Newbie Here!

[dissimulo]

By the way, i was just wondering, do two filters sort of double up and create one large filter? Effectively making the flow rate and suitable tank size double? Just curious that's all, as i am interested in adding an extra Elite filter. Would a 100watt heater be enough for my not yet purchased 70l tank? And what do you make of the Elite range?

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[redevilman]

By the way, i was just wondering, do two filters sort of double up and create one large filter? Effectively making the flow rate and suitable tank size double? Just curious that's all, as i am interested in adding an extra Elite filter. Would a 100watt heater be enough for my not yet purchased 70l tank? And what do you make of the Elite range?

Cheers,
Luke.

Yes a 100 watt heater is ok i have a tank which is 75L and i have a fluval 2 plus and a 100 watt rena smart heater which is pretty good get a small thermometer to stick inside your tank as well to be on the safe side

 

[dissimulo]

Oh ok, great thanks But is it true what i said about two filters doubling up to create more or less a more powerfull filter?

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[rabbut]

Not quite as simple as that, but in principle yes. They have more flow and media capasity, this makes them suited to a slightly larger tank than they are recomended, but I wouldn't push that high. The flows can be directed at each other, to reduce current in the tank if you like, without upsetting anything

HTH
Rabbut

 

[redevilman]

Oh ok, great thanks But is it true what i said about two filters doubling up to create more or less a more powerfull filter?

Cheers,
Luke.

I not too sure on that one. you could get a fluval 2 plus and keep the other one as back up i bought mine from ebay £18.00 delivered

 

[dissimulo]

The Fluval 2 plus does look like a nice filter and at a great price, but i think i am going to stick with what i've got, for now. And just incase i can't get a refund on my 50watt heater, will it do the job properly in my 70l? Also, what is the difference between flourescent tubed lighting and normal bulb lighting?

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you've had some really good advice here, just one thing to note is that you shouldn't believe everything the filter box tells you. they're calculations for tank sizes are always a little optimistic.

really if a filter says it's suitable for a 70l tank, it's probably only suitable for a tank around two thirds that size, so the stingray you have would probably only provide good filtration for a tank around 50l. You shouldn't ever try to push a filter to it's limits, you'd be much more likley for it to fail or to under perform. I do think you need to look at getting an additional filter or upgrading the stingray to something bigger.

IMO there's a handful of basic lessons which if you follow them you'll find fishkeeping relativley easy

1 - Learn the nitrogen cycle and fishless cycle your tank
2 - Always overfilter
3 - More is more when it comes to maintenance, don't skimp on it and it can come back to bite you later
4 - Research fish and stock sensibly for the size of your tank

Don't need to spend a lot of money on expensive gear and medications, just take a little time to get the set up right in the first place and you'll find it all a whole lot easier.

 

[dissimulo]

Thanks Miss Wiggle, i think your right about the filter's performance being 'optimised' on the box....and since they only cost £17, i think i will invest my money into a 2nd Elite Stingray 15 Today i got told by a friend of mine that 1watt (in terms of heating) reffers to 1 litre of water, am i correct? Therefore i need a 70watt heater...although, i was thinking of replacing my current 50watt heater with a 100watt heater. I'm sure that'll do the trick

And can i just ask, what do i do if i can't get hold of any ammonia? Is there a second option?

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

glad to hear it, i think the tank will definatley benefit for another filter.

a 100w heater should be plenty sufficient, take a look at them in the shop, you'll see there's often no price difference (or very little) between the different sized heaters, so no point scimping on it. again, don't push the equipment to the limit, get something which will comfortably do the job.... for the sake of £1/2 more it's worth it!

you'll be able to find ammonia, but yes if you can't you can do it with fish food, but it's much much better to use pure ammonia so have a look around, try boots and homebase.

 

[dissimulo]

Ok i'll defantly get a new heater because your right about the price, Pets at Home sell a 50watt heater for the same price as a 100watt heater. I will ask to go to Boots and Homebase this weekend (as well as getting my tank) and see what i can find. But just suppose that i can't find any ammonia at all, could you give me a backup guide to cycling a tank using fish food instead of ammonia as you stated please?

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[waterdrop]

you've had some really good advice here, just one thing to note is that you shouldn't believe everything the filter box tells you. they're calculations for tank sizes are always a little optimistic.

really if a filter says it's suitable for a 70l tank, it's probably only suitable for a tank around two thirds that size, so the stingray you have would probably only provide good filtration for a tank around 50l. You shouldn't ever try to push a filter to it's limits, you'd be much more likley for it to fail or to under perform. I do think you need to look at getting an additional filter or upgrading the stingray to something bigger.

IMO there's a handful of basic lessons which if you follow them you'll find fishkeeping relativley easy

1 - Learn the nitrogen cycle and fishless cycle your tank
2 - Always overfilter
3 - More is more when it comes to maintenance, don't skimp on it and it can come back to bite you later
4 - Research fish and stock sensibly for the size of your tank

Don't need to spend a lot of money on expensive gear and medications, just take a little time to get the set up right in the first place and you'll find it all a whole lot easier.

Not only is she practically perfect, she's smart too

OK, I'll just throw in that fishless cycling with stuff other than ammonia is enough worse for telling the signs that you'd be well advised to continue to push the hunt for the right ammonia rather than get too impatient and start throwing in food. Yes, there are helps we can say about those, but its important first to really try hard for the ammonia.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[dissimulo]

Well i will try my hardest, but i am curious how you do cycle a fish tank using fish food. When i buy some ammonia, i will cycle my tank properly making sure to test the water etc. to ensure that the stress levels later on in the future are minimal.

By the way, when i get my new tank, i am planning to add a fake plant/volcanic rock, a coral reif sort of rock and a long peice of wood that a picked up from an aquarium and which is currently soaking in a bowl as we speak. Oh and some gravel with a variety of blue shades in.

Cheers,
Luke.

 

[rabbut]

The gravel and wood sound fine. Ocean rock however isn't. It will sky rocket the pH. Before thinking about using it, run a vinegar drop test. Throw a little vinigar onto it. If it fizzes, the rock is no good. If it doesn't fizz, clean ready for use

HTH
Rabbut

 

[Miss Wiggle]

basically to cycle with fish food you just add fish food to the tank, this will break down over a few days and create ammonia in the water which then starts the cycling process. The problem being because it breaks down slowly you've no way to tell how much ammonia you are putting in so it's much harder to measure the cycle. With fishless cycling using ammonia you know that the filter can process 5ppm of ammonia a day, which is a bit more than a full tanks worth of fish will create, using fish food there's no way to measure how many ppm a day it can handle so no way to work out how many fish you can safely stock with, so when you do stock there is a chance that you'd end up cycling with fish anyway if you put too many in.

altogether using pure ammonia is easier and safer cos you know you can measure properly. so go do your best to source some pure ammonia, if you can't get hold of any then post back and we'll go through doing it with fish food in more detail.

what is the rock you're getting..... you need to be careful as some coral/ocean rock will raise your pH significantly. you can test this by putting it in a bucket of water then testing the pH over the next few days.

 

[dissimulo]

Oh i'm sorry i wasn't to clear on that, the coral rock is actually some sort of fish tank friendly plastic/ressin stuff. It looks amazingly real but isn't But thankyou for the advice on the vinegar testing anyway I am going to search everywhere for some ammonia and i think the chances are, i'll find the last bottle behind a stacked shelf somewhere. But can i just tell you, a situation has occured where my dad won't let me add another filter to my new tank (at least not yet anyway) so i am feeling slightly unsure about things now.

Cheers,
Luke.