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Ryan F

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  1. Ryan F
    There was a YouTuber that has done this, it does work. But it's incredibly expensive to maintain beneficial levels of CO2. It's better to use yeast, chemical systems, or gas systems, as it's a more regular source and is cheaper in the long run.
  2. Ryan F
    So, update time. I got two types of moss a while back. Christmas moss and another type called fissiden fontanous. The Christmas moss is doing fantastic so I decided to go with that for the moss wall. I used crafting mesh and threaded the little stems into the holes one by one...for entirely too many hours. Hindsight being the amazing thing that it is, I should have done three smaller section rather than trying to make a giant wall all at once. My shoulders are dying! I would have also realized that the filters are covering about 2 hours of work...ouch... Also the suction cups are not placed correctly. And don't fit properly. Sometimes the "perfect fit" is too big. I'm pretty happy so far. Mostly cause it's finally done and in the tank. I hope it spreads and fills in over the next few weeks/ months. The fissiden makes a great filter hide but doesn't seem like it'll ever jump off the mesh without some serious coaxing and time time time! My shrimp colony is also taking root finally. There are about 20 adults and I've count as many as 20 shrimplettes. I thought about making a build log but I only had a few days and after making a sample piece knew it welas going to take a long time and wanted to get moving.
  3. Ryan F
    For my tank, I use a 5 gallon hedpak, add dechlorinator to that, then schlep it over to the tanks.
  4. Ryan F
    Following this topic. I recently got a "breeder pack" of RCS and there appears to be one or two scuds in there with them. I might harvest them and drop them in the main tank for the betta and neons to hunt. I don't want them to mess with the shrimp. I've had a hard time maintaining a colony and I haven't figured out what I'm doing wrong, adding another variable to the mix is not desirable.
  5. Ryan F
    Has anyone tried using a color matching app for reading test results of either test strips or other testing kit? This popped into my head this morning and I needed to ask. I know some people take pictures of their tests and then use a computer program to "pick" the color and compare it to the test's result chart. For various reasons, color blindness for instance. Has anyone done the same with an app like "color grab"? I haven't used it personally but it seems like it would be somewhat useful for comparing colors in the same photo or between photos. Would anyone be interested in an app that could do that color analysis more automatically? Maybe translate the results into a more direct reading. I think it would be something not too hard for an experienced developer to do. Unfortunately I'm not one...I just know enough to think about it. Haha.
  6. Ryan F
    I used a couple different things. 1st I used some aquarium silicone to glue a piece of quilting mesh to the cover so it hangs into the outlet. 2nd I have a thin piece of fine sponge on the spillway after the biowheel. The quilting mesh keeps the sponge from falling out and the sponge basically stops the speed of the water. It doesn't get clogged because the water has already passed through a layer of filter floss and fine sponge. (instead of the regular cartridges). 3rd I have a coarse sponge intake.
  7. Ryan F
    I highly recommend moving these fish to a quarantine tank. If you don't have space, a five gallon bucket makes a great emergency tank. Salt is hard on corys so if you are going to dose salt, get the tetras out of the tank. Some meds are also salt based so you'll want to get the sick fish out to avoid hurting your corys. I struggled for a long time with neon tetras. They can be very difficult. I finally got to a place where I have 14 and they are 95% healthy. But I struggled for over a year to get there. If you watch King of DIY on Youtube you'll know about Supratect. That seemed to be what finally put an end to my issues. Good luck!
  8. Ryan F
    I've heard the easy carbon and seachem excel can have some pretty strong negative effects on "simple" plants like moss and grasses. I was worried about that. Has that not been your experience? I have amanos but they won't eat brush/hair algae. And they will eat cherries. This is why I am starting a secondary cherry tank.
  9. Ryan F
    I have a 10 gallon tank with an over powered light. Finnex fugeray Planted+. I would like to start a red cherry colony. I think I got all females but that's for a different thread. I'd like to create a bright green background so the cherries pop against the green. I'd like to make a moss wall. But what kind of moss should I get? I was thinking Christmas moss because it's supposed to do better in higher light than java moss. Open to suggestions. I was thinking about starting the moss wall flat in the bottom of my q-tank. But I think that won't work out because the change in lighting and water might cause a meltdown. I'm probably going to buy a couple mats of whatever moss I get and then weave pieces into some crafting mesh. Then use some suction cups to secure the mesh to the tank. I've seen the video using two pieces of mesh but that seems unnecessary. But if I get feed back to the contrary I have enough mesh to make it work. I just hope my constant battle against black hair and brush algae doesn't win over the mats.
  10. Ryan F
    I had a problem leveling a 10g tank on a cheapo petco stand. I used some neoprene tape to fill in the gaps and make sure spread out the load.
  11. Ryan F
    Depending on the type they only get to about 2" I think some are even smaller than that. I love mine. The wiggles!
  12. Ryan F
    I would use plastic mesh or plastic canvas. Rough up the surface with some 120grit and it'll hold algae as well as moss easily. It's easy to trim with standard scissors. It's cheap and easy to work with. I don't know that most window screens are meant for total submersion. I would be wary but I'm sure those above wouldn't suggest it without having experience with it.
