john1

HI Ira So you say you don't know what caused it. You are not the only one. If it were a normal "screw type pump" you see the blockage. But with a weak impellertype pump it could be a bit of fluff. Which is not alway obvious. I had an idea, if you can buy it, a horizontal impeller type of indicator. Something like service stations have on their petrolpumps. Immediate indication of flow. The impeller inspection housing tells you if it is running and the speed also. So for the time being one can only check it by visible flow if the outlet is out of the water or by holding the hand in front of the outlet and "feel it". That's life. John

Hi Midas Looked at the first 2 DIY's. If it is as straight forward as it looks, then the first project could be simplyfied by using PVC and perspex. (Both round) The second project could also be simplified by using a gardenspray pressure bottle. 6 liters about $A25.00 All the parts come with it. Including overpressure valve, if needed, hoses etc. I already made one, but for a normal filter with gravel only. Hieuc knows about it. Sent him drawings. The other expense would be a powerhead. If for instance the project does not work as expected, or you decide to "not to use it", then the spraybottle and the powerhead could be used for other things. So, no real loss apart from the time and a bit of sand. John

Hi Sayhi2steve In America it is well known/used. Reading up a bit opened my eyes. Not enough to go out and purchase one. Apparently it is a tall container, round square whatever. The water goes into the bottom and comes out at the top. BUT, it also lifts the sand. How it does it, I would not know. So a DIY would not be easy, unless you know exactly how it should behave. I personally have never seen one her in OZ. But if you go on the net, you find dozens of entries. Try this one for starters: http://www.petswarehouse.com/fluidizedfilters.htm Good luck John

Hi Ira Your Fluval is the same as mine. The sponge you are talking about is the FIRST filter in your cannister. It picks up ALL rubbish. That is the reason why you have to clean it more often. I don't know what other filters that guy has, but the Hamburger Matternfilter is one for Biological filtration ONLY. I don't think anyone with one Tetra in a 200 gal tank would want or need that type of filter. But, on the other hand, it can handle quite a load of fish, plants and other ammonia producing substances. Don't knock it yet. I did not say it is a filter for everyone. I assume you have a 404. Some people also think that is the best for their 30l tank. Also a total overkill. Everything has to be seen in a certain perspective. And your 500gal fueltank example also makes sense. So don't get me wrong. I am not condemning or criticising you. You are right. In your own way. But.... John

Update Someone on an Austrian Forum posted the question/answer regarding that filter. Tons of advantages, only one disadvantage. You lose 10 to 20cm of your tank-lenght. If someone is really interested and cannot get it translated then I will try to download the article and translate it for him/her. Here is a short excerpt. A biologigal filter, ceramic noodles for instance, have an enourmous area where the bacteria can accumulate. That is in theory. BUT, if the pores are smaller than the size of the bacteria, it will clog up and render it more or less useless. So he says, the author, and I agree. Sales gimmick. That Hamburger Mattenfilter uses an ordinary spongfilter the size of your complete side of your tank. And an appropriate pump to exchange/turnover the water a certain times per hour. Important. As you all know a sponge comes in different grades. But it is the sheer size of it which makes it a perfect place for bacteria to grow. It only has to be replaced/cleaned every couple of years. So the price of this type of filter is, a cheap sponge and an appropriate pump. Could not get any cheaper. The results are apparently amazing. Think about it. John

Hi Ira is right. It IS a huge sponge filter. Here are some pics. http://www.deters-ing.de/Allgemeines/aquaneu.htm. Quite a complicated formulae. Filtermaterial versus Pump. Etc. The site would have to be translated. It is in german. Try to copy it, then let google translate. Not a 100%, but better than nothing. John

Hi So Ira, do you believe me now that a Flugal can stop running without you really knowing it? I mean a trickle only. I know, most of you are Flugal die-hards. Nect week I buy an outsidefilter and get rid of my 203. Put it in the sparetank. Should I ever get a cannister filter, then only an Eheim, nothing comes close to it in quality. IMO the Flugals are over-rated. Sorry to say that, I don't mean to get personal. John

