Just a quick two questions (well babble more like)

I've never used external filters but i have a bit of spare money this month and thinking of investing in one, ive seen one ideal for my tank 1100lph. My question however is do i get the standard one or do i pay the few pound more and get the added UV to the filter. Is the extra UV worth it or is it just a pointless extra? Im not fussed paying the little extra if its worth it just thought i would see peoples opinions first.


Second question is salt treatment to tanks, ive never used the stuff but ive been recommended by alot of people to use it as a general tonic to fish health and also to cure one of my quarantined fish. In a 33g tank what measurement of salt should i put in (rather peoples own experience rather than the packaging as they can be off the point sometimes). Bear in mind i have cory fish and shrimp in the tank(not sure if shrimp are affected but the cory are definitely intolerant of it)

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Getting one with the uv is basically up to you. If you are prone to green water they are great for that, and will help with some parasites.

As for using salt as a general tonic in a tank that has no disease to me is pointless. It can also cause effectiveness to use it as a med later if needed to be less as what ever is in the tank will build a tolerance for salt.

Salt isn't really good for cories also. They can tolerate a little but not enough to do the tank much good.

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SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!!
220 Tank build
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html

I know but i cant decide on the filter hence the asking lol. Just seeing what people would choose themselves.

Ive heard a few people use salt effectively with cory but cant remember the reduced dosage that they used :( Im guessing its personal use with everyone some swear by using salt for curing and as tonic where as some dont. But need to use it in one of my tanks to help with treatment

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

I would only suggest the UV extra if you have problems with free flouting algae as a uv will only treat those,as for Salt its like Susan said, in a tank with no disease its best to not use salt as parasites can become tolerant to salt.

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I agree with others on the no salt. The only time I use salt is in my Cichlid water mix. One tea spoon sea salt, one tea spoon baking soda, one tea spoon epsom salt for every 20 gallons of water. Others use more per gallon than me but that works and keeps my chemistry just fine for Africans. Of course, I have no Cory's in there.

I've always wondered if UV filters killed bb. Probably not much as there is little in the water vs. stratum.

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

Yeah, i got the salt as had some troubles with some of the fish recently and it all come out of that tank so im guessing there is some underlying problem and if just a small dosage helps stop it then the inexpensive cost of it will be worth it in the long run. But was curious to the dosage people have used with cory as i know some have used it with them before.

I think i missed worded it really wasnt meant to say i wanted to use it as a general tonic cure as its pointless if theres nothing wrong.


Ive had some problems with algae in my main tank i thought the UV would in some ways help, the water has been tinted in the past when doing water changes so again signs of free floating algae, so wanted to sort out the free floating stuff. But I ended up getting the UV external filter anyway to use on my new tank, if it works fine then will invest in another one for the main tank.

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I asked here before and on other places about how much salt a Cory could stand without any harm and have not gotten an answer. That being the case I use no salt in any tank with Cory Cats. I like them too much to hurt them.

In fact, I'd like to have a species tank, a big one, with nothing but Cory's, maybe 30 or 40. I'd love to see them school and all dart to the top together.

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

A uv filter will help the green water, it will also help with ich parasites. But you don't need to leave them running all the time. You can but you will be changing bulbs out more often and those are expensive. They actually recommend that they are changed out yearly but if you run them 24/7 you will need to change them out twice a year.

Cories and salt, they can tolerate 1/2 doses but not on a continuous basis. They can handle it for about 10 days and needs to be changed out. In their natural habitats there is very little salt in the waters they come from.

I have about 70 cories in my 220 and have never seen them all go to the top at one time. Maybe 2 or 3 buts thats it.

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SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!!
220 Tank build
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html

I dont know what the UV is like on the external filter yet so will let you know when i get it and the options to turn on and off on a regular basis.

The cory are not affected in the tank, but ive had problems with other fish such as my danios, had 2 die for no apparent reason, then one ive quarantined when taken out only showed signs of a fungus infection, but since has developed ulcers and on and off fungus signs. The others seem fine for now but so did the others until shown to die for no apparent reason. Ive got a feeling there may be some ich parasite in the tank as a couple of fish has shown signs of rubbing but not on a regular basis to make extremely clear, and none show white spots seen in most ich cases, yet have never shown rubbing before. Hopefully its early stages and another reason i got the salt to try and neutralise the symptoms.

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"

Fish will get an itch once in awhile. I have had a couple do that but not very often. Flashing can also mean high ammonia or nitrites, so you need to make sure of test results. On the fungus I don't think salt would help any. The uv will help if its in the early stages of ich. But at this stage it doesn't sound like it.

My uv filter is seperate and runs off a power head. Every couple of months I might stick it on a tank for about 5 days then remove it. Out of all my tanks I only have 2 that are prone to green water, but they don't have plants in them. The cichlids just tear them up.

__________________
SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!!
220 Tank build
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html

For some reason my tank is prone to green water which is frustrating at times but nothing thats not manageable just looking for easy manageable solutions to it.

The salt i ended up getting is Aqualibrium from Interpet. It says to use when treating and or safeguarding fish against disease. To use as a supportive measure to use alongside treatment for ulcers, dropsy, fungus infections etc etc. I dosed a small amount in my quarantine tank about 2 days ago and the danio has shown some improvement. It was very inexpensive to buy so i wasnt bothered if it made a difference or not just thought to try other methods than ive tried before.

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"Just Keep Swimming Just Keep Swimming Swimming Swimming"