[Green Leaf Algae Eating Shrimp]

I just got 8 of these shrimp today. I'll be seeing how they do on algae myself. Also I've got a code if anyone else is buying from dans, aquariumcoop saves you 5% and gets me some cash. https://dansfish.com/ref/aquariumcoop I went a little nuts, and got 4 different things in my order 😉

[Deciding between UG Filter or Sponge Filter]

On 10/29/2023 at 10:57 AM, pancake said:

I bet the air stone not dangling there also helps with flow. And I'd guess the air collar wouldn't need replaced like an air stone would? 

I did see in some reviews of UG filters, people wished the uplift tubes were higher. 

By removing the airlien tubing from the tube you increase the flow by quite a bit. In two ways, one you can just move more water as it's not displaced by the hose. Secondly, the bubbles don't hit the tube and collect making larger bubbles. Smaller bubbles = more uniform flow which leads to overall faster flow. If that's what you're after.

I could use either sponge filters or undergravel filters for the rest of my life I think. The one thing that wins for me so far on sponge filters, they are movable. When it comes time to catch fish, undergravel really make that a bear in my opinion.

[AllFishNoBrakes’ Journal]

You're welcome. I had some air freighted to us so I could give some out to forum users, facebook, youtube, partner stores etc. Figured people would enjoy getting early access and can help answer questions people have about them.

[NEW Co-Op Thing: Sponge Filter Jetlifter Kit]

On 10/20/2023 at 1:01 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Saw the video today on the channel and it sparked an idea....

I don't know if it's worth it, but one potential improvement could be a duck-bill style output on the end of the tube.  I don't think it would restrict anything, but it would spread out the flow across the surface to create slightly more surface movement.

Looking forward to seeing them in the wild.

The duck bill, actually slows flow down, because it bunches the bubbles up at a choke point and and causes it get louder and it to glug as opposed to smooth flow. I have no doubt that people here will try a bunch of 3d printed things and possibly improve upon the design. However it was time to get version 1.0 into production and see what we learn at mass scale with 50k people testing it.

[Did anyone replace ribbed hosing Fluval 07 with regular hoses?]

When I do this, it's not really cause of the crap the shoots out of the hose but mostly for a more concrete install. I buy black PVC which is kinda expensive, and make inlets and outlets. Then switch to white pvc on the outside down close to the canister. Then from the canister to the pvc, which is usually only like 24 inches of tubing.

I only glue the parts that are outside of the tank, the parts that'll stay in water don't get glued. This lets me reuse this setup if I charge filters or want to make any adjustments, like rotating the output, swapping to and from a spray bar etc.

[I'll be at the GSAS meeting 10/10/2023! - Come join me.]

Dean and I will be at the GSAS meeting tomorrow. If you're near Seattle, come join us. https://www.gsas.org/

[The T.Pustulatus Cross River puffer project]

Just catching up on this journal. Awesome, I hope to learn from your observations with these guys.

[Discussion of LARGE tanks: It's happening! 196 gallon custom glass tank....]

Sounds awesome, I'll be watching how it comes together. 😉

[NEW Co-Op Thing: Sponge Filter Jetlifter Kit]

On 10/2/2023 at 10:31 AM, Pepere said:

That is interesting and I can see where it has some merit…

 

I should also clarify this is when a tube goes to the surface this happens. with a small tube, the bubbles just go around the backward pressure on the way up.

[MBU Puffer quarantine]

Sorry for the delay, I'd probably just do some paracleanse on this guy, he looks nice and fat and healthy.

[eheim wifi canister filter]

Interesting to know that eheim is entering the space. Hopefully they've got it fined tuned or will and others will adopt. As for importing and testing one, not unless I see them widely available in the USA.

[NEW Co-Op Thing: Sponge Filter Jetlifter Kit]

On 10/2/2023 at 10:00 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

But would it be possible to ship those across the Atlantic?? 🙃

You’re probably asked this a lot of time (sorry!) but how is the world domination of aquarium co-op going? 

I'd say world domination for aquarium co-op is slow. With the fears of the economy everywhere around the world, companies seemingly don't have the money/want the risk of bringing on a new brand like us. I'd imagine when the economy world wide turns around we'll see some big moves happening easier.

[NEW Co-Op Thing: Sponge Filter Jetlifter Kit]

Thought I'd answer some questions.

They Easy flow won't fit older nano sponge filters, much like the power head doesn't because of a different lift tube size. However with the Easy flow, we redesigned the nano sponge filter pieces so that they'll be the same size as as the rest of the sponge filters. However these aren't in production yet and won't be sold until we sell out of our current stock. I'd have to look into that timeline to see when exactly that changeover happens.

