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tolstoy21

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Everything posted by tolstoy21

  1. tolstoy21
    The folks at bulk reef supply publish flow dynamics of many of the pumps they review. I have no idea what they are suspending in the water in their videos, some kind of beads, but whatever it is it gives one a good visual of flow patterns. Not sure one can do this kind of experiment with live stock in the tank, but could give you some ideas Here’s a video they did illustrating the flow pattern of a gyre pump around hard scape to show dead spots, flow dynamics, etc.
  2. tolstoy21
    This is my first time trying to breed fish outside of 'Hey! wow! look! there's another little corydora in the tank!" I started with 2 salt-n-peppers 2 years ago and increased the school to about 2 dozen in that time (well they increased themselves. I didn't really do enough to take credit for). Ok, so as far as intentional breeding projects, these are the ones I've started within the last month -- Apisto super reds. I've had this pair about 1 1/2 weeks and they've already spawned. They've been at each other's throats pretty nasty since then, but I've partitioned the tank with a barrier of driftwood and java fern and they're each keeping to their respective sides. Can't get a good count of how many fry are in there, as they hang back in the shadows and blend in with the substrate. 12? 20? more? Hard to say. Odessa Barbs -- i got ten of these from Select Aquatics about a month ago and have been growing them out. It will be a little while before I can completely sex them all and separate them before breeding. They're just starting to show some colors this past week. Shelies -- Always wanted to raise a colony of these fish since seeing them on Prime Time Aquatics. I got 6, but they are all still quite young and have some growing to do.
  3. tolstoy21
    5ppm nitrates is pretty low in my book. I wouldn’t think about changing water till you’re closing in on 20ppm. I think some people go even higher before a water change. Unless you mean ‘nitrites’?
  4. tolstoy21
    @Kelly I find that I get variant readings if I use two different products like the API drop test vs the API or tetra strip tests. After you use one or the other a lot, you get good at interpreting the readings. With the strips I'm just interested in the trend (and the convenience of using them). Is nitrate going up? Is nitrite suddenly registering on the strip? Is my Ph suddenly very different from the last time I tested? I don't trust these to be super accurate, but I do trust they will show me changes over time, when compared to the last reading I took with them. I then use the API liquid tests to get a better, somewhat more accurate reading because I have come to trust these the most, personally. In general I'm ok with any test getting me in the ballpark of what the real measurement of something is. My personal feeling is that being approximately kind of accurate is a good enough measurement for the majority of aquariums. As important as that is understanding sudden changes from a prior reading. The difference between 2 and 10 nitrite and 5 and 20 nitrate seems like a huge difference. However, the reading on one of your test products vs the other seems to be a 4-5x difference. Could these products just use different scales? Don't know. Just a thought. Maybe not? Either way, the important take away from this is you're showing nitrite, so I'd hold off on adding fish until that reading is closer to zero on either test. Any maybe hold off on a water change so your nitrifying bacteria colonies grow and get established so you have them present in enough numbers to process nitrite when fish arrive. Even if your tests are off, your numbers in regards to nitrites should start to trend downward. And if they do, that's a sign the cycle is continuing as it should in the right direction. Nitrates as a result should trend upwards, and when nitrites are close to zero, but nitrates are higher, then water change to get nitrates to a reasonable level and add fish!
  5. tolstoy21
    Been there. Done that mistake. Now, I always flush my tubes with tank water once, empty them out, then refill them with more tank water before testing. If you're filling them with a plastic pipette, do the same. Clean it out with the water you're going to be testing with. I find the API Ph test to be the most sensitive to residual water from a different source. I will second this observation as well.
  6. tolstoy21
    Another vote for otos. Can’t comment on if angels will snack on them or not.
  7. tolstoy21
    Was that the problem or was it something else entirely? If you don’t mind sharing.
  8. tolstoy21
    Is the flow rate of the return pump higher than the rate at which water is making it into the sump? You have to tune both the water coming into the sump and as well as the the water going out, otherwise that can happen, especially if your sump has separate chambers for filter media, bio media etc. and the chamber for the return is small. Clogged or excessive filter media can also reduce the flow rate from one sump chamber to the next, causing similar problems. With my sump setup on my 125 I have an adjustable gate valve on the water coming into the sump from the overflow and I can adjust the flow rate on the return pump. If they’re not in sync, either the sump can overflow, or you get what you’re experiencing, a pump draining it’s chamber and gurgling (this is more likely than the first scenario). If this is your problem, be careful about adding too much water to the tank to compensate or when you power off the return pump, your sump could overflow and flood your room with the extra water you’ve been adding. if that’s not the issue and you’re not leaking water, then I’m stumped.
