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Just spent a bit of time stuffing around and failing to catch any shrimp out of the cracked tank, on the upside it didn’t leak at all with less water in it. So it’s bad silicone I reckon rather than an actual crack, which means it probably is repairable. Anyone got any tips for catching shrimp when they’re the last thing in the tank apart from the substrate? I’m trying an air powered filter as a makeshift shrimp trap, it has a big chamber to hold gunk that is sucked in as I didn’t want stagnant water like you get in a bottle trap. So far I have seen one solitary shrimp go in. I’m going to have the same problem when I move everything from the busted brace tank to the new tank, there are definitely cherry shrimp and paratya shrimp in there somewhere and they’ve got a whole 4 feet of tank to hide in. While distracted, I noticed a (comparatively) huge crayfish right at the front glass of the tank next door, and it was my old mate with the failed moult that I had to help remove after he got stuck. He still has 2 legs which bend the wrong way but on the whole looks to be doing extremely well so I am very glad I was able to help him survive. I’ve moved him to the fluval spec V so I can keep an eye on him in the kitchen, he is so much bigger than any of the other crays except for the one I rescued from the guppy tank, so I’d rather separate the biggest ones than have them fight over territory. I have two berried riffle shrimp now, and I’ve looked at setting up their tank better to get their shrimplets to survive. All the filters have fine sponge covers now, and I read somewhere that it helps to float extra sponge pieces in the tank so they can hide in the crevices as they hatch so small. It doesn’t look very aesthetic but then, that tank has always been more of a habitat than a display tank. I think I need to make the tank slightly more brackish too to assist the hatchlings to survive but not entirely sure when, do I increase salinity now while they are still eggs? Or wait until they’ve hatched? I think there is a guy on Facebook who has bred them successfully so I should ask him. He reckons they do filter out and eat their own babies if there isn’t cover for them. I spotted some really dark red solid coloured cherry shrimp in my original gudgeon tank, and the odd thing is, I know I only moved pale shrimp across (ie culls) because I thought it would help them survive better in a tank with fish. It got me thinking, maybe the coloration is more about diet than just genetics? Since there are only 5 or so shrimp in that tank there is much less competition for food. I’ve caught a couple of really deep solidly coloured red shrimp, male and female and moved them to a breeder box to try and see what their offspring would look like. The female is berried now, but I don’t think she’s anywhere near as richly coloured as she was when I first moved her. And the breeder box doesn’t have the biofilm that a mature tank has so again perhaps it’s diet related. I’ve got a heap of soaked leaves from the leaky tank that I think I’ll move to the box to see if it gives them some better biofilm to graze on. Probably some catappa leaves wouldn’t hurt either.
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Jan 23, 2018 18:52
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Day 4 of my "cycle" where I just kind of stare at a pool of water as it gets cloudy and I see what stuff floats around to scoop up with my net... some dumb questions come to mind. Dumb Question #1: Should the filter be fully submerged? I couldn't figure this out from instructions and illustrations. I have like the very top above water and all the actual working parts under. That's right, right? Dumb Question #2: When I change water... that's like as simple as it sounds, right? Like when the time comes I just scoop out water with something and dump it and then scoop in new water? There's not some trick I'm not seeing, right? Or some thing I should be super careful of besides not scooping up fish? Dumb Question #3: How often should I test the water once the cycle is done? Like once a week? Once every 2? Once a month? I've only done it once to kind of get a "baseline" and make some sense of it (all instructions for fish tank stuff are really, really vague). I won't bother again at least for a week if not until Day 14 when I add the second round of chemicals. But now that I've spent money for testing stuff I'm curious how often it is. Dumb Question #4: I went to the fish store to buy a heater. Shop only had real big ones and the guy said that a tank my size might not need one if I'm not getting really sensitive tropical fish or breeding stuff. I bought a heater anyway on Amazon but in the 2 days waiting I noticed the temperature sat around 68-70%, which is like riiiiiight below the "safe zone". So was the shop guy right? Its kind of moot because I got the heater and put it in since I have it, but would be good to know for when/if I get a second one. Ok, that's all I got. I should be getting my moss balls by the weekend so that might be something else to do... maybe... Pet Shop guy tried to convince me to buy some 30 cent goldfish just to learn with and "dispose" and i didn't because I'm not quite over the "fish gonna die" hump enough to get fish I intend to probably kill. But I almost wish I had something to play with. Of course the Pet Shop guy also tried to sell me a piranha and admitted he knew nothing about fish 6 months ago and only learned because no one else cared to know why all the fish were dying. So I'm on the fence about how much I should be listening to him. But at least he's honest. And he told me he could pick of any fish I want straight from the distributor to make sure they're healthy, which sounds good if I ever figure out what I want.