Hi Some suctioncups are better than others. The one on my heater ist the best I've seen or ever had. Stick my draining hose between heater and glass. Never came off. Would need a knive in order to get it off. Even sliding it is very difficult. There you have it. It depends a lot on the material and how good it is made. John

Hi Warren How and where can I download the "Calculator"? Thanks John

Hi I wish all New Zealanders and others a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Fishrich New Year John

Shilo The Whisper hang on the wall has a filter bag/cartridge, which is very awkward to clean. Too rough a material. It also has, as another company pointed out, a teabag consistency. Which is true. When you look down it looks like an enormous teebag. In which the charcoal supposed to be evenly distributed. Which it is NOT. By inflating the bag, all the charcoal drops down toward the bottom. Negating the effect of it. Caryl I never rinse my filterwool. I get the el-cheapo version. Could not be bothered by washing it. Qucker to replace. Ira In normal circumstances you are right. But it also depends on how tight you pack the filterwool. The tighter, the quicker it will block. Sometimes completely. And also how much you feed, how many fish, they do poop. Some more than others. That post saved me writing 3 different ones. Smart, aren't I John

Hi Ira I have a fluval 204. The water gets in first through a coarse sponge, then then filterwool, then charcoal and last the ceramic noodles. Now let's asume it is time for cleaning. I can clean the coarse sponge and.....charcoal? NO. It has to be renewed (recharged), filterwool... NO. I cannot imagine anyone cleaning filterwool. But there is very little cleaning as such. Mostly buying...charcoal, filterwool etc. Take for instance an external hangon the wall filter like the TETRA. Nothing whatsoever to clean. Only buy. The cartridge/charcoal combination insert. There is nothing wrong with regular maintenance as such. But for whatever reason, people CAN forget. Nobody is perfect. Eheim, I think was the first ones to bring out a cannister with integral heating. But I am not sure how much an element is and/or how easy it is to be installed. I personally stick to a good quality "normal heater". Who is right?, Who is wrong?, Who cares?. Everybody has his/hers pet....whatever. I think it all comes down to choice. John

Hi Ira In a way you are right. But how many do make filter changes at REGULAR intervalls? Do YOU changes it at a given time or when you think or know it is getting ready? It could cost a fortune to change the filter media when it is not necessary. Oh yes, it is good for the fish. But not your pocket. Manufaturers want you to change the filter as often as possible. Their profit. A dirty filter does not mean bad filtration. Look at u/g filters. Probably never cleaned in years. I change my cannister filter media when the flow gets slower/lower. But then it can happen after a couple of days it is completely blocked. Does not necessarily indicate bad managment. And again, you are not wrong. John

Hi There is one big problem. Maybe not applicable to everyone but still possible. I have 3 filters in mine. U/G, powerhead/cartridge and one Fluval 204 cannister. Now if I would have connected that heater you proposed, which in itself seems a good idea, my fish could haven frozen to death. Maybe a bit exaggerated. But the flugal got blocked. So therefore, no warmed water would have reached my tank. The 27.5 degrees would only be inside that cannister and not in my tank. Think about it. John

Hi all The LFS I rang up, told me they are for marine only. I looked at a site, where an industrial chemist working for a whatever company says. They can be used in freshwater, BUT are a must in a marine tank. By the way, they don't really do much in a freshwater aquarium. John

Hi Ira Saw that too. Maybe we have to put it first through a strainer to make the bubbles smaller. . The ads I read about them say it can be used for fresh OR/AND seawater. Have to read up on their principal and uses. I saw one in the LFS. Nearly 2 foot tall. Not too expensive. And it said, freshwater and marine?!! So there you go John

Hi Isn't it strange. We fishkeepers look for mosquito larvae for our fish. And then go out to the supermarket and spend a fortune on moquito repellants. John

Hi all Many years ago I had my own, very successful cultures of mealworms. Easy to maintain. This time I tried Vinegar Eels. Followed the recipe to a tee. Now after 6 weeks, guess what I've got? A bottle of vinegar and sugar. :oops: John

