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Bill Smith

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Everything posted by Bill Smith

  1. Bill Smith
    Hi Nick: Thanks for the kind words! I ended up taking down these ponds, mainly because they became a lot of maintenance work and I had less time to enjoy them than before. As the weather gets colder, sure I'm set up for the fish to be fine in Southern California, but that doesn't mean I want to hang out there all that much. Something to think about, even for the warmer climates! So I distributed my fish among my tanks and am now only running the daphnia culture, which is still thriving quite well! So let's do a post-mortem... What worked well? Heaters, man. The 200 watt heater in the 15 gallons of water kept the fish nice and toasty even on the coldest mornings. I think this stability encouraged breeding. There were babies showing up in every tub! On the same note, feeding fry food every night, regardless of whether I saw fry or not, probably helped as well. The lights were great. I would NOT do a pond without a light, because I want a better view! What would I do differently? The box filter was a bad idea. In practice, it's just too much maintenance. Quite honestly, I should have just used sponge filters, or better yet, probably nothing with just an airstone. I think I would have even started to play with HOB filters, adapting them to the weather and angled sides of the tubs. Duckweed was a bad idea. It got everywhere, whether I wanted it or not. I liked the frogbit. I would have started with more plants up front. I should have put in a LOT more guppy grass at the outset, to prevent the algae from taking hold. Alternatively, I could have planted a lot of water sprite, but I think the floating plants were most conducive to breeding and protecting the fry. I would have used finer gravel. The cheap pea gravel is just not very attractive. I would have made the "electrical boxes" easier to service. The USB-air pumps don't last more than a couple months outside, and changing them was very difficult. I should have centralized the air to a single air pump. What about the fish? Honestly, I found most of the fish in my nano-ponds to be fairly boring. While they did breed, they all looked the same from the top. The exceptions to this were the clown killies and the guppies. I'm not a huge guppy fan, but they were far more interesting to watch than most, because of their more vigorous activity and waving tails. The killies weren't so active, but they are pretty to look at form the top, with the silver dot on the top of their heads really grabbing attention. I think if I were to do it again, I would definitely try platies, especially if I could find some interesting colors. Hope that helps! Bill
  2. Bill Smith
    Wow, thank you so much for the kind words, that was very generous of you to say. I'm really happy you were able to use it! I love it when something so simple and inexpensive can make such a difference in the maintenance tasks! Hope it sells more Easy Root Tabs for the Co-Op! I know I wasn't really buying them prior to having an usable tool...
  3. Bill Smith
    Really glad it's working for you! Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective. 🙂
  4. Bill Smith
    I have one that's a solid 5 inches. Give them plenty to eat!
  5. Bill Smith
    Yeah, I have to agree with this. I honestly would order more if the box was a bit more stealthy! It also makes gift-giving a little more challenging.
  6. Bill Smith
    I have a 10-gallon tank in my bedroom, and in the quiet of the night, I can hear my AquaClear 30's lid vibrating. Removing the lid prevents heat conservation and triggers too much evaporation. So I stretched a thin rubber band around the back part of the lid's lip: This suspends the lid a millimeter or two above the filter, yet holds it in place: No more vibrations! Enjoy, Bill
  7. Bill Smith
    Awesome! Bookmarked. Thanks!
  8. Bill Smith
    And regarding cutting, I don't have a table saw, but I've used hand saws, a bandsaw, and a circular saw for mine. All cut through very nicely!
  9. Bill Smith
    Clear packing tape makes a perfect hinge for these lids. It sticks REALLY well, and it's nearly invisible. No need for fancy hinges!
  10. Bill Smith
    I found it doesn't seem to block much light at all, but I don't have a PAR meter. 🙂
  11. Bill Smith
    I strain 'em and freeze 'em .
  12. Bill Smith
    I use these for most of my 12 tanks!
  13. Bill Smith
    I never feed my BBS live. I always freeze them immediately using the below silicone ice cube tray, and do 2 more batches over the next couple days. It makes tiny cubes! My fish all love them just the same. Then, I'm set for several weeks of feeding! Back in the day when I was keeping them alive, I mixed fresh saltwater, rinsed and water-changed them, and kept them in a shallow tupperware (covered, with a hole in the lid) in the fridge. They stayed alive for about a week.
  14. Bill Smith
    Ah, thanks. I have a couple canopies that I made, that I'm not happy with the workmanship. I will have to try yours, but without the dado work (I have no table saw). I think I can do the side supports differently. Really nice work, thanks for the inspiration!
  15. Bill Smith
    Did you have to cut holes or notches out of the back for cables and things that hang off the back?
  16. Bill Smith
    For my shell dwellers, I have had good luck with fish that prefer to occupy the upper strata: - Hatchetfish - Killies I have also had very good luck with rummy-nose tetras, because they move so much and are tight schoolers, the shell dwellers don't seem to get into conflicts with them much. Rummies look really good in this type of tank, too. Guests loved their activity. I recall @Cory mentioning in livestreams a few times that Cyprichromis worked as a top-dweller for shell-dwellers in his experience. Bill
  17. Bill Smith
    If you're referring to the fittings that go on the canisters, yes, they've worked quite well for me so far.
  18. Bill Smith
    Oh, right. If there's water in the bucket you may create an air pocket. Which could bubble back up when it tries to start up again.
  19. Bill Smith
    Very nicely laid out! Question: What's the purpose of a check valve in the bucket? You're not expecting a vertical backflow there, are you?
  20. Bill Smith
    I like it. I've done full-gown Congo tetras with blue rams fairly successfully. They stay in their respective strata very nicely. I just keep the temperature a little higher than the tetras prefer (82-83), in order to keep the rams happy. The tetras can handle it. I also found that when fed on an auto-feeder, the Congo tetras grow into adult size very, very quickly, so I suggest saving some money and buying them small! In a 75, starting small, I'd probably go with about a dozen. For the lower-strata cichlids to get enough food, you will possibly want to feed pretty heavily, so extra filtration is a good idea. Keep us posted!
  21. Bill Smith
    In my opinion, you can house a small number (maybe 3-4) in a 5 gallon tank, but they will outgrow it quickly once they start breeding. I use a 20-Long and a 10-gallon for mine, plus a 5-gallon bare-bottom grow-out tank just for fry, but once they've settled in to shells, they don't really go places. IMO, shell-dwellers are not a 1-tank proposition. 🙂
  22. Bill Smith
    As an add-on to this question, is there a good predatory fish to add to a multi tank that will help keep population under control? The parents are such fierce defenders that I'm not sure. Thanks!
  23. Bill Smith
    Hey all, We know that in livebearer tanks, overpopulation is more or less prevented by virtue of the fact that the adults eat the fry, and keep their numbers under control if they become too numerous for the fry to hide effectively. It's a nice feature: population control with nutrition built-in! I have a couple Neolamprologus multifasciatus tanks where the numbers are really growing. Does anyone know if they tend to slow down their breeding cycles if the numbers grow too high? What's your story? Thanks! Bill
  24. Bill Smith
    Yes, the unhatched eggs should be removed as much as possible; I've read they're bad for the fish, but don't know for sure. I sometimes shine a flashlight over a temporary holding container to get them to rise, then pour most of it out into another container, leaving most of the unhatched eggs at the bottom. That seems to work pretty well for me. Also, I get a MUCH better hatch rate with a heater and a light.
  25. Bill Smith
    This is a common problem for me. But lemme get this straight. Is there any chance you're saying the Keurig filter stops the unhatched eggs but lets the live brine through? 😄
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