Hello Shaun. Congrats on snagging what sounds like a nice tank setup. If I understand the setup correctly you could continue to use the existing wier/overflow drains to the sump and use the separate bulkhead fitting that is also at the same end of the tank as a drain to a second pump to increase ...

Works for me 2wheels...I like slate in general because you can get it in fairly thin, flat pieces that work well for caves and such without adding huge amounts of weight to your tank. Also it's pretty easy to cut with a power saw and a cheap $2 masonry blade, at least the thinner stuff. Found the ...

OK, I have used slate in tanks before and currently, as it's readily available here, at least the standard grey stuff. I found out that a local supplier has different colors, green, purple, even red on hand....I am assuming that the different color are due to different mineral contents in the slate ...

I'm reasonably sure I will find somebody somewhere to sell me a short piece, just not sure where yet:)...Yes, the tank-to-tank pipe is certainly the cleaner and more elegant way to go, as opposed to the over the rim route I'm going. On the former, if you have a leak or break in the connecting ...

Hello nj, yes, that's the idea I would PREFER to use, but it looks like they are going thru acrylic tanks, which would be much easier and safer I think...mine are glass and I don't trust myself to get the bulkheads lined up right without cracking the glass and having both tanks drain out, which ...

Thanks Mats...yes, that's a good point about the temp. Perhaps I'd best leave that alone and just treat for a longer period....Is salt of any value in this case?? Seems I have read that some people use salt when battling Ich.

Discovered last nite that I have an outbreak of ICH in my 40 gallon tank. Resident fish are two syno. brichardi, one psuedacanthicus leopardus, five pit bull pleco's, three otto's, three juvenile syno . petricola and a single angel. It sounds crowded, but only the brichardi are full size, the rest ...

Hello BH. I don't pretend to be an expert on petricola or lucipinis, but I've had one for a dozen years or longer I guess. He/she/it has been in several tanks during that time with an assortment of tankmates and always done just fine. Beautiful fish. Mine used to dissappear for weeks at a time until ...

OK, you have frameless and a PLAN, so I'll shut up Mats!! LOL....I think too much sometimes....Hey a dozen tanks in your room means I can get a BUNCH more when I get MINE built!! haha...Have to lock the door, not let the wife in there.....Viktor, I like your plan to silicone the windows and doors up ...

OK, I don't expect my floor to fail, not the concrete one in the garage anyway:)...I dunno, I'm always thinking what-ifs. If your connection has some inherent flexability to it I suppose you'll be fine. A question tho...If your bulkhead is going through both panes of glass won't there be some gap ...

Yes, I thought $17 was fairly reasonable for these guys, even though they are very small, but I try to buy all my fish small, young and cheap, or at least cheaper. I also think it's easier to acclimate them to new homes when they are young. My original petricola/lucipinis was very secretive. Weeks ...

Mats, in theory I much prefer your solution and considered it myself before deciding to try this water bridge. However, glass is an annoyingly brittle substance. My concern would be that if there is any movement between tanks it would place a stress on one or both plates that the bulkheads pass ...

Did manage to pick up 3 new Petricola Saturday morning. Had to drive two and a half hours, each way to get them, but I got em!! Cute little buggers, less than an inch long. I have them in a smaller tank, 40 USG, for the time being until they acclimate and grow a bit before I add them to my larger ...

Lost out on the brichardi. By the time I got to the not so LFS...which is 130 miles away in another state, they were sold...OH well, they'll be back another day, hopefully a little closer next time!@!

OK, we all need more tank space, either because we keep adding new fish to existing tanks...when we shouldn't....but it was sooo pretty and I may not see one like that again...or in my case because I buy them when they're babies and of course in a year or two they begin to grow too big for their ...

Just found out that Syno. Brichardi are available in my area again. I'd like to pick up a couple more to add to the two I already have. Do these guys do well or better in groups or are they solitary fish?? The two I have don't seem to pay a lot of attention to each other, but perhaps they'd behave ...

Thanks Richard. Haven't observed any aggression in this tank over the past year other than minor squabbling over caves, but the guys and girls are growing so a new, larger setup is in the works and should be up and running in a couple months. I think that is going to make them all happier and lower ...

I have a 75G catfish tank with mixed plecos and synos. Amongst them is a single petricola or possibly lucipinnis that I have had 10+ years. My LFS has them in stock and I'm tempted to add 3-4 more. They don't get very big and are very attractive. Do these guys do well in groups?? Is the "old one ...

Thanks DC. Yeah, I want to try this stuff instead of bio balls or any of the other media that people typically use in sumps/filters. I've always found that sponges work as well or better than anything else and they're cheap. It's all I've used in my HOB's and canisters for 20 years, so I thought I'd ...

Anyone using this stuff?? I'm planning a sump for a new setup and I'm considering using two or three sheets of this as my filtration, probably course and medium or possibly course, medium and fine if it will pass the flow from my Mag 9.5, which I'm guessing should move about 700-800gph after head ...

Being where I am, only miles from Washington DC and Baltimore, two large cities, I can easily get about any tank I want (and can afford). I forget that not everyone on these sites is as fortunate. Just about anything else is readily available to us online, but I'm betting tanks are a pain and ...

Point taken Shane. I'm quite sure that Uganda is a heck of a lot warmer (hotter) than Maryland, at least most of the year. It often gets into the 90's here in summer, but I live on wooded property and the house is in heavy shade, so it rarely gets much above the upper 70's inside, even without AC ...

I know some people have heat problems with submersable pumps, but I never have, most likely because I run my tanks with open tops. I do lose a lot thru evaporation that way, and doubtless some heat as well, but I like the look. I figure the heat from the pumps just makes up for what I'd be losing ...

Yes, the plumbing will be attached to a Mag 9.5 pump, 900+ GPH and yes it does vibrate, unfortunately...I guess most pumps do. Guess I'll cushion both the pump and the plumbing and probably run the pipes thru some drilled/siliconed glass as Bas suggested. Should be able to hide all that with gravel ...

Hello Bas. Yes, I'm sure I'll want to keep this configuration for the foreseeable future....I've monkey-rigged it already on existing tanks, just to try the concept and I liked it. I had the plumbing running over the tank in a temporary fashion, which looked awful and vibrated if I didn't cushion it ...

For those of you familiar with this type setup, I'm planning it for my next tank and I have a question....If you've done it, how did you secure the PVC along the tank bottom so that it won't vibrate and/or work it's way up through the gravel over time?? Plumbing vibrates, this I know from experience ...

Thanks Mats. Ya know, I may just take a shot at drilling this one. As you and others have pointed out to me, it ain't rocket science, you simply need to follow the right process, go slow and keep things cool/wet as you go. I'll get the appropriate hole saw and some scrap glass and play with it in ...

Interesting feedback. I tend to look at all the options before I settle on something and I like thinking out of the box, just to see what else is possible or interesting. The sump route would simplify the stand build, but I do like the waterfalls for previously mentioned reasons. All still in the ...

Planning a new tank, 125G most likely. I've been going over various filtration options in my head and on paper trying to decide how I want to handle a tank that size. In years past, with small tanks I always relied on Aqua Clear HOB's and they served me well. When I moved up to my current 75's I ...

Thanks TwoTank...the 125 wide is basically a chopped 180, same footprint, not as deep. Glad you're happy with your 33's!!