john1

Hi There are some catfish which would die if the light were on all the time. Some of them ONLY eat when it is completely dark. Most other fish don't care. John

Hi Derek Thanks. I think I'll leave my calculator in my draw. There are too many factors influencing straight calculations. I just purchased a SERA Dauertest. It is much smaller than the DUPLA. About 1" square. And from a distance I can see the CO2 content. That gives me more time to watch my babies. Thanks again John

Hi Ira The the drawings look terrific. BUT, mine does not look like yours. Or maybe you drew them wrongly. According to your drawings, it seems to work perfectly. But the wall which contains the coarse sponges seems to be the culprit. It, the wall, could not go all the way up. Otherwise it would sort of bind with the lid (cover, motorhousing or whatever you like to call it). If that partition would have some sort of seal between IT and the top cover, then it would be the perfect filter setup. Dirty water goes down and only down then up through the baskets. But does it really? Next time I clean mine out I'll check the distance between the partition and the top cover. If I am wrong , I'm the first to admit it and appologize for taking up everyones time. Thank for the drawings. John

Hi Ira I was a fitter and turner. And any machinery, equipment interests me. When I've got to spare a few minutes I'll take out all compartments and media except where the coarse filter is attached. Then I will attach a stiff cardboard next to the vertical partition a bit higher than the existing one, held with elastic band, make a mark with a pencil, close the topcover and see how much the cardboard moved down. If the cardboard is higher than the existing partition then that will prove or not that the existing one is not as efficient as it should be. If the difference IS big, then one can always epoxy some sort of rubber to make it watertight. I hope I was not too technical. John

Dereks comment regarding trying it out in a couple of liters of water then interpolating it is the most sensible thing I've heard for a long time. Anything going wrong with that test setup will not kill your fish . An example here. A waterconditioner, which supposed to add hardness was used in a test bucket. I added 3 times the amount stated. It did nothing to the hardness. All it did lower the pH!!. Could be dangerous to some fish. So don't believe blindly everything you read on the packet, bottle etc. John

Hi Ira You wrote that you have the lights on from 11am to 1 pm. Does that mean the lights are on only 2 hours? John

Hi Peet Warren apparently gave an answer in the Rock section. I have not been there yet. But here is a little hint. Carbo Plus, the bottle-less CO2 generator, produces .29g/hour, a sodastream bottle holds approx. 270g. Therefore, it should last for 38 days. at 24hrs a day John

Hi Derek Thanks. you say"Does your test kit specifically measure CO3 / HCO3 or does it measure total alkalinity in the form of carbonate equivalents. " ??? I don't know. I use an electronic pH meter. Apart from the CO2 tester all others are from Aquarium Pharmaceutical Inc. A quick rundown. Ammonia 0.00 Nitrate 0.00 Nitrite 0.00 pH 6.8 dKH 3.5 after adding 2 lots!!!! of KH Powder (Betta) CO2 11 ppm Thanks John PS Let me know what I do wrong :oops:

Hi Ira You remember my post regarding the efficiency of the fluval. I inject CO2 into then inlet pipe of my fluval 204. Ihoped the CO2 goes up then downthe pipe to the bottom and hopefully disssolved to the outlet pipe. NO. I apparently goes down to the inlet of the cannister , and then straight to the impeller housing . Subsequently making the filter USELESS because of the air (CO2). NO flow whatsoever. The partition wall you mentioned is not high enough to stop flow from then inlet straight to the outlet. John PS This is NOT a reprimand or vengeful retort. ONLY an observation :lol:

I just bought a co2 tester from VITAKRAFT. According to the test kit my co2 concentration is 6.5ppm. According to my formula which ALL charts are based upon it has 30 ppm. So something seems to be wrong with the testkit OR my way of measuring!!! I sent an e-mail to the company to find out. John PS the formula is CO2= 3 x dKH x 10^(7-pH). And it is correct.

Hi Bill Chances are 1 in 1000000 that BOTH heaters stick. It does not matter how many heaters you've got. The point is , one should carefully choose the wattage. If you would live in the tropics where the temperature would be constant, you'll get away with a low wattage type. What you have to consider is the tank capacity AND how many degrees you want the aquarium to be ABOVE the ambient room temperature. A 1000W thermostaticly controlled roomheater will adequatly heat up a small room, providet the initial temperature is not too low. At 0 degrees you'll never ever heat up the room. On the other hand, the same type of heater has 10000W and should the thermostat fail, then hello lobster. BFN Bill John

I just got back from the Hagen site. And, I think it just hit me. One guy complained about too much flow. They said he can block it halfway without doing harm. They mention theirs run at 3600 rpm. Therfore ours with 240V runs only at 3000 rpm. so subsequently the flowrate of ours is 20% LESS than statet. Think about it. John

I have not tested how many liters my 204 delivers. All I know is when I change my media it flowed 3 times better. The flowrate does not only depend on the media, but also how TIGHT you pack it. Stuff 250 grams of wet fibre wool into one compartment and chances are your flowrate is ZERO. Go onto the Hagen's website and find out HOW they arrive at their specifications. Whatever the stated flowrate, the media and how it is applied is the mainfactor in the final flowrate. John PS please do not pick me to pieces now. he he

