Fish Tank Manufacture

Please see Figure 1 for a detailed overview of nitrogen cycling.

For marine aquarium keeping the picture is much simpler (Figure 2). Protein Nitrogen enters into the system mainly as livestock and food. Eaten and not most of this material is broken down/converted to (

will enter your system (mainly through the air). By using some, a mix, or all the methods mentioned above for introducing and boosting beneficial bacterial growth, you will realize a progression, growth of bacterial populations that will result in an increase at first of ammonia, then compounds called nitrites (made by bacteria converting, adding oxygen to ammonia), then in turn nitrates (made from further adding oxygen to the nitrites by another group of bacteria). This process of converting ammonia to nitrite to nitrate is termed nitrification. It is the principal way aquari

" These bulbs operate in the same way as regular fluorescent bulbs, except that the ballasts that power these lamps apply more electrical current to the lamp, and some brands of VHO lamps employ more phosphors in their operation. Typically, a VHO bulb produces twice the output in lumens as a regular fluorescent bulb. They also tend to burn twice as hot as regular fluorescents, a

.. is there sufficient space to get around, reach all? Im not just talking about the obvious gap/s behind, on the side/s of the main tank, but the entire three dimensional aspect of the entire arrangement. "Oh, I wont need to get behind, around XXXX once its all in place"... Ha haaaahhaaa, oh, youre killing me! Dont make the simple mistake of closing all the sumps, filters, pumps into too small an area... leave/make room to get to all... and I mean all of the plumbing, equipment such that you can rep

Even though Hagen uses a high quality stainless steel, I have found they can still rust a tiny amount after years of use. I have yet to have one fail due to rusting, I have never suspected any livestock losses due to metals poisoning, and the rusting that I have noticed has taken three or more years to develop, but it is still a point to consider when evaluating and purchasing.

Marineland Penguins

Penguin powerheads are middle-of-the-road performers in my book. They operate ok, but they seem to "chatter" more than other brands ("Chatter" is the annoying noise caused by impeller vibration) and sometimes fail to function when first turn

Cleaning Under Your UGF
If you've ever considered tearing down your under gravel filter, just to clean the junk out from under the plate, here is a tip you'll enoy. ....