Tank Journal Archive
Not really, it's easily accounted for by the variance in the meter's readings. Pipes are fine, and I make my water downstairs anyway.
Yeah Brissy water has been getting progressively worse since 2009. These are only my tests though, interesting though.
I wish mine tested that low, I'd say your filters should last almost 3 times as long?? In theory :)
Thanks mate :) Wow, I would have surely bet that Brisbane water tested lower than Sydney :eek
I guess we both live in suburbs that use a much older piping system???
That's honestly what I would be expecting for Brisbane?
:D
As Rod and Todd Flanders would say, "Iron helps us play" ;)
My dad was impressed with the amount of crud that came out of the filters.
Speaking of crud.........................
It has been around 3 months since I put my Swabbie into action.
Maintenance is recommended around the 3 month period......Heres the part I have been dreading. :confused:
It's thick, dark and vile
The only way to describe it "JAM"
The skimmer cup has a drain that is emptied every 3 days, I could let it fill to the top, but it smells so bad that it stinks the whole room out
The sludge at the bottom is so black that I needed a spood to scoop it out :eek
Best investment for my tank so far :)
If anyone is thinking of getting a Swabbie, do it! It increases the efficiency of your skimmer, you can spend more time looking at your tank, than cleaning your skimmer :)
Very happy with it :D
Maintenance is recommended around the 3 month period......Heres the part I have been dreading. :confused:
It's thick, dark and vile
The only way to describe it "JAM"
The skimmer cup has a drain that is emptied every 3 days, I could let it fill to the top, but it smells so bad that it stinks the whole room out
The sludge at the bottom is so black that I needed a spood to scoop it out :eek
Best investment for my tank so far :)
If anyone is thinking of getting a Swabbie, do it! It increases the efficiency of your skimmer, you can spend more time looking at your tank, than cleaning your skimmer :)
Very happy with it :D
I was not game enough to clean it with anyone in the house :eek
Trust me, it smelt 5 times worse than it looks ;)
Thanks mate :D
I thought I might display the Solid Carbon Dosing System I have been using for the past few months.
After doing extensive research and reading many many articles about bio-pellets, I came to the decision that they would be a valuable addition to my tank to control Nitrates and Phosphates.
The brand I chose was the NPX Bio-Pellets.
You will come across many horror stories about bacteria blooms and tanks crashing from these pellets. Some people have even named the pellets ""Crash Pellets" :eek
The top 3 most common problems associated with them are;
(1) Too much flow through the media/reactor
(2) Too less flow through the media/reactor
(3) Inappropriate amount and initial dose to the aquarium
I tried to learn from these 3 problems that many others have encountered and came up with a solution that has worked considerably well for me.
My tank has never suffered a nutrient problem, this could be due to many factors, a large skimmer, frequent water changes and sensible feedings. I believe all these things work to keep my nutrients at a maintainable levels.
I had read that many people reccomend the TLF reactors with around 1000-1200Lph for fluidization.
I tried the small reactor and couldn't get the pellets fluidized
I then tried the larger of the two reactors and an Aquabee 2000/1 pump for fluidization.
This combo has worked the best for me. I think it helps to have a larger pump that you can dial back.
A larger pump will also allow you to momentarily flush the media if it compacts over time, or mulm accumulates.
Here is 500mL of media in the TLF 550 Reactor.
A fair amount of pellets have been consumed by the bacteria already since they were put online.
Here is a video of the tumbling rate I have had success with
It is important to run the outlet of the reactor very close to the intake of your skimmer to ensure all excess waste/bacteria can be skimmed out ;)
Many people use a screen to stop the pellets from dropping to low in the reactor, I have had no problems using the supplied foam, there are a few pellets that are stuck between the foam - Oh well :p
I strongly believe the bio-pellets have helped considerably to maintain my N + P. ;)
How do you plan on fragging the torch?
Hi Megan,
The torch coral has a skeletal base with many heads coming off it.
The hard skeleton can be easily cut away with coral propagation tools, that are simply metal cutters. You can get them online from places like Guppy's.
I also use an Ozito rotary tool that's a cheap copy of a Dremel. The little cutting discs are perfect for making clean cuts through the skeleton. A cleaner cut has a greater chance of healing quicker and lessening the chance of infection. You will need to wear eye protection and a dust mask when using the Ozito to protect yourself :)
When you cut them, make sure you cut as far away from the top of the head as possible.
:)
Here are some pics I took today of my dwarf angels.
I was lucky enough to pick both of them from a tank that was shut down recently.
They have both been doing well. It is really hard to capture the colours in the fish as they swim around so quickly. They love swimming in front of the powerheads. They definitely have their own little personalities. I have a feeling the pictures might be a tad dark :rolleyes
First is of the Coral Beauty. This fish is very timid in comparison to the Flame. The colours are a deep purple with hatched yellow throughout the body
The second is the Flame Angel, strangely enough, I think this fish is turning male. Its fins have become elongated and have started to develop a point, it definitely wasn't like this a few weeks ago ;)
I really like the first one, almost displaying :)
Thanks for looking :D
I should have cleaned the glass a bit better :confused:
I was lucky enough to pick both of them from a tank that was shut down recently.
They have both been doing well. It is really hard to capture the colours in the fish as they swim around so quickly. They love swimming in front of the powerheads. They definitely have their own little personalities. I have a feeling the pictures might be a tad dark :rolleyes
First is of the Coral Beauty. This fish is very timid in comparison to the Flame. The colours are a deep purple with hatched yellow throughout the body
The second is the Flame Angel, strangely enough, I think this fish is turning male. Its fins have become elongated and have started to develop a point, it definitely wasn't like this a few weeks ago ;)
I really like the first one, almost displaying :)
Thanks for looking :D
I should have cleaned the glass a bit better :confused:
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