  9. tolstoy21
    This is my first time intentionally breeding fish, and my quarrelsome couple of apistos have successfully had kids. The mother has stopped beating the father half to death, but she still won't let him anywhere near the children. When he comes around to the old cave-stead, she swats the water menacingly with her tail which prompts him to sulk off to his side of the aquarium only to console himself with his comfy, old recliner, favorite glass of bourbon and a healthy binge of his favorite fish-tubers. Oh wait, am I still talking about fish? Anyway, jokes aside, some questions - I'm guessing these have been free swimming a day or so now and possible eating infusoria from the java moss and leaf litter. They're hanging out close to the substrate, under the protection of the mother. At this stage, are they old enough for micro worms and/or baby brine? At what age will they take larger foods? Do first time fathers eat their offspring? At what age should I move the juveniles to a grow out tank so the parents don't perceive them as a threat to future spawns? Any other advice? I'm not looking for the highest yield at this point. Just want to have a semi-successful first go at this. So any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
  10. tolstoy21
    Below is a link to a basic chart of standard PVC flow rates. I'd assume the rate at which you're putting water into the tank probably equals the rate at which its going to come out. The drain rate would be non-pressurized in this scenario. #1 FlexPVC®.com Water Flow Charts Based on Pipe Size (GPM/GPH) ie, How much water can flow through Sch 40 Pvc Pipe Size 1/2" 3/4" 1" 1.5" 2" 2.5" 3" 4" 6" FLEXPVC.COM Water Flow Volume for a given pipe size based on charts, tables, formula, nomograph, & experience.
  11. tolstoy21
    I believe the diameter of pipe and bulkhead is determined by the flow rate you wish to achieve through it. I use 1/2" on my basement tanks, which is fine to accommodate drip fed water. On my 125 gallon aquarium, I have a 1 1/2" bulk head installed in the sump so I can trigger larger water changes of around 40 gallons at a time (when I need to occasionally do that). Not sure if a smaller bulkhead would suffice in that scenario, but I didn't want to risk reducing the flow rate in a way that would overflow onto my floor. My experience tells me I could maybe go down to 1" for that specific setup. In my other systems that do drip changes, 1/2" works perfectly.
  12. tolstoy21
    I'm totally curious about this . . . . Are the thumbnails for the topics filled in by AI or some other software automation? Or do you all do that manually? Like I said, totally curious.
  13. tolstoy21
    No problem. I think the best advice I've seen I've seen in this hobby is to not stress over all the above things. (Of course when i first got into this, I didn't take that advice and did the opposite to no avail). So just keep your parameters in the ballpark for a healthy tank without chasing specific parameters. Figure out what your water is like, and how your tank trends over time, and stock fish that like that your water. Most fish do well in a wide range of stable conditions. This is the simplest thing to do, and the easiest path to success. Of course, on the flip side, some fish prefer and thrive in a higher Ph (alkaline) and others thrive in a lower one (acidic). If, and when, you get into keeping those fish that don't naturally thrive your tap water, then you'll need to start thinking about buffering your water differently to accommodate those species. But that's fun for another day!
  14. tolstoy21
    Yes do one! If you're even remotely handy, build one. It's an interesting project and anything that alleviates manual labor is awesome in my book. By trade I'm a computer infrastructure automation engineer, so yeah, automate things. As I tell my employees, build robots, don be robots! I've had a semi-automatic WC system on my 125 for a few years and just switched to a drip system. The drip part of it gets me to a 100% automated solution (minus the occasional gravel vac). I also just started down the path to setting up a drip system for a small rack of breeding tanks in my basement so I can't comment on if drip is better than other methods, as I haven't been running that long enough, but anything you can do towards automation is 100% the way to go. Also, drilling tanks is the way to go. It's visually cleaner looking, less bulky than a lot of PVC in the tanks, and you don't have to worry about losing siphon. Drilling glass seems frightening at first, but once you've done it once, you'll be like -- wow that was easy! The one tip I have for glass drilling is make a template for the drill bit out of wood and clamp that to the tank. This both keeps the hole saw from skittering across the glass as you as you try to make that initial cut and also helps create a small reservoir. I did this with a simple wood scrap, and now I just pop it onto any tank I want to drill and the bulkhead hole is in the same place every time. When I drill I also just use a squirt bottle to spritz the work semi-frequently. I see lots of people running hose water over their work, but I never found this to be 100% necessary. You just want to avoid the allowing the bit and the glass to get too hot, and this is usually caused by the dry friction and lack of good heat sink, like a puddle of water. So keep the work wet so theres a nice little puddle around the bit, drill a few moments, take a tiny break, spritz the work again. Rinse, repeat. It will be far less labor than creating PVC siphons. Cutting and gluing and testing a ton of PVC sounds too time consuming.
