Good flow rate, low noise. You can also arrange around what goes in it. Like you can cut the foam insert in half so you can add more ceramic rings. Maintence is simple. I got my first one off ebay for just over $50. So price wise its great. Probably the best hob out there.david yurik;4872883; said:
12 Volt Man's Aqueon 150 Gallon Startup Thread
- Thread starter 12 Volt Man
- Start date
Just finished reading through the whole thread...awesome setup 12 VM, gave me a whole new perspective on barbs.
Good luck with the tanks!
Good luck with the tanks!
LOL don't worry folks I'm still here. just been over at my girfriends alot lately 
will be glad to answer the questions later tonight
will be glad to answer the questions later tonight
okay here goesdavid yurik;4863650; said:wow three days of reading and worth every minute. what an awesome thread for a noob to get a taste of what a dedicated aquarist can do. i could not give higher accolades to you 12v. truely inspiring.
being new i have a bunch of questions i hope you don'd mind me asking?
i see AC110 alot. is that an aquaclear 110 hob filter? it seems very popular.
why do you have the hob filter? i would think the two xp3's provide plenty of filtering. also is there a concern about keeping o2 levels in your water? my xp3 has alot of flow but nothing really breaking the surface. from your pics it looks like your xp3 flow is similar.
while on xp3's how do you load your baskets?
do you keep them running during the water changes?
how often do you open them up and when you do, how do you clean them?
what light do you use on the 150g? is there a certain type of light that is better for fish when you only have fake plants?
in your 65 i think you just have the estes substrate. how do live plants grow in that? i thought they needed something special to feed live plants? also on the 65 it looked like just a hob filter? it seems like so little to me but being new, i just dont have the experience yet and this must be adequate.
most importantly what happened after the 07/01 post about the white feces? was it just a protien thing and they have all been fine? they sure look like it in the pics i just didn't see where you confirmed it.
again thank you for the totally awesome thread.i can't wait to jump from my 45 up to 150 / 180. it will have barbs for sure just because of this!!
thanks in advance - dave
-yes it is an aquaclear 110 filter. it is cleaned weekly when I do my water change while the XP3s are left untouched for a few months. it is a great way to handle mechanical filtration. the XPs actually do break the surface quite well because I use the power jet attachment not the spray bar, which sucks IMO. LOL.
the XPs are cleaned under tap water.
I use twin Aqueon 36" double flourescents with Hagen Powerglo T8 standard bulbs in them. its great for non planted tanks as it is bright but not too bright.
yes I just use estes black gravel in the 65g. with good fertilizer, nothing else is needed. the Val plants tend to suck up most of their nutrients through the water coloumn, so liquid fertilizer is all that is needed. I dose weekly with the water change. if I had sword plants that tend to be 'root feeders', root tablets could be added.
yes, there is only one Aquaclear 110 on the 65g. it is more than enough.
the barbs have been fine. i believe the white feces was from the tetra cichlid sticks, BUT it is different than the white feces of the original tinfoil barbs. the affected with with them got skinny and went off their food. these ones never have.
thank you for the kind comments and for reading through my huge thread. it will never end LOL.
-12 Volt
ps my girlfriend is moving in in two months so I will be back to my normal active self by then LOL
