Streetwise

I visited my folks to add some snowball shrimp to the tubs. I went into the woods and found some dried moss that had fallen off some rocks for lack of moisture. New home in a 3.5:

These would be fun in an outdoor tub!

I like both, but my favorite tank right now is a rimless 7.5 gallon cube. Rimless is really nice for emergent plants, rocks, and wood. I prefer black silicone in all my tanks, because it breaks up the refraction for corner viewing and imaging. Cheers

Combine java moss and duckweed for green Velcro.

I filmed a little tour of my fishroom/bedroom/office/studio. I have been working from home a lot, so my aquariums have been a key source of balance. Sorry for the air conditioning sound. The Italian tank brand is Askoll.

I setup some tubs this year, so I would have an outdoor way to visit my folks and share my hobby. I set these up just like my organic soil Walstad aquariums. This is a boring video of the process:

Charlie, thanks for sharing your schedule! If you take a screenshot of the Overview page, you can share both the graph and the time table in one image. Cheers

Some of my photos make my tanks look bigger than they actually are. The aquariums in photo order are: 16 gallon bowfront, 2.5 gallon, 2.5 gallon, 20 gallon, 7.5 gallon, 1.25 gallon, 3.5 gallon, utility 3.5, 3.5, and 2.5 gallon, plus three 20 gallon tubs. Not including my tubs, my average tank size is 6.5 gallons.

I keep many small aquariums in my apartment, mostly Walstad-style, with organic soil from a local composting spot. I enjoy running really stable ecosystems. These photos don't show much of the fish and shrimp. I also keep some outdoor tubs here in Vermont. Cheers, Jason

When I got my leak detection kit used from another hobbyist, I also picked up a different accessory just for fun, the Lunar Simulator Module. It comes with a strip of a few single LEDs, and it will automatically follow the lunar schedule and provide a gentle moonlight glow. I am not using it for any practical reasons, but just to have some indirect ambient light in the background.

Stephen, thanks for the information. I have updated the post to reflect that. None of my current tanks are more than about 22" wide. Maybe someone here can test the compatibility of 15" and 24" model programming with the larger sizes you mention, just to to confirm for those models. The Plant Nano may just stand alone, with slightly different technology, perhaps because it does not have a physical button. Tre, I'm from Vermont. I'll post some aquarium and tub journals in the future. BTW, Diana Walstad discusses siestas in Chapter XI, Section 2. Light. Cheers

They should be fine! I routinely keep spare plants, cuttings, and new plants in my utility tanks for weeks at a time. Cheers, Jason

Aquarium automation and monitoring is very popular in reef aquariums, but less common in freshwater. While I run very low-drama organic soil tanks, I got an Apex system because technology is my jam. There are not a lot of resources for using the Apex in freshwater, so I wanted to make a thread. There are two main versions, the Apex and Apex EL. The system is modular, so you can add features later. Is it worth it to get the full Apex vs the cheaper EL model? They both come with an eight-outlet power strip (in North America), and you can add more. The control units are slightly different in port choices. The Apex EL has Ethernet, Aux Power, IO, Temp, pH, 2 x Aquabus. The full Apex also has four channels of 0-10V DC dimming/power control, salinity, and ORP, but with a catch. You cannot calibrate ORP for freshwater unless you add the PM2 module! All the 0-10V DC control stuff was more powerful than I would need for my tanks, and I don't need salinity, so I picked the Apex EL. While I had grand plans about controlling lights, wave-makers, etc., I found value in the following ways. 1. Insurance: The power strip is connected to my UPS, with the Aux Power connected to non-UPS power. It can notify me when the power goes out, and I can choose what to power during the downtime of UPS battery power. I also purchased a leak detection kit, so water on the floor will trigger an alert and relevant programming. 2. Feed Mode and Filter Control: Via the web interface or app, I have four feed modes to turn off power to various outlets for different time periods on every tank plugged into the power strip. This could be actual feeding, or it could be more time to clean sponges or filters. I also tested some programming to provide alternating water flow in one tank by running one internal filter on one schedule, and another filter on a different schedule. 3. Probe Monitoring and Control: Currently, I just monitor pH and temperature in one tank, and I have simple code to limit heaters to a specific range. I like seeing how pH and temperature change with my lighting schedule in my organic soil tanks. In the future, I might use pH to control a solenoid for a CO2 regulator. There are tons of other things you can do with monitoring, water control, and dosing, but I'm not working at that scale. Is anyone else here using the Apex, or other systems for monitoring and aquarium control? Please share! Cheers, Jason

I have the Apple eBook version. The digital advantage is note-keeping, bookmarks, etc. I think it has the same visual content.

Organic soil aquarium keepers are lucky to have this text: Ecology of the Planted Aquarium — Diana Walstad https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/book-review-ecology-of-the-planted-aquarium

I will bring this question to the sailing forum I am on, as many folks are using solar for refrigeration, charging, and other functions, while balancing cost, weight, space, and efficiency. Can you specify power requirements for me to ask the right questions?

In sailboat racing, we talk about the end-plate effect of having your headsail go all the way down to the deck. This keeps more flow attached to the foil, resulting in more aerodynamic efficiency and more power. So those winglets help move more air.

I am a long way from racks, but I would like to hear about leveling them.

