# First Timer Questions -Mostly Filtration related



## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

hey everyone!

Well I have a 55 gallon tank, i have a "power filter" (the hanging on the back of the tank one) and I'd like to add a 2nd method, What I want to know is whats a good 2nd method. I had seen the under gravel ones and had looked into dual powerheads w/ filters on them and the undergravel setup for water movement and extra filtration. I have nothing in the tank right now besides 3 day old de-chlorine stuff and a bottle of the bacteria starter stuff, and 55 pounds of gravel/stones. (but i can work them to get the undergravel stuff in i'm sure). I just need some ideas on how all this works, i want to have the most efficient aquarium that i can make sure fish that i pick will live. (the only petstore we have is petsmart... sucks for cool fish so haven't really picked yet... but if you know good online sources let me know!) also, besides the undergravel filter kit with power heads (they come w/ the bubble stones but i'm not really fond of them) what other ideas do ya'll have? i'm supper lost... i'm a certified mazda mechanic, and now i know how it feels when i tell someone they need a shutter valve or something crazy! lol. thanks in advance!


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## roacan (Dec 25, 2010)

How about canister filters?

Cichlid-forum Reviews Section

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/canisterfiltersetups/Canister_Filters_Information.htm


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

i don't really like the seperate from the tank idea.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

We've all been there.. here's a quick run down.
Hang on back power filters (HOB) do a great job and have multiple stages of filtration. Cant go wrong there. I have two on my 55. The ease of having a floss filter, bio filter, and carbon filter all in one package is nice. I dont really see any downfalls other than having a small area for biological filtration.

There is another type of filtration that does similar things and is the internal filter. It has the same filtration methods but hangs inside instead of out. This decreases the room in your tank but also decreases noise. 

Under gravel filters (UGF) are great for biological filtration. Thats about all they offer though. Combine that with a HOB (insert the HOB intake into the output of the UGF) and you'll have an awesome bio filtration. Otherwise, what they do is suck water through the gravel to be filtered. Works well enough but having more method than that is probably reccomended and required with higher stocked tanks. 

External Canister filters are basically a HOB but with a larger (depending on the canister) area for the biological filtration to take hold. I'm not experienced with these so you may wait to get advice from someone who uses them before you disreguard them. 

Did i leave any out?


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## roacan (Dec 25, 2010)

Sponge filters?


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

okay so i'm lost on the UGF... i was uder the impression that the powerhead actually pushed the water INTO it? so the cone on the power head actually sucks and the water comes out the square side tube? from random crap i've read it sounded like it was a good way to ariate (lost on spelling at the moment?) ... so what would you use to get more air into the tank? i'm not going to overcrowd by no means.. but i just like to go big or go home...


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

mrnmrskyle said:


> okay so i'm lost on the UGF... i was uder the impression that the powerhead actually pushed the water INTO it? so the cone on the power head actually sucks and the water comes out the square side tube? from random crap i've read it sounded like it was a good way to ariate (lost on spelling at the moment?) ... so what would you use to get more air into the tank? i'm not going to overcrowd by no means.. but i just like to go big or go home...


An UGF works by pulling water down through the gravel and up through the pipes, via either a bubble column or a powerhead. You could run it in reverse if you wanted, I suppose, but most powerheads are equipped to be run in the way I described.

If you're going to be keeping live plants, however, don't use an UGF. Plants dislike having moving water around their roots.

If I were you I would go with a 2nd HOB, an in-tank, or a sponge filter.

To aerate your water, simply stick an air stone, a bubble wand, or some other thing (like a bubbling volcano from Finding Nemo) in the tank that is powered from an air pump outside the tank. It functions by diffusing a tiny amount of oxygen into the water, but mainly by breaking up the surface tension at the surface of your tank to promote what is called gas exchange, whereby O2 is exchanged with CO2. HOB filters that spill water into the tank do the same thing - break the surface tension.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

thanks! I'll probably add the 2nd HOB filter. mine is a 30-60 model, so guessing two wouldn't hurt a thing! so... about fish picking.. i haven't really picked my fish.... i'd love to have a albino bearded pleco...and snails, and well... i just want color... cichlids from what i've read are too aggressive... i may be wrong.... i wouldn't want 7 of one color so i'd be picking different types and all, and i don't know how they'd do. (oh yeah and i'd like a puffer, just one, but from reading snails are a nice meal for them) i've been searching non stop for days b/c i'm trying to find fish w/ same ph likeness and temp and all that stuff... cichlids seem to be the most easily found ones.. just wish i could have a couple other types w/ them.. oh yeah, and i'd love some plants and i guess they are rooters...


