Recent content by Doogz

I've had my Fluval 305 up and running for a while now, media consists of sponge, biomax and a bit more sponge, cleaned every 2 weeks. Problem is every 10 mins or so the output flow drops noticeably. Around 30 seconds later it returns to full flow. No audible change to the motor just the sound...

Now that our main tank is settled my girlfriend decided she wanted a smaller tank of her own. Seeing no harm we added a bucket of tank water and rinsed out filter media in to her tank to help with the fish less cycle. This was a week ago. Today she redosed to 4ppm. A few hours later she noticed...

Thanks Ben. Shame, I was hoping for a bit more suface agitation without having to have the airstone pumping all the time. Will just have to see what it's like when it's up and running. I'm just going to cut up the sponge, chuck that in the bottom of the filter, biomax in the middle...

Finally bit the bullet and have ordered a Fluval 305 to replace my internal U4. Problem is I've just found out both have a flow rate advertised at 1000lph, one of the main reasons I went for the 305 was because I assumed it would have a higher flow rate, one of the benefits being better surface...

Very! :D Although I lost a fair amount of sand, the fish kick up a lot of sand and it settles again instantly, so I think it was worth it :) To the OP, when you do come to add sand, if you're adding it to a tank already filled, I used a jug, filled with sand the carefully lowered into the...

I hadn't thought about leaving tap water overnight, will try that tonight. Have just done another 50% water change so hopefully I'll have a good base to work off tomorrow. I don't know my GH & KH levels, had tested them with a strip test and they were all in 'Ok' range, should probably buy a...

So finally completed our cycle last week. Added some bogwood, mopani wood and a few plants. Added stock 2 days ago. Did a water test last night and PH has dropped to around 6. After a 50% water change it is now at 6.4, tap water is around 7-7.2. Ammonia and nitrite are both 0, nitrate is 10ppm...

Good old Argos play sand. As others have said, give it a thorough cleaning. Lots of silt and bits of wood etc. I ended up losing around a third of the bag just through cleaning, but I may have gone a bit OTT.

Ha, now you've got me thinking, to plant or not to plant??? Will have to put some in to keep the fish happy I suppose :D So, finally hit 0 ammonia, just redosed to 4ppm (hopefully :blush: ) Nitites and nitrates are both through the roof so may have a water change to do tomorrow! To answer...

More strange readings! Day 8: Ammonia = 4.0ppm (Still no change) Nitrite = 5.0ppm Nitrate = 5.0ppm Seems strange that nitrate is already climbing yet ammonia hasn't budged?

Finally some movement! Day 7 (classing changes made last month as a reset) Ammonia: 4ppm Nitrite: 5ppm - pretty much off the chart Only took the nitrite test for the first time today, wasn't expecting anything. Think my initial dose of ammonia may have been more than 5ppm seeing as it isn't...

Again, thanks for the comments! :D Not much point in logging at the moment. As I suspected the water change has pretty much restarted my cycle, just glad it was only a few days worth. So ammonia is still stuck around 3-4ppm. Seriously impressed with the way the current from the filters has...

It got worse than that! In some parts the strands were close to an inch long! Well it took me a few hours but the sand is in. Cleaning wasn't as bad as I imagined though there was a lot of debris as well, bits of wood and stones etc. Much happier now... Ammonia back at 4ppm also.

That's what makes me think it's a fungus. Tank lights are on at the most for 5 minutes a day, just to do water tests etc. Think it may have came from the old tank, really not sure. So, I attempted to use my gravel cleaner to remove the mystery fluff, failed, the stuff got in the current and...

Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys! Already 5 days into the cycle, using household ammonia. Will post the results when I get home, though not much movement as of yet. I'm already looking at changing from gravel to sand, or a bit of both but need to build up the courage to go for it...