john1

Hi aqua A quarantine tank consists of a tank with a heater and a cheap but efficient filter. NOT chemical, only mechanical. First, you do not want charcoal in it, in case you have to medicate. Charcoal negates or weakens treatment, if neccessary. No gravel OR plants. A bare tank with the right watercondition. John PS. The guy who has been denied the pleasure of picking up cheap Oscars from NZ

Hi Warren Thanks for that. Now I know where to get cheap Oscars. Fly over to NZ tomorrow and pick up a couple. Hi Pegasus Only a joke :lol: John

Hi Yes, I admit a couple of sacrificial Guppies would not hurt. So in my case I have to sacrifice a couple of $100 Oscars instead. :oops: John

Hi Let's say I buy fish which ARE sick. but I don't know that yet. I put them into a quarantine tank. So far so good. I have 2 sick fish which I was unaware of at the time of purchase. Then I add 2 healthy fish from my established tank into the quarantine tank. Now I have 4 sick fish. Which I might not be able to cure. Then I probably might have 4 dead fish. I don't understand the reason for putting healthy fish into a tank which may or may not contain a virus/bacteria. Just a simple question. John

Hi Goldie fish are doing well. Had another lot of babies. but this time if they get eaten, I don't care. Good food for the adults. Should some survive, that's ok too. Hi Ira There are winged ants. Some animal are called wingless. But the NZ bird, among others for instance are called "flightless birds". John

Hi Warren Now, that explains it a bit better. I love good and logical explanation. John

Hi Kriber I cannot imagine having an intake for the surface as well, or only. Think about it, air will also get in it. Your cannister will NOT like it. Try to take the inlet and lift it towards the surface and let air in. Chances are, the Flugal or Eheim will just gurgle a bit then stop. John

Hi Matt I have a 204. Did not like the ribbed hose. Bought a genuine Eheim hose. Not cheap, but it fits perfectly on the housing, valves. It is 16mm. My fluval hose ended up in the rubbish bin. Actually that where the whole Fluval should be. Long live Eheim. John

Hi Not only would I get a hell-of-a-filter but also a good Digital camera on top of it. Do you really need it? To find out the dissolved oxygen, you have to fork out about $700.00. Then it gives you a figure. What do you do with it???? Nothing. But you can tell all your fishfriends you have a Dissolved Oxygen Meter. John

Hi What is wrong with the good ol' filtersystem? Worked for years. A protein skimmer is a waste of money and space in a freshwater aquraium, because as Warren said, it does very little or nothing at all. John

Hi David I don't think there is a demand ANYWHERE. Because they are expensive and do little or nothing in a freshwater tank. John

Hi Here is a picture of it. John

Hi all I though this is a place as good as any. I was talking about a filter, wet/dry which has a Bio-wheel for the bacteria. I think, Pegasus mentioned something of a DIY job regarding a filter of some sorts in a box at the back of the tank. I could be wrong regarding "where to put it". By accident I went to a site which mentioned OH filters. I thought at first they mean outside hang on filters. But it is really a filter across the whole tank. You get them in stages. 3, 4 ,5 and 1 or 2 stories high. The are filters which, from a distance look like the flouro-light-reflector. Has any one seen or heard about them? I think they are commercial units, not DIY's. I have never seen or heard about them. So any comments? John

Hi Warren I think you misunderstood. I live 2 minutes from a professional tankbuilder. But I cannot buy from him. I have to go to my LFS and HE orders from HIM, the builder. Who knows what he is doing. I never said the LFS builds it. I am convinced that the professional tankbuilder, who has 5 men working for him and gives 2 years warranty on his tanks and sells to all the vitorian LFS's, knows his job. John

Hi Pies I little trick, if you decide build your own tank. Tank builders who guarantee their merchandize know what the are talking about. They will usually not deal with you directly. So go to a LFS and ask for a quote with specs. Then the LFS will come back with the price and specs. No calculation whatsoever. Don't forget to ask for complete specs. like thickness, how many braces etc. Say you have to know because of the filter which hangs on the tank etc. etc. They do it for you, free. Then you know how to build it yourself. John

Hi all Maybe someone is interested in the DSE pH meter, but NOT from DSE. It cost you $197 at Dick Smith and $119 for the waterproof one or $97 for the non waterproff one. Try that http://hydroponicxpress.com.au/Price%20List.htm John

Hi aqua My apologies. I meant the instruction on the box of charcoal. John

HI Warren The last paragraph is 100% correct. It needs a good quality probe plus the amplifier has to be a highprecision one. Not cheap. Furthermore the LF557 is not available anymore. The circuit is over 10 years old. But with dKH I don't agree 100%. Yes, the dKH has to be higher than 4°, but I would have that with or without a pH controller to begin with. Better stability. And you are right, a stuffup or malfunction can kill all the fish if the amount of Co2 exceeds the amount required. But taken 2 units side by side, one non-controlled, the other controlled. Both can kill if one is not vigilant. The only problem with an automatic system, one becomes complacent. But if both systems are watched, by way of an Co2 indicator, like the DAUER Test then all should be ok. John

Hi all I had a silver hi-fin mollie (sailfin), same as the link pointed out by Andrew. That was the father, the mother was a true black normal-fin molly. When I had the accident and all my fish died, the mollie was the only survivor. Now I have 3 generations. Mostly sailfin, beautifully coloured and quite a few lyretails. But none have those tassles. To be honest, I would not like them either. The mollie looks out of proportion then. But that is only my opinion. John

Hi Midas Have to agree with you totally. I said that before on other forums. What is the use of having a filter which does not need maintenance for 6 months or even a year and then having to replace the charcoal which, according to the manufactures, should be changed every 2 to 4 weeks. A total waste of money. Yes, charcoal does work, for a while. And so does cheap filterwool. A big hype. My filtercartriges contain charcoal. I don't mind. I only will change the cartridge when it is blocked. Not when the hand-books says so. John

Hi Stephanie. The project is about 10 years old. I'll see if it can be computerized. That is use a microchip instead of all the discreet components. Will stay in touch. John

HI Stephanie When you have the time, could you send me the link from the krib pertaining to that article/schematic Thanks John

Hi stemar Yes, I have build a controller. But a controller is a controller. That's what the name stands for, controlling things. Sprinkler, garagedoor etc. But maybe I did not express myself sufficiently. The pH probe has to be read by the controller. And that is the hard part. Because of the high immunity and stray noise. Electrical noise that is. If you want to measure the conductivity, temperature, waterlevel or filterpressure, thats easily done. But NOT the pH. Thats a complete different thing. John

Hi stemar Electronics is one of my hobbies. Building the controller itself is chickenfeed. Not very expensive either. But, the pH probe to suit is very expensive. Because of the complexity of the probe, the project is not really viable. The controller can switch 10 tanks on and off, check the temperature etc. etc. All cheap. But NOT the pH part. Making a redox (conductivity) reading is also reasonable cheap. You can think of dozens of thing you can do with a microprocessor, but forget the pH part. John

Hi Caryl's suggestion regarding a bread-plastic-tie sounds good... But it will strangulate the plant-stalk. Because it cannot grow any wider. The hard plastic prevents that. A correctly planted plant, has its roots spread out in the hole you make, thus making a reasonable stable plant which cannot come out easily. John