john1

Hi Caryl I don't believe anyone can be that stupid to have an u/g filter without the plate. The riserstem would surely fall over. :lol: john

Hi Aqua I believe you misunderstood. Or at least I did. I have to appologize to you. I will try to enlighten you. An undergravel filter consists of a bottom plate with slots, which are smaller than the gravel, 1 or more riserstems which contain the aistone which pushes the water upward. Years ago, the riserstem was an ordinary plastictube, bent at the top, to let the filtered, pushed up water back into the aquarium. Now you buy them with a totally useless attachment. A cagetype which contains charcoal. the amount of charcoal in it would not be sufficiently useful for a Vegimite jar. A sales gimmick. By cleaning an u/g filter, one means total disassembly of the bottom plate . There is no other way. So one usually does not touch (clean) it I hope that helped John.

Hi Andrew It depend on the make. The cheap one I have fits most riserstems. The adaptor is stepped to accomodate different sizes. The Flugal has a rubbercone which fit all riserstems. If you dont use the airventuri inlet, then they are more quiet than a silent airpump. john

Hi Interfecus says I have never ever heard that under gravel filter should be cleaned weekly. The only way one can sucessfully clean an u/g filter is by taking it apart. That means removal of all gravel. Otherwise you cannot get the plate out. It also means you have to remove all plants also. You can't do one without the other. Almost an impossible task. I would not do that even once every 6 months. Usually they stay where the are for years. I have heard a lot before, but this takes the cake. John

Hi Warren I am a bit confused now. You say it takes about 2 to 3 months to 100% mature. Does that mean if I start a new system I have to wait 2 to 3 months?. Next you say the filter should turn over the volume of water 2 to 6 times per hour. My outside filter turns my 125l aquarium around 10 times per hour. Now tell me please how much an ordinary airdriven u/g filter turns around in 1 hour? Please, please explain. Bill(Pegasus) said the whole substrate is the biological filter. Correct. according to a LFS, he even went as far as saying that the tankwalls, and other items fill with bacteria. Now then, why do people spend up to $550 on filters if the good trusty ol' u/g does all the filtration required. The poor fellow, not only just spent a fortune on an Eheim for instance, but has a considerable outlay on all the media required to run that filter. Biomedia, charcoal, etc. All the spending could be avoided by just using a cheap u/g. No more spending on anything. Doesn't even have to be cleaned. I get more and more confused. Got to go now to take a few headache tablets. Head is spinning. John

Hi aqua My missus bought a complete outfit. (by complete I also mean a complete waste). Think of it like buying a complete computer. Half of it, you either don't want or don't need. Same goes for tank-outfits. Buy what fancies you, not the salesman. Her outfit was not really a bargain. A mediocre heater, a sub-mediocre filter. By the time you get what you really want, you wasted a lot of money. Sit down, make a list of what you want and need. Then choose the best brands you can afford. You really only get what you pay for. In most cases, a bargain is not really a bargain. Think, ask, read then go out and buy. And you shouldn't go too wrong. John

Hi To whoever is interested in that plant or idea. Here is a version translated by Google, not me. I will translate it correctly if there is a sufficient demand. Goto http://home.iprimus.com.au/john1/efetute.htm John

Hi Ira Sorry about that. I am not sure if you know what else I have besides fish. I also keep reptiles, scorpions etc. Yesterday I was bitten by a scorpion and then with all my luck was also stung by a snake. So you see not everyone is as smart as you. But, I can only try. John

Hi Ira Yes, you are right. Terminology wrong. It is called bite. Interfecus said that the beesting he got was almost painless. Maybe NZ bees. But here in australia the bees hurt a lot so so do the mozzies. (sting or bite). Now her in Australia you could have bought years ago, a "Spider bite kit". Now tell me, do spiders bite or sting of some sorts?. They have fangs after all. Not for eating, only to make life miserable for us. Spiders have a mouth. And fangs. Biting you do with teeth, stinging with a "stinger". So please enlighten me more. Here in OZ, we are eager to learn. John PS Actually that should belong to "2 extremely hot 2 handle"