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

right now my levels are...

nitrate approx. 3
nitrite 0
Hardness 25
Chlorine 0
Alkalinity 20
PH 6.5

(those are all my tester does)

how does that sound ??????????

oh yeah, i got the aquarium used... i rinsed the filters out and all but if i replace them (so i can start fresh) what do i need to do?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Cichlids and a pleco would be a good combo - they like acidic water and are great fun, just make sure you combine cichlids that are all varieties from one lake only - cichlids from different lakes don't get along very well at all.

If you'd like more variety but equally feisty-ness, go with semi-aggressive. Tiger barbs, zebra danios, siamese algae eaters, angelfish, etc. are all semi-aggressive.

If you'd like the most variety, go with tropical community. These include tetras, guppies, etc.

Bottom feeders are a whole different story...


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

You CAN run an RUGF system and pump water down thru its an 8 dollar kit or a 40 dollar kit w/ powerhead. I liked my RUGF and might do another on the new 50g I am doing but I had one running on my 55 for over a year and had nothing but baby black kuhllis under it. The marineland 660R kit comes with a sponge for the power head inlet to catch the debris and its a pretty decent sponge.

I also had my HOB's(aquaclear 70's) hooked up to the UGF plate as well. That was another awesome filter mod I did on the 55.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

yeah cichlids are okay... the tropical fish are cool but most of htem are small, so i want like different sizes (in my head i have this picture. lol)

question on the lake thing... so africa cichlids have different lakes? so pic ones from the same lake.. that narrows my variety lol..


-i'm going to get a 2nd HOB filter.. (have the aquatech 30-60 now and add a 2nd (probably not the same brand since the aquatech is like double price of the others i've seen.) i'm debating this UGF thing, were can you get that whole kit at?


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

Exactly gtm. I've had some success with certain types of plants and an UGF but i also have 3 inches of substrate for them. If you're tank is long enough, you can have an UGF on one side with some decorations or rocks over that end. Also could get some java fern or anubius to keep there which dont have deep roots or dont need to be buried. The UGF with an airstone doesnt provide a great amount of water flow. The Power head will. You could also get the second HOB and use it as the water flow source (in place of the power head) and it will help clean your gravel a bit.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

You may want to get the same HOB as you have. It'll be cheaper to buy replacement filters for one make/model than two. But that's up to you of course. cichlidss can be very hard to choose the right ones that will get along. Some have long term agression/territorial issues that grow with age or make it difficult to add new fish later. So pick the ones you like best and see if they will work together (with research, not necessarily experimentation).

You should look into the Ram species of fish. they're an american chilid and only mildly agressive. I have one with my tetras, gouramis, and angel and they all get along well (outside of each species but they do have a pecking order within the species). Careful also with plecos, they can get huge! Maybe look into some species of loaches which stay a more managable size and with an extra one or some shrimp/snails, you wont miss the extra cleaning ability of the pleco.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I know very little about cichlids - might be a better post on the cichlid forum on this site. I do know the two biggest lakes in Africa - Lake Tanganyika (sp?) and Lake Victoria both have quite a variety of cichlids native to their waters.

Rams are beautiful. Highly consider one of these, such as the German Blue Ram.

UGF's can be found at most local pet stores, as they are the easiest and most effective biological filters for the average aquarium keeper. Just make sure you go in there with the right tank dimensions (in inches or centimeters), keeping in mind the UGF will need to be slightly smaller, but not much.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you want to go with multiple types of cichlids, just keep one from one or the other region. They differ in the type of water they prefer. 

Also, don't try to alter your ph to try and keep a particular fish as this can be dangerous if you're not sure what you're doing. Pick ones that are fairly close to your ph out of your tap. Most will adapt to your water, so don't sweat so much what the specifics say about the fish you choose.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you want to go with multiple types of cichlids, just keep one from one or the other region. They differ in the type of water they prefer. 