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Jan 25, 2018 07:28
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STAC Goat posted:Day 4 of my "cycle" where I just kind of stare at a pool of water as it gets cloudy and I see what stuff floats around to scoop up with my net... some dumb questions come to mind. based on your description i think you got it right - check youtube as it usually has people installing or fixing them. I found this and i'm not sure if it is relevant to you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZtmA58DTMU quote:Dumb Question #2: When I change water... that's like as simple as it sounds, right? Like when the time comes I just scoop out water with something and dump it and then scoop in new water? There's not some trick I'm not seeing, right? Or some thing I should be super careful of besides not scooping up fish? Get a siphon pump/gravel cleaner thing which should be quite cheap, and another bucket to siphon out the water. You'll need it to clean up all the fish poo poo and uneaten food. quote:Dumb Question #3: How often should I test the water once the cycle is done? Like once a week? Once every 2? Once a month? I've only done it once to kind of get a "baseline" and make some sense of it (all instructions for fish tank stuff are really, really vague). I won't bother again at least for a week if not until Day 14 when I add the second round of chemicals. But now that I've spent money for testing stuff I'm curious how often it is. once you start including fish i'd say once a week's fine probably. quote:Pet Shop guy tried to convince me to buy some 30 cent goldfish just to learn with and "dispose" and i didn't because I'm not quite over the "fish gonna die" hump enough to get fish I intend to probably kill. But I almost wish I had something to play with. don't get the pirahna. if you intend to have fish in a tank, be prepared you are going to murder a bunch of them, sometimes not even through your fault (like jumping out). i'd say getting some starter fish which are strong survivors like barbs or mollies first.
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Jan 25, 2018 10:48
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STAC Goat posted:Dumb Question #1: Should the filter be fully submerged? I couldn't figure this out from instructions and illustrations. I have like the very top above water and all the actual working parts under. That's right, right? Some filters are meant to be fully submerged, and some are more effective if they are out of the water causing surface agitation etc. Anything that is 90% submergible HAS to be safe to be 100% submerged, it doesn't make sense that they'd let you accidentally electrocute yourself that easily! So you probably could run it fully submerged but I'm not sure how the water flows through your filter medium, maybe the top has to be out of the water to make the flow go up and out the front holes, rather that just spilling willy nilly all over? The main thing is that SOME water has to flow past the filter media, it doesnt matter if its not all the water. STAC Goat posted:Dumb Question #2: When I change water... that's like as simple as it sounds, right? Like when the time comes I just scoop out water with something and dump it and then scoop in new water? There's not some trick I'm not seeing, right? Or some thing I should be super careful of besides not scooping up fish? For a small tank, scooping with a cup is probably fine (although tedious). This method will not let you suck up poops from the bottom though, for that you need a gravel vac, or siphon. You want one kind of like this:  The bulb part is a hand pump which means you can squeeze that to get the water flowing, and you don't need to suck on the pipe like a gross oldschool fish nerd, and because you've got a small tank you won't have room to manouevre to get the flow starting the other way. The wider bit at the end means that the flow as it goes into the siphon isn't too strong, a fish could swim away, but bits of uneaten food and poops are light and will still lift up. You press that bit into the gravel and it pulls up any of the loose gunk that will foul the water in your tank if its left there. In any case you have the other end going into your aquarium-only bucket, which means you'll be able to rescue anything that survives being siphoned. Old fish water (as long as it has no medications in) is okay for watering houseplants. When you pour new water in, you can use a colander, tea strainer (anything like this should be one you buy specifically