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Bill Smith

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Everything posted by Bill Smith

  1. Bill Smith
    It can help, but it is not a substitute method for things like quarantining, clean water, reduced stress factors and other good tank habits. When the wattage is high enough and the water moves through the UV sterilizer slowly enough, it supposed to prevent diseases like ich by killing the parasite protozoans while they are free floating. In my practices, I have found that fish seem to be generally healthier and less prone to disease when I use UV sterilizers. I absolutely recommend them to help give you an edge, but not as a substitute for anything specifically. I think it stands to reason that fishes' immune systems are stronger if they're not constantly fighting off the deadly microorganisms that float in the water. The UV sterilizer helps fight that battle. I'm rambling, but I think that's probably a good way to think of a UV sterilizer: an immune system booster that also prevents green water.
  2. Bill Smith
    No, it won't kill attached algae. It only zaps the DNA of floating cells in the water and prevents them from reproducing. Only good for green water and disease prevention.
  3. Bill Smith
    If I lived in the area I'd volunteer to paint one...people in my area can "adopt" fire hydrants and paint them to liven things up...
  4. Bill Smith
    Gotta watch out for those Fish Nerms, they're a wild bunch.
  5. Bill Smith
    Great, glad to see it worked! As for it not being perfectly straight, I think if you over-correct a little, it will start to "relax" over time and you will be able to get it straight.
  6. Bill Smith
    Sure! Happy to help, but I fear it's not going to be all that helpful to you. My Portrait is underneath a small corner shelf, and I attached my NICREW light to the underside of that. The attachment to the tank is an illusion. Basically I took a piece of black plastic, epoxied an inch of that to the light, and then stuck the whole thing to the shelf with some double-sided tape: I don't think that's going to work in your case. However, I have some thoughts: 1. You can always DIY something that the light can attach to, and put that behind the tank, if there's space. A wooden stand comes to mind. 2. The gooseneck twists around backwards, so if you need to reverse the black plastic attachment, that is an option. 3. If you can get it to attach without the black plastic "lid" piece of the tank comes with, you can then cut a notch out of that later to make it fit. Bandsaw is ideal, but a soldering iron could work to melt you a hole So what's getting in your way? Let's see a pic or two and I'll see what I can do to help you solve it. 🙂 Bill
  7. Bill Smith
    Ah, forests and trees. Happens to me all the time. 🙂
  8. Bill Smith
    Doesn't a breeder box serve that purpose? I must be missing something. 🙂
  9. Bill Smith
    In all fairness, I don't know for a fact that the cause is my hard water. But that is a massive difference between my water and the water the AC folks are testing in... That said, it could just as easily be dirty water...my dirtier tanks did seem to clog their stones faster. I also noticed that the stones were less likely to clog if I didn't tighten them much.
  10. Bill Smith
    Yeah, I'm glad to see it too; it suggests putting the box on the bottom. That makes a lot of sense. Love this challenge!
  11. Bill Smith
    Looks like it has been thought of: Still gonna try this out. The AC sponge filters come apart in so many ways...
  12. Bill Smith
    Nah, that has DIY written all over it. Lemme noodle a little, do a little "hunter-gathering", and I'll PM you with my thoughts. 🙂
  13. Bill Smith
    OMG, we need to make this happen! What an idea! I'll bet it could be done. I have an extra Jehmco box filter; let's get together and start playing with this!
  14. Bill Smith
    LMAO You said it! I have 69 ember tetras happier'n clams in that tank right now. No schooling, no shoaling even! The angel initially would get close to one, but they're far too quick for him. he doesn't care anymore. Thanks for the advice on the striping. That makes a lot of sense. 🙂
  15. Bill Smith
    Varies wildly, but the dirtiest tanks do clog faster.
  16. Bill Smith
    USB Nano Pump. I use those things everywhere. Even running 10 in the same room is quieter than any single pump I've ever used.
  17. Bill Smith
    I take a 1-cup measuring cup, fuill with 1 cup of tank water, add a full 10-gallon dose of all three, stir well, and immediately pour half of the cocktail into the tank. I don't store the remaining for later use, because I don't think it'll keep. But I do pour it in a different tank "just because".
  18. Bill Smith
    Thanks for the kind words. Glad you like! Typically, people bring their tubs inside for cold weather. Mine never drops to freezing, so I think my overkill heaters will keep the temps up if I leave them outside. But I'm not positive, so I'll have to report back during my own colder weather! More insulation does help your water resist temperature changes, but unless your weather on a cold day warms up at some point, the water will eventually reach air temperature regardless of its insulation. Other common techniques involve things like running an air pump from inside the warmer room so that you get "warm" bubbles of air, but I'm not sure how effective that is.
  19. Bill Smith
    Not a fan of the Ziss breeder boxes myself. I've had one for a couple years now, and I dislike it for a few reasons: 1. It's too big to pull out of a tank with a standard glass top still on. 2. It's too tall to pull out of a tank in a rack unless you have enough space between the tank and the shelf above. 3. It's hard to clean without a toothbrush. 4. The airstone is hard to remove with the box still in the tank. 5. The overly complicated suction cup bracket grows algae. In short, it's hard to service this box without disrupting the tank, especially on a rack. What I LOVE LOVE LOVE about this box (and made it hard for me to change) is the mesh bottom. It makes servicing a less-often thing. But it's not quite enough to prevent me from switching. Ever since I discovered the external boxes from Marina (now Fluval), I haven't looked back. No tank disruption! No problem with tight racks! Bill
  20. Bill Smith
    I make my lids out of polycarbonate sheets that are cheaply found at Home Depot. They are easy to cut and work with my NICREW lights just fine: I use a clear Command Hook for the handle.
  21. Bill Smith
    I currently have UV sterilizers on 5 of my tanks. I have NEVER had ich or green water sprout up in any of them. Just my experience. 🙂
  22. Bill Smith
    My never-clog airstones (with the blue felt) in multiple tanks all eventually clog after 2-3 months. My theory is that it has to do with the fact that I have very hard water and very high pH. I suspect I get a build-up of calcium in the felt.
  23. Bill Smith
    But you can move the plant to the fish for a few days, let him do his work, then move it back. 🙂 I have some untested theories about the benefits of toolbox tanks/ponds. 😉
  24. Bill Smith
    A Siamese algae eater'll clean that right up for you in a day or two. 🙂
  25. Bill Smith
    Update: This experiment is officially over. Early last week, I worked up the quantity of fish to a total of 69 ember tetras! I also took the previous advice of adding a tension fish, throwing in an obnoxious male guppy to see what would happen. The tetras adopted him as one of their own, and they proceeded to shoal together. Adorable, but not the behavior I was hoping for! After a few more days and no further change in behavior, I came to the conclusion that the tank is probably too small and (perhaps) the choice of species may not be quite right for directional schooling behavior. So it was fun, but it didn't make much sense to keep this tank so chaotic for that much longer. So the tetras have all been moved into the 38-gallon tank I affectionately call DAGOBAH. There were zero fatalities that I am aware of. That is now one very overstimulated angelfish! And the embers, now that they're in a bigger space? They don't school much. 🙄 Hope you enjoyed. Didn't go the way I wanted, but I still learned a lot! Bill
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