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StephenP2003

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Everything posted by StephenP2003

  1. StephenP2003
    I probably own 20 or 30 of them, but most of them torn open for various uses. I love em too. Using as grass between the rocks on a hill: Bonsai tree:
  2. StephenP2003
    So, curious then, what is too hot or too cold? I have been interested in doing an year round outdoor container and wondered what I would need to do in the summer and winters and what fish could tolerate the seasons. I'm in louisiana, with summer days in the 90s, and winters in the 40s, with one or two below-freezing nights every so often. .
  3. StephenP2003
    I was about to break out my cheapo USB microscope before scrolling to this vid. What magnification do you have on it?
  4. StephenP2003
    Top, or at least above the sponge. From bottom to top: Aquaclear Sponge Cut bulk filter media Purigen Seachem matrix
  5. StephenP2003
    I can't tell if I have too much, or too little, or what. According to the phosphate liquid test from API, I have 2 ppm phosphates in my tap water. The test registers the same in all my tanks, regardless of my feeding or fert dosing (some tanks get flakes more than others, some get live baby brine, some get more repashy, frozen, etc. -- some tanks get easy green, others just get potassium and iron). I even have a bag of Phosguard in my 90G filter as an experiment. It's been running with the phosguard for about 45 days, with no change in phosphate levels. I've had issues with a couple different plants, like dwarf sagg and hygrophila, that look like phosphate deficiency (green spot algae on yellowing leaves), but test shows 2ppm still, which by all Google indications is fine if not high. So, how accurate is that API test really? Is it even testing for the right thing, or is the phosphate in my tap water not "absorbable" or something? I did do a control test on distilled water and got zero phosphates.
  6. StephenP2003
    No silicone necessary. The hinges for the aqueon tops are actually not glued at all. Just need to carefully pull the glass panels apart, and then you need something sharp to cut the hinge. I used a table saw.
  7. StephenP2003
    Got fed up with the black hinges on my glass tops dictating where I put my light, so I removed most of it and left a couple inches on each side.
  8. StephenP2003
    I don't know the exact threshold for "too hot" by the way, but yesterday I forgot to put the thermometer part of the heater controller in for a few hours, and the brine shrimp water was 94 degrees. But today's harvest was still very good, maybe even a little better. The heat probably matters a lot more once they start hatching and need oxygen.
  9. StephenP2003
    I've got forktails in my 90g and all they do is hang out at the spray bar and chase each other. No idea what they'd do in a smaller tank.
  10. StephenP2003
    The cherry shrimp will make a life for themselves deep in that sponge. For my tanks with shrimp colonies, anytime I clean, I have to dip my sponges in a bowl of aquarium water over and over to get the dozens of babies to swim out of it. I'm sure I'm not saving them all though.
  11. StephenP2003
    Rainbows will eat whatever can fit in their mouths. My maccullochi are full grown and love young cherry shrimp and fry. That said, mine are well fed so they don't actively hunt for live food. Same for my boesemani. So with enough hiding spots you may have some survivors. I actually have bred and grown a few cherry shrimp offspring in my 90G that houses boesemani and lots of tetras.
  12. StephenP2003
    Pleco babies!
  13. StephenP2003
    Their 24 x 12s aren't deep enough either. I have two for my 20 talls and there is a half inch gap in the back. And I really wish they would make the hinge clear.
  14. StephenP2003
    Other than, say, your quarantine or hospital tank, which one of your tanks do you enjoy the least right now? Why is that? What do you plan to do about it, if anything, to make yourself like it again? One of my 20G talls is housing a breeding pair of plecos, a 10-month-old lone survivor offspring, and a colony of tiger endlers and cherry shrimp. When I first set it up, I was looking to get a breed-for-little-to-no-profit project going with the plecos. The plecos produced fry within a couple months, I just sort of let things be and kept the fry in the same tank to rasp on wood and algae, and between the larger plecos, the livebearers, and the shrimp, I'm suspecting they just weren't getting enough to eat. I pretty quickly lost all but the one still-alive offspring. For the next 10 months, I never again saw any fry, just ejected eggs every spawn. I sort of ignored the project and let things play out naturally. Changed the scape a little as some plants did poorly in the low light, and as of late it's a tiger endler breeding colony. Photo as of a month ago: I just recently noticed the plecos spawning again, and I had more time to devote to being more proactive. Dragged out that Marina/Fluval breeder box and stuck the cave (with dad) in there. Today I saw the wigglers in the cave! Now i'm prepared to give them unrestricted access to food. This has breathed a little life into this aquarium. But always wondering which tank is next.
  15. StephenP2003
    I used krylon fusion in December for my 3d background. 8 months no issues so far.
  16. StephenP2003
    pH - 7.8 Nitrate - 0 ppm Nitrite - 0 ppm GH - 0 ppm Chlorine - 1.0 ppm KH - 7 dKH TDS - 159 ppm
  17. StephenP2003
    To build a basic support frame out of 2x4s, you just need a drill and a saw -- either a table saw, miter saw, or circular saw. Hand saw would work but would be labor intensive.
  18. StephenP2003
    In terms of affordability and weight bearing, it's hard to beat 2x4s. I built all my stands out of pine, including my 90-gallon. The frame of this thing is overkill. Double 2x4s at each corner, as well as on either side of the cabinets, cross bracing on top and bottom (mostly to keep it squared up). Then you've got lots of closed storage. Top cabinet super convenient for storing fertilizers and food. Bottom cabinet has cleaning supplies and other random stuff. Right cabinet has the Fluval FX6, left cabinet has bulk filter media, test kits, nets, etc. Sourcing actual tanks, though, not easy around here. I see people across the country picking up these bargain 100+ gallon tanks, whereas everyone around here is trying to sell their 20 and 30 gallons for $100. Petco never ever has anything above 75 gallons. I had to buy my own glass and made the 90 gallon myself. And I paid through the nose for that 1/2 inch glass.
  19. StephenP2003
    Ugh, at my wife's school where she teaches, the front office has a 55 gallon with 8 koi and a common pleco. The koi keep dying and getting replaced. Some teacher's boyfriend "maintains" the tank. Cloudy green water, no air stone, no plants, 8 koi. Gee I wonder why they don't live long.
  20. StephenP2003
    Just yesterday I left the aquaclear 30 on my son's tank running dry for over 24 hours. Miraculously the motor still works!
  21. StephenP2003
    Someone told me this might be cyanobacteria on my subwassertang. Never seen this color of cyanobacteria, and a Google search only returns results for saltwater tanks. It does seem to rub off pretty easy, but I can't really scrub it because the subwassertang is too thin and delicate.
  22. StephenP2003
    I've actually been using a 10w heater on a heater controller to keep the temp constant, directly in the brine solution, with no ill effects. Here are some pics of my setup and the bit of tubing I added to the rigid part. It looks like total overkill just to hatch some brine shrimp, but it's working for me to get a consistent daily hatch. And that glass thermometer it comes with? I dropped and broke that day one.
  23. StephenP2003
    Are you using the included airstone or just the rigid tube? If the latter, add a short piece of airline tubing to the end of the rigid tube to make it reach the bottom. It's a tight fit but you can get it on there. I also have good result running airline up the spout.
  24. StephenP2003
    Yes, works now! That's pretty cool. I have some happy otos but nothing as big as that one.
  25. StephenP2003
    You actually made it private, which means only you can see it. There's an option between public and private called "unlisted" which allows viewing only by people who have a link to it.
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