for your aquarium, never share equipment between your domestic life and your aquarium) or even just pour it gently on to your hand to disperse it so it doesn't kick up gravel or disturb the contents of the tank too much. I would get the new water in an aquarium only bucket, check the temperature (and if its too cold, let it stand inside for a bit to warm up), mix in water conditioner to remove chlorine, and then stir it around before pouring it into your tank. Pro Tip - make sure you have nothing on your hands before putting your hands in your tank water. Hand lotion, soap residue, food, etc none of that belongs in a fish tank. Rinse them under the tap first. STAC Goat posted:Dumb Question #3: How often should I test the water once the cycle is done? Like once a week? Once every 2? Once a month? I've only done it once to kind of get a "baseline" and make some sense of it (all instructions for fish tank stuff are really, really vague). I won't bother again at least for a week if not until Day 14 when I add the second round of chemicals. But now that I've spent money for testing stuff I'm curious how often it is. While you're doing the cycling process you need to check more frequently than once you have it up and running and stable. Here https://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Fishless-Cycle is a reasonable series of steps, only in your case you're artifically adding extra bacteria too. You still will need to see your levels changing over time to know when there are enough bacteria to safely add fish. Once everything is stable, once a month is fine, or if you are interested you can do it before every water change STAC Goat posted:Dumb Question #4: I went to the fish store to buy a heater. Shop only had real big ones and the guy said that a tank my size might not need one if I'm not getting really sensitive tropical fish or breeding stuff. I bought a heater anyway on Amazon but in the 2 days waiting I noticed the temperature sat around 68-70%, which is like riiiiiight below the "safe zone". So was the shop guy right? Its kind of moot because I got the heater and put it in since I have it, but would be good to know for when/if I get a second one. A betta prefers it warmer, and almost all tropical fish prefer stable water temperatures. Sub-tropical fish are ok with it being cooler, but you probably don't have room for many of those (danio, rosy barb, white cloud). Fish that get cold experience a slowed down immune system and are a lot more prone to getting sick, so keeping things stable is preferable. You will want a little floating thermometer to double check your temperature, heaters sometimes go wrong and stick "on" and this can be catastrophic fairly quickly in a small tank. Hopefully you have a heater which is only somewhere between 10-25w as that is plenty for a small tank. I've heard 1 watt per litre is a good rule of thumb, so 100w for 100lt (which is about 25 gallons) but I prefer to halve that because it gives you more time to notice a failed heater. Pet Shop guy tried to convince me to buy some 30 cent goldfish just to learn with and "dispose" and i didn't because I'm not quite over the "fish gonna die" hump enough to get fish I intend to probably kill. But I almost wish I had something to play with. [/quote] This mentality is a bane on the hobby. A 30 cent goldfish is still an intelligent animal with a potential 12" length and 15-20 year life span if treated well. Just because it's cheap doesn't mean its worthless, and I'm glad you don't see it that way. It's true, you will kill fish at some point, whether through accidents, mistakes, or situations outside of your control, and it feels bad every time. We do our best to give these dudes the best lives we can, and when things go wrong we try to learn from it so that we get better at caring for our fish. My first fish losses were baby fish that were sucked into (or swam willingly into) filter inlets and were ground up by the filter impeller. I have lost 3 fish this way and now all my filter inlets have pre-filter sponges on them. I lost a lot of fish in an outdoor pond due to cold weather, winter came early and I didnt get a chance to bring my guppies inside. I lost about 15 but saved maybe 30. I lost 2 fish in a tank where the heater stuck on, thankfully I noticed before it got worse. I've lost every beacon tetra I've tried to keep due to a weird wasting disease that didnt affect any of my other fish (total of 5). I had a guppy and a tetra die from camallanus worm infestations. I've lost probably 20 panda corydoras over the last two years every time I try to have some shipped here. I have 9 alive right now, 3 of which are in quarantine and diseased with whatever horrible fishpox they came in with. I've lost 4 rasbora due to them leaping out of the tank. I have lost 2 danios due to old age. 7 peacock gudgeons and 6 guppies due to poisoning from a chemical residue on a new filter foam which I didn't rinse off sufficiently. 