In my room of small tanks, I keep three pico utility tanks. One is a small betta tank, with four glass slices for five chambers. Four chambers have AquaClear foam, and the middle chamber is a tiny Walstad with a few plants. I also keep two other pico tanks on the same table. While I thought I would use them for fish issues, they have actually become the home for all cuttings and the staging tanks for new plants.

This network and server administrator loves seeing well-designed systems. A cool Coop video would be to follow a forum member's order all the way thru the process and warehouse.

Dual siestas have a few reasons, but the human one is, that adding darkness and low-light periods can stretch your viewing time without creating problems. Perhaps you are working from home these days... These are the schedules that I use for my low-tech, organic-soil tanks. Updated for new firmware which shows all colors. Plant 3.0 Nano in short configuration, for 2.5 to 10 gallon tanks: Plant 3.0 Nano in tall configuration, for 2.5 to 10 gallon tanks: Plant 3.0 15-24" on the rim, for 15-20 gallon tanks:

I love the long-form, detailed help of forums for all my hobbies, and for that matter, my IT work. My thanks too!

The Fluval Plant 3.0 lights are really nice, especially for the scheduling and light-level programming available thru the FluvalSmart app. I have ten of the Plant Nanos, several of the 15"-24" models, and one 24"-34" unit. I have spent a lot of time in the app to get things right for my tanks so that I can grow plants, keep algae under control, and get to enjoy my tanks when I am around. I will post my own details in a follow-up message, but I have some general tips to share before that. 1. Firmware Updates: When you do firmware updates, it might look like a two-step process, but you just have to be patient since the bootloader is updated first, and then the firmware, so don't interrupt the process or click what looks like an extra prompt. I have not done a firmware update for a while, so be aware that the user experience might change. If you mess up, or need to do the upgrade again, swipe left on your light in the FluvalSmart app for the option to Upgrade or Remove. 2. Copying Programs: You can copy programs between lights, but not between the Plant Nano and the larger models. So I can use the same program on various Nanos, but for my 15"-24" units, I have to create a new program, which I can then share between those units. The way to do this is to "Save as" your program on one configured light, and then go into the matching target light, and choose "Export", and pick the program. I would expect the option to be labelled "Import", but it is not at the time of this post. 3. Power and Timer: These lights do not seem to have any internal batteries to maintain the time. If you have a power outage or interruption, they will assume the power-on time is 00:00 (midnight), and count from there until you access the light via the FluvalSmart app, which will sync the time. 4. Naming and Password: When editing a light, you can use the three dots to Find, Rename, Set password, and Remove password. I recommend naming your lights, especially if you get more than one. You can even sort them by name or type in the light list, so think about the names in context with your room layout. Password might be useful with too-clever kids, or in a professional environment, like a retail store. 5. Modes: For each light, you have three modes, Manual, Automatic, and Professional. Manual gives you Off, or On, with a custom light level and no scheduling. This is the perfect mode to use for photography, showing your aquariums on off-hours, or if you need to make some darkness so you can sleep in, or film other tanks in the same room. Automatic is an easy scheduling mode with presets for Tropical River, Lake Malawi, and Planted, and you can modify or create your own. It only includes seven set points, so you get a ramp up, a sustained period, a ramp down, an evening low-light period (often just a little blue), and a full night period. Professional mode gives you ten set points, which allows you do do a lot more custom lighting choices, including simulating the sky of a certain region, running a siesta (low or no-light midday period, simulating cloud and tree cover), or even dual siestas, which is what I use. I will add more on this later, once I collect my app screenshots. 6. Plant Nano Tips: The mount only fits on rimless tanks without modification. The metal L-bracket can be used backwards for more height and less reach, which is great for emergent plants and hardscape. If you have an odd size tank, you can also add felt feet and run the Plant Nanos right on a clear hood or glass. I donated a Nano to someone to figure out a 3D-printed rimmed mount, and he designed an adapter. Here is the 3D print file from @AquariumThoughts for the rimmed mount for the Plant 3.0 Nano. You will also need an m8-1.25 nut. Fluval Nano Light Rimmed Tank Adapter by AquariumThouhhououghts - Thingiverse WWW.THINGIVERSE.COM More mounting options for the long version, thanks to @SpacedCadette: https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/131-fluval-plant-30-scheduling-and-programming/?do=findComment&comment=215034 From @PlaneFishGuy: "Below is a quick cheat sheet I made for those just wanting to simply reduce the lighting intensity but keep the factory ratios in tact. I started with the factory "daylight setting" from the app when using the Fluval Plant Nano 3.0" More quotes are forthcoming. Please share your own Fluval Plant 3.0 programs. On iOS, the Overview tab shows the lighting program as a graph and a table. Our host, Aquarium Co-Op, carries these lights: Fluval Plant 3.0 LED NANO WWW.AQUARIUMCOOP.COM 3 Year Warranty Programmable App Highly Water Resistant The Fluval 3.0 is the best planted aquarium light on the market in regards to functionality to cost ratio. Not only does this perform well, but it's backed by a 3 year... Fluval Plant 3.0 LED Light WWW.AQUARIUMCOOP.COM 3 Year Warranty Programmable App Highly Water Resistant The Fluval 3.0 is the best planted aquarium light on the market in regards to functionality to cost ratio. Not only does this perform well, but it's backed by a 3 year...

Nice write up. I wonder how well a UPS with a USB hub would work for multiple units.