On Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:30:36 +0000, Sie1808 wrote:

I apologise in advance, I want to be as consise as I can! For three
years we (well, I have done all the maintence etc) have succesfully
kept a 30ltr tropical tank and have now bought a 225ltr tank. It was
sencond hand and cleaned it with a water and vinegar as I was told was
suitable, rinsed the hell out of it and leak tested, we seem all set to
go. As this is a whole new venture, I want to make sure I am starting
out the best I/we can.

The Ecco pro is a good filter but I suggest you also have a look at the
Tetratec EX1200
http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/cat...ternal-filters.
asp as it's had good comments in the PFK forum. I don't have one but am
likely to replace my Fluval 305 with one next year. I use an Ecco Pro
200 to power the reverse flow undergravel filter.

I regret using Dorset gravel in my 120cm tank. I was considering black
gravel and wish I had gone with that. I painted the back and one side
of the aquarium with Blackboard paint so that I couldn't see the pipes
and cables and the tank contents do really show up with the contrast.
It would have looked a lot better if the gravel was black as well.

I suspect the blue lobster will eat anything it can grab. If you think
you might want some of the smaller shrimps, such as CRS or Cherry I'd
ditch the Angels since they would love a shrimp snack when fully grown,
presumably you have seen a fully grown Angel :-)

White Clouds like cooler temps but I'm not sure of the upper limit so I
suggest you look into that.

For the first time ever I didn't go for Neon Tetras and got Cardinals
instead. They grow slightly larger but the red stripe runs the length
of the body.

I looked at those plant sets but didn't think I'd have the patience to
plant that many all at once so I bought individually from several
places over a few months. The best quality ones came from eBay which
surprised me.

I hope everything goes well for you.

--
Regards - Rodney Pont
The from address exists but is mostly dumped,
please send any emails to the address below
e-mail ngpsm4 (at) infohitsystems (dot) ltd (dot) uk