Hi Ira Yes, you are right in a way. Not YOUR fish. But most fish would benefit. There are top feeders, middle feeders, and bottom feeders. Some true bottom feeders some not so frue. For my cories I had to use sinking tablets. They also ate food dropped to the bottom. At one stage I switched everything off at feeding time. So as not to disturb the surface. Now with powerheads, canisters, and even u/g filters the surface moves quite a lot. I put in a pinch of flakes. Within 10 seconds that little amount floated ALL over the surface. If not eaten immediately, I am talking about 30 seconds, the flakes big or small WILL sink to the bottom. If not eaten within lets say 1 min. the WHOLE bottom is covered by the "sunken" flakes. Even at hard to reach places. Will definately foul your tank quicker. A feeder ring, NOT a cone you mentioned, will keep most of the flakes where you put them. I also had a "feeder cone". But that's not for flakes. It is primarily intended for live food such as bloodworms etc. So they cannot sink to the bottom and dig themselves in and then die. And subsequently make your tank toxic. So after all that, I still think feeder rings, bought or home made, are a good idea. John (the lovable guy from OZ)

Hi Got the same problem with my flakefood. Put a pinch in and within seconds the whole surface if full of flake, which half of it ends up either on the bottom or in the filter. Asked the LFS for a feeder ring. They looked at me stupid. So I made my own. A 6" airtube connected with a tube connector, to make a cirle. Tie it to a string and hang it into the tank. Put the flakes in and it stays inside that ring, which floats. The fish feed from inside the circle (ring) and very little hits the bottom. Simple but effective. Try it. Costs next to nothing. John PS. Noticed that I am a senior member now. I hope it reflects on the posts, not on my age. He He

Hi Caryl I share the same thoughts as you regarding A too clean an environment. But I never related it to fish. You could be absolutely right. Bring up a child in a glasshouse. The first scratch and it has every know disease. Some authors describe some fish as"hardy". What is hardy? So it is possible that constant pampering, absolutely clean and sterile water might not be as good as one thinks. Think of evolution. Animals living in water suddely survive on land. I believe fish and other animals, like human beings can aquire an increased immune system. But not in an sterile environment. What I like on you Caryl is, you utter or speak your opinion whithout reservation. There will be people out there who might not agree, even be disgusted what you and/or I said. But it is our right to express our opinions. I dont't mind critisism, as long as it is constructive. Keep on going telling your mind, Caryl Till next time John

Hi Richard You asked how you can make your worms float. Easy. Buy them "floaties" John

Hi Caryl The author of that program sent me an email today. Sorry, no english version. Back to biological filtration. Saw Shilos post, regarding "Hamburg Mattenfilter" and he pointed out a site, which is in german. This particular page, written by a Diploma Engineer, mentioned slimy dirt in filters. It is actual food for the bacteria! So cleaning a filter like mad, is really a bad thing. From now on I'll clean my filters when the waterflow demands it. That is almost completely blocked. When you take a cannister filter apart, you see the slimy dirty filterwool and toss it out. Chances are, you are tossing good biological media out also. After all, bacteria dont live by love alone, they need food too. you might say;"Aaaagh", but think of the dungbeetle. Food for thought. BFN John

Hi Shilo Your first link is not working. At least not for me. The second link, read it in german, Has a very interesting point in it. Regarding socalled "dirty" filters. As you said before it is unsightly. I personally would not put anything unsightly in my tank. After all, it is supposed to be a "showtank". By the way, I haven't got the foggiest about the "Hamburg Mattenfilter". To me it sounds like an oversized "Hamburger" . BFN John

Hi Caryl Thanks for the "drought". I don't use the word often. My eyes are more on draught :lol: A few minutes ago I sent an email to the company to find out about the english version. 20 years ago it would have been written in compiled basic. Easy to disassemble, change the words from german to english and bingo, readable by "ozzyites" an "Nzlanderites" . By the way, those words have just been invented by me Till next time John