Richer

I don't see why you can't do it... I'm running a 5g tank with a diy co2 setup. I've got the co2 going through a wooden air stone. The current in the tank pushes the bubbles around. I'm getting roughly 20ppm of co2.

Why do you want your CO2 concentration so high? I think 18ppm would be more than enough for most applications... my old plant tank usually had a concentration hovering around 15ppm, and I was able to grow everything with relative ease. -Rich

Thanks. I always figured it was a hybrid of some sort... it did come from an "assorted" tank at PJs after all. However, its one of the older fish in the house, and I don't plan on breeding, or selling any of the fry, so its not going to go anywhere I like clown loaches, but I think my tank would be a bit small for a group after they've grown up a bit. I think I will stick with Neil's suggestion and start looking around for a group of aceis. Anyone know where I can get a group of these? Thanks for the help and suggestsions. -Rich

Possibly a hybrid. My parents were the ones who started the tank (a 20g with 4 mbunas no less). I was the one who moved everything to the 65g. -Rich

You're not the only one -Rich

It took about 10 minutes sitting motionless with camera in hand, but I managed one shot. Thats the boss of the tank. Forgive the brown algae. I've neglected the tank for a little while due to school and work. -Rich

I'll try to snap a few pictures of them... as far as I can tell though, none of them are crazed killers... they just chased each other around occasionally. I was already planning on reaquascaping the entire tank when I introduce the new fish, so that will hopefully reduce any initially aggression. -Rich

Java fern, java moss and anubias sp. are the first to come to my mind. All are relatively easy to keep, and don't require a lot of light. The rhizome is the thicker part of the plant where all the leaves grow out of. You don't want to bury that under your substrate, or they'll rot and that would bethe end of your plant. However, since you're attaching it to driftwood, it shouldn't be a problem. What I used to do was tie my plants onto driftwood with cotten thread. By the time the thread rotted away, the plant would be rooted onto the driftwood. If all else fails, fishing line works too -Rich

I looked around on the net, and it looks like I have a mbunas... so aceis should work alright I think. All my fish are around 5-6 inches, except for the two relative newcomers, one is around 3, the other around 2. Thanks for the info. -Rich

Neil - How large of a group would you suggest? -Rich

I honestly have no idea what their names are... all I know is that they're from lake malawi. -Rich

A little background. I've got a 65g tank with 6 assorted malawi cichilds... nothing fancy. The tank has been around for about 3 years, and 4 of them have been around since then, two came around as a result of breeding and not being eaten. I've lost 3 due to aggression. There are tons of nooks and crannies in the aquascape. I have a problem with my cichlids... ever since I got this tank up and running, I hardly ever see my fish out and about. Whenever someone comes within 10' of the tank, all the fish take off and vanish into the rockwork. If it wasn't for the surface aggitation on the tank, you'd just think I had an empty tank sitting in the corner of my living room . It has been suggested that I get some fast/tough dither fish (ie. tiger barbs, danios, etc.) to try to bring these guys out. However, I've also got another group of people who've suggested stocking more cichlids in my tank. If I can, I'd rather keep it a cichlid only tank, but if stocking dither fish is the way to go, then I'll go that way. I know the theory behind both suggestions, but I'd like to know what you think and why. If I do get dither fish, what would you suggest and how many of them? If I get more cichlids instead, how many more would you suggest? Thanks for reading! -Rich

I've heard that using two polarized lenses can help determine whether the glass is tempered or not. Read it from here. I've never done it before, but I haven't heard of anyone disagreeing with it yet... -Rich

Thanks for all the offers, I managed to get a holding tub from someone who lives close by. -Rich

My 30g reef tank sprung a slow leak. If someone could lend me a 30+g tank for a few days while I patch my tank up, I'd be forever grateful! -Rich

