Recent content by idris

There really isn't anything more complicated. [Hose / pump / hose] + [water in / height difference / water out]

To clarify, I'm looking for a pump that can can be sited in the cabinet under a tank. It should draw water in through something like 16/22 hose and expell it through another 16/22 hose. The pump should be capable of moving water at a rate of 1000-1500 LPH when the outlet is 1.5m-2m above the...

I don't dispute the eficiency of in-tank circulation pumps, but it's just not what I'm looking for.

Ah ... I can see how my question was ambiguous. The filter and circulation pump will  not share pipework. It needs to be inline as all the hardware is in the cabinet, rather than I'm the tank.

Any recommendations for an external inline pump with a decent head? The tank is 200+L and has a canister filter - I just need something to boost the circulation. I doesn't need to have a massive LPH, but it does need to maintain a decent flow when pumping up around 1.5m.

When I first did my planted tank, Adakam was very much in vogue. I'm contplating a complete reacape of my 250L tank and wondering why the current thinking is on low maintenance substrates?

I'm looking for an external circulation pump that is capable of a decent flow rate with a head of about 1.7m for a 250L tank. There seem to be 1000 options, some with astronomical price tags, so any first hand recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

Vaguely accurate assumption: Algae needs certain conditions to get established - light / nutrients / flow / etc. (Obviously physical removal, spot treatments etc are beneficial, but those notwithstanding ...) Once algae has been become established, and those conditions are then significantly...

Plasterboard is good for soundproofing, though it works differently to using foam - it doesn't resonate in the way wood / fibre based boards do. A good, cheap, room sound proofing "hack" is to add a second layer of bog-standard plasterboard. Way more dB/£ than fancy products.

What you primarily need in a use like this is a sound absorber. Funky wedge surfaces (like in your second link) are about stopping reflected sound, and not significant here. Underlay is a genuinly good option and new underlay will be demonstrably better, so off-cuts are good. Assuming you have...

(For refrence, whilst sound proofing is not my job, I've speant over 25yrs working as a professional sound engineer. And I'm a cynical **** when it comes to specialist products..) There's a lot of marketing hype written into that product description. You'd get better value for money if you spoke...

I sure I'm way off the mark here but ... Half of my tank has significantly more surface agitation than the other half. When sat in front of the tank, I've noticed that there is a lot more internal reflection on the half with less agitation. I realise polarisation at the water surface and viewing...

That's what I thought. I guessed it could slow the spread of algae between plants, but I wasn't convinced it would do much else. Wash your mouth out! :D:D:D

Today an LFS recomended a UV filter for treating algae. I've not come across this suggestion before. I know it's not likely to be the whole solution, but is it legit?

I have been give some Trumpet snails today by my LFS. They are smaller than I expected, but may not be mature. What size should they be and how quickly do they take to a) get to full size, and b) start breeding?