Also, don't try to alter your ph to try and keep a particular fish as this can be dangerous if you're not sure what you're doing. Pick ones that are fairly close to your ph out of your tap. Most will adapt to your water, so don't sweat so much what the specifics say about the fish you choose.


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## rtbob (Jul 18, 2010)

If you decide on Cichlids you should start a new thread in the Cichlid part of the forum for advise.

First do a bit of research do decide on what type you would like. There are South/Central/North American Cichlids. A few of the more popular of these are Jack Dempseys, Firemouths, Convicts.

Then you have the Africans from the Rift Lakes Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria.

It is not recommend to mix the American with the African type nor is it advised to mix the different African lake species.

A 55 gallon is the minimum size tank to use for Cichlids (dwarf species can of course be in a smaller tank).

Definitely add another HOB filter of equal or larger capacity of your current 30-60 type. All Cichlids require clean water and a large bioload to break down the large amount of waste they produce.

Do not try to adjust the PH of your water to meet the specific requirements of the type of fish you decide on. A stable PH is most important. The products out there that change the value can cause large swings back and forth. This will stress your fish and maybe even kill them.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

well i was most into the Malawi cichlids b/c of the colors so i'd go w/ a few different ones from that lake if i do. defiantly getting a 2nd filter. so my PH is really low, and i know the cichlids like a higher one so, guess i'll see if it changes any over next few weeks. i added the bacteria additive stuff so you can use the tank quicker but i'm still waiting a good long time just due to different life stuff, and that i have no decent pet shops anywhere nearby. 

during lunch i'm going to petsmart to get another HOB filter, my tank came w/ 2 powerheads so i may get an UGF kit too... even though the powerhead has no filter on it i'm assuming its more of pulling the waiste into the rocks? 

i really appreciate everyones information. i thought my exotic birds had weird things but fish are even more picky! lol. 

i only want a few plants, probably do some river rocks (like bigger ones) and some of the round puff ball plant things around the edges of them and maybe one or two of the little taller ones in the back corners to hide the UGF tubes.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

mrnmrskyle said:


> i added the bacteria additive stuff so you can use the tank quicker but i'm still waiting a good long time just due to different life stuff, and that i have no decent pet shops anywhere nearby.
> 
> i may get an UGF kit too... even though the powerhead has no filter on it i'm assuming its more of pulling the waiste into the rocks?


Make sure you feed the bacteria ammonia, either by straight daily doses of ammonia, or by putting something that will decompose in the tank, like a piece of raw seafood (though it does get smelly). Otherwise your bacteria will starve and die.

Keep in mind if you decide to install an UGF, you have to tear the entire tank down because an UGF requires that it be under the gravel, and by under I mean completely under, sitting on the bottom glass of the tank.

The powerheads are powerful enough that any detritus that they manage to suck up from the UGF will either get chopped up and spit out by the impeller or caught in the fairly open prefilter on the powerhead (the grating on the inlet).

At the pet store, buy a liquid test kit. You'll be thanking yourself later when you're wondering how your nitrogen cycle is doing


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

thanks for the advise on feeding the bacteria (weird as that sounds)

went to petsmart during lunch, they actually have a good variety of cichlids...

mainly went to look at a 2nd filter... going to get the canister set up good for 100 gallon tanks... it's like $120 on sell, so figure that'll be a very efficient way, it has two hoses that run from canister to the tubes that mount on the tank, may hook them to down pupes that'll be in an UGF setup... i realize readding the UGF will be a PIA but if i shove them to one side i can put half down, shovel them over and do the same then spread them back out....

hows that idea sound? next question... should the pipe into the UGF from the canister be the sucking out or the putting water back in?

just adding this... ordered the marineland magnum 350 pro canister set up... had lots of great reviews.. 350 gph up to 100 gallons, so between that and my 30-60 i believe i should have a good filtration set up, and it comes w/ paddle wheel things for oxidation?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I'm an HOB guy so I know little about the canister setups, but I would suggest submerging the spray bar so you're not disturbing the surface too much. I would also hook the inlet of the canister to the UGF versus the outlet - with that much GPH, you run the risk of blowing the gravel right up into the tank, whereas sucking the water through the gravel would seem less messy. Also, be wary of the strain pulling water through the UGF will have on the canister's pump - you might burn it up if it's straining to hard.

The 1/2-1/2 gravel UGF plate idea sounds legit.


