Rate My Fish Tank

Wed Jan 14, 2009 12:13 pm GMT   Reply      

The rio is just the return pump....its (actually) a power head designed for pushing water around. But works GREAT as a return as it only pulls 17 watts. you could always check craigs list for a wet dry syster....they convert nicely into a refuge. They already have baffles and everything. Just plug in some sand some plants....and bam. Beautiful part is you could really make an interesting filter this way. Put some moss in there and a spray bar on top. Sorry if im confusing you.......i like tinkering with stuff to try new things. :)

Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:59 pm GMT   Reply      

defintly confused me lol. so whats a good sump pump to look at any brand thats got a good name?

Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:08 pm GMT   Reply      

I would say rio...magdrive.....eheim makes some good ones...For a freshwater....you honestly dont want a LOT of flow...saltwater is ideal for a ton of flow....But you would be better off with just a rio 1700 or so. 300 gph would be plenty. I like the rio because it pulls so little energy...I would either go with a kit or a prebuilt sump.......i spent a ton of money doing it three times.......do it right the first time. :)

Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:27 am GMT   Reply      

i had a similar problem with my oscar tank. I had almost given up hopes of getting the water balance right. But it works out well.. You need to enhance the water changes and try rubbing the glass with a few teaspoonful of rock salt every other day for a week. This may help. Check the results. But make sure that you don't scratch your glass.

Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:13 pm GMT   Reply      

rock salt has alot of contaminants...


don't do what he just said...

Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:23 pm GMT   Reply      

Recheck the nitrates. The level can go up really quickly, like the day after it was at zero. Clean the gravel really well and feed very sparingly. Get rid of any decaying matter in the tank.

I use lights over 12 hours per day and only have algae problems when nitrates rise above 10ppm or even less sometimes.

Old lights also seem to grow algae. I used a bunch of old 95 watt bulbs I found in the trash and I got hair algae growing like crazy, and with very low nitrates too. I stopped using the old lights and the algae stopped.

I just bought regular (new) flourescents from the hardware store and the plants started growing better and not the algae.

Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:37 pm GMT   Reply      

I just read the above posts. You have fish that produce a LOT of waste, and they're allways hungery. I think you still have a nitrate issue, and I see no reason for a sump on a fresh water aquarium. Get a bigger, or at least a second filter, and do more frequent water changes.

I don't use anything but my city tap water and a clorin/cloramine dechlorinator. My lights are on from say 10 am to 12 am, (14 hours) which is to much, but I want to SEE my fish! I don't think it's the lights unless they're really old.

Just a thought........Really fowl smell comes from either a dead fish rotting away or anerobic bacteria. I'd remove all fish, and clean the gravel really really well. Feed much less, and get more filtration. If there is very little current in the tank increace it. That should help a lot.

Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:42 pm GMT   Reply      

Having 2 filters is a good thing because when yo clean one the other still has live nitrifying bacteria in it. When you clean the second filter the first should have seeded itself and you'll always have a good cycling process going.

Ammonia also stinks,

So dose cyano-bacteria. Cyano-bacteria can be brown (usually blue-green) and will come off with a blast of water. That stuff comes back in a night and is a pain in the ass. Keeping nitrates below 10 ppm will eventually get rid of it.

Just my thoughts. Sumps are cool, but like I said, they're rarely used for fresh water aquariums.