  15. tolstoy21
    Over time, the tank will consume KH as it buffers the water. And yes, the color vividness of the API tests can be subjective. I find the difference between 20 & 40 on the nitrate test very hard to discern for my aging eyes. I also find the colors on the high Ph tests difficult to differentiate (7.4 Ph and 8.0 ph look too similar to me). For your purposes, i think as long as you're within a drop or so of certainty of the GH/KH reading you're fine. I'm not sure what's contributing to the GH, could be rocks or other hardscape possibly, but that's such a small bump I'd not worry. Just track it's trend over time so you know what to expect from it as your tank settles in. Same with KH, track its trend a bit until you get a good idea of when, and if, the tank depletes it. 5 KH is a good amount to buffer your aquarium. With normal water changes you shouldn't have problems. You just want to make sure it doesn't go below 1. If you're shooting for specific values in terms of GH/KH/Ph, then you'll have to muck around with adding buffers and minerals to the water, things like crushed coral or Seachem equilibrium or alkaline buffer, but I don't believe that's your objective, and that costs money and time and usually isn't necessary except in very specific circumstances. It's normal for things like driftwood, CO2, fish waste to swing Ph down gradually as that acidifies the water. You just want to avoid it bottoming out or it changing suddenly (which is what KH is supposed to buffer against). I won't claim to be an expert on any of the above, but I've did a bunch of reading on this over the past year or so trying to wrap my mind around GH/KH/Ph, how it changes over time and what changes it, so I hope my advice is good. Usually if I get a new tank setup, I'll test it frequently and keep a mental trend-line things like KH and PH and nitrates so I get a good idea of how things work over time so I know how frequently to water change, etc. Then I test far less often once I'm confident how the environment works and the tank appears healthy.
  16. tolstoy21
    This is my first time attempting to breed apistogramma cacatuoides. I went to feed the ‘happy’ couple this afternoon and the male was listless and pale, on the bottom of the tank, hiding under a leaf. I assumed he was sick (did a water change last night and now thought oh crud what did I do wrong?) so I fed the tank some baby brine and the male perked up a tad and started eating. When he got near the cave, the female came out and beat the living heck out of him. He fought back, but she really went at him! So, I’m guessing they are soon to enjoy the fruits of parenthood? They were pretty flirty flirty last nightly, nudging each other with their tails while the male flared his fins. Today it’s a divorce lawyers dream. If they’ll have little ones soon, will the aggression cease after the eggs hatch? Or should I relocate the male before she clobbers him to death? I’ve had this happy pair for about a week and the fighting began today. Marriage counseling?
  17. tolstoy21
    Greg Sage at Select Aquatics does something similar in terms of creating overflow plumbing that requires no tanks drilling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lNSqpRBvIA In think the King of DIY also has a number of videos on the topic as well. Personally, I drill my tanks and overflow into a medium sized tote with a utility sump that empties the water into a drain pipe on the other side of my basement.
  18. tolstoy21
    I use coral and aragonite for things like shell dwellers, or fish that 'prefer' something above neutral. I get a Ph of 7.4 - 7.6 by adding some Top Fin coral into the substrate or bubbling it in a small box filter, and something closer 8 with aragonite. The coral gives me a level of confidence I'm not suddenly going to run out of KH and have a unexpected Ph drop. For 'soft-water' fish I'm just using the plain well water (taken from a line that bypasses the water softeners, etc.). This gets me closer to a Ph of 6.8, with a KH around 1. These were the species I was thinking about when I asked the original question concerning is hardness GH or KH. I know the advice is to not 'chase the Ph' and just make sure it's stable. But adding some coral to some tanks is easy enough to maintain without hassle. Again thanks for the answers. Was really just trying to get clarity around the topic. This brief conversation helped!
