Jump to content
Watch our video on the rules of this forum.

Bill Smith

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    446

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    12

  • Feedback

    0%

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Bill Smith

  1. Bill Smith
    Yep, single pond light just below the surface, aimed diagonally down. My SUBARU thread covers the installation. No other lighting. I now prefer checking my ponds at night.
  2. Bill Smith
    Those are awesome, and especially useful for shell dwellers, if you include caps, because they can be easily disassembled to get the fish out when you need. As opposed to real shells. 🙂
  3. Bill Smith
    Just discovered clown killi fry in my nano-pond tonight! Wasn't sure it was going to happen, but so exciting!
  4. Bill Smith
    Okay, ponds are officially the coolest thing ever. You throw them together like aquariums, drop some fish in, give them lots of floating plants for cover, and nature does the rest. I have clown killifish fry! I obviously missed these guys for awhile, because they're all about a quarter-inch long. But I've been feeding Easy Fry Food and frozen baby brine shrimp; clearly that has paid off. When trying to breed, always feed as if you have fry! I'm tempted to take them out and raise them in a small tank, as I know the juveniles will prey on the next generation, but I'm thinking/hoping I have enough plant cover for future fry to do all right. I'll grow these juveniles as fast as I can. For those keeping score, that's now THREE OUT OF FIVE nano-ponds making babies! Bill
  5. Bill Smith
    Thanks @Daniel for all the insights into your setup! While my setup would be in the 25-35-gallon range, you do have me thinking best practices here. And acrylic solves all my drilling woes, don't know why I didn't consider that in the first place. No, but you can mount the iLonda feeder on its side. Just attach it to a piece of 2x4 or similar and mount that part upside down. That's what I do for my pond.
  6. Bill Smith
    Yes! I could even run a transparent uplift tube up the center, a la undergravel filter style, and splice in a "transparent " power cord to the light overhead. I'll bet bubbles would obscure it mostly.
  7. Bill Smith
    Good ideas! Pedestal for the win, thanks for that idea @Streetwise and @MickS77! Makes me think maybe drilling a tiny hole in the bottom for just an airline will handle my filtration and aeration for me at the same time. Maybe mod a sponge filter to pipe the airstone through the bottom of that too. I'm getting more excited about this idea by the minute!
  8. Bill Smith
    Magnet-driven filtration! Brilliant! I love it! This scratches my DIY itch so hard. For lighting, I was thinking a decorative lamp might do the trick as well...like, lean into it as part of the design.
  9. Bill Smith
    Hey all: The MTS addiction gets ever stronger... I have a countertop island in my kitchen with its own power. I'm weighing the possibilities of putting a nice cube tank on the center of it, but I don't want any cords to show. Wondering if anyone here has had to deal with that (paging Mr. @Daniel), and what kind of clever solutions/ideas you've come up with or seen for hiding those kinds of things? Suspended lighting from the ceiling is doable, but not optimal, because it's a very high ceiling at an angle. I am open to drilling the bottom of the tank, but how do I get power cords through there? Thanks! Bill
  10. Bill Smith
    Fish police here, those species are not compatible.
  11. Bill Smith
    Hey gang, I have a problem I could use some help with: My guppy grass in one of my nano-ponds is being overtaken with green hair algae. The algae seems to be choking off the grass: I really need the grass to be more accessible to guppy fry, but the hair algae is so entangling. I can't pull the algae off the stemps of the grass without breaking it all up. There are also a couple small water hyacinths eating up nitrates. I know the typical approach of managing the balance of light vs. nutrients, but I'm not sure which way to take it, because the two plants seem so similar to me. Is mantaining the 20ppm Easy Green target still the best approach here? Or is there a particular nutrient that gives guppy grass the edge over the algae? Should I pull the hyacinths to give the grass a better chance? The pond only gets 1-2 hours of direct sunlight each day. Thank you! Bill
  12. Bill Smith
    Agreed. The gobies will tell you if they're not happy. 🙂 In my opinion (and I believe I've heard in many livestreams), an "ideal" setup is irrelevant if the fish aren't stressed. Excessive nitrates can be a stress factor. Lack of space can be a stress factor. And so on. Ultimately, I view our "job" as fishkeepers is to remove stress. It looks fantastic, and I don't think you're overstocked. But I wouldn't trust me on that front. 😉
  13. Bill Smith
    The second generation definitely has a more robust power adapter; I think the first generation were just a tiny bit underpowered. I compensated with these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0771HWYH9 My first generation pumps are just as powerful as the second with the new power adapters. I'm not a big fan of the new Aquarium Co-Op ones, because they take up too much space on a power strip. The ones from Amazon are equally powerful and take up minimal space!
  14. Bill Smith
    I run the USB nano pump through the large-size sponge filter with no problems. It's definitely enough air. I also worked an airstone in there and used the uplift tube, which boosted performance. In my opinion, no other single-tank pump comes close in silence for the volume of air you get.
  15. Bill Smith
    I loaded up several of my tanks with the Grech CBG-800. It has big rectangular baskets that are just like the AquaClear ones, but includes a surface skimmer and on-board 5w UV sterilizer. A real multi-tasker! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY3YMHG $50 is not pricey when you consider the combined features. I remove the carbon containers and cut about 3 layers of Aquarium Co-Op coarse sponge, and layer those in first, topped with the white sponge that comes with it. For polishing, I top it off with a piece of blue & white floss. Turn the water flow down to minimum for the most hang-time with the UV element. I have three of these in my 20-longs!
  16. Bill Smith
    Yep, definitely a leech! So sorry I'm not of more use, but good luck!
  17. Bill Smith
    I think that's going to be very subjective, and the names are going to vary. For me, I would say grains around 1-2mm are just about perfect. I can still see individual grains at 3-4 feet distance. 🙂 Some people would call that fine gravel. Others coarse sand.
  18. Bill Smith
    Two days later and nitrates are once again below 20ppm. Gave it another triple dose of Easy Green. Pothos are absolutely a major stabilizing factor to an overloaded tank this small. Pothos will enable me to push the envelope.
  19. Bill Smith
    For what it's worth, I went through a bunch of different substrates recently, and one thing I must say I'm a big fan of, is finer grain products. Not as fine as sand, but very fine gravel or coarse sand makes planting SOOOOOO much easier. Jam the item in the substrate, and the grains just fall into place to support it. All my future tanks are coarse sand. Don't care about substrate nutrients, because the root tabs are much easier to deposit as a result. And unless you're turning the light down, black is NEVER black. Bill
  20. Bill Smith
    This is the light I used for mine (non-affiliate): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QQ9K3R9 I'm a big fan of NICREW lights for their short-term affordability. I feel it's plenty bright for medium and low-light plants.
  21. Bill Smith
    Might be planaria...they're more common than leeches. Do you have a pic?
  22. Bill Smith
    Agree with Daniel, wouldn't really chase the numbers. Fish are remarkably adaptable. That said, the crushed coral will only push the pH and hardness to a specific point. I doubt your hardness will actually go up much, and certainly not into dangerous levels, in my opinion.
  23. Bill Smith
    Any chance we can get a pic of the tank? 🙂
  24. Bill Smith
    That fish is too big for that tank. Just sayin'. 😉
  25. Bill Smith
    I love love love my 20-gallon "skittles" tank of assorted platies! So much color and constant motion. Still my favorite tank at home, and so easy. Check it out
×
×
  • Create New...