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Matt_

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Everything posted by Matt_

  1. Matt_
    The impeller is the only moving part in the filter, so I would lean toward trapped air or something clogging the tubes. A video with the rattle sound would really help. It really takes effort to get all the air bubbles out of these filters. You may also want to make sure all of the rubber feet are still installed (PN 7271950) and try holding it off the floor to make sure that it is not a vibration issue. I also recommend keeping these filters in a plastic container since the Eheim can leak at the joints and ball valves if you do not already do so. You can catch leaks before they mess up the floor or fish tank stand. For example, my filters are under the 65 gal tank on the left in the grey container.
  2. Matt_
    Like the others I would not recommend pairing such a small Cory with (relatively larger cichlids) and recommend a variety of Cory that will tolerate the higher temperatures that the discus and rams need like the Sterbai Cory. I suspect that you will have difficulty seeing 6 Pygmy Corys in a 125 as well. I do not have experience with Discus, but Cory has made videos on them before:
  3. Matt_
    I can definitely relate to wanting to give up. I have struggled mightily with several types of fish on my return to the hobby including Dwarf Neon Rainbows and Cardinal Tetras. I have also struggled making some plants work, but I have had success in other areas. Just a few months ago my first posts here were asking for advice on a tank that was crashing. I just keep trying to gather and review the data: water testing, water changes, photos, logs and keep experimenting. Talking to others in your area or on the forum really helps. Sometimes I just have to give up for a while when too frustrated with a situation and try to step back and assess what I am doing asking questions like: What went wrong and what can I do about it? Is the tank set up optimally for this plant/fish/invert or am I trying to force a it into a tank? Hope this helps and I hope that you can find some success if you decide to keep going in the hobby.
  4. Matt_
    I recommend checking out the Aquarium Coop Lighting Guide (hopefully link works below) and looking at the recommendations. You can also extrapolate the recommendations for specific tank lengths, tank depths, and wattage of the lights. LED Aquarium Lighting - Aquarium Co-Op WWW.AQUARIUMCOOP.COM One of our most asked questions is, which LED Aquarium Light should I get? In this quick guide I'll give my recommendations. Definitions: Low light = Undemanding plants, Anubias, Crypts, etc. Medium Light = Stem plants and... 48" Fluval 2.0 (used) or 3.0 Planted Tank Lights are a great investment and will not require replacing in 6-12mo. like cheaply made LED lights (I have experienced this when the lights are included with the used tank). There are also inexpensive, low tech options using utility clamp work lights with LED bulbs from the hardware store (I am doing this on my 10 gal qt tank with guppy grass).
  5. Matt_
    I also get disintegration but the food stays intact for a long time and the bits are usually picked off by the fish before they hit the ground (I put a Nature tab in 28 min. ago that is still going as an experiment). My batch of Nature was opened in mid April and I am trying to feed it out. Edit: The experiment ended when the tab fell off the tank wall at about 30-40min and was eaten by the adult Plecos and Corys.
  6. Matt_
    I got the same result when I had both kinds (except I did not make a really cool video like you did). The nature formula lasts much longer than the old formula but does not stay stuck to my glass as well. My fish (mostly guppies) preferred the old formula, but now that I only have the new formula that is what they like 🙂. Thanks for posting the video and that is a really impressive fish tank!
  7. Matt_
    @Daniel You said that you are not sure if you are happy with it, but not why you are not sure. I think that this is a really nice landscape, but here are a few thoughts for consideration. If you are going with for the natural look the bricks and rock work will stand out (at least right now in the winter). The tubs may also stand out because they are not at the low point in the landscape and placing rocks in front of the tubs accentuate the drop in elevation. You probably do not want the tubs at the low point though if you have frost, a high water table, or concerns over runoff in that area. I like the idea of completely surrounding the tubs in transitional plants with enough walkway to maintain them. Adding additional plants near the tubs will help draw your eyes and give greater depth to the tubs and wet garden area as a landscape feature as well as transition between spaces in the yard. Moss or overhanging/climbing plants at the bricks and rock would would help soften the hard surfaces. One idea would be to remove the rock wall, put the tubs in and then finish surrounding the remaining area with plants. You may want to turn to your library to see if there are any good landscaping/pond books for inspiration. Please do not take this as criticism, because I really like your landscape and everyone will be drawn to different features. I cant wait to see how it develops!
  8. Matt_
    I tried this on my latest tank taking guppies, bristlenose Plecos and Paleatus Corys from 80 deg. down to 70 deg. with no heater, but I had issues with the tank and found it hard to correlate the temperature change with fish behaviors for the Plecos and Guppies. The Paleatus Corys immediately started spawning until I raised the temperature in the tank. I finally settled on 76 deg. for the tank, but I may turn off the heater again in the summer (Northern Va) and see how things go. I think that this idea would be interesting with more temperate climate fish (as opposed to tropical fish) and a large tank with different micro habitats.
  9. Matt_
    You may want to look at how many hiding spots there are for the fry and how well fed the fish are. My betta does not eat enough guppy fry to attenuate the population in my heavily planted, well fed 65 gal tank. I have also seen guppy parents hunt fry into the corners of the tank and eat them when there are less hiding spots and the parents are hungry.
  10. Matt_
    This is just a data point. I have one of the original Eheim 2213s made in Germany that runs at about 34db at a medium frequency hum in a room with an ambient of 30db (all of the other aquarium equipment turned off). It is virtually silent, but can rattle if all of the air is not out of the impeller (quiet enough that I can hear the water moving through the hoses). I originally bought this pump for a 40 gal tank in my bedroom because it was so quiet. The Fluval 406 next to it is also the same. Note that the most annoying rattles will not be picked up so a video may help if it is making a grinding/rattling sound. Now a days both of my canister filters are down out by the air pumps.