6 penguin tetras due to a pH crash from an under-buffered tank. 2 otos and 7 penguin tetras due to one big angry territorial murderous tetra who bit all their fins off. 7 rosy barbs in two different food related accidents (3 ate so many peas that they died, 4 got stuck in a pipe trying to eat dried brine shrimp that were intended for the catfish that live on the bottom). Early on as a shrimp keeper I killed every shrimp in the tank by changing too much of the water at once. Just recently I lost 23 guppies due to a lack of oxygen in their tank, too much plant matter covering the surface and not enough agitation. Every time it's something different and I learn something from it and try to change things to avoid it happening again. I've been keeping fish since 2014 and I still feel like a beginner but I'm doing a reasonable job of keeping all my tanks clean and healthy, and I feel like if anything goes wrong I have the ability to recognise what's happening, and enough spares to throw some kind of fix in place. And if it's hopeless I have the means to end a fish's suffering humanely. At least where I am here, there is no fish vet STAC Goat posted:Of course the Pet Shop guy also tried to sell me a piranha and admitted he knew nothing about fish 6 months ago and only learned because no one else cared to know why all the fish were dying. So I'm on the fence about how much I should be listening to him. But at least he's honest. And he told me he could pick of any fish I want straight from the distributor to make sure they're healthy, which sounds good if I ever figure out what I want. I would say listen to your pet shop guy, but listen with a great deal of skepticism. He's likely to be regurgitating the bad information that goes around in the hobby that really should have been corrected by now; if he is keeping fish himself he will be learning as he goes though so maybe his information will improve over time. Googling "Is X true" gets you a lot of useful forum posts (but also a lot of crap). The best source of info comes with experience, so a fish club is very useful A good rule of thumb for selecting fish, is to pick the ones that are still alive after a couple of weeks at the petshop. Buying direct from the distributor you don't know what shape they're in, what diseases they're carrying, and you don't have any guarantee for how many will survive. Different if the supplier is a local farm, the fish is much less likely to be stressed and diseased from transport. If your local store is clean and keeps healthy fish you can let them wear the losses and pick from healthy stock. If you're unfortunate like me and your local places keep stinking cloudy tanks full of dead and diseased fish that are covered in ich and have rotted off fins, by all means buy your fish online and have them mailed to your doorstep, or buy direct from the distributor, whatever keeps the fish away from the disaster zone. Anyway you'll eventually work out what kind of fish keeper you want to be, if there's a species that you like, whether you're serious about aquascaping or if you want to breed fish, or it's perfectly fine to just keep one happy betta after another, too.
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Jan 25, 2018 10:53
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Black diamond piranha are cool. Redbellies are boring. That said they are a schooling fish and they can get super stupid territorial. Piranha are not for beginners. Well, it happened. This weekend I was going to move my 4 L14 into a 90 gallon tank, and one of the larger 5/6 inch ones got pinned by a rock cave and the glass. He survived, but was scraped up bad, to the point shrimp were picking at his skin. He survived the night and died this morning. There are days, like now, when I just want to chuck all the tanks in the street and let someone else try because gently caress it.
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Jan 25, 2018 14:30
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drat, sorry Cowslips that blows. I did the same thing with an L200 last year when rearranging some large rocks in my 180, it's the worst feeling.
