KeepingFish6

First some bad news, the three large goldfish I have been treating for the last 4-5 weeks, have gone to the "Big Pond". Not having the space to keep them in the garage,(a larger car is due this week), and not being able to find another home for them, I took them to a local pond centre that said they would have them for "an old song". Having transported them to the centre, they informed me that they still had a lot of bacteria and sores and they could not accept them. The owner said it would take weeks further to cure them and the best thing was to put them down as they had no facilities for sick fish (?). Without any options to do otherwise, it was with great regret that I had them put down. He said they would be put in a fridge until they demised. I was quite upset having to do this as I have spent a lot of time and energy, not to say money, on trying to give them a chance, still, I have done what I could, at least two of the five I had got a better life. (He had them earlier, from the same tank etc.?)
Soft old twit arn't I. !
Right, sob story over, back to work, I can now dispose of the three large tanks in the garage to make way for the new car which my Good Lady won in a crossword puzzle contest!!. (didnt think I was rich did you?). The old Astra estate was getting past it, thought I was going to bequest that!. Real good bit of luck though, almost as good as the lottery.
Think I will fill this page with some tips etc, one that comes to mind is when you set a tank up, try to position the heater stat so that any flowing water from the filter runs across it. Positioning a heater/stat can be tricky, as, put in the wrong position, the water can have varying temperatures around the tank. Most stats these days seem to have top mounted controls and are mounted upright in the aquarium and as the stat part is above the heater, the stat can turn off prior to the whole tank being brought to the required temperature.
The way I get round this is to extend the output of the filter, using clear plastic pipe, (which most fish suppliers stock, in various sizes), to the other side of the tank, opposite the filter, thereby giving a complete circulation of the water through the filter and over the heater/stat. If you do this, you will get a better heated tank, better filtration, and a cleaner tank. You will need a brush to clean the pipe, as it will get lined with algea and detritus. I use a small "bottle brush" and attatch this to a length of flexible curtain rod. This will go round any corners etc and also be useful for cleaning the intricate paths in some filters. If you want to bend the plastic pipe, do as follows. Find something that will just slide into the pipe, like a length of cable etc. Slide this into the pipe using a bit of vaseline at the point you want to bend it. Pour boiling water over the pipe at this point, (mind your fingers!) and when the pipe is soft, bend it as required and hold under the cold tap to set it. Pull out cable and "presto", a nice clean bend. Block the outlet end with a cap of some sort (have a look in the bathroom cabinet) or a rubber plug, or if you cant find one of these to fit use bathroom caulking. Then drill a row of holes near the end you have just blocked. Keep these in a straight line as you want to be able to direct the water in only one direction. The size of the holes should at least total the size of the filters outlet. More holes will give you LESS pressure at the outlet, less holes gives MORE pressure. A couple of "suckers" with the variable size spider rings will hold the piping in place, which on tanks that have the strengthening glass ribs along them, can be fitted to the underside of these. To save a lot of pipe bending, a piece of flexible pipe can be used from the filter outlet to the new piping. I use a brush with 3 metres of stretchy curtain rod to clean all the pipes underground in the garden pond system. If you use a small length brush they will go round almost any corner.
There are a good range of heater guards by "TRONIC" which are quite cheap and not only guard the heater but also hold it more firmly than most fittings supplied with heaters and also allow you to slide the heater out for cleaning and checking etc. They also stop you plants from lying on the heater and destroying themselves!.