Hi all Bumblebeelovers Bumblebees are bees that sting like hell. It dies. Because the stinger with the attached sack gets pulled out. Poor bublebee dies. So it should. I rather get stung by a dozen mozzies than one bee. Fish usually eat anything that hits the surface. But I would not give my fish a bee. Live or dead. A wasp is different. It can sting again and again. Stinger stays with the wasp. John

Hi Ira I don't think you are wrong, but the cycle populates the necessary bacteria quickly instead of taking days or even weeks. John PS Could you tell me the name of that little gizmo that tests for "cycled tanks"? I am interested

Hi macka Did you say you get a discus for $5.00 ? What, normal size or embryo. John

Hi LFS where I purchased a new filter for my future cichlid tank, said that I should use "cycle" or whatever, but still wait 10 days before I put fish in. Some go as far as 4 weeks. You get pH meter, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia etc. testers. Why don't they invent a "Cycled tank" tester? :lol: John

Hi Pegasus What would you call that, Bubbleye or popeye? John

Hi Caryl Sorry, I didn't know that one can breed wingless fruitflies. By the way, did you know that if I write 1078 more posts I caught up to you John

Hi Caryl Do you say that NZ fruitflies have no wings? Next, you'll tell me that NZ sheep have no wings either. I know of winged ants only. That shows you, one can learn new things everyday. John PS That 2227 is a marvel.

Hi Microworms are OK. But if you culture Fruitflies here in Australia you would probably be arrested. Or sent to a nuthouse. Fruitflies here can wipe out orchards. Maybe the NZ fruitfly is different. Only eats in restaurants or cooks homemade food John

HI Ira Have NOT translated the whole thing. But in short, according to this guy the plant reduced the nitrate from 60mg/l to 5mg/l Will print his findings, translate it then post it. John

HI I just came from an Austrian Forum and read something about nitrate reduction. Here in Australia the tapwater can have quite an amount in it. In Germany for instance it is quite high.The fellow who wrote the article said that the amount went from 60mg/l down to 5mg/l. It is unfortunately in German, but Google could translate it. So, for anyone who is interested here it is http://www.aquaristik-online.de/aquaris ... eutute.htm. JOhn

Hi Bill You should have mentioned that the MDF is laminated. It could have saved me opening my big mouth. :lol: John

Hi I agree with everything except the MDF. I built quite a few furniture with it. Straight as an arrow. Easy to machine. Hard on tools though. And dusty. In a nutshell, perfect material. But not for outside. If it is not 100% sealed, it will expand (getting thicker). It is definately for the outside where it is subjected to rain, moisture or even humidity. Sorry Bill. Yours forever, your ever loving John

Hi Ira The electronics are easy. One pic-microprocessor, a few other parts. That is the cheap and easy one. I think the expensive part is the "flowsensor". I will look into it and come back to you. Here is a pic of many available, mechanical ones. John

Hi Ira That is exactly what I meant. At least someone understands my lingo. A commercial flowmeter is too expensive. But one can build a similar unit quite cheaply. All it takes is intuition. Caryl, as soon as you evaluatet it, let me know. But for now I'm going for the Marineland Wet/dry. Either the penguin 170 ($119) or the 330 ($195) which has baskets in them. Unfortunately my 3 footer is only 14" wide. If I install it, I probably would have to modify the hood wuite a bit. The hanon type will not allow it to be mounted on the rear. Because of the silly flange at the back and front of bigger aquariums. John

Hi Cees I saw a TV show regarding a Cubbyhouse. The fellow said "cheap". The material for a run of the mill one is, here in OZ about $600.00 !! So I gave my kids a cardboardbox. Cost: NIL. Happy? Yes. The kids I mean. John

I like that one, Caryl John