From: erno@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (Erno Pena)
Subject: Assorted Questions... [F] [M]
Reply-To: erno@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 18:37:22 GMT

This is going to be a long post. I came up with all these questions over the  
weekend and the pet shop here couldn't answer them.

1. Can you recycle water after a water change? I change 2 gallons of water  
every week in my 30 gallon tank and up til now I just flushed the old water.  
It really seems like a waste though, and I thought why couldn't I just  
recycle that water, clean it up, and put it back. So what I did was buy one  
of the 32 gallon Rubbermaid trash cans, built a home made UG filter with  
power head for the bottom, added some old active gravel to about 8 inches  
deep, filled it up with water, and added an ancient Aquamaster power filter  
with AmmoChips, Carbon, Nitrex, and a load of other chemical media. I've got  
it sitting on my balcony covered running for two days before water changes. I  
added more chemicals to make the water condition more like my tanks', and now  
whenever I change water, I just take two gallons of clean water from this can  
and exchange it with two from the aquarium. I plan on replacing half of the  
can's water every month or so. The great thing about this setup is that the  
pH and hardness and Nitrate levels stay virtually constant at the level where  
I want them. It also conserves water. What do you think?

2. Why don't the aquarium magazines do any equipment testing and evaluation  
like computer magazines? I think this is a feature that is lacking and would  
be very beneficial. Imagine, FAMA during one month comparing twenty of the  
more common light bulbs, and the next month, comparing water pumps, testing  
each model to find the most efficient and inexpensive pump. I hate having to  
guess if I should get an AquaClear 300 or a Whisper #3 power filter. I would  
really like to grab a FAMA and look at the Power Filter tests to find out  
which is more powerful and efficient and filters the water best. The  
magazines now have too many ads and not enough good articles.

3. What are people's thoughts about the book _The_Optimum_Aquarium_? Anyone  
have good reviews? I plant on redoing my plant tank and somepeople  
recommended I read the book.

4. I've got a 30 gallon plant tank that i plan to move into a new 55 gallon.  
I also have 4 Cichlasoma Severum cichlids in another 29 gallon. The Severums  
are about 4 inches long each, and I need to move them into the 55. In the  
past, the Severum were pretty good to the plants in their tank, leaving all  
the Anubias and Crypts alone. Now that they are growing bigger, would they  
behave if I put them in the 55 with all my good plants? Is there anyone out  
there with experience raising Severum?

5. Is there a magazine just for keeping a marine aquarium?

Thanks for any thoughts or responses to these questions.

--

E r n e s t o   F.   B.   P e n a
---------------------------------
erno@uiuc.edu   NeXTmail accepted
From: booth@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (George Booth)
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 18:35:44 GMT
Subject: Re: Homebrew Aquaria (Poverty: Mother of invention!)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Loveland, CO