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Jan 25, 2018 15:16
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Once again, thank to you all for holding the hand of a clueless beginner. This seems like one of the friendliest and most helpful threads I've ever been in in this forums. It being SA I was fully expecting to get dragged for being a clueless noob. Thanks for proving me wrong. Stoca Zola posted:When you pour new water in, you can use a colander, tea strainer (anything like this should be one you buy specifically for your aquarium, never share equipment between your domestic life and your aquarium) Stoca Zola posted:I would say listen to your pet shop guy, but listen with a great deal of skepticism. He's likely to be regurgitating the bad information that goes around in the hobby that really should have been corrected by now; if he is keeping fish himself he will be learning as he goes though so maybe his information will improve over time. Yeah, I had a decent little conversation with the guy and he seemed nice enough and honest enough that I think I can keep going back to him and develop a rapport. Like I said, he was upfront about still learning about it and when I brought up something he wasn't familiar with (like the idea of adding ammonia for a fishless cycle) he didn't crap on it, he just voiced his opinion and was open about me making my own decisions. We both basically agreed it was a learning experience and while were at different stages we were both pretty much beginners. So who knows? Maybe we can learn together. He wasn't REALLY trying to sell me the piranha and I wasn't really considering it. It was more of a jokey conversation as he talked about what fish were easier to keep alive than others and how when he started his piranha were faring better than everything else but were killing poo poo. He was telling me about how he had to figure out how to keep everything alive. And the goldfish thing was a suggestion he made as I kept saying "learn by doing" and I think he just meant to suggest they were more "disposable" than a more expensive fish, but I'm still not super comfortable with the idea of "disposable" animals. I'm not exactly an animal lover or vegan or anything but carelessness or disregard seems cruel. I'll go looking for one of those gravel vacs. Thanks.
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Jan 25, 2018 21:29
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STAC Goat posted:Yeah, this the sort of "duh" thing that I didn't think of but should have. Its easy for me to head to the dollar store and buy some pitchers and a small collander and a bucket and some stuff that I just use exclusively for the tank at no real cost. But I probably wouldn't have thought of that and would have used stuff I had around the house. I did when filling the tank but I imagine that's not a big deal since I'm doing all this cycling afterwards and there's nothing living in there. But going forward I'll definitely just prepare a small tank set of supplies. For a small tank a dollar store turkey baster can be a handy inexpensive tool. If you see a bit of moldy food, a big poop, or a small dead fish/shrimp a turkey baster can shloop it right up. Using a net for that sort of thing can be messy, and you may not want to whip out a gravel vac for something tiny. All else being equal, one with a transparent or translucent shaft is better, so you can see what you've shlooped up.
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Jan 25, 2018 22:30
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STAC Goat posted:Once again, thank to you all for holding the hand of a clueless beginner. I think the start is the hardest part and where things can go wrong pretty badly, which then scares people away from continuing with the hobby, which is a shame because it can be pretty rewarding. I had that experience as a teenager, was sold a couple of really inappropriate fish for a small tank and within a couple of days they were trying to jump out due to poor water quality etc, I didn’t know anything about cycling or what requirements a fish might need and it was really horrible seeing the fish suffering and not knowing what to do. That was pre-internet and it is a bit easier now to get information but still, the more people we can get avoiding the early pitfalls, the more chance they have to stick with it long enough and build up experience to handle or avoid further mishaps and get to the really fun stuff. Like the shy fish that starts to trust you enough to come and beg for food, the surprise of baby fish, or observing really interesting behaviour because the fish are healthy and comfortable enough to act like they would in their natural environment. You gotta take some credit here, you went looking for help and trying to do it right and that is more than a lot of people do. So I think you’ve got a good chance of success at keeping some healthy fish.
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Jan 26, 2018 03:20
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Stoca Zola posted:you don't need to suck on the pipe like a gross oldschool fish nerd 
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Jan 26, 2018 03:33
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Don’t get me wrong, I love gross oldschool fish nerds. But, it takes a lot of skill to avoid a mouth or lung full of fish poop water so I’d recommend a beginner to leave those manoeuvres to the pros and only attempt it once their immune system is built up a bit from getting small splashes to the face, forgetting to wash their hands, etc.
