geleen

Yup the silicone John

Most loaches eat snails. They always need a group more than 3 to be happy. My assassin snail take good care of the tank as well and are usually available through a request on this forum. J

MKF stands for? Thanks

I would think that it does. It is well known that such a filter at a very low flow rate (anaerobic bacteria ) and these bacteria are fed with alcohol on a regular basis does denitrate. And one does not have to do a water change for nitrates. There is still the dissolved solids, and these will will build over time, and should be measured. J

Each color usually signifies the holes per inch. For your purpose the smaller and therefor more holes is better. you can check it out here: http://www.swisstropicals.com/Poret%20Hamburg%20Mattenfilter%20Kits.html

Mmm don't rummynose stay in the bottom half ?

Very informative. How about making this a sticky? J

The new edition of Aquarium International is out at the apple store as an app. You can also subscribe to the PDF version for $12 a year for 6 issues however no video in the PDF (obviously) I have enjoyed the free version (0) and now the first official version very much. John

GE Siicone 1 windows and doors just killed a fish for me.....never had a problem with product last year, but this new tube now said NOT for aquarium use.......should of read the instructions.

Yup love them to. I have 7 from 3-5" in a 7 foot tank with a lot of rainbow fish and some "roseline" barbs. I do have to take care that they get food though as the rainbows attack everything that looks like food.

Needs a bump you may have missed this tread!

I'm wondering about your substrate. What kind of substrate is shrimp substrate? Is it from your previous tank? If so, maybe it was deteriorating in the lower strata... pouring it over to a new tank, is now exposed to water and dissolving. Just a guess. Edit: Were you using a product like aquasoil? I tend to agree. the substrate may be leeching stuff Why don't you remove a bit put it into RO water then check TDS every 4 hours or so John

I did a lot of research recently and I found that for freshwater planted tanks LED's are supplemental only as the technology getting the right spectrum has not been perfected at 6500K It requires coatings (likely phosphorus based) on the LED to make the spectrum and that is not easy. It looks like the minimum is a 3 watt LED and many of them, creating a heat problem that requires a fan. I believe we are 3 - 5 years away from reliable LED for the planted tank. John

These are capable of overwhelming even the biggest tanks, Yours are fairly small and will take more time to outgrow the tank. They look great right now! It would appear that they could use some fert tabs and pehaps more light if you wanted to get them bigger: but why? If you leave things the way they are their growth will be reduced and will keep looking as good as they do. John

I agree. I also have some smaller catfish (african) at the bottom and for the top of the tank some rainbow fish as the dolphins stay in the middle.

Very nicely done. Excellently proportioned. J

they will likely leave anubias and javafern alone other you will have to try:like valisnaria

try www.simplydiscus.com There is a wealth of info on fry feeding.

Crypts usually like a rich substrate. It may well survive but likely will not, J

Sure, higher water volume = longer for nitrAtes to get too high. And with adults less food will help a lot. More rings will not help (but wont hurt) with that unfortunately. Water change routine could be adjusted to -tested -NitrAte levels, with Discus you likely want to be below 20 if possible. There is a possibility for bioballs (because of the smooth surface) to harbor nitrAte eating bacteria but only if Oxigen levels are really low; a dedicated filter with bio-balls and a very low flow rate might help but not for sure. There are dinitification filters on the market that work with feeding the bacteria in the filter alcohol...have a look with google. John

If you keep the bio load the same you will be fine. If you add the additional rings you then increase your bio load slowly and it will balance again. J

+1. I'm going to have to take a little closer look in my LFS! Unfortunately you may nor find the quality described here. The ones in LFS are mass produced and we will never know about the hybrids that occur -they are bred in ponds- so anything can happen. There are some dedicated breeders right here in Alberta with quality stock John

I need some plumbing advise. I am plumbing a 180 gal. upstairs tank, down one floor to a 75 gal. sump in the basement. The horizontal distance will be around 17 feet and the height about 8 feet. The drain is 1.5 “ and the return 1” I am thinking of a submersed mag drive 2400 pump. Questions: 1./ Would there be noise from the water – rushing in the pipe- on the way down, past the “durso” 2./ What type of flex product to buy. There are some challenging obstacles and corners. 3./ How is this flex pipe connected (Glue to a solid connector or hose clamps?) 4./ Preferably I would like to hire someone who knows what they are doing: any plumbers out there? Thanks for your help in advance. John in Edmonton

Thank God I missed that meeting

No worries more are on the way. John