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## rtbob (Jul 18, 2010)

UGF's were originally designed to suck stuff down into the gravel. The draw back to this is that over time the "stuff" builds up and the plates must be removed and cleaned under.

Now some people run them in reverse using power heads with a kit attached to allow the power head to connect to the UGF.

Your cannister filter should not be hooked into a UGF either blowing or sucking. Way to much flow there.

Most species of Lake Malawi Cichlids will tear up live plants. Live plants do not do well with a UGF.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

man that's gonna make the wife sad, she really wanted one of those puff ball plants (forget the names) that canister will def be a good flow and def do a great job i'm hoping


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## roacan (Dec 25, 2010)

mrnmrskyle said:


> man that's gonna make the wife sad, she really wanted one of those puff ball plants (forget the names) that canister will def be a good flow and def do a great job i'm hoping


marimo balls. it should be ok with cichlids

So you decided to go with a canister. It is more capacity. You can actually ditch the HOB so less stuff hanging on your tank.

Here is a website that likes UGF Why we love under gravel filters


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I have a magnum 350.I love it.It works very well.If you are hooking it up to an UGF(which really isnt needed,its very effecient)then the intake would go to the tube for the UGF.I rigged took the bar out of the biowheel attachment and rigged it up as a spraybar,and attached a sponge filter to my intake.(got it from a CL user,and it was missing the intake.)


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

i'll probably leave both filters, only because my hob was like an $80 one and so i feel bad letting it sit... lol... pretty excited about the whole tank, just tryin ot find decor now and other stuff to fill it up while i'm waiting for some fishies... it's funny how all this for a couple $10 fish lol... i may keep the HOB filter on this tank and swap it to a smaller tank if i ever feel like making a 2nd! but for now.. extra filtration isn't too bad... getting some suction cup bubble wands today to go across the entire bcak of the tank.. should be cool... i hope...


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

If you're waiting for the tank to cycle, you can still put some live plants in there. I've had some since day 1 and they're still kickin... well.. not really but ya know. If you're anything like the rest of us, you'll be wanting that second tank within a year. haha. So hold onto the extra equipment like you said.


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## roacan (Dec 25, 2010)

mrnmrskyle said:


> i'll probably leave both filters, only because my hob was like an $80 one and so i feel bad letting it sit... lol... pretty excited about the whole tank, just tryin ot find decor now and other stuff to fill it up while i'm waiting for some fishies... it's funny how all this for a couple $10 fish lol... i may keep the HOB filter on this tank and swap it to a smaller tank if i ever feel like making a 2nd! but for now.. extra filtration isn't too bad... getting some suction cup bubble wands today to go across the entire bcak of the tank.. should be cool... i hope...


Looks like the same thing happened to me. I started with a 37gal with topfin40. I added a ac70 planning to remove the topfin40 once the ac70 has the beneficial bacteria. I never did remove the topfin until I got a canister filter. Bought a used 20gal intending it to be my qt tank. Since my guppy has a lot of babies (17) it become a guppy tank and I placed my ac70 here and added a sponge filter. Now I bougth a 10gal as my qt and I got the topfin40 in there as well as an ac mini that came with the used 20gal. My wife is getting concerned now about the growing number of tanks. lol!


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

lol. my wife has a fish tank in her class room at school (she teaches 1-5th grade autistic kids) but its just a little 10g thing. well i got a couple goldfish last night to roam the tank for a week while im out of town for work this week and then also got bubble bars to go across the back of the tank.. they are pretty cool, think i'll like them more w/ a different backgroud on the tank... which i could figure away to attach a mirror onto the tank... 

question for today is.. if i go down to the lake and find rocks and drift wood... how can i make it safe? i figure baking it will kill bacteria ect. but just want some ideas...

oh yeah, has any one had a puffer, i've heard mixed things on putting them w/ other fish...


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## roacan (Dec 25, 2010)

mrnmrskyle said:


> lol. my wife has a fish tank in her class room at school (she teaches 1-5th grade autistic kids) but its just a little 10g thing. well i got a couple goldfish last night to roam the tank for a week while im out of town for work this week and then also got bubble bars to go across the back of the tank.. they are pretty cool, think i'll like them more w/ a different backgroud on the tank... which i could figure away to attach a mirror onto the tank...
> 
> question for today is.. if i go down to the lake and find rocks and drift wood... how can i make it safe? i figure baking it will kill bacteria ect. but just want some ideas...
> 
> oh yeah, has any one had a puffer, i've heard mixed things on putting them w/ other fish...