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Jan 26, 2018 04:21
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Stoca Zola posted:Don’t get me wrong, I love gross oldschool fish nerds. But, it takes a lot of skill to avoid a mouth or lung full of fish poop water so I’d recommend a beginner to leave those manoeuvres to the pros and only attempt it once their immune system is built up a bit from getting small splashes to the face, forgetting to wash their hands, etc. Haven't you heard the news? Live Water is way healthier than chlorinated tap water. Fish poop water is basically magic. Slurp up some detritus worms while you're in there. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3845693 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds9Do2p60MQ
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Jan 26, 2018 04:28
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I haven't yet managed to get a mouth full of fish poop water and thats using an old school syphon cause it was included when I bought the tank and can't be bothered getting a new one just yet. The water I drain generally goes on the plants and has done wonders for my strawberry plants. I see it as a good way to waste the water and it's beneficial
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Jan 26, 2018 07:14
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I feel like I'm such an annoying pest in here... I really can't figure out if I have my filter set up right. I had it like 95% submerged where there was no noise or major bubbles or movement, but I could see some little movement around the output. I just pulled roughly 1 L of water out of the tank which resulted in the filter being high enough that there was kind of waterfall affect that produced a LOT of bubbles and a TON of noise. I don't know if that's right but the tank is in my bedroom so the noise seemed like too much. I split the difference, added about half the water back, and now there's more bubbles and noise than when I started but not near as much as I was seeing. I really don't know what the goal should be. I'm looking at youtube videos and there doesn't seem to be a standard. Some seem to have it fully submerged with no major visible movement and some seem to have it with the "waterfall" effect and a poo poo ton of bubbles. I did all this because I got my marimo balls in the mail today and they sent me EIGHT really big things and there's like way too much poo poo in my tank now. So i gotta ditch some of the plastic plants for sure and probably take like half the moss balls and... I don't know what. I guess I'll put them in that little hanging potter or I'm debating buying a small fish bowl just to have if I need a place to stick the fish during cleanings or "quarantines", but for now I'm just leaving them in the tank since there's no fish yet. STAC Goat fucked around with this message at 01:15 on Jan 27, 2018 |
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Jan 27, 2018 01:09
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STAC Goat posted:I feel like I'm such an annoying pest in here... From the advertisements some people apparently put marimo balls in a clear jar or vase on their desk just as a sort of zen ornament. The moss is very slow growing, so you just swish them around occasionally to keep the 'bottom' from going grey, and top up or change out the water once a month (used tank water would be ideal, once you have it) and they should stay alive just fine until you decide what to do with the extras. They don't need bright light and room temperature is fine for them: it's moss. The different styles of filter is often deliberate. Some fish need the bubbliest, freshest, most oxygenated water possible (especially when breeding). While some other fish like Bettas find turbulent water unpleasant and gulp air at the surface so oxygenation isn't as big a deal. And of course sometimes it isn't about the fish: some folks enjoy the babbling brook white noise, other folks prefer the filter be as close to silent as possible. There isn't a wrong answer. So if you prefer quiet and you're planning on getting a betta, the quieter option would happily be the one both of you like best.
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Jan 27, 2018 02:54
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Ah, thanks. That's what I was leaning towards with the variety in answers and videos online, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong to mess up my cycling process. Like, logically it made sense to me that water was moving either way but with no familiarity with it I just don't trust any of my reasoning with this hobby. Really appreciating the sounding boards and helpful voices here. Yeah, I'm not really worried about the extra moss. Its just more/bigger than I imagined so I gotta do something about that. Worst case I'll set it free to grow outside or something, but since I have the hanging planter that's a good a place as any to put it when I need the room in my tank and when I hopefully expand to a bigger tank in the future. I wasn't loving the look of them when they arrived but after half a day in the tank they seem like they're getting greener and more lush. And it may be my imagination but the water looks less cloudy than its been the last couple of days. I should probably do a testing cycle and start keeping notes like I've read suggested.