  13. Ryan F
    I got 2 ST's not too long ago. I specifically got them for a high light (finnex planted+) shrimp tank. They didn't look good when I got them. Mostly stem with dead leaves or all missing leaves. Hardly any roots. Now it's been about a week they don't look like they are going to make it. I put in root tabs and have been using Easy Green. Nitrates in my shrimp tank are lower than my main tank, but the main tank is much lower light. I haven't had trouble with plants from the coop that wasn't something obviously wrong with the conditions. Pretty disappointed.
  14. Ryan F
    I looked again. The reason I hadn't seen them previously was they are biased towards the southside of Indy. A bit out of my, afternoon drive, range.
  15. Ryan F
    I think I'm the lone rep from Indiana. There is one LFS store but their focus is saltwater despite having a respectable freshwater section. Unfortunately it's the only LFS in central Indiana. I do most of my shopping online or at petco. I don't know anyone else who keeps fish.
  16. Ryan F
    Multi tank syndrome begins. I'm planning on getting a 10g to move the cherries too. I've got an over powered light that and a little sponge filter. So hopefully It'll cycle nearly instantly and start growing algae right away. Once things are stable I'll move as many RCS as I have left and see what happens. Question. My local area has 3 options for 10G tanks kits. Each has a lid and filter. What're your thoughts on which would make a better shrimp tank? Marineland. I'm partial to this one, because my current tank is based on a 20G kit. Aqueon. no opinion. Tetra. Cheapest option by $30 no heater but have one already.
  17. Ryan F
    I'm trying to think of all the things I can do to turn this course. Most of them involve the first steps of MTS. Maybe I take a trip to petco this weekend. I've been meaning to get a couple more corys and neons...
  18. Ryan F
    Well Shoot. I'm not sure what I should do now. I hadn't seen anything about amanos being predatory. Most of the coverage is about their algae eating. I hadn't read anything about their shrimp eating habits. I am not really excited about having purchased $40 in amano food.
  19. Ryan F
    Sigh... Today I got home and found one of my amanos having a little snack. I thought "where did you get that" it was one of my RCS. I feed well, perhaps even over feed. Is that "normal"? Did I make a mistake mixing amanos and RCS? I started with 20 RCS and the most I can count regularly is 6-7. They can hide so I expect I have maybe double that. But definitely less than 19. My brief research says RCS are supposed to outbreed the predation...But I haven't seen any that look like males since I added them to the tank. And none are berried as far as I can tell. My amanos are giants. The big females are well over 2" Do I need to get some more RCS to hopefully get a male or is there something else I can do to prevent predation?
  20. Ryan F
    It's a liability thing I'm sure. While we might take great care to net fish, but there are some psychos out there that would be happy to stick the net in and stir the whole tank up until it's nothing but fish soup. I'm sure establishing a report with your fish store, and more importantly the people in that fish store goes a long way to getting over that hurdle. I don't visit my fish stores enough for that. I'm in mostly once a month and the staff are usually understaffed and too busy to build any kind of relationship with their customers. I've had some great conversations with some staff but because of high turn over and low wages they don't tend to stick around very long.
  21. Ryan F
    As for monitoring nitrogen levels. You can use a test strip or the master kit. I didn't want you to stop water changes and then have a nitrite/ate spike that would be dangerous to pets. I was trying to cover all my bases. To be absolutely clear. You should be fine leaving the tank till the water clears.
  22. Ryan F
    So long as your water isn't cloudy going into the tank then I'd say this looks like a classic bacterial bloom. Monitor nitrogen levels and ammonia and allow the bloom to burn itself out. The more you change the water the more time it will take for the bloom to clear.
  23. Ryan F
    Got all done cleaning up after a water change. Corydora goes up for "air." Splashes water on the ground. It's just a few drops. But still! I've also been splashed in the face by the little buggers.
  24. Ryan F
    For me, it was Betta's I never really had an interest because they were always portrayed as a lone fish that stayed in a little bowl. That could not be housed with other fish because they would fight. I wanted lots of fish. Then I walked into a Petco and saw they have bettas in their display tanks with other fish. I was shocked. I talked one of the employees and she explained that Bettas can coexist with other fish. I spent the next few weeks reading up and seeing if they were a match for my neons and corys. They were and now I have my blue boo'berry (purchased on Halloween) Who I enjoy immensely.
  25. Ryan F
    I'm starting my RCS journey as well. If you do a short look about for shrimp acclimation, you'll find a lot of guides. They mostly tell the same story S. L. O. W. slow. Just take everything slow. I think 3-4 months is a bit too young of a tank for shrimp. But you might get lucky. Maybe an autofeeder that can do 6 tiny meals a day will keep them going. Shrimp are grazing constantly. Maybe if you have a lot of green or brown algae growing for them to snack on. They wont eat beard or hair algae unless it's dead/dying.
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