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tolstoy21

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Everything posted by tolstoy21

  1. tolstoy21
    For me, what I hated about water changes was lugging buckets, hooking up pythons, and the cleaning up -- either slopped water in my room, or gunk left in the sink from the python, dumping buckets of waste water down the toilet, etc. The whole set-up and break-down stinks. Add to that, dragging gear and buckets up from the basement and then bringing it all back down. Tank size and number compounds this a lot. Total PITA. The actual gravel vacuuming part of it is fine and I don't mind that part at all.
  2. tolstoy21
    Mine breed like mad all the time, but then eat up their own eggs and fry so I never see any new zebras unless I accidentally spawn them when I move plants with eggs to a new tank. I would imagine a lot will get eaten, but if there are places to hide, a few or more might make it.
  3. tolstoy21
    @Koi it was part of this thread.
  4. tolstoy21
    Nope. No waste. Gallon in, gallon out. Works inline like a sediment or carbon block filter. The waste from an RO unit comes from the RO membrane rejecting water and the removed waste.
  5. tolstoy21
    I’ve used acrylic, enamel and plasti-dip. Acrylic will chip easier. Enamel stinks and takes forever to dry before recoat. Plasti-dip is by far my favorite, but it stinks too much to use inside in a basement or attached garage to not make enemies in your family. But if it’s warm where you are and you can paint outside, it’s super easy to apply, fairly rugged compared to acrylic, and has a fast dry and recount time.
  6. tolstoy21
    SooShrimp Breeders recently put out a video where he explained that he got more random and colorful generations from a mixed tank of bee shrimp but, if I remember correctly, had the opposite experience with neos.
  7. tolstoy21
    I think I posted details about mine on this forum at some point. The replacement resin isn’t cheap (it’s meant to be a disposable cartridge) but through a little trial and error I found an easy way to recharge it with solar salt. In my setup I found soaking the cartridge wasn’t enough, you had to drip feed the brine solution through it at a slow constant rate, buts that easy to do with a length of aquarium hose and a Ziss air valve. if you ever need more detail feel free to ask.
  8. tolstoy21
    I think the EPA limit is there because anything over the limit is known to be a possible cause of death for infants under 6 months of age (blue baby syndrome). How far over the EPA limit that red line is, no idea. 40 ppm is around 8.something NO3-N, so human and baby safe. In my experience as a well owner, the EPA has no idea what my water looks like. So that limit is more informative than anything else. I only know all this cause I went through all the well tests when I had a kid and because my dad ran the township municipal water authority in my hometown when I was younger, so he recommended the well tests when my kid was born, just as a precaution.
  9. tolstoy21
    Anubias nana petite. Anubias in general. Big thick patches of it in hard shape looks amazing and is under appreciated in my book.
  10. tolstoy21
    The EPA measure is for NO3-N which is a different measure than what aquarium test kits use. The conversion from 10mg/L NO3-N comes to around 40 ppm NO3 according to an API kit if I remember correctly. https://support.hach.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1000316/~/what-is-the-factor-to-convert-from-no3-n-and-no3%3F-
  11. tolstoy21
    Yeah I’d say it depends on how high your high is. Mine is in the 40 ppm range out of the well so I also use a nitrate resin filter much like what @MJV Aquaticsuses (I read that blog post some time back!), except purchased my filter / resin from a water treatment supply company. I think I probably recharge the resin much the same way MJV does. If I were closer to the 10-20 range, I’d not worry about it either.
  12. tolstoy21
    The one thing to watch I’d guess is the nitrates. Don’t let those get too high. Most people recommend under 20 ppm. I’ve never let mine get too high in my shrimp tank (duck weed and water lettuce keep it low) so it’s just a guess, based on what I’ve read, that CRS don’t care for high nitrate. In my planted tank I tend to let my nitrates run away at times, so I’ve never tested introducing shrimp in there.
  13. tolstoy21
    I’d agree with this. Crystals don’t like change. My experience is that you’re likely to lose some shrimp when you introduce them because of this. But, the shrimp born in your tank will do well because they were reared in those params. My philosophy is your goal is to get babies. Once you get some babies in the tank, and if you can grow them up, then you’re good to go. The first batch of shrimp you purchase and introduce is a means to this end.
  14. tolstoy21
    I raise CRS (have a few hundred at the moment) and I do use TDS as a reading, but only to gage how much remineralizer I’m adding into RO water. If RO is zero TDS, then measuring that is an easy measure for me to know I’ve mixed my water right. Outside of that one use-case I’d agree, TDS is confusing and meaningless. It’s just tells you “stuff” is dissolved in your water. As far as I know, CRS thrive in low PH. They prefer soft, acidic water. I keep my colony’s tank between 6.6 and 6.8. This means having a low KH. My KH is under 1, measured using the API drop test kit. I keep my GH around 6 ish, using GH+. Water temp is between 68 and 70 F. And honestly I don’t measure it much, unless I see more dead shrimp than normal showing up in the tank. For your tap water, I’d worry about the PH of 8+, as this seems a bit high for caradina. Your planted tank ph seems more appropriate. Will the high TDS affect them? Please let us know when you know. Maybe you’ll debunk a long running myth that TDS is meaningful for keeping caradina shrimp. I’d imagine TDS is only meaningful if what that TDS is measuring is harmful. I usually take recommendations about TDS as being a short hand way of saying, CRS like clean water, and to not let your parameters (PH, GH, KH, nitrates etc.) get out of hand and outside the range CRS require.