I thought about the mirror background too. But decided againts it because I don't want to see myself in there.*r2
I now have a plain black background. The saltwater reef background we originally have doesn't exactly match the fresh water fish we have.

Baking and/or boiling would do it. Some boil it for 2 to 3 hours.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Typically you boil driftwood, but baking it may work just as well. Sometimes hard to find something big enough. I just ordered a huge piece of driftwood and won't be doing either. You'll have to soak it for a week or two so it doesn't want to float in your tank.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

Well ive been atlanta a day n already been to a bunch of petsores...ones in big cities are awesome... found a cobalt lobster im thnkn about bringing home with me... idk how the 8 hour drive wud do.... wife called n said one of the goldfish i added sat. Was looking bad off... so kinda worried...all my chenical levels n temperature are great....idk


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

A couple things about UGFs - I've been using them since the 70's. Plants do fine with UGFs. I've had no problems with them with wisteria, aponogetons (had aponogetons bloom with UGFs, had one get so big it took up 1/2 of my 55 just one plant) bolbitis, java fern, every plant I've tried with UGFs has thrived. 

UGFs work best if the water comes down through the gravel bed. That's your filter media, so you want the water to flow through that before it goes through your powerhead, so that your powerhead isn't getting clogged all the time. Dead spots - UGFs can get blocked with debris if they're not gravel vacuumed periodically. Except that if you seed your gravel bed with MTS snails they keep the bed clean and open by tunneling through it eating the excess debris, which is nice for the plants, the biofilter and (as long as you're not overfeeding) keeps the need for gravel vacuuming to a minimum. 

Periodic break down: no you do not need to break down your UGF and clean under the plates, not unless you've had a tank crash due to tank management issues and the like. If you have MTS snails or a good regular system of gravel vacuuming you should be fine. I kept the same 55 gallon going without tearing it down for more than 10 years with rock solid water test results. When I moved from one house to another, I just drained the water to about 1/2 an inch above the gravel bed and moved it like that, and filled it up again when we got there, and we were good to go. Eventually I had to take up the plates when the plastic started to degrade on the lift tube collars causing them to snap and the lift tubes to list to the side and come free of the plates. If that hadn't happened I'd be running the same ones in the same tank still. (This is the problem with second hand tank equipment. I have new plates in now, who knows how long they'll last) 

UGF aren't the current fashion, but that's not because they don't work, just because other options are more high tech, more glamourous, have more bells and whistles. They're also more expensive and have more things that can go wrong, break and will need replacing over time, but if you like to fiddle, that can be fun.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

quixky from the phone.... All my tank levels loook good except alkalinitg is, low ... Any ideas


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

mrnmrskyle said:


> quixky from the phone.... All my tank levels loook good except alkalinitg is, low ... Any ideas


A bag of crushed coral or limestone in the bottom of your tank will help boost your alkalinity and hardness. You could also throw some chunks of peat moss in a mesh bag in your filter.


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## fishman81 (Jan 12, 2011)

mrnmrskyle said:


> Well ive been atlanta a day n already been to a bunch of petsores...ones in big cities are awesome... found a cobalt lobster im thnkn about bringing home with me... idk how the 8 hour drive wud do.... wife called n said one of the goldfish i added sat. Was looking bad off... so kinda worried...all my chenical levels n temperature are great....idk


hmm not familiar with inverts so much, but i just transported about 40 fish over a period of 5 hrs. w/no oxygen, 100% survival rate a week later. w/some straight o2 and a foam cooler i'd think it'd be simple. do they put these guys in bags? if so i'd triple bag it and have extra bags and extra cycled water w/an extra dose of prime or similar.*old dude


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

Well waiting on the lobster... Got a buddy at petco that is special oredering some just so I can get one... At a lot lower rate.... Our petco is great... Not a full fledge petstore but this guy is supper personal and knowledgeable.... My 200 watt heater and magnum 350 pro filter r on the couch waiting for me to be home tommorrow night.... Cant wait.. Then getting a little crushed coral and time for fishes... I hope I can find coral n a smaller than 20lb bag... Already have 55 pounds of rocks...


