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StephenP2003

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Everything posted by StephenP2003

  1. StephenP2003
    Looking good! Now, if you want the type of sustainable mayhem that I have going on in my 40 breeder, you'll need some patience, as well as about 3 or 4 times the current plant mass in that tank. 😁
  2. StephenP2003
    Agree 100%. I've been a technical and proposal writer for 15+ years, and all the knowledge and wisdom you pour into this will mean nothing if you don't know your audience. Whatever density of information you think your customer can handle, cut it in half. And then keep cutting it until you have something that will help the customer understand the utmost important facts in just a few sentences. e.g.: "Aquarium stuff has bacteria on it. It helps make the water not kill the fish, and it needs time to establish." - and maybe another sentence or two in form of actionable advice, like "don't put too many fish that the bacteria can't handle" and "don't clean your filters too much." If they want to know why, they'll ask or they'll research it themselves. You can ease them into the stuff like testing water, being patient through a stress-free fishless cycle, etc. Do what you can to improve the visual. Personally, I'm a visual learner, and because it's late, I skipped all the text you wrote and went straight to the diagram. It's the simplest, most pleasing way to impart just the essential information. Even better if you impart the basics in a few sentences and a refined diagram, and direct them to your LFS's website or YouTube channel for a reasonably paced video that expands on it.
  3. StephenP2003
    So, if you go to youtube and look at the other videos on my channel, I have a more recent video that goes over how I'm managing this livebearer tank. Title is "Livebearer Mosh Pit Breeding -- Guppies and Platys Out of Control! (Tank Tour 3!)" I know self-promotion is frowned upon here, but the video is a fairly condensed but thorough answer to your question. Mods, do what you gotta do if I'm overstepping. 125 gallon guppy mosh pit would really cool! Mine is only a 40 breeder.
  4. StephenP2003
    Ok, I'll bite. Nitrogen of any form converts to ammonia by all the life that consumes it, including plants. Is that the magic answer to progress this thread?
  5. StephenP2003
    Yeah, wish I had a better idea of what was going on with mine, but ultimately he stopped doing that and is still alive and seemingly fine to this day.
  6. StephenP2003
    I gotta say, it was a good feeling to browse the co-op tonight and see literally every plant is in stock. This has been a long pandemic, and I don't remember the last time that happened. I needed some very specific stuff, and I was able to get it all. But I swear if I get another duplicate sticker...
  7. StephenP2003
    I think you answered your own question. Verify with some test strips, but personally I do not press it against the paper. Not enough light gets through and it will always look darker.
  8. StephenP2003
    The Salifert brand.
  9. StephenP2003
    Other possibility is misreading the strips, which I've done from time to time!
  10. StephenP2003
    Does an accurate test strip for potassium exist? I have a liquid potassium test that uses three reagents, and apparently it's really sensitive.
  11. StephenP2003
    Snail Pileup Shrimp and a hopeful hydra
  12. StephenP2003
    My third tank tour, an overview of my 40 gallon live bearer mosh pit and how I've sustained it:
  13. StephenP2003
    I have some pink stuff too. I wonder what it is.
  14. StephenP2003
    So since the beginning of this thread, I've really been inspired to stretch the limits of my existing equipment. I bought a cheap clip-on macro lens on Amazon, and I've been working with a OnePlus 6 phone, some walmart desk lamps, and a tripod. The OnePlus 6 - close to a 3-year-old phone now - can shoot 4K 60fps reasonably well on a tripod. It also has a slowmo mode claiming 1080p 240 fps, but looks super grainy with terrible autofocus and no ability to lock it. So I used both of those modes to make a video with the macro lens. (Sound Warning: I don't stand strongly behind my song choice). Camera Experts: Would love your feedback on these shots, and maybe some opinions on whether it might be worth it for me to simply upgrade my phone for a better camera, or if a dedicated camera would be that much better (for the amount of money you might spend on a nice new phone).
  15. StephenP2003
    No but I bet the guppies would really enjoy that.
  16. StephenP2003
    If you have one of those metal frame stands, or can otherwise see the bottom of your tank, take a pic and post it. Is it spotless, gravel-vacced thoroughly every week, with a low stock of fish, very light feeding? Or does it look like my live-bearer colony tank that's never been gravel vacced? Yummy
  17. StephenP2003
    Pay-to-win cheatz
  18. StephenP2003
    I went buce shopping this week....
  19. StephenP2003
    What would they mean by "the best"? Would it not do the same thing as Fritz and prime and safe? Also, do you know your chloramine level in your tap water? I have about 1ppm usually, but water quality reports say it can be as high as 2ppm. I tend to overdose anyway out of laziness. I have a pump head on my prime bottle and it's about 1.5-2ml per pump.
  20. StephenP2003
    I've bought so many varieties that I couldn't list them all, but the bright stuff on the right thats about to flower is just your normal green wavy variety. Among the others are brownie blue, godzilla, and some mini varieties that might recover one day. Buce variety naming is out of control. You find the same plant a mile down the creek and it's an entirely different name. And you add blue to the name if you squint at a piece of buce at dusk while you're a little tipsy and one leaf kind of looks blue.
  21. StephenP2003
    Very nice scape! My buce is not doing so well, particularly the parts that are on the outer edges of the shade that the tree provides, algae really taking hold. I think I have a lot of emersed leaves right now too, and it's a CO2 injected tank which maybe is putting those leaves in more of a stasis rather than converting. My goal was a buce carpet around the tree, but I may have to rethink.
  22. StephenP2003
    Yeah, this tank wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in the beginning either. I got a hard lesson in why people quarantine, and that fancy guppies from my LFS are garbage, or at least not ready to be sold to the average person. Had a decent colony going, and introduction of new guppies caused fungus, bacteria, and/or other mysterious illnesses that wiped out more than half of the guppy population -- strangely didn't touch any other species in the tank.
  23. StephenP2003
    Maybe I'm a crazy person, but I just let my live bearer tank do its thing. It is full of plants which helps, but also I don't increase feeding when I notice new fry. It looks like an overstocked nightmare, but it's actually a pretty healthy ecosystem, and I can go months without changing water.
  24. StephenP2003
    I started selling my yellow tiger endlers on eBay and aquabid back in January, and I initially priced the females cheaper than the males because they have no color. I did not expect them to fly off the figurative shelf. I ended up pricing the females higher later on and still can barely keep up with demand. Apparently a lot of breeders do hoard the females. Fortunately, my colony produces a lot more females than males.
  25. StephenP2003
    I am so mad at myself. Waterchanging with the python today, looked away for a minute, my betta wedged himself at the end of the tube. Got him out of the tube, but I think it's too late. He's alive but doesn't appear to be able to move much or at all, been like that almost all day. Edit: unfortunately he passed. The siphon pressure must've done internal damage. This is perhaps my lowest point in fishkeeping thus far because it was a completely preventable accident caused by my own negligence. I mean, I'm still going to betta-shop this week. But I'll be sad about it. RIP
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