Your current Fish tank Setups!

Soldato
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any suggestions of some safe grease? my filter is rumbling an awefull lot these days, cleaned it out for the first time in a while but it just seems to have exaggerated it. im guessing the grime was working as a makeshift lubricant...

the eheim stuff looks good but ££ for something I will use 4 times a year at most!
 
Soldato
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I could go for the multilux which is a basic light unit with LED tubes, this would be around £130.

My question was really with relation to the Heliaux Spectrum is it worth the money or not ?
Can't make my mind up, I think I would likely keep it when I eventually get around to replacing the tank with a custom built one.
But that will be a few years away because I will need to move house first.

I can’t really comment, I wouldn’t think any proprietary light would be any good for the custom tank regardless.

Do you even need the brighter light?
 
Soldato
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any suggestions of some safe grease? my filter is rumbling an awefull lot these days, cleaned it out for the first time in a while but it just seems to have exaggerated it. im guessing the grime was working as a makeshift lubricant...

the eheim stuff looks good but ££ for something I will use 4 times a year at most!

It could be that the impeller is worn, you don’t want to grease them either way. Any grease thin enough to not clog the impeller will just wash out into the tank anyway.

I find that most filters can be noisey, especially after they have just been cleaned because they have pockets of air in them.
 
Associate
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how far off are heaters usually in terms of calibration ? my water temp thermometer is saying 23c i set the heater too 25 it didn't even come on set it too 26c come on for a few mins then went off, have seen those eheim ones with a calibration ring around the top thinking about buying one. I'm losing trust in this interpet one.
 
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Soldato
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how far off are heaters usually in terms of calibration ? my water temp thermometer is saying 23c i set the heater too 25 it didn't even come on set it too 26c come on for a few mins then went off, have seen those eheim ones with a calibration ring around the top thinking about buying one. I'm losing trust in this interpet one.

Depends usually +/- 2 degrees in my experience (not good enough a reef setup) hence using a heater controller better safe than sorry if you have expensive fish.
 
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yeah just been looking Inkbird ITC-308 heating & cooling temperature controller, i don't have expensive fish as such but i want them to be safe that inkbird model is only 30 quid not bad.
 
Soldato
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I can’t really comment, I wouldn’t think any proprietary light would be any good for the custom tank regardless.

Do you even need the brighter light?

You can buy brackets to make it fit a non juwel tank so there aren't really compatibility issues,
to be fair the only thing that makes it "proprietary" are the lips on the end of the unit that allow it to sit on top of a juwel tank and then the lips running down each side of the unit that allow the Juwel lids/flaps to fit in.
apart from that it is a sealed unit, built to a (relatively) high standard. decently sealed as well because Juwel tanks do not come with cover glass so they are open to a lot of moisture.

With regards to the brightness, it isn't necessarily brightness that I was interested in, rather the control that the helialux unit offers.
full RGB light modes,
dusk/dawn fade in/out.
Scheduled lighting profiles.

Apart from the above I see it as a normal LED light unit,
 
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You can buy brackets to make it fit a non juwel tank so there aren't really compatibility issues,
to be fair the only thing that makes it "proprietary" are the lips on the end of the unit that allow it to sit on top of a juwel tank and then the lips running down each side of the unit that allow the Juwel lids/flaps to fit in.
apart from that it is a sealed unit, built to a (relatively) high standard. decently sealed as well because Juwel tanks do not come with cover glass so they are open to a lot of moisture.

With regards to the brightness, it isn't necessarily brightness that I was interested in, rather the control that the helialux unit offers.
full RGB light modes,
dusk/dawn fade in/out.
Scheduled lighting profiles.

Apart from the above I see it as a normal LED light unit,

have you considered the fluval aquasky i just got one for my 120 litre tank dusk and dawn feature full control over rgb and white can programme a lighting storm effect don't know what the fish will think of that :p was worried it wasn't going to be bright enough it's only about 40 - 50 mm wide the old light is 100 mm , but no definitely as bright.

all adjustments done from the fluval ios or android app via bluetooth

impressed with it so far.
 
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Soldato
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have you considered the fluval aquasky i just got one for my 120 litre tank dusk and dawn feature full control over rgb and white can programme a lighting storm effect don't know what the fish will think of that :p was worried it wasn't going to be bright enough it's only about 40 - 50 mm wide the old light is 100 mm , but no definitely as bright.

all adjustments done from the fluval ios or android app via bluetooth

impressed with it so far.
looks good.

Only issue is that with the Juwel tanks the light unit forms part of the lid. And mine needs replacing regardless.

I'd happily buy a second hand one that no longer works but i cant see any for sale anywhere.
 
Soldato
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So last Sunday my levels weren't too bad but I opted to do a 50% water change before getting the penguin tetra's... Cleaning the filters etc in the aquarium water.