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

Seachem "equilibrium" is what i use on my 55 gallon to keep up the alkalinity for my RO water. Its 8 bucks and will treat up to 380 gallons of water and is totally safe and good for plants too.


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## fishman81 (Jan 12, 2011)

mrnmrskyle said:


> quixky from the phone.... All my tank levels loook good except alkalinitg is, low ... Any ideas


i don't mess with my ph, all the chem's that do mess with other things and make things worse imho. If you want it to be perfect get a RO filter or buy RO h20:fish-in-bowl:


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

I was going to add a small amount of aquarium salt and baking soda.. Saw that online... What is ro water?


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

Never mind just saw it.. Not sure how to get it though


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

RO water can be bad on its own. You need to add the alkalinity back into it after using it or it will kill everything in your tank. Sometimes your LFS will sell it, otherwise you can purchase an RO filter.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

Wife just called with water levels...
Nitrate and nitrite are both 0.
Hardness 75 (soft)
Chlorine 0
alkalinity 30 ppm
ph 7.8 /8.0 ish

Are these okay? She said that the ph was pink and the pink was only on the saltwater scale not fresh... so no clue whats going on with that..... going to make her retest.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

phys said:


> Seachem "equilibrium" is what i use on my 55 gallon to keep up the alkalinity for my RO water. Its 8 bucks and will treat up to 380 gallons of water and is totally safe and good for plants too.


Equilibrium only raises your general hardness (gh) of your water or your mineral content.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

They make so many products for cichlids that sound the same...confusing


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

What did you use to tell you your alkalinity is low and low compared to what? Meaning, is it considered low for a particular fish or just in general?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I dont mess with Ph either.RO units are pretty nice,its kinda pricey but worth it,if you can maintain it.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

right jrman.. i looked at the wrong label. use alkaline buffer...


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

mrnmrskyle said:


> Wife just called with water levels...
> Nitrate and nitrite are both 0.
> Hardness 75 (soft)
> Chlorine 0
> ...


"Make her"? Dang. How about ask her? The tank may end up being the least of your troubles. How many people on this list would love to have their spouse be even remotely interested in the hobby? Try and appreciate her participation.


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

I didn't mean forcefully retest.... Everyone else got what I ment. I went and got the master yest kit lsat night and my ph 7.4... Im pretty sure the strips have gotten wet at some point so just going to toss then and kedp the drlplet test


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

*whip*GET TA TESTIN,WOMAN!!!!

Kidding.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

chris oe said:


> "Make her"? Dang. How about ask her? The tank may end up being the least of your troubles. How many people on this list would love to have their spouse be even remotely interested in the hobby? Try and appreciate her participation.


LOL, you crack me up Chris. You're right...but still funny.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

mrnmrskyle said:


> I didn't mean forcefully retest.... Everyone else got what I ment. I went and got the master yest kit lsat night and my ph 7.4... Im pretty sure the strips have gotten wet at some point so just going to toss then and kedp the drlplet test


Glad you got better testing supplies. I wish they'd just stop making those damn strips.


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

My mom always said its your real friend who will tell you when you've got something hanging out of your nose or stuck to your shoe, so rest assured you can count on me to tell you when you've put your foot in something, and I expect I'll hear about it if I do the same. I just had my 20th anniversary last fall, and I didn't make it this long by holding my tongue, strangely enough. ; )


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Congrats,Chris!My 12th is coming up in September.And strangely,we didnt get this far by holding out tongues either.

mrnmrskyle,We pick on people so dont take it all to heart.We knew what ya meant.Any updates on the tank?


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## mrnmrskyle (Mar 4, 2011)

Evidently our test strips had just gotten wet... Tank is great... Added some cichlids... All levels look great... Next week got a bristlenose pleco and a blue lobster to add.... Cant wait... Btw congrats guys... We have only been married 6 months... But we have 2 taking exotic birds n the tank that she loves and she even has me restoring a 1974 vw thing for her... Since I redo beetles for me... So quirks out goof


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Congrats!I always tell people,the first year is the hardest.After that,the little things wil get on your nerves,and hers too.But remember,you do love each other for something.Remember that and its easy.

We requestfully demand pictures of the tank too....


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