find a CO2 shop and buy a cylinder, one in brum where I picked my 2KG sells proper cylinders with a screw valve on top like the ones from your LFS for ?25 and I bought the solenoid valve at bottom of this link from tankscape (green box)

Tankscape

would have bought their CO2 hosing, valves and ceramic diffusers if I hadn't already picked up JBL stuff

sign up to their newsletter before purchasing as I recieved a 10% off code when i signed up, had already bought the solenoid though

LFS has the sexed pair at ?50, so for once they have a pretty decent price on something, they can get more in so i'll mull it over during the christmas period

anyone had these yet? any idea of a price range?

A shop by me has a pair in, very tempted with them but already have a cacatuoides pair in the planted tank and was going to move my rams in there to strip down the smaller tank as it's ruining my chest of drawers.

Could always send the rams off to a mates discus tank though...

I'd not buy one, but I tend to go custom built or practicality. If it had to go in a room with oak furniture then I would have to.

but going by the prices of "rustic oak" furniture it seems not that bad a price, buy a similar sized cabinet, a new glass tank then get a carpenter to knock up a matching oak hood and trim and you'll probably be looking at a similar price (no idea what carpenters charge though)

But MA have a sale on ATM though with 20% off and do finance

when I had my old rekord 120 I did exactly that, up'd the 600 to the 1000 and it was fantastic, the extra flow drew more water through the filter clearing it faster

the eheim would be better, that is true, but the bigger pump would help as well

ok i forgot, but will scan in tomorrow afternoon, will set myself a reminder

IME the heating elements on eheim externals break very quickly, personally wouldn't bother with the thermo ever again

the filters are amazing though

will be dosing nitrate and phosphates with powders as i've used them before, a bit of algae will be nice for the ottos though lol

A mate came round for a catch-up and brought their test kit with them (only a nutrafin master box, but better than nought)

results:
pH - 8.0
GH - 16`DH
KH - 5`DH
Ca - 80 mg/l
NH3- 0
NO2- 0
NO3- 0
PO4- 0.25
chelated iron >1.0
un-chelated iron 0

will see what happens when I throw CO2 in

been a while

I have been doing a 10% water change every two weeks using RO re-mineralised with tropic-marin discus mineral. Moved the 4 spotted head standers from my holding tank upstairs (had them since middle of august) on the 11th november.

Doing very well so I have now added a trio of large pearl gourami (very nice male and 2 big females) 6 Black Venezuelan cories and a young pair of orange apistogramma cacatoides

Pruned back the Nomaphila stricta and removed the hygrophila sp. araguaia as it was doing nothing. Treating weekly with Ferropol and daily with Ferrolpol 24 and flourish excel but am adding CO2 next week

anywhos a picture