levels, making it interesting from top to bottom. The only website I've found specifically for this type of tank is at: http://blog.kazza.id.au/mt-archives/000035.html It's just a blog/Q&A but some info can be found there. Cheers, Jason

Hi, I have an Aqua One AR 620T (Tall) tank. The two lights that came with this set-up in the built in hood are a bit of a mystery to me - hopefully you can help me figure out what I've got over my tank. They look like compact fluoros (or power compacts) - and have 18W and 14,000k printed on them. The lights have two tubes side by side and are plugged in on one end. My questions are; 1. Can compact fluoros emit 14,000k? I thought that only metal halide bulbs had this kelvin level. Also this kelvin rating is sometimes referred to as "blue", and my tank is brightly 'white'. 2. Can freshwater plants survive under these lights? The AR620T is quite deep (72cm), so I am concerned that I might need powerful lighting to allow plants (other than algae :oops: ) to survive. Petplanet - who sold it to me (and I am very happy with it thanks Petplanet) has said in a previous post: "There is new lighting in the AR620. Twin 14000K PL tubes (like a long life light bulb). The distributor can't tell me what wave lenght they put out but they are brighter than the fluros." { http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewto ... 6440#36440 } Thanks for your help! Jason

Thanks for all your input. I guess I have caught Multiple Tank Syndrome - I am looking around my office imagining a large tank right next to my desk. I have been trying to justify the expenditure and time on potential workplace stress relief! As to stocking levels - I have found an online calculator at the following web site. I am not recommending this for everyone - but I found it useful. http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... ulator.php It doesn't bode well for the stocking levels I listed above. Oh well, we will see. Currently going through a high nitrite spike as part of the cycle - all the fish seem to be going well though. Did 30% water change and am trying to cut the quantity of food for the fish. Cheers All, Jason

Hi Caryl, The AR620T is 62cm wide x 38cm deep x 72cm high. I am adding the fish gradually - I added 4 platies Wk1, 4 Corys and 4 platies Wk2 and 8 Danios Wk3. I intend to add the Cardinals in Wk6 or 7. The ammonia and nitrite levels are always low when I test. I am using 'Cycle' and changing 20% of the water twice a week. So far there has been no problems (touch wood). As to the fry, I don't mean to be cruel, but they probably will become snacks for the other fish. I don't intend to breed fish, and while it is cool to see the little ones swim about - all our visitors peer closely looking for the two fry we have right now hiding in some foliage, - I am not set up to put them anywhere else. As we progress and get more knowledge this might change, but $$$s, space and time would be against us rearing the fry to adult size (and then what do we do with them?). Thanks for your thoughts on the gourami, I felt the tank needed some slightly larger fish to make a feature, but they are really just an impulse - as I saw some stunning examples of them at a local store. This is an addictive passtime! All I want is more fish and a bigger tank! Cheers, Jason

Hi All, I have recently acquired an Aqua One AR620T tank and stand. I am loving it, and I am gradually adding fish every couple of weeks. The tank is 130L, and is deeper than the 'normal' rectangular boxes (so has less surface area for the volume of comparable tanks). I have researched as much as I could on stocking, and have come up with what I want for my tank. I would appreciate any input on this - to see whether I am out of whack or not! 4 x Bronze corys 8 x Platties (6 female and 2 male) 8 x Zebra Danios 8 x Cardinal Tetras and if all are above are going well maybe I could add 2-3 Gouramis. Thanks for your input! Jason