DiverJohn

Blue is colour 67.

Why thank you very much

Only cos it sounded like you wanted your "new filter" all... well.... new. You did indicate your prefered method would be to set up the new filter and run it in the tank for a week, then de-commision the old one. But you couldnt do that... so thats why i suggested the alternative.

Hi Andy, I think all the ways mentioned are valid, personally I would be inclined to mix old and new. But keep them seperate. That might sound dumb so... I would use the new media in the bottom. Put the old in the middle tray, finally if you can fit it in, new ( + a phosex bag) in the top. In a weeks time, change out media the middle tray, for new. QED. Hth John

Hi Aqua... Hmm tricky shape, my neigbhour has just 'aquired' a tank like that and the widest part is 3ft exactly (yours look smaller?) . So we cant put in 3foot T8's as you need about 20mm extra to plug the tubes into the lamp holders. Current thinking is to go either 2x39W T5 High Output which are 50mm shorter or a couple of 40watt Compact florescents. Both are available in "daylight " colour. So there are ways around it, but it might be a bit more expensive than run of the mill T8's. HTH John

HI aqua, what are the dimensions of your tank? i am guessing it is about a 3footer (92cms)? If so that would be good you could fit a twin 30W fitting on top and that would give you 60 watts. Like i said... its a rule of thumb, something to get you started. If you put a twin 18W fitting (36W total) on your tank and you find the "red plants arent very red" or "my ground cover is growing really slow" then you would need to look at more light.but dont forget to consider plant nutrients, CO2 etc... You should also remember that the light you "see" is different to what your plants "need" . The human eye can adapt to a wide range of lighting intensities and colours, your plants are not so highly evolved. HTH John

HI aqua... Ira is right, you will need more light for plants Here is a "general rule-of-thumb which I reckon is a good place to start. less than 1/2 a watt per litre = "low light" 1/2 to 3/4 watt per litre = "medium" 3/4 + = "high" But remember balance You cant just throw extra tubes on and expect brillient plant growth, or no algae. HTH John

HI Dartz, Some info FYI. In Auckland there is a Pet shop that has has 2500l circular display tank. At the moment it is configured as a milawi tank. Lighting consist of 4x double 4ft T8's. (thats 8x36W tubes). The tubes are a mixture of "white" and actinic blue. So using the good old watts per litre ' rule of thumb' lighting on a watt per litre basis is .11Wpl (288 W /2500l). Hth JOhn

HI Dartz... Now i am a "fan" of plenty of light but as you ausies say.... "strewth mate!" I am also no expert on the ciclids however i belive the genral rule of thumb is they prefer "low light" try a of 3 foot Daylight might be a better start. DJ

Hi Sharn, as blue said "sure can" .

HI Sharn, no problems. As for pics there are lots of posts on how to do it. Basically other than in teh members tanks section, you dont "attach" pictures to your posts... What you do is insert a link to your picture. Your picture must first be uploaded to a photo-hosting website such as http://www.photobucket.com. You should sign up then upload your pics. Once you have your pics uploaded, when you type a post you insert a link to your pic hosted on photobucket. The link looks like this... (but i have replaced a sqr bracket [ with an astrisk otherwise you wont see the link format.) *IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/DiverJohn/Rotala_Macranda15Aug05002SM.jpg But when you submit or preview your post a correctly formated link, will display your pic!! :bounce: Like this.....

Just FYI, I saw a Durso running on an FW tank, not sure about flow rates but it was silent.

Yeah, i agree Alan. Last time i bought potted plants they were very root bound. I would suggest you get a pair of sharp scissors and try to cut the pot a bit before removing the plants. One point i forgot to make is that if any of the tubes are older than 12months you should consider changing them sooner rather than later. Altho you plan to increase light levels slowly to reduce algae. If the tubes are old they will have shifted spectrum and be putting out the wrong colours. They usually shift towards the red/orange/green which is ideal for algae growth!! HTH John

Hi Sharn, Plantman has pretty much covered it all... Couple of things thou Kelvin is the "temperature" of the light and, in most cases gives you an indication of the colour of the light. EG: 4200K is orange tint (something like a "warm white" tube), 6-7000K is quite a "brillient white" such as a daylight tube, and closely approximates daylight. 8000K is still white but is developing a blue tint, by the time you get to 10,000+K you are really starting to get into the blues that the marine chappies use. Plantman refers to "lumilux" this is a brand name - sorry plant man . But he is refering to "lumens" or "lux" which relates to the amount of light the tube puts out, and this in most cases, for normal colour tubes, this related to the wattage of the tube. Higher wattage (longer tube) gives you more light. There is also the colour rendering index of the tube (CRI). This relates to the quality of the light produced. Typically you have a choice between cri of 80+ or 90+. Where ever you can go for the 90+ HTH John

HI SB, I had one of those corner box filters that I wasnt using so i gave it away. I would suggest that you could put the sand in and let the bulk of the particulates settle to the bottom, THEN, put in the air driven box filter to take out any remaining cloudyness.

I know its been mentioned on here in another thread but I ( and some others on here) use "Daltons Propogating Sand" . I have currently got a small 2ft goldfish tank set up with it as the substrate. The GF's seem to be doing OK as are the plants. I washed all the small stuff out using a kitchen seive as Alan suggests, only difference being that I didnt keep any of the finer particles. I supose you could always add some nutrient base under the sand if you want better plant growth. Check out Freshwests comments about increasing top layer thickness to stop leaching. And at about $10 for a 20 odd kg bag I dont think i would ever use anything else. Looks good too.

I am running a 3x30W 965 tubes (6500K) + 3x30W 880 (8000K) on my 250l planted tank. Inject CO2, PMDD, plant growth is...... good (could be an understatment tho ) And no the fish dont wear sunglasses Zev as for more light with CO2.. Its because CO2 is like "plant food", light is "plant energy", if you supply lots of light (energy) you need lots more plant food to make your plants grow. and Visa versa. Does that make sense??

Never used Ifranview so cant comment. But you could also consider the Microsoft Powertoy "Photo Resizer" - for XP, dont know about 98 etc... Simple to install, and you just right click on an image and the resize option is there!! Sweet! And of course we are not allowed to cast dispersions on people but... if my Dad can use it, any one can!!!

GIdday Dartz, Sharn is spot on. The ammonia ia a bit high, so your fish will be getting a bit stressed, so keep up those water changes. You could consider adding some plants too. These may help a little with the nitrate level. But yeah, water changes are the way to go.

Lookin good Fresh. How are the babies goin???

When i buy plants I routinly dose them in a solution of Aluminium Sulphate (AKA Hydranga Blue) which is about $7 a bag which is 500g i think. About 2 table spoons in 10l of water and put it in a cupboard over night. Kills snails and algae. Plants survive fine, i wash in clean water twice before putting in the tank.

Big $$ advantage in cost when it is "in the showroom". Maybe he can write of some of the expense? But definatly WOW!!!

did you miss a link in your post ????

Well there are no gurantees of course but teh maximum your wall plug is rated for is 10Amps. Also you really shoudl have an RCD for protection

Find the wattages of all your gear you are running and add them up. I wouldnt go above 2000W (althought the maximum is 2400)