  15. tolstoy21
    As far as UV, you might benefit from a single larger external UV light sized to your total water volume that has a dedicated small pump drawing water from the sump, and discharging back to the sump. This way you can tune the flow rate through it to achieve maximum exposure time. This is what the saltwater folks do, and it’s a know good strategy. Also keep in mind that one of the benefits of a sump is that the increased water volume for the whole system leads to better water stability. So don’t be afraid of more open water in the sump and less media. More media stacked up like that could clog easier and disrupt the total flow rate in the sump in over time, causing you to have to re-tune the rate of return, or the rate of flow into the sump on an ongoing basis. Also more media means less total water volume in the whole system. I have 30 gallon sump and use a single sheet of filter floss on top of a small stack very coarse sponge blocks. My second chamber is very open, maybe a third of it is occupied by a stack of ceramic media blocks. Water flows over and through it fine. Return pump is in third chamber. Honestly, I think the amount of sponge and ceramic media I use is overkill.
  16. tolstoy21
    I would go with three chambers to keep it simple. One for simple mechanical filtration like sponge and floss. Another with a big stack of ceramic bio blocks (the log like stackable ones people use in ponds. I think hygger sells boxes of these at a reasonable price). And a section for the return pump. You don’t need all those chambers with all that different media. Your heaters and what not can be placed in any of the three chambers and don’t need separate sections. In my experience, plants are hard to deal with in a sump as they can get stuck in and clog the flow path, but I guess that all comes down to sump design. In the end, a complicated sump will cost more in terms of media, be more difficult to maintain, and will give you marginal benefit over something simple. If I had mine to build again, I’d design it to make use of filter socks.
  17. tolstoy21
    I guess we're at about week 3. Nothing new to report other than the fry are gobbling up a lot more BBS now and putting on size fast. Almost at the point where I can be a bit more lax with the rigid feeding and water change schedule, as per Greg Sage's recommendations. (Still doing a 3x daily feeding followed by a 50% water change). As with all things, I'm finding these have been relatively simple to breed and care for. (Yes simple is relative, but I guess I mean simple compared to what I imagined the process would be like). As with all things, I'm finding if you just follow the instructions, follow the advice of those with the expertise, and have patients, the outcome can be predictably good. Still no idea how to count the total batch size. Maybe if I name them all it will be easier. Included a pic of the proud fathers who have been rewarded by moving to nicer, upscale neighborhood (Who is their gardener? He does a fantastic job!). Excited by the prospects of having a nice large school of these zipping around my tank.
  18. tolstoy21
    Cacatuoides. Im guessing when the females stop leaving their caves, that means they've spawned? This is the second batch I've had spawn for me, but the difference this time is I had a trio in the tank rather than a pair.
  19. tolstoy21
    CPDs might need something smaller when first hatched, like infusoria or vinegar eels. Or you might have luck with something like Sera Micron food. After they are big enough for BBS, frozen might work as well as live. Also they make a dish you can hatch small amounts of baby brine in for exactly your scenario. I don’t know the brand name off hand, but it’s red plastic and I see them for sale in the fish stores near me all the time. The Coop might have them for sale on their site as well. Might be worth looking into that if you think the Ziss is overkill for raising up some CPDs. As far as smaller batches in the Ziss, as long as you’re not putting a heater in it, I don’t see why it would not work perfectly fine half full.
  20. tolstoy21
    My house is so out of level you can race match box cars across the hardwood floors without pushing them. I used black plastic shims under my tank to fill out the gaps at one end after getting it level in all directions.
  21. tolstoy21
    I tried to buff out scratches from a used 125 using cerium oxide and a soft brush attachment on a drill. I had limited success, but only because it takes A LOT of work to get the scratches out. Cerium oxide will work for scratches that aren’t very deep if you have the patients to work with it. I think the King of DIY has a demonstration on how to work with it on you tube. Be careful not to buff near the caulk unless you plan on resealing the tank (I resealed mine). I used a wet/dry shop vac to get the residue out of mine. Basically I flushed and drained the tank, then shop vac’ed out the remaining 1/2 inch of water. You can use a hose to direct the powder down to one end of the tank to get it all in one area and make it easier. Also, plan to work outside or in a garage or basement, as your drill is going to sling cerium oxide everywhere.
  22. tolstoy21
    Probably something like that little Mer-dog from Bubble Guppies in the pic below. My kid watched the heck out of this show.
  23. tolstoy21
    @FrostiesFishes I relocated the male today as I believe the other female is actively guarding her cave. I watched the male trying to hide in a plant before being spotted and savaged by the other female guarding fry. I think I might grab a couple discount ten gallons at the local LFS (they always have a mountain of them on sale for $8) so I can easily relocate adults when I need to. I also think I’ll stick with pairs from here on out, not trios.
  24. tolstoy21
    @DanielThanks. I have the ‘apartment’ thing going well right now with driftwood and plants making up the boundary. However, I’m only using a 20 gallon high. The male is staying with his childless mistress right now and avoiding the house full of kids. But I’m guessing if that female spawns soon, he’s going to get beaten to death, having no area that’s his own.
  25. tolstoy21
    Are there any gotchas when breeding apistos in a group with a single male and multiple females? Aside from the expected protectiveness of the mothers, will one mother actively predate on the fry of another? Or are they generally respectful and mostly don't eat fry of their own species?
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