bela

nobody?

My main tank now is fitted with an undergravel filter and...gravel. I cannot change this setup nor do I really want to do it. The thing is that I have found a store near home that has some Satanoperca Jurupari in stock. This is a fish that I have not seen in stores for ages and would not mind buying right now. In fact, I would love to have some. Some people say that a sand substrate is a must, some say it is not. I will be grateful for all comments but, for obvious reasons, those coming from people who have kept Satanoperca/Geophagus with gravel (if there is anybody) would be most appreciated. Can it be done? Would the fish be just fine or not? Thanks

Hi: I have been given a very nice piece of olive wood root (I am based in Madrid, Spain). The previous owner said that he has used this particular piece in his tanks with no issues but I would like to know if any of you has any experience with this type of wood for aquarium use, because I do not have any. Thanks in advance

Hello. I am looking for suggestions for a filter for a 40 gallon breeder. No water can flow outside the tank and back so no canister, hob, etc are allowed by wife. Sponge, undergravel, internal (please recommend brand/model)...? Thanks very much in advance

Hi there. I am relatively new in the use of a TDS meter and there is something that I do not quite get. My tap water is around 75 ppm which I presume is on the soft side. I have nothing calcareous in the tank right now, just some wood, lava rock and inert "normal" gravel. Can any of these things make the water go from 75 to almost 200? Has any of these things absorbed some compound (I used to have dead live rock in this tank) and now they are slowly releasing it back to the tank (I am thinking about phosphates or silicates or the like)? How can it be that if I make an 80% water change, the TDS measurement remains almost the same?. I mean, if I change 50% of the tank´s water, shoud not the TDS go down 50% also? Unless there is something in the tank that keeps "dissolving and dissolving" and maintaining the TDS up. I am not worried about the TDS per se, but I think the high TDS is the responsible of the algae problem that I am suffering. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks

I guess the answer is no but ... For personal reasons I cannot install any external filtration in my tanks. I run them with Ugf but I want to polish the water a little bit. And i do not like internal filters or HOB. So i thought maybe there is a canister that i can put on top of the glass top of the tank. Ugly as hell but it would hopefully be a temporary measure. Would it work or no, by pure design? You may say that it is still an external filter, but the key point is that if it breaks or leaks, the water would fall back into the tank

I have got a bottle that I was thinking about using, but who knows for how long it has been opened and I do not want to kill anything in the tank. Can I? Thanks

yes. That is exaclty it. Thanks!! I am going to watch the videos now but the key factor, in my case, is if those filters are built in or added on. ...and where to buy the containers

I have thought about the corner filter, but most of them are two small. I would have to buy 3 or 4 and I am not sure I would like that. I would need a big pump to run all of them, or 4 small pumps or 4 small power heads. Unless I find a really big corner filter (if that thing exists), I think I am going to pass.

I have got 7 of them in a 40 gallon tank. They get along reasonably well, even though I have got two pairs that lay eggs once in a while. But they have killed everything else I have tried to put in the tank. The last one was a juvenile green terror. Go figure. I was keeping him in a breeder box temporarily while I was preparing another tank. He jumped out of the box and was killed overnight. If the tank is big enough...maybe. But in my experience is a no go.

My favorite fish ever. I have had it several times when I was into marine tanks. But now I can only have small tanks, so I stick to freshwater.

Last friday I went to a fish store that had some bare bottom tanks but with the bottom glass divided in two parts via another piece of glass. One occupying the front two thirds of the bottom and another part being the third back part. The divider glass was about 10 cm in height. I do not know if I am making myself clear. The back portion of the bottom was used as an UG filter. It had plates, gravel and an uplift, leaving the remaining part bare. In some other tanks they had sand or some other substrate not suitable for using with an UG. I think this is a clever idea. You can leave the part without the filter empty, which would make cleaning easier or use sand or another substrate you cannot use with the UG. As I do not want to empty my tank, take all the gravel out, dry it and silicone the glass to the bottom to make the filter compartment, I have thought that maybe I could buy a smaller tank and just put the plates, gravel and uplift in there and then put the whole thing inside the main tank. Am I nuts? Any other method to get the same thing? Aquascaping tanks tend to be quite short in height so maybe I could use one of those. If you think the idea is feasible, would you put the small tank directly upon the existing gravel? Would you put something between the gravel and the small tank? Maybe I shoud use a tank with a bottom plastic rim? Some of you may think I am stupid, but this would enable me to, for instance, run an UG filter (which I love) and have fish that love sand (bolivian rams, cory, geophagus) at the same time. Thanks for your feedback

Hi : I need your help and/or opinions. I have got a 40 gallon breeder tank with an UG filter. Two uplifts with two 130 gph powerheads. The fish are ok. The water is clear. I only have anubias that are ok and some vallisneria that do not die but do not grow or propage neither. I have tried to run the powerheads to full power, half power and minimun power with no difference. The thing is that I have got a lot of debris/dirt/whatever you wanna call it in the bottom of the tank and, when I change some water and vacuum the stuff, I notice that the gravel is compacted, not loose. Just the surface, for I do not deep vacuum. I think the UG is not clogged because I think the powerheads are working fine. The water flow is adequate. But then I wonder why all that debris does not go through the gravel as I think it should. I have tried to reduce the amount of food, but it is not helping. The size of the gravel is medium. 05-08 mm maxium. Do you think the UG may be clogged? Would you increase or decrease the water flow? What am I doing wrong? Thanks

I am not in the USA, but thanks anyways

Hi: I do not know if I am going to be able to get more rainbow shiners anytime soon and I do not want this guy/girl to be alone so, is there any fish that would get along? I do not mean share the tank and not kill each other, I mean swim together and all that stuff. Maybe zebra danios? maybe white cloud mountain minnows? Some small barbs? Thanks in advance