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Jan 27, 2018 04:53
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I had the bright idea (again) of using my RO system waste water to water change my guppies, after all it's just more hardness etc and they won't mind that, right? Total ppm TDS is about 280 which is fine for guppies. I'm sure I've thought about it before but didn't remember why I didn't end up doing it. So I filled a container and did a dipstick test, turns out the reason I wasn't using that water for my fish is the approx 3ppm nitrites which of course aren't fantastic for fish  . Maybe water conditioner will get rid of it? I might give it ago, that tank has the largest filter of all my tanks so should already be processing nitrites I guess.
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Jan 27, 2018 09:53
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Stand question for a small tank. If I took a 2x4 Ikea expedit and put it on its side, would it be structurally sounds to put a 9 gallon or 15 gallon tank on top of it?
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Jan 28, 2018 23:25
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A google shows that people are using it that way. There's also the more reassuring option of putting two 2x2's together for a big fat support right in the middle.
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Jan 28, 2018 23:35
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I’m going to guess no based on my limited ikea experience in that everything fits together so that the intended vertical support structures are much stronger than horizontal, and rotating it 90 degrees would most likely put weaker material as your vertical support and the joints would be the wrong way for the applied forces. You might get away with it with a smaller tank but I’d be extremely doubtful for a 15g, I suspect that could be too heavy even if you had it up the intended way. Edit: good morning synthbuttrange, I think you’re right a bit of extra support might be all it needs.
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Jan 28, 2018 23:40
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Yeah, I know next to nothing about fish tanks but I have good experience with someone putting weight on one of those press furniture things the wrong way and the whole thing coming down.
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Jan 28, 2018 23:42
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   take your pick
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Jan 28, 2018 23:46
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I guess that seals it then. I was worried about water damage on the particle board but I'll sort it outSynthbuttrange posted:
This is basically what I'm looking at doing. Arguably though I'm still cautious. Looking at a 9 or 15g fluvial flex w00tmonger fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Jan 29, 2018 |
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Jan 29, 2018 03:21
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I've got mine sitting on a 2x2 Expedit. It's mostly okay, the only water damage is at the corners where some splashed water got in, but it's just cosmetic bubbling near the corners. If I'd covered the whole top with adhesive plastic to fully waterproof it, there'd be no problem at all.
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Jan 29, 2018 03:25
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I reckon the second pic with two 2x2 looks solid as, no bowing in the middle at all and no joints around the wrong way. Some of that clear plastic table protector sheeting stuff should splash proof it pretty well. I reckon you would have more flexibility in what you could keep with a 15g tank, less poky for maintenance too. Once you get it up and running I wouldn't mind your opinion on the Flex, if that's what you end up getting. I like the built in fluval filter chambers and the flex's chamber looks even bigger than the Spec's, so pretty easy to add more foam or purigen or whatever extra media. Really not sure how that sideways bowfront would look in practice though.
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Jan 29, 2018 06:01
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Going in tonight to buy substrate for my fresh 55g. Looking at flourite black sand but have been all over with it. Is that a solid choice for a planted community tank? Particularly want to pick a good substrate for corcats etc As per the 15g flex, I'm still up I the air as if I grab it I'm putting it on a 2x4 Expedit that I already own and I'm not certain about safety on that front w00tmonger fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Jan 29, 2018 |
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Jan 29, 2018 23:08
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Pool filter sand is the cheap cheerful alternative.
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Jan 29, 2018 23:31
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My only concern with those Ikea shelves would be racking. Heavy weight on top and no backing of any sort isn't a great combo. They come with wall anchors though, which would mitigate the problem.
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Jan 30, 2018 04:42
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I've had 15 gallons combined sitting on a 2x2 one for several years without much problem. I guess you'd worry if you're in an earthquake prone area though or a high carpet.
