I used to always carry buckets of water back and forth to my aquarium when doing water changes, always spilling water all over the floor, well i heard about the Python No-Spill Clean and Fill, so i desided to purchase the 25 ft Python No-Spill Clean and Fill Kit, and it works realy well.
You just hook it up to your sink, and turn the water on, to start vacuming the gravil and emptying the tank of water. Once your done emptying the water, simply push up and turn the valve that is hooked onto the sink, and start filling the aquarium with fresh water. The only downside to this product, is if you have city water with chlorine in the water, you will have to put some dechlorinator into the stream of water just after you start filling, and again after your done filling it just to be on the safe side. However, if you have well water, or water that does not have chlorine in it, you probabley dont need the dechlorinator.
Another cool feature, is the shut-off valve that is near the aquarium end of the tubing. This allows you to shut off the water flow while going to the sink to shut off the water there. This feature will help stop accedental over-flows of the aquarium.
I give this product a 5 out of 5 because it is a realy good product, that will help a lot of people, and i know for a fact, once people use it, they will never go back... I never will, thats for sure.
Okay, Let me start by saying "Wow"... I've never seen any carbon work as fast as this stuff does. My aquarium was cloudy, so i desided to buy some extra carbon, and when i went to my local pet shop, they only had 2 kinds of carbon, Aquarium Pharm. Carbon (Reviewed Below) and Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon, so i desided to give the Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon a try, and boy am i impressed... It cost me $10 for a 900 mL Bottle, but its well worth the price.
When my aquarium was cloudy, i put this carbon in a filter media bag, and stuck it in the filter behind the filter pad, and i could notice a change within 1 hour, and after about 3-4 hours, the water was almost cleared up.
Another thing i should mention, which in my opinion, makes me like this carbon the most, is when i rinsed it under water before i put it in my aquarium, i didnt get hardly any black carbon dust/debris, as compared to Aquarium Pharm's. brand carbon, i couldent get rid of the black dust. So that is the main reason why i am going to stick with Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon.
I rate this product a 5 out of 5 because it is the best working carbon i have seen yet.
I've used this product many time in the past, however, i recently decided to try out "Black Diamond Premium Activated Carbon" by Marineland (See my review about this product above), And i will not be going back to "Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Activated Filter Carbon" anytime soon.
The main downside that i dont like about Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Activated Filter Carbon, is that when i rinse the carbon in my sink, it seems like the carbon dust is never ending, even after rinsing it for 10 minutes non-stop, i STILL have dust and black debris coming from the carbon... it always seems like i can not get the black dust/debris to go away... Well after trying my best to rinse the carbon, i put it in my aquarium, well my aquarium water starts to turn a little cloudy because of the carbon dust/debris, Yes, even after rinsing for 10+ minutes, my water turns cloudy... However the cloudy water clears up after a few hours, so its not THAT big of a deal, but its still annoying.
Now on the good side, "Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Activated Filter Carbon" is on the cheaper side, compared to other carbon media on the market.
All in all, I would give this product a 3 out of 5 stars... only because of the rinsing problems as stated above. Other than that, it is a fairly decent carbon product.
Marineland Bio-Spira (1 fl oz) - [link]
This review belongs to celaeno @ False Darkness.
I've used this product a few times, mostly to cycle my tanks. The first time I used it was around one month into the hobby, when I was still a beginner. I had two medium firemouth cichlids in a 10 gallon (which is a no-no) and the tank wasn't cycled, so ammonia had risen to 4 ppm. I remembered reading about Bio-Spira on a website, so I researched it, read some testimonials, and decided to try it out.
I bought a small 1 fl oz pouch, shaked it for one minute, and dumped it into my tank. In less than a week, the ammonia dropped to 2 ppm. It would probably have dropped to 0, but I gave away the firemouths before it did and didn't test the water. It is important to note that I bought the Bio-Spira in the middle of January, during winter. One pouch was more than enough to cycle the tank this time, and once again when I had to re-establish the bacterial colonies after medicating the tank with Clout (a harsh medicine that I do not recommend).
However, it took 2 or 3 small pouches of Bio-Spira to cycle my 20 gallon tank that I started near the end of spring '06 ( I had abandoned a fishless cycle because it was going nowhere (nitrites weren't rising) after nearly 2 months). The only explanation I can think of for why Bio-Spira wasn't as effective that time, was because it was shipped in warm weather. Since the bacteria come out of "hibernation" at warmer temperatures, some might've gone active prematurely during shipping and died off without sufficient food (ammonia/nitrites).
Overall, I'd say that Bio-Spira is the product to use to cycle tanks, especially smaller ones. However, I'd avoid buying it if the weather is not cold enough.
Other products you might try to cycle a tank are Hagen/Nutrafin Cycle, Fritz Fritz-Zyme, Tetra Safe Start, and Kent Eco Start. I have not tested these products, so I do not know how effective they might be. However, the general consensus is that it's good if it requires refrigeration and it's bad if you have to add it with each water change even after the tank has "cycled."
Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheel Power Filters 100 & 150 - [link]
This review belongs to celaeno @ False Darkness.
These filters were recommended by AquariumFish.net for a variety of reasons. I bought a model 100 mainly because I read that the bacteria on the bio-wheel don't compete with the fish for oxygen, as the bacteria gets it directly from the air. After almost 1 year and 3 months, the filter is still running well.
However, there were sometimes problems with the spinning rate of the bio-wheel. It would sometimes spin somewhat to very slowly even after I've cleaned the intake, intake tube, impeller, and filter cartridge. I tried using a new impeller I ordered from Marineland, thinking that the magnetic assembly had somehow weakened with use, but the rotation rate was still the same. I also cleaned the area of the hole where the impeller fits into the filter, wiih a Q-tip, but with no improvement. I've come to learn that the lesser the fish food that's sucked into the filter, the lesser the chance the bio-wheel will spin slowly.
