morf

we use it at our golf course to keep algae out the ponds (so I can see my golf ball once I have hit it in the water for the third time in a row) It does work, just takes time.

what is their habitat like in the wild? sometimes a water chage causes a temp drop in the tank - in the wild that can be caused by a flood and that can wash food downstream some fish are actually encouraged to spawn by a big water change to drop the temp.

righto - back to the water treatments then perhaps just as well, as the wife always stubs a toe on a bucket of bubbling water then the real trouble starts!

ah, ok. I was lead to believe that chloramine was different from chlorine and takes weeks (if not months) to remove with passive bubbling. if this aint so then back to the bubbling buckets overnight for me!

without seeing the fish, it sounds a bit like a swim bladder problem. the old suggestion was to keep the guppy in a shallow floating tub in the tank. that way it's swim bladder has a chance to stabalise. not sure if this has been disproved or if it is still sound advice, but it is the only advice I have to give you.

last time I re-sealed a tank i chickened out and cut as much sealant away as I could but left a tiny strip to hold the glass in place. then I applied my silicon sealant and all went well. I guess if you did it stage by stage it would work fine - so long as when you pull a strip of old sealant off it didnt tug up the corner of your new sealant and leave a hole for water to work away at. it is surprisingly good stuff silicon sealant, when you think about the pressures it withstands.

my tap water is pH 8.5 and has chloramine in it so I use tap water conditioner and soak it with peat for a couple of days before adding it to my tank!

cool the water?? hehe - coming from up north of scotland way that really does sound like make believe! at the height of our summer we dont even come close to warm enough. And for 6 months of the year my heater/thermostat forgets it even has a bimetallic strip. :roll:

out of curiosity - are you thinking of growing plants/algae in the sump to use up nitrates in a natural fashion? that seems to be the craze over here just now

on perhaps a more serious note, I would change things around in the evening with the lights dim. it may give the fish more time to get used to the changes and not panic - unless they are in the habit of charging round after lights out - in which case new geography may lead to bumped noses and embarassed fishes.

there is dissapointingly little in my tank at present! a shoal of rummy nose tetras, and some clown loaches and that is all. I am looking out for a nice group of congo tetras, but I cant seem to find any round my way

pond UV sterilizers are far less effective than ones designed for aquarium use. they are less powerful, and the water is further away from the UV source. As such they will have little effect on green water algae and no effect to control disease. Get a good quality aquarium model and attach it to the outlet of a power filter. This is advisable to ensure there is no particulate matter or rubbish being pumped through the sterilizer. saying that - this is all from literature sources as I have not personally used one! :-?

Hi folks - just to let you know who I am. My name is Mark, I am 35, have 1 180litre community tank and I have been reading posts here for a few weeks. Enjoying the banter and chat, and the useful helpful advice - so though it was only fair to register and show myself. I wont be able to shop local as I do truely live in scotland, but I will pop onto the forum when I can. see you out there

or if you have enough friends you could hold the wood, and they could move the tank to the correct position...?