I've just tested my levels again and things are almost at crisis point

PH is 7.6
Ammonia is close to 4.0ppm
Nitrites somewhere between 0.50 & 1.0ppm
Nitrates 20ppm

I have the 46 Litre Fluval Edge. Going to do another 50% water change tonight!

I've got 1 male betta, 6 penguin tetra, 3 albino cory, 4-5 cherry shrimp (it's hard to count them but one seems to have vanished) and 2 zebra snails.

I'm feeding once a day, a small pinch. What do you guys think the problem is? Have I overstocked the tank? I've kept it within the points according to pets at home, I'd hate to start losing fish!
 
Soldato
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How long has the filter been running? It takes about a month for the bacteria to grow which eats ammonia and nitrite. About 4-6 months for the ones which eat Nitrate (but only with the right media in a good filter). Unless you get material from another tank which is already established.

You will need to do daily water changes using something like seachem prime, which detoxifies ammonia and nitrite for around 24 hours. But even then it may not be completely safe for fish.
 
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Soldato
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It should stabilise soon then. Stop using stability I'd say and just use prime, adding bacteria is good to start but you don't need to keep adding it.

If it doesn't then the filter may not be good enough. Manufacturers always understate how big of a filter you need. Get one which is 2-3 times more than your tank needs, preferably an external one (canister or hang-on-the-back types). Eheim, Fluval, Oase, Hydor make the best. They are expensive but worth it.
 
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Soldato
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Unless it's been designed for it then you'll need to lose the lid. A lot of people don't use lids anyway.

If it's a small tank though, a canister will be way overkill. Small tanks are actually more difficult to look after than large ones.
 
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Soldato
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I'm feeding once a day, a small pinch. What do you guys think the problem is? Have I overstocked the tank? I've kept it within the points according to pets at home, I'd hate to start losing fish!

Sort of - the terta's are not the most appropriate for the edge and you added them too soon and the tank wasn't established. You need to change 90+% of the water now, those levels are dangerously high. You then need to continue changing water daily until they stay down.

It should stabilise soon then. Stop using stability I'd say and just use prime, adding bacteria is good to start but you don't need to keep adding it.

If it doesn't then the filter may not be good enough. Manufacturers always understate how big of a filter you need. Get one which is 2-3 times more than your tank needs, preferably an external one (canister or hang-on-the-back types). Eheim, Fluval, Oase, Hydor make the best. They are expensive but worth it.

@Vidar Continue using stability, the product adds bacteria. Your tank doesn't have enough hence the ammonia and nitrite, the advice above is bad. The Fluval Edge built in filter is more than sufficient, your tank simply isn't cycled. Add extra prime to detoxify the ammonia but that doesn't remove the need to change water.

@Nasher Sorry but most of this post isn't great advice, i noted you removed a load of it. Manufacturers don't underestimate the size of their filters, the fact is you do not need a massive filter to sustain loads of life in a tank. The problem is that most filters do not provide enough flow for things like planted tanks so you need to over size them and the other advantage to over sizing the filter mean you can clean it less. But if you are just running a basic fish tank you do not need a huge filter....

I saw you removed a load of other information about amounts of media that is also simply not true. More isn't better, once you get past 'enough' then any more is just a waste of money and a significant amount of bacteria is contained in the tank. Go into any old school fish store and you will see 200 fish in a small tank running on a single small sponge filter. Kesgrave Tropicals mentioned a few days ago is exactly like that.


Can I make a canister filter fit on the fluval edge without losing the lid?
You do not need a canister filter.

Unless it's been designed for it then you'll need to lose the lid. A lot of people don't use lids anyway.

If it's a small tank though, a canister will be way overkill. Small tanks are actually more difficult to look after than large ones.
You do not need a canister filter, but your right small tanks are more difficult than large ones.

The filter is a red herring, their main role is to move water around and collect debris. Moving the water around is the most important part, it makes sure the water remains oxygenated for the bacteria which is over the entire tank. They also have some artificial surface area to grow some bacteria but the majority of it will be in your tank, in the sand/gravel and all over the decorations. It is completely plausible to run a tank without a filter, all you need is a bit of circulation and enough surface area through the substrate and some plants.
 
Soldato
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Yeah I'm discovering that, the fluval edge looks nice but its proving a ball ache, want a bigger tank but just pulled the trigger on a new keyboard I needed so won't be able to get a new tank for a while yet.

Done probably 80% water change tonight, only stopped short as my leg has swollen up like a balloon and my toes feel like they're about to break off.

I'm really not pleased with Pets at home, they pushed us to take the penguins over the neons despite me being completely clear about what tank I've got and how long it has been running.

Do you think daily 25% changes will be enough? @b0rn2sk8 should I stop feeds for a while?
 
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