  19. tolstoy21
    Thanks again varanidguy! So much on the internet seems to conflate hardness/softness with alkalinity/acidity in a way that was confusing the heck out of me. When I'm thinking about my water in terms of fish keeping, I kept asking myself -- "Is my water hard or soft?" I know it's hard given the GH, but then was stumped as to how to figure in the almost non-existent KH in terms of what is mentioned when people say a specific fish species prefers 'soft water', and then what they go on to describe seems to relate more to acidity/Ph. For me personally, I have a few tanks I add crushed coral or aragonite to, and I also use RO for caradina shrimp. But when pondering my plain, unfiltered well water, what I was reading online in terms of fish keeping seemed clear as mud. Something like this on the other hand (taken from non-aquarium literature), seemed more accurate to how I was thinking about the topic: I grabbed this snippet from: https://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/learnaboutsurfacewater/propertiesofwater/alkalinity
  20. tolstoy21
    Thanks for the reply varanidguy. So when people refer to fish 'soft water' is this specifically in reference to KH/PH/acidity irrespective of GH? Are their instances where GH becomes a factor in terms of long term fish health? Are their GH sensitive species? I don't really have any specific issues I'm looking to fix. I'm just looking to get some clarity around this topic.
  21. tolstoy21
    Is hardness GH? KH? Both? I ask this because when I read fish keeping articles, they all seem to suggest different things. Some reference only KH as being soft and make no reference to GH. Others suggest GH. Others mention TDS/PPM. My well water is below 1 KH but has a GH of 9. Is this hard or soft? Both? Doesn’t really matter? I understand the difference between GH and KH and what they do and are composed of. Just totally confused by the loose and various use of the term ‘hardness’ in reference to those. According to my well test company I have hard, acidic water. My house has both a water softener and a PH neutralizer for tap water. (The low Ph - 5.0 out of the tap - does a number on my pipes). But like I said, I get confused by what I read in various articles in relation to fish keeping and hardness. For instance, when someone references ‘soft water species’ is this in reference it KH alone? Because they all seem to mention Ph in conjunction with that, yet my water has both a low Ph and is moderately hard. Right? The inter webs is totally confusing me!
  22. tolstoy21
    Started feeding these yesterday and fish gobbled them up. However, one observation for anyone interested -- if you don't cut them up and throw them in whole and live, the ones that make it to the bottom burrow into the substrate very fast. Im guessing they die and rot down there.
  23. tolstoy21
    I culture them with a stackable homemade system made from plastic totes and wire mesh. Super easy and super inexpensive. There are many examples and instructions on how to make these online. I roughly followed this --> https://www.instructables.com/Make-Black-Gold-With-DIY-Worm-Compost-Bins/ In my experience, worms are difficult to maintain and harvest the compost from if you don't have a stackable system that allows them to migrate upwards as food is added over time. Also, it takes a little while to get the hang of maintaining the bins, adding the right amount of food waste, cardboard, grit and water so as to not create a 'hot' compost. And, to figure out how to balance the whole thing without inadvertently creating a massive fly outbreak (if you're doing it indoors . . . done this twice!). Like everything else, it's a lot of trial and error before you dial it in. My bins probably have many thousands of wigglers, too many to count. They reproduce like mad.
  24. tolstoy21
    I could be crazy or speculating but I just noticed something these past few weeks . . . . I have a moderately planted 125 gallon. About two years back, when I set it up, I moved about a dozen otos into it. Over that time, their numbers appeared to dwindle. I re-scaped the tank about 6 month ago and as the new plants were settling in, I had a large algae outbreak so I figured I'd replace my missing otos. I went to my LFS, got a dozen more and added those into the tank. Since I've added these new ones, it appears the others were there all along, just hiding and not very active. However, now I just counted a school of over 20+. I don't have any aggressive fish in this aquarium that would force anything into hiding in my experience, nor anything that's much larger than an oto. Zebra Danios are probably the largest fish i currently have in that specific tank. So what I'm observing in my tank at least is that they appear to be more highly active in this larger school (20+ members) and eating more algae. Obviously there's more of them so of course more algae gets consumed. But I never saw the older ones grazing at all, and this this lead me to the impression that I only had 2 or so left in the aquarium. Am I crazy, or has anyone else had experience with this? Do larger school numbers encourage more activity in terms of not hiding as well as actively consuming more? For me I'm going to speculate the tipping point was getting the school above a dozen members. Before I upped the numbers, algae was overtaking everything. Every surface was coated. A week after upping the oto numbers, the algea was completely consumed. Why were the original dozen so reclusive and apparently not very hungry?
  25. tolstoy21
    I've had a worm composting system running in my basement for years now to recycle my home's organic waste and to use the output in my rose garden (rose gardening being my other, and probably longest-lived hobby; been at it a few decades now!). It just dawned on me to ask . . . can I use these as live food? I have a bajillion, more or less an endless supply. Anyone have experience with this? Pros? Cons? Tips? Don't know why I never thought to ask this before.
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