Unfortunately, my model 150 that I started running in May '06 also started in November of the same year, to have a problem with the spinning rate. It would move very slowly and sometimes even stop for a few seconds between spins. Fortunately, the warranty period of 1 year had not passed and I was able to get a free replacement after mailing the old filter back to Marineland. They even allowed me to keep the cultured bio-wheel, which I submerged in the tank water until I got the new filter. So far, it's been 3 months and no problems with the model 150 replacement.
Since the bio-wheel filters are HOB (hang-on-back) power filters, they don't take up floor space and at the same time, agitate the water surface, raising oxygen levels in the tank. As far as maintenance goes, I replace the filter cartridges every 2 months, despite Marineland and the LFS's recommendation to replace it monthly. I rinse them whenever the bio-wheel starts slowing down, which is usually every 1-2 weeks. Mechanical filtration is adequate, but the chemical filtration could be better, as there is too little carbon inserted into each filter cartridge (perhaps that's why there is a second slot in the filter).
Overall, I recommend Marineland's Bio-Wheel filters because of the Bio-Wheel technology and low maintenance. They are especially good for smaller tanks.
I've been using Aqua-Plus ever since I started my 10 gallon tank in mid-December of '05, and have never encountered any problems due to its use. According to the product website, it removes chlorine/chloramine, neutralizes heavy metals, and replaces the fish's slimecoat.
Since my water contains no chlorine according to the water department, I don't know how well Aqua- Plus works against that, but I assume it's as good as other tap water conditioners on the market. My water does contain chloramine, however, and seeing as to how the bacterial colonies in the filter have not been affected with each water change, Aqua-Plus seems to do a good job as far as that's concerned.
Despite my experience, The Tropical Tank suspects that Aqua-Plus contains only sodium thiosulfate (the same as standard dechlorinators for chlorine only). That site goes on to state that usually, a higher dosage is recommended for the removal of chloramine. However, Aqua-Plus recommends the same dosage for chloramine as it does for chlorine.
The usefulness of slimecoat protection is also debated. Two important issues associated with this protection are the possible binding of the fish's gills and the artificial stimulation of slimecoat production, as described on the above site.
Despite this controversy, I have used Aqua-Plus with no problems and my fish don't seem to be irritated by it. I would recommend Aqua-Plus, but probably not more than any other popular tap water conditioners with the same stated features. The only other one I've tried is Tetra AquaSafe, which seemed to work well in the limited time I used it, except that it was hard to measure the precise dosage. AquaSafe is more economical, since it only requires half the dosage for the same volume if I recall correctly. To offset this, I've started buying the 67 oz Aqua-Plus. Owners of large tanks should consider pond water conditioners.
Top Fin Thermometer Strip (large) - [link]
This review belongs to celaeno @ False Darkness.
I used this thermometer for 10 months on my 20 gallon tank before I got tired of its inaccurate readings. The thermometer measures from 64 to 90F (18 to 32C), which is a good range.
However, the Fahrenheit markings are calibrated to match the Celsius markings. The Celsius markings are in 2C intervals, which I have no complaint about, but the Fahrenheit markings vary between 3 and 4F instead of having a fixed interval. An interval of 3 or 4F on a stick-on thermometer means there is a wider range for what the temperature might be, which is not good. My Hagen/Marina Dorado LCD Thermometer, on the other hand, has 2F intervals.
Unlike the Marina stick-on thermometer, the Top Fin one reads the temperature about 4 degrees below the heater's setting of 77F. The heaters in both of my tanks are set to 77F and are the same brand (Visi-Therm), so it shouldn't be the heater's fault. The Hagen/Marina Plastic Thermometer I recently got also reads the temperature at 78F instead of around 73F, so this is further evidence that the Top Fin thermometer was giving false readings.
Another disadvantage of using the Top Fin strip is that it's a stick-on, which measures both air and water temperature. For some reason, though, the Marina LCD strip doesn't seem to be affected as much as the Top Fin one by changes in air temperature (caused by open windows, etc).
Finally, the Top Fin strip is hard to take off once it's stuck onto the tank. I had to slowly scrape it off with a knife to get the sticky material off. I wouldn't recommend this thermometer, especially when there are internal and battery-operated thermometers on the market.
Jungle Lime Off (8 fl oz) - [link]
Have you ever had those white spots on your hood, light fixture, and filter that just wont seem to go away? You keep wiping it off, but within a few hours it comes back?
Well I purchased this product at www.petsmart.com because it had free shipping, and i must say, it works pretty good for removing minor salt residue, but when it comes to that really hard and crusty stuff, you must first scrape it off, then you can use this product so the white spots wont reappear. What i usually do, is take a cloth, spray lime off on it, then wipe off all the salt residue, wait about 3 minutes, then dry it off with a dry cloth. This will keep it from magically appearing again within a few hours. I rate this product a 4 out of 5 mainly because its cheap, and its easy to use, and works relatively good.
Lee's Corner Filters - [link 1] [link 2]
I almost like these filters better than the "Hang on Back" filters for smaller tanks. I have used both of the filters in the links above, and i must say, there is a huge improvement in the "Triple-Flow Corner Filter" than the "Economy Corner Filter", however, they both work very well at filtering out all the excess waste/food in your aquarium. If you take the time and watch, you can actually see with your eye's how well these filters work. I wouldn't recommend these filters for a huge aquarium, but anything under 20 Gallons, these would work great for. I give this product a 5 out of 5 stars, because of its cheap price, and its effectiveness.