I admit... after I'm done cycling and stocking a tank, I don't test my water. The last test I did was on my marine tank about a year ago during its cycle... I've since tossed out my test kits . IMO, if you keep your stocking light, and are able to keep up a good routine on your tank, testing really isn't needed.... the last time I checked nitrates in my cichlid tank (~1.5 years ago) my nitrates were under 20, and that was after the tank had been running for a couple of years with 50% weekly water changes with the occasional (once every couple of months) near 100% water changes. My cichlids have spawned, the fry have grown up nicely with nice colours and my corals are growing at an incredible rate... thats all the indication that I need for a healthy tank. I'm sure some people find my way of keeping fish appaling, but its working nicely for me -Rich

Hey sorry I didn't phone you... I didn't get a chance to get onto the board until a little while ago and figured it was too late, that and I'm located on the opposite side of the city from you (Southwest). If you still want the root tabs, PM me and we'll arrange something. I tried both plant grow and flourish (seachem) on my low light tanks and I didn't really notice a difference. I believe Flourish is the preferred commercial aquatic fertillizer though. -Rich

How old is your substrate? I found with my older plant tanks that I didn't need to fertilize the substrate anymore because they had accumulated enough detritus... so much in fact that I was tempted to rebuild them. If you'd like, I have some leftover root tabs that you can have. Out of 10, I used 4 of them. I don't have plant tanks anymore... so I don't need them anymore. Free if you come pick them up. You may want to up your lighting as well. A couple of 15 watt NOs over a 50 gallon tank isn't enough... unless your tank is under 10" tall . Your sword is probably suffering from a combination of deficiencies, not just one or another. -Rich

Are your test kits accurate? Thats a lot of fish in a 22gallon tank... :shock: -Rich

I had a 15gallon tank sitting around with a crack in the corner much like how you described. I had some leftover glass sitting around, a quick pass with my glass cutter and a bit of silicon was all it took to patch it up. I have it running right now without a problem. -Rich

Is the trim on a 90gallon particularly thick? I've always thought that an AC500 would be able to fit over any standard plastic trim -Rich

If I recall... at the lowest setting, an AC water flow is cut down by about 1/3 its maximum flow rate. Since you'll be putting media into the filter, that would slow down the flow even more. So with that in mind, an AC500 on a 33gallon tank turned all the way down would give you very nice biofiltration (due to the bigger media capacity) and won't throw your angelfish around. -Rich

Very true. However, we don't know what he wants to stock his tank with. Having more filtration usually doesn't hurt. IMO, I'd probably go with a 90gallon tank with the AC500, AC200 and Fluval304. With the proper media and cleaning routine, that should be able to handle a moderate-heavy load easily. Keeping in mind that I like overfiltering my tanks... my 65gallon malawi tank has 2xAC300s and an Eheim 2026 running on it... and if I had the room in my stand, I'd stick on another 2026 in there. -Rich

It could work with a few modifications... some modifications would include a box hung/clamped on the inside of the tank, and a couple other more minor mods on the AC300 unit itself. The problem I have with hangon overflow boxes is that they may be prone to failure over a period of time. I have read quite a few diaster threads where the overflow box lost its siphon. IMO, its worth putting out a small amount of extra work it takes to actually drill your tank (assuming its not tempered). Beermaster - Chad's tank (the one that you posted) is connected to an Eheim canister which he modified with a light inside of it. You can't achieve that look with the standard tank/sump combination... because if your power ever goes out, or your return pump fails, your entire display tank will drain into your sump and probably all over your floor :boxed: . Like what a few people have already suggested to you, I would personally notch out your tank, and put an external overflow on it. A single 1" bulkhead would be more than enough to handle all the flow you would put through a 16" cube, though personally I would stick two 1" bulkheads on there for safety reasons (in case one gets clogged with something). -Rich

Too bad you didn't tell me, you could have checked out my tank and sump when you picked up that cube from me. I think a large majority of the people on canreef use sumps on their tanks and most likely won't mind a visitor... especially if that visitor brings beer -Rich