john1

Hi Caryl I don't think I need an introduction. I am known all over the world as John1. Only at Boronia Forum I am known as John1945. Someone is using my nickname. The reason I chose John1945 is because John1 was already taken. And 1945 is the year I was born in. So, something fishy is going on. John

HI Ben I got rid of my ribbed hose. All sorts of rubbish adhered to it. Changed it for a genuine Eheim hose. Perfect fit. And if you would clean it with a hose-brush, it still is a nightmare to clean. You can't beat a smooth hose. John

Hi all Being a "non golfish" man, I can only make a guess. It is hard to tell if a goldfish has "just a lump" or a sort of mutation. There are so many goldfish out there with ugly lumps, bumps etc. But, apparently that is quite normal. That makes a diagnosis a bit harder. John

Hi peet First, you have to know the pitch of the thread. Now, the needlevalve comes from a Model petrol motor. A$15. It is a OS model. John

Hi Here is one of the FAQ's of the Melbourne Aquarium John

Hi Joze I throw away the "throwaway bottles", Co2 bottles for mig welding. NOT my valuable SS bottles. Below is a pic of what I throw away. Very expensive also. Costs $30 at a gas shop and $12 at a brewery supplier. That's the reason I want a converter for my SS bottle to my regulator. $6 a refill here in OZ. John

HI nico I was given an original Aquarix, not a pirated version. It is fantastic. Even if you don't use it as a fish database per se, it has a wealth of info plus lots of pics already build in. John

Hi Joze That's what I did with all my Co2 stuff. No leakage whatsoever. But, very few people believed me. I use silicone hoses. They are the seals by themselves. I would love to know where I can get a connector from a SS bottle to a normal Co2 regulator. It is not a standard thread, otherwise I would cut it myself. I have a throwaway bottle at the moment. But at $30 a bottle, a bit expensive. Although I can get the same size for $12 at a brewery shop. But the SS bottle would come in handy. John

Hi Caryl Very wise. I love almost anything DIY. I work with 240V like other work with their torch batteries. One chap wante to know about a DIY substrate heater. I would not dare to make anything 240V which goes into the tank. Deadly for you and the fish. John

HI Joze You really need a digital camera. Flash or not. But better with a flash. But you must hold the camera at a 45° angle so that the flash does not reflect. make sure the glass is clean. The reason for a digital camera is, you can take hundreds of pictures if neccessary without wasting a penny and waiting ages to get the pics developed. Goto my homepage and have a look at my pics. Only some have the reflection of the flash. John

Hi all I think, that leaving the light on for 24 hours a day is crazy. People overseas worry about a "midday pause". 10 to 12 hours a day is sufficient. Not only will it create algae, but also, as Interfectus said, the fish will go nuts. My mollies swim all day. When I switch the light on, lets say after midnight, to get a fag, ALL my mollies are on the bottom almost motioness. Leaving the light on 24 hours a day is cruelty and boarders on unmittigated madness. Sorry to say that. John

Hi Caryl Just thought of something. You showed some interest regarding that DIY filter. As any cannister filter owner knows, one puts the ceramic noodles last. (biological filtration). The reason is, you only want clean water for it. Think about it, one Flugal or Eheim without the ceramic or whatever, only mechanical filtration of your choice, then fill the DIY container with ceramic noodles. The water gets initially cleaned by the Fluval/Eheim. Then the clean water gets pumped into the DIY container full of biological goodies. Any filter change gets done whenever neccessary, but only in the cannister. The biological one could be ther for more than a year with all the bacteria still intact. Have a think about it. John

Hi Pies Most interesting. Filed the url away. Thanks a heap. Can't have too many infos like that. John

Hi shilo Perfect answer with that link. But if you have a second person holding a bucket, lets say 10 liters, then hold the bucket in the same height/level of the tank level. Use a stopwatch and see how long it takes to fill 10 liters. No more complicated headpressure calculations or anything like that. A simple and ACCURATE answer. JOhn

Hi peety Just a little hint. A cannister filter is usually on the floor. BUT, it can also hang on the side or back of the tank. If that is the case, then hardly any water has to be pumped up or down. I have an outside hang on filter. The claimed output is 1250l/h. The amount of uplift of the water depends on the lenght of the intake tube. Short intake tube-lots of lift. I bought a powerhead to put inside a 20l container to lift the water into my tank. For waterchange purposes. I have a sore back. Slipped disk. The claimed lift is 1.2 m. The lift is not more than 40cm, and then it is only a trickle. So I gave up on that idea. For that purpose I would need a powerful bilge-pump. Should you have or get hold of a powerhead, then immerse it into the bathtub, attach a tube to the outlet and lift the tube upwards. You'll be surprised how little the flow teally is. Try it. John

Hi peety The claimed output of a manufacturer is correct. But how is it measured? Firstly an american unit claims 200l/h. That's with 60Hz. 3600RPM. In other countries where they have 50Hz then the speed of the motor/impeller is only 3000RPM. That's 20% less to begin with. Then, how high/low is the pump? At tank level is has the highest output. When you put it for instance on the floor, let's say 1.2m, then is has to overcome that also. Furthermore, what sort of media is in it? Packed filterwool in all baskets would render it almost useless to start with. There you have it. John

Hi Here is a quickie.What you see is a 7 liter one made by Hills The inlet comes from a pump or powerhead. John

Hi peet I made a quick and dirty damn cheap DIY cannister-type filter. You don't need a drawing. I can explain it here. All I uses was a readily available Insectspray (Gardensprayer), The one you can pump up. That's the part you don't need. It has two inlets, and a safetyvalve build in. Take out the pump and put it aside. You get ALL fitings and hosed with that type of sprayer. The supplied aluminium pipe can be replace with a stiff pvc or other pipe if you are afraid of alu. Put the stiff pipe all the way down into the container, bend it so that it is somewhere in the middle. Fill it up with whatever you fancy. 3/4 the way, sand, gravel, filterwool... whatever. Hook up a powerhead. the input is in the tank, the output goes to the inletpipe of your cannister. The outputhose goes back into the tank. The Sprayers cost from $14 to $40. If it does not work as you think it should, you lost NOTHING, except 1/2 to 1 hour work. The sprayer can still be used for what it was designed. A cheap, quick to build DIY cannister. By the way, all the fittings are absolutely watertight straight from the box. John

Hi peet There are plenty on the net. All types. Try this one, similar to fatman. http://pub64.ezboard.com/fboroniaaquariuminteractivepagesfrm14.showMessage?topicID=48.topic John

Thanks Warren (not Andrew) John

Hi Thanks Andrew (not Warren) :lol: John

Hi Warren We have a shop here which sell cheap tanks. All new and guaranteed. Is it safe to buy a 4' x 18" x 18" and 6mm glass? They want $60 and deliver free. Thanks John

Hi Goldie Here is a pic of that plant. Apparently only the roots are in the water. Permission to show photo by http://www.mein-aquarium-online.de.vu/ John

Hi all This is a Commercial HMF. The white stuff is the ceramic biological filter, which needs NEVER a clean. The blue stuff is the 2 part foam, only needs a clean ONCE a year. The blue foam is facing into a corner. The lot can be hidden by a couple of plants. John

Hi all Very few people have a quarantine tank. Unsually the purists and the "once bitten, twice shy" ones. All you need is the space. A few items. The running costs are not too bad either. Considering the fish you might save. John