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Jan 30, 2018 04:47
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w00tmonger posted:As per the 15g flex, I'm still up I the air as if I grab it I'm putting it on a 2x4 Expedit that I already own and I'm not certain about safety on that front I know I was naysaying this idea earlier but curiosity got the better of me so I went looking for the construction instructions (however Expedit doesn’t seem to be available any more, they’re calling it Kallax now). At least in the Kallax shelves the long sides are bolted in with massive metal bolts so if Expedit is made the same way, it probably is stronger in that direction than I had originally thought. I was thinking if it was held by dowels and the load bearing side started to sag, it might move enough to pull off from the dowels and fail that way (not snap in half, 15g is probably not heavy enough to worry about that). I don’t think those big long bolts would let this happen. To ease your mind could you take one of the fasteners out of your shelf to see how long it is? The diagram in the Kallax book does have a picture of the shelf on its side, but unfortunately there is nothing about weight limits for the shelf in that orientation. I’d guess ~80kg for a full 15g tank.
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Jan 30, 2018 08:15
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Friends, I have flown too close to the sun. After working in the industry for several years and then keeping my own aquarium for several more years, I thought I could handle a second tank. It'll be easy right? I know exactly what I'm doing, right? One big ich outbreak and a million pond snails later... I seem to have eradicated the ich, at least, although I lost quite a few of my new fish. Next stop: loaches, so I can kill these drat snails.
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Jan 31, 2018 13:28
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Anyone got c02 dosing commendations on a planted tank? Don't want to break the bank, yeast seems scary, but want to do the job right
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Jan 31, 2018 22:55
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ok i'm stumped. i bought what i thought were cory catfishes a month or so back and this guy has been outgrowing the others at a ridiculous pace, that it's now the biggest fish in the tank. is it actually one? e: and yes, it's always upside down
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Feb 1, 2018 02:30
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Looks like a synodontis eupterus possibly, aka featherfin squeaker. They max out around 8" or so, pretty cool little dude if you've got the room.
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Feb 1, 2018 02:46
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Jeez how the hell did that get in there?
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Feb 1, 2018 02:57
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Are upside down catfish a type of synodontis? I’ve never seen a good pic of one but they seemed brown and blotchy like this guy. Looks like a really cool fish, I hope you have room for him.
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Feb 1, 2018 03:44
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Stoca Zola posted:Are upside down catfish a type of synodontis? I’ve never seen a good pic of one but they seemed brown and blotchy like this guy. Looks like a really cool fish, I hope you have room for him. Ahh yup, good call I think you're right. Synodontus nigriventris
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Feb 1, 2018 03:52
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Enos Cabell posted:They max out around 8" or so oh no quote:, pretty cool little dude if you've got the room. oh no! e: Enos Cabell posted:Ahh yup, good call I think you're right. Synodontus nigriventris oh if it's this guy it's more manageable but i'm comparing pictures and it really looks like the featherfin especially with the bloated-looking tummy. it explains a lot why it doesn't act anything like the other corys! The Saddest Rhino fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Feb 1, 2018 |
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Feb 1, 2018 03:58
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I'm hoping I can get some help IDing my plants. When I was starting out I just bought plants that looked nice without any regard for the names, but now that I've had everything a few years I feel like an idiot for not writing names down. I labeled the plants I know, but there are 2 I'm really curious about.  Unknown plant #1 is my favorite: it grows like crazy, and the feathery leaves add a lot of cool texture. I have to constantly prune it down. Unknown plant #2 grows straight up, and has pairs of leaves that alternate their orientation 90 degrees between pairs. And, since I'm taking pictures of the tank I can't resist trying to get shots of fish, so here are a couple of my pretty endler males (no clue if they have guppy blood in them, but probably):  
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Feb 1, 2018 06:34
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| # ? May 14, 2024 14:24 |
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DeadlyMuffin posted:Unknown plant #1 is my favorite: it grows like crazy, and the feathery leaves add a lot of cool texture. I have to constantly prune it down. DeadlyMuffin posted:Unknown plant #2 grows straight up, and has pairs of leaves that alternate their orientation 90 degrees between pairs. Are you really growing some pothos submerged? How well does it do? Usually you see people hanging it out of the tanks DeadlyMuffin posted:And, since I'm taking pictures of the tank I can't resist trying to get shots of fish, so here are a couple of my pretty endler males (no clue if they have guppy blood in them, but probably):
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Feb 1, 2018 15:02
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