Posts Tagged ‘aquaria’

Aquarium No.9 Relocation Part II

Saturday, December 10th, 2005

The aquarium has been curing for the last 48 hours after I had removed all the old silicone sealer, and re-sealed the aquarium with new. I moved the aquarium outside to test fill and leave for 12 hours to check for leaks.

Aquarium No.9 Test
Removing water with an Eheim 1260 pond pump after test filling.

Finally, moved the aquarium back to its new home, and filled with 50% aquarium water from partial water changes, and 50% HMA filtered water. The electrics are currently temporary, so I can get the Dennerle C400 internal filter, heaters, and lighting on-line to quickly mature the tank. I’m using a 40w Power-Glo tube to encourage algae growth, this tank is for young Sturisoma Aureum, using 40w Power-Glo tubes in the past has proved to be successful in encourage algae growth, these tubes are usually used in Marine aquaria. I also have plans to use an Eheim 2250 external canister filter.

Aquarium No.9 Installed
Aquarium No.9 installed and “maturing”.

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Huey Hung Bio Sponge Filters

Friday, November 18th, 2005

No this isn’t an article about the cartoon character Hong Kong Phooey, but with a name like Huey Hung you might think so. Taiwan Huey Hung Aquarium Equipment Co was established in 1986, has been devoting all effort in aquaria equipments developing, producing and selling. They have the finest quality, most variety choices, such as fish food, technical filters, medical powder for discus, aquarium nurses medicines. They are not only successful in Taiwan but also in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. They have gained many high opinions and approvals from many countries. It is also well know around the world, but little is known of them in the United Kingdom, unless you are in the Discus breeding community, where their sponge filters and medications are well known.

I’ve been considering switching to the Huey Hung Bio Sponge Filters range, they have certain advantages over the more common, less expensive Algarde Bio-Foam Internal 200 Sponge filters.

  • Larger surface area.
  • Power-heads can be attached.
  • No need for airstone.
  • No need for suckers.

Huey Hung Sponge Filter
This is a photograph of a test Huey Hung Bio Sponge Filters in my grow-out tank. This sponge filter is the HH-02 Super leader sponge filter 200L model, I purchased this in an auction for a fiver, which is very cheap, RRP is about 8 GBP. The problems I’ve found with the Algarde sponge filters are

  • Airstones need regular replacement.
  • Suckers need regular replacement.

This costs time and money, the airstones shouldn’t be a problem, because I’ve got a box of 250, but the suckers keeping wearing out every few months, and I need to keep replacing them at a cost of approx 1 GBP per sucker. It’s getting expensive, replacing suckers.

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What’s for supper?

Thursday, October 6th, 2005



An aquarist in Germany recommended that I try
Sera
Catfish Chips for Ancistrus and Pleco Catfish if I’m finding it difficult in obtaining Hikari
Algae Wafers, he has had great success with this product in Germany. Many high
quality aquarium products come from Germany, Eheim,
Tetra and
Dennerle
are just a few manufacturers,
so I’ll definitely experiment with this product.

Sera retailers in the UK are not common, but I know a place on my doorstep that
stocks Sera products. Petland, York is a
Sera retailer.

I purchased some Sera Catfish Chips for Ancistrus and Pleco Catfish, the
ingredients are very interesting because the usual marine algae and spirulina
are present, but willow wood and bark and alder wood are also ingredients. This
product will certainly help if you have no bogwood present in your aquariums for
the catfish to graze on. Many years ago, when I first saw a "pleco" in aquaria,
it was given willow wood and bark to graze on, this was before the days of any
"Algae Wafers", it was said, that chemicals in the willow made the catfish
sleepy, like an anaesthetic if they ate too much, so it was only fed in small
quantities. This is the first fish food product I’ve seen using "wood" as an
ingredient.

I offer my fish a varied diet to stop them getting hooked on one type of
food, I vary the food each day, here’s a list of the products I use:-

  • Tetra Prima.
  • Tetra Tips Freeze Dried Tablets.
  • Tetra Fresh Delica Daphinia, Bloodworm, Brine Shrimp.
  • Tetra Holiday and Weekend Food Sticks.
  • Tetra Min Flake Food.
  • JMC Catfish Pellets.
  • Barlow’s Aquatics Sinking, Stinking Catfish Pellets.
  • Nutrafin Max Complete Flake Food.
  • Aquarian Tropical Flake Food.
  • Phoenix Tropical Flake.
  • Today’s Freeze Dried Tubifex Worms.
  • ZM 000, 100, 200, 300, 400, Small, Medium and Large Granular Advanced Fish
    Diets.
  • Ruto Frozen foods, Spinach, Tubifex and Bloodworm.
  • Frozen prawns.
  • Courgettes, Cucumber, peas and lettuce.
  • Live Food when available.
  • and Sera Catfish Chips for Ancistrus and Pleco
    Catfish.

When I first started "fishkeeping", many years ago, when my Dad won a
goldfish at the Fun Fair, we came home with a glass goldfish bowl, and a
cardboard tube of ant eggs to feed the goldfish.

Tropical Fish Food Technology has greatly improved! If it had not improved, I
don’t think I would have been as successful in breeding and caring for the
tropical fish in the many years I’ve kept them. For many years I was hooked on
Aquarian Tropical Flake, not personally, but variety is the spice of life!

Go on, change your food today!

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Hagen Nutrafin Cycle 236ml (8oz)

Wednesday, August 24th, 2005

I’ve just obtained some bulk quantities of Hagen Nutrafin Cycle, 236ml (8oz) bottles, Expiry Date 04/2006. I use it in the fish house all the time for maturing breeding tanks, and filters. TIP Pour a little Cycle on new filter media

A bargain at 5.00 GBP a bottle, a little less than RRP 7.49 GBP including p&p.

Nutrafin Cycle can be used to mature new aquaria and as a general filter booster.

Hagen claims that its bacterial cultures can remain viable for up to two years in unopened bottles, and for up to six months in opened bottles stored at room temperature.

Hagen also claims that it provides the highest bacterial dose on the market at around 500 billion live bacteria a time.
For maturing new tanks, you need to add 10ml per 35 l./8 gal. once a week during the first month and then switch to a regular maintenance dose.

Visit Hagen Website

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