¤ Super Porous Ceramic Ring shape for maximum water flow, maximum surface area, and minimum maintenance.
¤ Buffers PH by releasing Calcium ions as needed.
¤ Fortified with multiple strains of beneficial EM and Nitro bacteria.
¤ Super Powerful Bio-Filtration capacity.
¤ Super Fast °Cycling ± time for establishing stable conditions in new aquarium.
¤ Accelerated breakdown of Nitrogenous wastes, and most organic wastes.
¤ Maintains healthy water: which means healthy Fish!
¤ Makes Fish Keeping Easy!
PH Buffering.
Since different kinds of fishes have very different requirements with regard to water characteristics in order to live, maintaining suitable water conditions in your aquarium is of paramount importance. Maintaining the best PH for your fish is one of the most important aspects of fish-keeping. Flex LIVE HOUSE (Bacteria Fortified PH Buffering Filter Media) For American Cichlids and Flower Horn has a considerable PH buffering effect which prevents large fluctuations in the water ˉs PH by releasing calcium ions into the water as needed if the PH changes. This helps stabilize the aquarium ˉs PH at near optimal levels.
BIOLOGICAL FILTER CAPACITY.
Unlike plain ceramic rings which are pretty much inert, and biologically sterile when manufactured, Flex LIVE HOUSE (Bacteria Fortified PH Buffering Filter Media) For African Cichlids has had complex cultures of more than 30 different strains of Nitro and EM (including clostridium butyricum ) bacteria grown on them in special fermentation vats, and then air dried to preserve the live bacteria impregnated all over the surface.
This means that there are already untold millions of the most powerful filtering bacteria already established, and ready to start working at near full power, almost as soon as they are put into the aquarium filter. This means that there is little or no °Cycling ± time necessary before the filter starts working at near full capacity.
Biological filtration of the water by micro-organisms which break down wastes, and maintain a healthy environment is the mechanism by which all natural ecosystems continue to function.
If this process stops working efficiently in your aquarium, the water will soon turn into a toxic soup which will kill your fish and everything else in the aquarium. Your filter, and the filter material in it, where the untold millions of waste eating bacteria and other micro-flora live, is the engine room of your aquarium ˉs biological control system.
There are a great many different bacteria which work together to break down waste products in your aquarium. Most of these bacteria do not float around in the water, but form a very complex biological film on hard objects, and remove wastes from the water as it flows past.
Among these bacteria, there are some critically important kinds. The various Nitro Bacteria break down Ammonia into Nitrite (Nitrosomonas), and Nitrite into Nitrate (Nitrobacter) in what is called the Nitrogen Cycle. Others, including clostridium butyricum, photosynthetic bacteria￡ Lactobacillus￡ Enzymes and many others, are included in what are collectively called EM (Effective Microorganisms) Bacteria. They work together to break down most wastes, suppress disease causing bacteria, make minerals available for plants, and generally keep the environment clean, and the water crystal clear. Flex LIVE HOUSE is impregnated with live cultures of all these beneficial micro-organisms.
How to use.
Do not clean or wash before use!! Put this product directly into the filter, either loosely or in the provided net. The water may go turbid or cloudy at first. Do not worry about this, as it will not affect the fish! The water will soon clear, and the rest of the tank will be seeded with beneficial bacteria as well.
Aquarium Maintenance.
NEVER WASH Flex LIVE HOUSE, OR ANY OTHER FILTER MATERIAL IN CHLORINATED TAP WATER! ---- The Chlorine in the water will kill most of the beneficial bacteria, and destroy the biological filtration capacity of the filter!
Flex LIVE HOUSE filter material will almost never clog up, but foam and wool based filter materials will. If this happens, use a gravel siphon to remove some water from the Aquarium into a bucket, and simply rinse the filter material by hand in the bucket so that only water from the aquarium comes in touch with the filter material, before putting it back into the filter.
It doesn ˉt matter if it still looks a little dirty, as long as most of the °Gunk ± has been rinsed off, and the water will be able to flow through it again, it will be OK. Most importantly, the bacteria in the filter medium will still be alive, and will continue to work normally. CHLORINATED TAP WATER WILL SEVERELY DAMAGE YOUR FILTER ˉS ABILITY TO FUNCTION!! This applies to all filter material, not just LIVE HOUSE.
NEVER WASH FILTER MATERIAL UNDER A TAP, OR IT WILL KILL THE ESSENTIAL BACTERIA!!
REMEMBER: If you have the mindset that you are culturing bacteria, rather than looking after fish, you will rarely have any problems.
Look after your bacteria -. Be kind to them, they are your friends!! The bacteria are the most important things in your aquarium. If you look after your bacteria, and never do anything that will harm them, they will look after your aquarium for you. As long as the bacteria are doing their job of maintaining beautiful healthy clear water, your fish will be happy.
If the bacteria in the filter stop working, your tank will quickly turn into a toxic soup that will kill your fish and everything else in your tank.
The length of time that Flex LIVE HOUSE for American Cichlids and Flower Horn can continue to automatically buffer the PH will depend on various factors. How often the water is changed, what kind of things are in the aquarium, how much, and how often the fish are fed. Flex LIVE HOUSE for African Cichlids will help prevent the water ˉs PH from falling too low, or fluctuating beyond acceptable limits.
The extra powerful biological filtration capacity of Flex LIVE HOUSE should reduce the need for water changes, but will never eliminate it.
For best results, and the most reliable and trouble free aquarium maintenance, we recommend that Flex GEO LIQUID be used every time you set up a new aquarium, or do a water change, no matter what kind of aquarium you keep.