As for speeding up the flow with the curve, when the bubbles pop at the top with only the upward lift, it creates the up and down wave, this creates some back pressure as the water goes up and down and slows it. When you redirect it to the side, and have the right curve it eliminates that up and down motion at the normal exit point and overall the tube length is longer and has no hard stops. People are correct that the longer uplift tube makes the biggest difference. But also the non channeling of the air by the design of the air collar accomplishes this. If you put too much air through and it channels, you'll move much less water. These things will be explained in some fish room videos coming up and eventually a video on the website about the easy flow.

As for the kit, it includes all the pieces. You can use just an air collar, or air collar, 1 extension, with the curved part etc. Mix and match. Also you can stack parts so the kits for a 10 gallon where you don't use the extensions can be added on to the sponge filter going in a 100 gallon tank etc.

[Is Butter toxic to fish in small amounts?]

I think you'll be fine, might see a bit of an oil slick on the top of the water possibly.

[Brine shrimp]

Hi Marvin,

I'm not sure how you're trying to raise them? We sell eggs to hatch and feed, if you're trying to raise to adulthood, are you doing it in like a pond or large aquarium?

[Power outage recovery plan suggestions]

Battery backups, like the 20,000 milliamp batteries on the air pumps help. Recharging in your car or buying a solar power setup. I find you can get some battery banks/cheap systems that recharge batteries.

Generator is another good idea. You can run your fridge/freezer for a while and recharge pumps/batteries.

As far as heat goes. I've never had to do it yet, but my plan is propane heater that run off the propane tanks for a bbq.

I wouldn't add beneficial bacteria until you have good aeration again as bacteria uses lots of oxygen.

My battle plan goes like this:

Nothing for the first 8 hours. Then I get air going.
Then on Day 2, I try find a family member or friend who has power. I bring my rechargable stuff there, phones, battery banks air pumps. Hang there for a couple hours get warm etc.

Day 3. Repeat day 2, but break out a generator and/or propane heater.

[Air Pump Positioning & Check Valves]

You shouldn't need check valves if your loop is on the ceiling. I've never needed them at the store or my personal fish room as long as air loop is higher.

[my cory fry feeder/trainer]

The hat is super cool for sure. I feel like I need one, but it'd probably only get warn like 5 times a year.

[Sponge filter?]

If the intake sponge is one of ours, and properly sized, you shouldn't have these problems really. I find that people who are having these problems might have a weird installation. I can usually go 6+ months easily between servicing intake sponges if I need to.

[What do colored vertical lines next to things in my cart mean.]

I've never seen it before.

[Brine Shimp Hatch Failures...]

When ever we encounter this, there has been a reason. Start with making sure you clean the ziss hatcher well. We've had employees who clean it "good enough" and not remove all the "film" that grows on the sides and bottom of the hatcher. This causes the eggs to not circulate correctly.

Next take note of temperature, temperatures change during the year. You may be a bit cooler or hotter than normal this can affect how long it takes to hatch.

[Jet lifter]

On 4/20/2023 at 7:40 AM, Tommy Vercetti said:

Ha! Thanks Cory. But you are late 🤪, we cover this exact solution a few post up in this thread.

I blame the east coast time, since I'm out of town and was trying to catch up 😛

[Jet lifter]

My advice is to make these air collars fit 1/2 inch electrical pvc conduit. They have the long sweeps you need to maximize the flow. They make this in a 1/2 inch. https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-90-Degree-Bell-End-Elbow-R5233824/202043345

 

I know this because I am actively working on upgrades to our sponge filter 😉

[Shipping/heatpack Temp Data]

Also we found out that different heat pack lengths. So 60 hour vs 72 hour vs 96 hours have different heat levels and profiles. So We are mostly switching to 96 inch heat packs as we like their heat profile better. Where a shorter say 48 inch heat pack goes from cold to really hot and cold again quickly. Something to possibly test.

To simulate some trips, we use the freezer, fridge, fish room, warehouse, outside etc. There are other variables like, a package on a rack in the back of the truck is very different from right over the rear axle hub that gets super hot.

[Shipping/heatpack Temp Data]

Nice, when I was doing testing, we found oxygen can be limiting for the reaction of heat. We also sent packages around the USA to try and estimate how often packages sad in heated buildings vs outside, vs in the back of a truck etc. Was time consuming and really proved that it's hard to predict what will happen after it leaves our facility. I was on a flight last night, in Atlanta it was 80 degrees with a heat pack, but then when I landed in PA it was 45 degrees. Making it difficult to predict the right amount of heat packs and the path it will take due to flight availability.

Now we use the feedback from customers that we track due to reships to adjust our algorithm to try and best predict. Big service disruptions from natural disasters can still throw in a monkey wrench, but each year our algorithm has gotten more efficient. I think temp logging in regards to fish and plants hasn't been tested as much as we think as it's such a hard thing to perfect.