Sammy

I used the pool noodle type with used, rinsed carbon- infused filter material. The Medaka seemed to prefer the black over the green scotchbrite. Maybe they all have a preference... "I GOTTA BE MEEEEEE...!" 😉 They never used the yarn mops... Daisy's rarely did either.

I was told my Microdevario Kubotai eggs are mildly sticky and most will catch on the false bottom & moss. I use an air driven 'harvester' to dawn the eggs from the breeding cup with false bottom, up into the egg collector/ hatch unit. I was told most would stick to the fissidens moss or false bottom before the air driven water would deposit them. Anyone know if they are 'sticky'?

I've used Spectrum, Hikari, Liquid Fry, even powdered egg yolk... nothing beats an infusoria or paramecium culture for that first week for those Rasboras/ Killies/ Microdevario sized nano fish fry. Higher survival rate, good growth rate, ignites the hunting instinct and smooth transition into vinegar eels and banana/ microworms. All fairly easy to obtain/ maintain. BBS/ Grindal worms to follow that feeding cycle and they grow FAST. Most are micro-predators and just aren't wired to scrounge around or taste-test "floaties". I even tested it: I have 2 tanks of Daisy's Ricefish that are from the same week's egg harvest and the difference between commercial fry food and live food is unbelievable. Most of the live food tank have been sold but less than half of the dry food tank babies are even close to sale size, some almost 50% smaller than the ones I just sold last weekend. It convinced me to stop spending money and just put in a small amount of effort and patience... it paid off. I might be weird but I think it's just another fun part of creating, raising and observing aquatic life cycles - I don't see it as work at all. What a great hobby we have... 😊

Any used filter you can grab, drop it in, give it a shake or squeeze. I even use the mulm covered gravel from other tanks. Every little bit helps. I just set up 2 5gal with UGFs and squeezed and rinsed filters from my other tanks until the water was brown... clear in 5 hours. I stir and jet-rinse (with my turkey baster) until the foam has absorbed all the mulm it can get. Full cycling time is less than 9 days - but I let them mature for 2 months anyway and trickle in mosses, stem plants and ferns. If using old/used dirt substrates, I usually dose No-Planaria to eliminate that worry. Patience now pays off huge later, lowers maintenance too.

CPD juveniles love the UGF Tiki tank 😁

I run UGFs on all my tanks, most with 1-1/2" - 2" matten (30ppi) bottoms, and they are the cleanest, low maintenance systems I'veever had. Airstone ( Ziss from ACO) or powerhead depends on the species in the tank. The plants I use have no problem rooting to the foam. Most powerheads are directed up towards the surface to increase aeration and decrease current. A light layer of 3-5mm gravel on some, glass beads on others. Canisters with built in UV lights are attached to the heavily stocked tanks, which most are. No deaths, ammonia spikes, no diseases and stable water for 8 years on 16 tanks, water changes are severely reduced. I'm a big fan of UGFs. No vacuuming substrate or rinsing filters. The biofiltration surface area is unmatched except by sump systems. I even sculpt landscapes, shrimp hides and uplift tube protection with the foam. Cycling time is reduced immensely by using squeezings from other tanks. Penn-plax for standard tank sizes, multiple plate systems for odd sized tanks.

1 vote for the Amosijoy 3 stage with built in UV. Not a big name but all 3 have run flawlessly for over a year. Just chuck the cheap ceramic rings and bioballs - use 30ppi foam. $130CDN on Amazon

Yes, check the ingredients... I found that I use twice as much and it takes overnight to set properly. I use a lot because I build solid rockscapes for shrimp and nano fish hides. ACO glue is slightly cheaper, I use less and it cures quicker on rocks, wood and plants... just my 2 cents

Test your tap water. Eliminate potential threats one by one. My fails turned out to be detergents... my beautiful wife washed my aquarium rags for me, fabric softener and all 😊 I just use brown paper towel if I need to wipe anything off but generally rinse and air dry... 2litre bottles now, 4 at a time (never had all 4 fail, 1 out of 4 once in a while) - the hatchery just sits there collecting dust, staring at me... mocking me 😄 Deservedly so

Love the "potassium hog" 😄 They definitely are that.

Great idea! I have lots of tall plants so I was going to start with moss and java fern as it clings to the foam well and doesn't fill the pot with too many roots. Just dropped 2 bare ones in the dwarf blue cray tank to lighten up the squabbling for the rock crevice hides... we'll see if they use them. Dropped one in the Blue Dream tank last night and it was occupied this morning. A good start.

What to do with plant holders, sponge foam and plant weights.. leftovers from planted tank builds? Shrimp/ crayfish hides... Moss, plants to be added later

Those hinges work... PITA to get the old ones off though, razor blade and siliconelube made quick work of it. I only rebuilt one... then just bought acrylic sheets and made my own. Ended up being cheaper than the glass ones so that's just what I do now. The hinges don't bend as well as the originals but I usually remove the entire lid anyway - auto feeders do the daily tasks. Once I figure out a good 12v dosing system for nano fry, my workload will be more of a "check up and enjoy the view ".

Love those Luminatus. I swap out floating plants for floating spawning mops and put in an egg harvester that I use on CPDs and get eggs in both systems. Hit them with live Grindals and chopped blood worms then swap in a couple gallons of cooler conditioned water one evening. It's a good trigger.