Monkeypoint

Also, it's no different from the fittings and adapters included with both the Python and Hygger hoses. The only difference being that despite the variety of adapters both companies include with their kit, none of them actually fit the threads of currently manufactured faucets (aside from the 3/4" outdoor spigot, which is not an option most of the year), whereas the Water Bandit offers a near-perfect solution. It is somewhat ironic that the faucets are manufactured in the same country as the hoses and adapters. You would think they would update the adapters to fit the threads of the faucets they manufacture. Just sayin'!

Oh wow, these are great!!! It was keeping me up at night.

Great idea.

If you have another faucet in your house that isn’t one of those pull-down kitchen sink types, I found a great hack. First I replaced my bathroom sink for one that has this type of faucet. it was around $35 on Amazon. My Python died after 20 years. I bought a Hygger but it’s the same idea. I attach one end to the faucet with this rubber gizmo. Camco Water Bandit | Features a... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EDOSKG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share It has the 3/4 garden hose thread that screws into the Hyyger on one end and then I’ll tighten onto the faucet with one of these Koehler Enterprises EZ01B EZ... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XAKHRPI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share it works great. No leakage at all. I have a 55 gallon tank and ain’t no way I’m schlepping buckets of water - not at my age or degree of clumsiness. If I’m not trimming plants or cleaning the filter, I’m done in about 1/2 hour, 40 minutes tops.

Sounds like everybody’s happy!

I'm usually juggling dogs - taking one with me, boarding the other. I'm not worried about short trips but 10 days or more and things get complicated.

Would this work for capping Fluval Stratum? I'm having the same considerations as the OP - I want to use Stratum for plants with sand for bottom dwellers but I'm not sure if the sand would fall through the Stratum.

Since my aquarium collection started expanding, I've grown increasingly reluctant to leave town for fear of coming home to an apocalypse. Actually, I don't even want to leave my house (just want to watch shrimp and snails all day). How do you deal with tank maintenance if you have to skip town?

Travel. Having to leave town and worrying about maintenance - especially for shrimp. And as an aside, I'm terrified of power outages!

For a planted tank, can you cap Fluval Stratum with sandblasting sand like Black Diamond or will it sink? I was thinking because of the larger granule size it would work and having a layer of sand would be good for Corys. I've read a lot about not mixing Stratum with sand but maybe the comments applied to the finer reef sand.

Huh. I am looking into this myself. Do you have to remineralize the water, and if so, how do you do that?

Yes, I was wondering about that as well. I may rehome him. He’s a Bristlenose Pleco. Super cute. Everyone seems very happy. I added some Salvinia and Red Root Floaters recently. The shrimp love those things. It’s fun watching them graze upside down. I can’t believe how quickly Salvinia spreads although it’s so much easier to scoop up and manage than Duckweed.

Eeek. I’m wondering if my 15 gallon is overstocked: 9 Ember Tetras, 1 Mystery snail, 2 Nerite snails, 1 Corydora, 1 Pleco, 5 Amano shrimp, a bunch of RCS (between 20 - 30 but some of them are still tiny babies). The tank is very heavily planted. I test regularly - mostly for nitrates at this point. Ph is always at 6.8. I test for calcium every once in a while so I know when to add a Wonder Shell. Going by nitrate level, I’m doing 30% water changes roughly every 6 days.

That’s what I was thinking.

I’m considering the 600 for a 68 gallon UNS tank (that I haven’t bought yet). Reading reviews online but they’re all over the place. That seems to be the case for just about everything though!

Bladder snail update: I ran out to run a couple of errands yesterday afternoon. I was gone for about an hour, give or take. I was going to drop the snail into the tank but when I got home, I found the little container I put it in empty. I looked down, and there it was, on the floor, motionless. It looked dried out but knowing snails can live outside of water for a while, I dropped it in the tank and hoped for the best. Ten minutes later, it was halfway up a Moneywort stem. Great! Welcome to your new world, little snail. About an hour later, I went to check on it and one of my female Amano shrimp that's grown to about the size of a Prius was happily snacking away on it. R.I.P little Bladder snail.

Great! Then it’s safe to put it in the main tank? The other tank is so new I’m afraid he’ll starve. Although some of the older plants may have some algae on them.

I found this little guy on the glass of the 10 gallon shrimp breeding tank I set up a little over a week ago. I have no idea how it got there. All the plants are from my other aquarium. I haven’t put any new plants in it other than some Java moss I attached to spiderwood. I would have noticed a hitchhiker of that size. I did put a couple of Mystery snails in the established tank a few weeks ago but this doesn’t look like a Mystery snail. For now, I’ve put him in a small container with some tank water from the established tank and a little bit of blanched spinach since there isn’t any algae yet in the breeder tank. He’s zipping around at a good clip (for a snail).

Good advice. You bet I will! Very much appreciated.

So cute!!!! I'm going for RCS. Thanks so much for all the advice, re: snails, light, and ferts. I have a little bit of aquasoil (I basically added whatever was left over from a 4 lb bag of Stratum - about 1/2 a bag). The rest is inert black sand. This is going to be interesting! I'll keep you posted.

Great idea! Mine is now set up (substrate, plants, hardscape). Do you add any ferts? I put some root tabs with the stem plants and plan on adding liquid ferts as well. How many hours of light do you start with? And is it safe to add snails, or should I wait? AHHH - 2 whole months! It's definitely a hobby of patience.

That's the plan!

This is EXACTLY why I didn't want to move forward without first asking for advice. At the moment, I have baby shrimp in the breeder box inside my other aquarium. They're tiny. I'm about to add the plants and hardscape (also almond leaves and cholla wood). Setting my timer for 8 weeks. Thanks so much for the great advice.

I'm getting my 10 gallon RCS shrimp only tank setup. So far, I've added substrate (mostly inert black sand and about half a 4 lb bag of Stratum I had left over). I've been running it for about 24 hours with an Aqueon HOB carbon filled filter to allow the tank to clear up faster. Meanwhile, I have filter media from my other tank that's been seeding for about 3 months in addition to 2 sponge filters I plan to use (one is a sponge air filter, the other is an intake tube cover so shrimp don't get sucked up). I'm also adding some hardscape and plants from the older tank. So, my question: should I still wait a week or longer to add shrimp, or would it be safe to add them after I have all of the old bacteria-rich media in place? If I don't add anything right away, won't the old bacteria die off from lack of anything to convert?

I just bought some and also Salvinia.