john1

Hi I don't think ordinary cigarrete smoke will harm the fish. BUT, cigarette ash or butts WILL. I got a few butts/ash into my Oscar tank. I used an emergency 3000l/h pump (swimmingpool) + filter and within 10 minutes 4 of my Oscars were dead. I am not sure about ash, but tobacco IS deadly. Nicotin poisoning. John

Hi Shilo As soon as I have the dough, I will buy that setup. 2 tubes, rubber connectors and a remote-mounted ballast. 1 ballast gives off more heat than 4 tubes. On my single tube light, I can hardly touch the reflector. That hot. And when you have an enclosed system, hood that is, the heat can hardly escape. John

Hi I said once "I pump oxygen into the tank" and was told off for it. Fish get the oxygen from the surface. Which is actually true. It is a misconception to think you give them extra oxygen. The current/movement of the water surface supplies the oxygen. Now then, I smoke quite a lot. If putting the airpump outside helps the "smokeproblem". How about if you don't use an airpump. Carry the whole tank outside? NEXT. 2 - 3 hours is the maximum one can leave the filter off, without the bacteria dying. Starting a tank with the bacteria dead is worse than starting with a new filter. A new filter has no bacteria, an "overnight-left-off" filter can have deadly bacteria in it. By the way, I let my fish sleep too. Only before they go to bed, I tuck them in. John

HI Shilo The one I mean looks like the rubberhood on most heaters. Just the thickness of the thin rubber bigger than the tube. AND waterproof. John

Hi Shilo The quote, you quoted is only a "saying". There are people who think they are handyman because the built so much. But in reality the just put things together, nilly willy. The endresult, a catastrophic mess. And you need a certain amount of machinery, not just a hacksaw and a hammer. John

Hi Pegasus My reply was for Di. My fault. In your case it would be looked at in a completely different light. Using that system for 40 or so tanks is different and probably more economical than standard heaters. Now it makes sense. John

Sorry Caryl Got carried away. I meant people in some countries. The area apund Melbourne is black. Because of the devastating bushfires around it. And to be precise, it was 44.1° The copper-pipes here in Australia which carry hot water, always have an insulating material around it. Less heat-loss. And here in Australia, normal plumbing, hot or cold water is alway made of copper. The only exception is a closed system, like a spa or swimming pool. John

Hi Shilo My LFS does sell the complete units. Will ask next time if there are spare parts available. Keep you posted John

Hi What I really meant was, there are some people who cannot nail two pieces of wood togerther. Others who try to build anything, but it is just butchery. Any one with a bit "handyman" approach can make your filter. It does not take a university degree. Just be a reasonable handyman. John

Hi Shilo Try to get "push-on" flouro sockets. They are waterproof. The ballast, I would mount seperately. Like some bought units. Then the height of the fitting is almost the thickness of the tubes. So, very low profile. John

Hi all As Ira said, black gives off heat. That is the reason for "black" pot belly stoves. And also the reason why some countries wear black dresses. It radiates heat. And if you paint the hotwaterservice pipes black, then you would waste a lot of heat. Simple physics. John

Hi Di A 50l hotwater system? Sounds like an "hotwater urn". Do you want to heat the tanks, or the room itself?. Usually systems like that have a hi-wattage element. Just before the boilingpoint. If you want to heat tanks, then it is a waste. Because of the hi-wattage element an thermostat would work overtime. To heat up a fishroom would also be impractical. How? Steam? Or radiated heat?The only other solution would be what I have. A flowthrough electronically controlled waterheater. But, the min temperature is 38°. All the way up to 70°. But in order to make it work, it needs waterflow. You could use a pump. To heat one tank. But to heat more than one is a problem with overflow. It would be a mechanical/electrical nightmare to implement that 50l HWS. John

Hi Goldie Easy. First, go to a technical school, then learn simple mechanics, buy $1000 worth of tools and Bob's your uncle. You can build one yourself John

Hi Dianna As the water passes throught the silk, it is not pos. or neg. charged. It is wet. That's all John

Hi Pegasus The idea sounds good and reasonable practical. But it is almost like the "Hamburg mattenfilter", but easier to maintain. This idea could be like a rear inside hangon filter. Only across the whole length of the tank. The only problem is for the average guy, how to build it. John

Hi Dianna I don't think static electricity can occur under water. As Pegasus said, the comb theory, works all the time, but not under water. By the way Ira, silk is better than filterwool. And if filterwool does eventually become a biological filter, so would the silk. John

Hi Di I would be careful. The Brineshrimp need a lot of salt to begin with. Then hanging that into a freshwater tank? Any mishaps regarding the eggs could spell disaster. Look for Pegasus' DIY setup for brineshrimps. Could be here or at Boronias. John

Hi Wayne Can you imagine if that article would contain all, which, in your opinion was missed, how much would be skipped then? John

Hi all Yes, Ira, what this guy probably meant was changing 15% / month in his tank full of plastic plants and plastic fish. No real aquarist would even consider that amount as realistic. It could also have been posted on the 1st of April..... John

Hi Ira Is there any chance that you give as either the link or a copy of the source of that "statement"? As far as I know, and I am not talking about a goldfishbowl, the smaller the tank, the more frequent the water-changes, as long as the number of fish is proportional. John

Hi Goldie My reply was for Midas and Co. It was not intended for you directly. But for your benefit, an u/g filter for instance, provided it is is good working order which, unfortunately no one ever knows, is a very big biological filter. Populated by many, many litlle bacteria which, keep your aquarium healthy. John PS. "The u/g filter working well or almost not at all, is another topic, a hot one"

Hi Midas You are absolutely right. A filter, the size of an ear-bud coupled to a 2000l/hr pump won't do much. The physical size of the biological media counts. I omitted that, because I thought that is a foregone conclusion. John

Hi Warren I don't think you can over filter a tank. And your water-turnover is not an overkill. My new filter turns my tank 10 times per hour over. All done without a 20 HP pump. The bigger the turnover, the more oxygen the bacteria get, they healthier they are, and subsequently the less likelihood of diseases. So keep on turning the water over. John

Hi dennis You are right, all is not gold that glitters. A cheap/cheaper item could turn out to be very costly. Whatever you buy, naturally it depends on the price too, you always should ask "can I get spares?". Some watches. Seiko, Citizen etc, have a worldwide guarantee. A 5 cent washer, could cost you many dollars on phonecalls, postage etc. I wanted to buy something in the states, the woman was honest and said, if something goes wrong, very unlikely though, you have to spend a lot on postage to get it sent back to us. And the postage back to you. And a lot of time wasted too. If I buy a $20 airpump or something like that, I wouldn't care. But if you spend a little fortune, that's a different matter. The money you saved in the first place is probably doubled or tripled when a repair is forthcoming........ John

Hi Richard There are african cichlids from lake malawi, lake tanganjica, lake victoria. The water requirements are totally different. And there are quite a few other cichlids from around the world. Too numerous to mention. John