Hi Ira You said 'You might as well get your monies worth". I dont think that if a shop sells you a 1000W heater for the price of a 50W one you'll take it. Because IF the contacts fuse, you surely fry the fish. If you want reliability and safety, go for a quality electronics type. As Pegasus said, an expensive heater, even changed every few years is much cheaper and less traumatic than a tankful of dead fish. John

Hi Ira Yes, there is. It's called DUPLA Dauertest. German for "all the time" It shows you 'green' for ok and two other colours for 'not enough' and 'too much'. Cost according to Dupla Adalaide $37.00 John

Warren You are right. If you hang an airhose in the water and it bubbles the 'correct' amount of bubbles does not mean the water gets the correct amount of CO2. As I said before, it is only a starting point. I WILL get a diffusor,reactor, atomizer or whatever is required to get it going. I cannot let a full bottle of CO2 into the tank in 10 minutes. Apparently kills the fish. HE HE. I have in mind, correct me please if I'm wrong, after all I' pretty new in CO2 ing, to get the SERA basic set to which I connect my bottle, regulator, needlevalve. Then I get the DUPLA DAUERTEST indicator. ANY critisism is welcome. John

Hi Derek Here is the answer you are probably looking for. The bubble size should be 1/8" (3mm) I just tested my D.I.Y. CO2 set-up. Bubbles about 1/8" with a hose (pipe) which is smaller than an ordianary airhose. Then I tried a smaller pipe the bubblesize decreased by half. Which might not be enough to supply a 3" tank. BUT THIS IS ONLY A STARTING POINT!! BFN John

Hi Derek The formula is from a very reputable company. Bubbles can differ in size. Think about it SERA, DUPLA and quite a few other sell BUBBLE COUNTERS!! The formula IS a good starting point. Provided you know the size. Let's face it, if you use an inch hose the bubble is bigger than a standard airhose. I do not know the exact science of it because I actually only started to buy the gasbottle and regulator (cheap). I actually also tried a yeast bottle and used an ordinary airhose to produce the bubbles. IT WORKED. If you are serious about co2 then you should get an co2 indicator. (DUPLA DAUERTEST) For argument sake you get a 10 l tank. Use the formula. Observe the co2 indicator. That should be also a good starting point. Greetings my friend John

Hi Caryl I have got an expensive (self-priming) one. But it is mainly used to empty 30% of my tank for water changes. I do a bit of gravel cleaning. But one must not overdo it. One disturbs the biological bacteria which took quite a long time to establish. John

Hi KMattingly I posted something about co2 somewhere in the technical side. According to a german site the formula is aquarium liters X 13 / 100. Gives you bubbles per minute. That is definately something to start with.

Hi I tried today to get a tap (threadcutting type) to make a sodastream bottle conversion. Thread unknown. I therefore dicided to get something cheap to start off with. A bottle of co2 + regulator(more a pressure reducer) then I will get a needle valve. Bottle + regulator A$59!!! Neddlevalve, Festo brand (quality) and I should have a start. Count about 15 bubbles per minute. According to a german site. (liters x 13 / 100). Keep you posted. John

Hi everyone Lucky we are a happy bunch of people. Everyone gracefully excepting the other ones opinion. Nobody is perfect. Execpt me that is. HE HE. A forum is here to lern, exchange ideas, have a bit of fun and also pass the time. Keep up the aggreeing/disagreeing,... it's fun. I'm not a spring chicken anymore. My eyesight is not what it used to be. So I ivested in an electronic pH meter. Fast and accurate. Gives me more time to enjoy my overfed fish. Greeting to all of you John

Bill Either I expressed myself wrongly or you misunderstood. By "in the olden days we didn't know much about nitrate, nitrite, ammonia etc", I did not mean you personally. What I really meant was the average hobbyist/aquarist. Please do not take it personally. I really do respect your opinion. Please forgive. John

Rob I think you err with both. According to my literature 1dGH or kH = 17.9 p.p.m. In case you are interested, here are some facts. dGH = dKH + PH GH = Total Hardness KH = Carbonate Hardness PH = Permanent Hardness And you say I know nothing HE HE John

Bill, you are right with too technical. Unfortunately if you don't keep up you'll be left behind. Not that your fish or plants will suddely die, but if there was something wrong in your tank, in the olden not too technical days, you did not know what. Lack of info, lack of tests. Yes you are right, 30 years ago one only mentioned dH. Degrees hardness what, general or carbonate? . It only seemed to make everything easier. Actually it was harder. If fish died and your pH, dH, and temperature was ok, then all you could do was scratch your head. Nitrate, nitrite, sodium, ammonia, co2 etc. was only known to the industrial chemist. Now with all those tests available to us it is much easier to stop a possible 'death' epidemic breaking out in your tank. Naturally it is also damn expensive. John