>1. I am engaged in an ongoing battle with the infamous brush algae, that
>hairy, black creature that attaches itself to plant leaf margins, wood,
>and rock. I have added phosphorus pillows to my filter, added more
>plants and fish to add more competition to the system, and thrown in 20
>ghost shrimp to scavenge. Nothing works great, but I haven't reached the
>critical mass yet! Any suggestions??????
The siamesis that Mike mentioned is great for hair algea, but they've
never done anything towards black brush algea for me. I've never heard
of them helping anybody in the US but one of the Australians reported
some success using them. Of course it could have been a different
species of algea that they get. If you start using CO2, keep the
lighting to 12 hours or less, and have enough plants, then you should
be able to get your plants to out compete the algea. I never could get
rid of the stuff until I started using the yeast based CO2 generator.
They're a little bit of a pain to recharge, but the price sure beats
buying a CO2 system.
>2. Looking for suggestions regarding air pumps and sponge filters.
>Looking for a pump that will power between 6 and 10 sponge filters with a
>water depth of 10 inches. Any suggested brands and models? The same
>question applies to sponge filters. I am currently using Tetra Billi
>brand . They are good, but tend to foul quickly due to the small pore
>size. Comments are appreciated.
Get a whisper 950 and you'll be able to power that many sponge filters
plus more. Then when the pump begins getting week (years down the
line) you'll still have the power to keep up. What ever pump you
decide on remember that you will need replacement parts. Look into
which brand is carried in all the stores around you town and check
what repairs parts they carry. If your pump goes down you need to fix
it now not in two weeks when they can get the parts in.
As to a sponge filter get the Hydo-Sponge by ATI. A #2 is plenty big
for a 10 or a 20 gallon tank. They're very easy to clean, have a
vastly superior sponge quality, and can go for very long times without
clogging. The Tetra sponge filter is probably second best but they
require more work to get clean. Any other sponge filters aren't worth
paying for, as you can make a much better one yourself for less money.
Cary Hostrawser
Minnesota Aquarium Society
http://www.mn-aquarium.org/
Rainbowfish Study Group of North America
http://home.earthlink.net/~sbuckel/index.html