  11. Matt_
    I am finding that Multi-Tank Syndrome (MTS) is setting in hard with all of the COVID restrictions 🙂. I am still trying to figure out what level expansion I can sustainably maintain when things go back to normal.
  12. Matt_
    3 tanks for now (65, 38, and 10), but considering options for expansion.
  13. Matt_
    Beautiful tank! Have you tried putting root tabs directly under the Val? I do this with my val and it grows like a weed. May come back though since it has only been a week.
  14. Matt_
    It is water change Wednesday so I am posting photos of all the sponges that I use with my Fluval 406 (this is as clean as any of this gets) if you wanted to visually compare the filter media. Top Left: Medium Sponge (4ea Vertical), Top Right and Bottom Left: Fine Sponge (2ea Bottom Tray), Bottom Right: Coarse Aquarium Coop Pre-Filter Sponge Left: Medium Sponge (4ea Vertical), Top Right: Fine Sponge (2ea Bottom Tray), Bottom Right: Coarse Aquarium Coop Pre-Filter Sponge
  15. Matt_
    I find that the pre-filter really helps a lot but I understand that the turtle may eat it. Maybe try skipping the filter floss it you do not need water polishing or try replacing the vertical medium side filters and/or the bottom stack fine filter with coarse filter pads. Just depends on what gets clogged first and how fast it happens. I definitely recommend using either lava rock or bio rings and filling up everything that is left over. You can keep them in mesh bags to make less mess if you are spilling or removing them from the baskets.
  16. Matt_
    I run a Fluval 406 on my overstocked 65 gal tank, so the rest of the description is comparable, because the 407 is just an updated version of the 406. Pre-filter: Large Aquarium Coop Sponge Filter 4ea Vertical Medium Sponges - Stock 1. Bottom Baskets: Fine Sponges - Stock 2. Next level baskets: Fluval Bio Rings/Medium - Stock in mesh bags 3. Next level baskets: Full basket of 100% polyester quilt batting from a big box store - Water polisher, I use the Poly-Fil Fiber Fill 50oz bag which is super cheap 4. Top baskets: Full Basket of Lava Rock in mesh bags from a big box store - Holds down the quilt batting Maintenance: Squeeze out all of the sponges in a bucket of tank water, replace discolored quilt batting, and reassemble This setup works great for me and I have no problem filtering a 65 gal tank with over 200 fish in it. I have this setup to be as fast and easy to clean as possible because the whole filter has to be cleaned at the weekly water change for this stocking level. The aquarium coop sponge filter clogs in 2 weeks (which is really saying something) if I do not clean it out the stocking is so crazy in this tank.
  17. Matt_
    Went for a hike in the park.
  18. Matt_
    I have not seen substrate cause issues with my Corys and I use Medium Sized Gravel with Ecocomplete in a pot in one tank and Very Fine Gravel in the other tank. If you are really concerned you could always add a bit of substrate from the display tank to the QT tank for better observation (I did this for my substrate).
  19. Matt_
    Nice, I kept a couple old Aquarium Fish Magazines lying around from back in the 90s but I recycled the rest. I am so glad that I kept by Baensch Aquari um Atlas Books even though I left the hobby for over 20 years. I would not give up the Internet for anything now. It is literally the single biggest advancement for my fishkeeping, and I have learned more in a year than the other 8 years with books and magazines. I was just remembering going to the library back in the day to find more material on a walk today - going through the microfiche looking for specific articles.
  20. Matt_
    I personally like Steve Ramsey with Woodworking for Mere Mortals because he has some good basic tips and does not do fancy furniture connections like dovetails and biscuits. I am sure there are many others as well. Before you ever use a miter saw you definitely want to watch at least one safety video if you are using one to make the cuts yourself.
  21. Matt_
    Once you are to assembling the design the other tools I recommend are coarse sandpaper to remove the burs from the 2x4s, a 48" aluminum bubble level, a carpenters square (speed square) to make sure your corners are at 90 deg, and composite shims (important - not the wood shims that fall apart when wet). It is surprisingly difficult to build something straight and level. With the amount of weight of a triple tank stand it needs to be vertically straight. Plan your connection so that the deck screws do not contact each other and split the wood (predrilling really helps). I like Joey (King of DIY) but he does not always show all of the steps in the fabrication process.
  22. Matt_
    I recommend taking a trip to the store before you buy to understand your options. The big box stores have good information on their websites that explain the basics of purchasing lumber. This is where a plan and takeoff helps because you are not going to want to be handling the longest lengths of lumber (>20') and you will have excess when finished. You are going to need to plan for excess dimensional lumber in an apt, because many municipalities will not knowingly accept leftover 2x4s or other C&D waste (or at least have size limits) as it can puncture the landfill liner (this C&D waste actually goes to a separate landfill in many locations). If you do cut this yourself you will need to account for the kerf (width of the saw) and add a min. extra 1/8" gap on both sides of the tank length to allow for installation.
  23. Matt_
    One positive about your local lumber yard is that they may be less busy than the box store and more likely to help you out (depends on the day and the time of day) and they usually have higher grades (generally less knots and defects) of dimensional lumber (not necessarily more expensive when you compare 2x4s for a given grade). Note that a kiln dried 2x4 is actually more like 1.5x3.5.
  24. Matt_
    Sorting through the pile is a right of passage when you are building your own stand. Protip: bring your gloves so that your hands are not filled with splinters.
  25. Matt_
    You could always hit up the local club too. I agree that it takes longer to pick straight wood than make those cuts on a miter saw, but I would not want to do that by hand - that will wear you out. It took me longer to work around the knots and slight warping 🙂 on my stands.
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