Total Maintenance Done

Ok so here is how it stands, i am really regretting buying this tank, dont get me wrong i love having these fish its wicked, but i wish i had gone to a different shop and get a different tank. From what ive gathered Maidenhead Aquatics in Havant dont know what they are talking about and they will quite happily sell an electric blanket to a Saudi. They dont ask what you have what u want or give you enough information before you buy. For me this has been an up hill struggle learning what i need to look after it all. But thanks to the shop assistants and managers of The Aquatics Centre in North road and the Fish shop by Asda (cant remember the name) i have managed to figure it all out. Oh and the manager at the Fish/Bird/Reptile shop near Asda is a relative encyclopida on marine fish he rocks.

Ok so far, the tank i have isnt really supposed to be used as a marine tank, there isnt a built in protein skimmer and the smallest on the market is the only one that fits. To get that to fit you have to place the heating unit where the pumps are. You then have to open the lid, cut a section out of the lid. Then unscrew the transformer, move it to the other side of the lid. I achieved this by getting new wire and junction boxes from Maplin (they were very helpful). I then cut some polycarbonate into shape and glued it into place using special marine sealant. You MUST use the special sealant stuff other wise it can release toxins into the water. I did all this so that the protein skimmer would fit and not bubble water into the lid.

The Protein Skimmer itself needs to be emptied now and again, to do this you lift off the little box on the top. This sounds easy enough, once you remove the box when you put it back on it pushes the whole skimmer down under water. For it to work the top needs to be at the water line. To hold this fantastic piece of kit they designers use 3 suction cups which have a tendency to stick to the wall more than the skimmer grrrr. So to combat this i have installed a large Cable tie. Cause if you cant fix it with Cable ties/duck tape/super glue u cant fix it at all!!!