DaveSamsell
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Posts posted by DaveSamsell
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@James Black, I have a lot of Mystery Snails in my planted aquariums. My "trick" is many Marimo Moss Balls & feeding the snails well. These snails don't seem to be much of an issue for me regarding plants, overall, if they are well fed. Personally, I feed algae wafers, crab cuisine, Repashy & other homemade foods.
My bladder snails & Nerites are much better "cleaners" though. 🐌🐌 🐌 🐌🐌
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1 hour ago, BigRedd said:
I've always taken water from the top for testing, but does it matter if you take from the top or bottom of the aquarium in a 75 Gallon?
My water test samples are taken from the moving water output of the HOB filters. I have experimented though by "capturing" water from different portions of the aquariums & personally seen very little difference, with my liquid test results. I.E. pH, nitrite, nitrate, GH, KH, etc...
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2 hours ago, Odd Alan said:
Yep, gave up on the UPS idea, currently pricing propane generators...
Any wisdom(beside house power switch over circuit) on auto starting generators when the power goes out in the middle of the night?
Am not an electrician, but to me, it really all depends on your power (wattage) consumption requirements. The "stand-by", propane generators you referenced are fairly expensive, but do offer the convenience of autostart & do use an electronic \ electrical transfer box.
If you're looking for limited power, the smaller generators work great, but utilize the manual transfer switching box, many times.
Both types should be professionally installed.
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On 2/3/2021 at 1:19 PM, swivvr said:
If you were to use a background plant such as vallisneria and use another plant at the back of the tank, would the vallisneria take over the whole background to where you can't see the other plant or would it survive?
In my experience, it was dependent on the type of substrate & nutrients used. One of my aquariums has larger sized gravel & the Val propagated more slowly for me with limited root tab placement & moderate water column fertilizer. Every tank is different though. The Val plants are easily removed if it's growing too aggressively though.
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@Sandra the fish rookie, Total surface area of the aquarium, plants & filter set-up will help dictate stocking capacity. One easy way is by adding a coarse, pre-filter sponge on the filter intake, for beneficial bacteria to grow.
@Brandy, brings up a good point in her comments above, I.E. about sometimes in the more heavily planted aquariums, one may not see nitrates directly; since plants do uptake that as a food source. I learned that awhile back, when cycling a tank. Plants were growing & no nitrates were present. I started adding fish slowly & nitrates started to rise very little from the increased bio-load, showing the nitrogen cycle was indeed working, but not quite "measurable".
The internet often tells us that the nitrogen cycle, once completed, is a done deal. On the contrary, when a new tank is " cycled ", it can support the produced bio-load of the tank, at its current stocking level.
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@Patrick_G What I have found is that 1/4 teaspoon of fully pulverized and dissolved Wonder-Shell, per 1 gallon of water, raised the measured water GH by approx 10 degrees. So, if applied further, the same 1/4 teaspoon did indeed raise the measured water GH by 1 degree in an approx 10 gallon aquarium. 📊
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I am a big fan of the Co-OP's "Fine Poly Pads". They work great for me in my HOB filters and the following way:
After having a few magnetic glass cleaners & their internal pads wearing out, prematurely; I thought there has to be an easier way.
What I have been doing for quite some time is using a slightly over-sized piece of the fine poly pads (to be used on the internal/water side of the aquarium glass for easy bio-film & mild to moderate algae removal.
Purposely, I would make the pad about 3/4" larger, all around. This buffer helps prevent cleaning too aggressively near those sensitive silicone seams, as well.
There is some reduction in "magnetic hold", but the surface area of the poly pad really does a nice job in cleaning. Plus, they are reusable with a little rising out in the sink. Actually, have found this to work better for me than the original cleaner design.
Melamine sponges work great as well, but am partial to the durability of the poly pads.
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@Lynze, I usually keep the water line fairly high in the aquariums & actually the clutches of eggs were previously deposited inside my HOB filters. If I see more clutches, I might try leaving them alone & see how the eggs fair out, by that method.
@AquaAggie, Strangely enough, my original snails were only Ivory & Chestnut colored. I was surprised to see the assortment & randomness of the new snail colors.
@Daniel, @OceanTruth, @Colu, Thank you...
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A while back, I incubated & hatched a large number of Mystery Snails. Here is an updated photo of their growth progress. I use a lot of Hikari Crab Cuisine & sinking algae wafers. They seem to enjoy them. Having snails is just as fun for me as keeping fish, at times.
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Several Nerite snails helped reduce my GSA a lot.
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I hardly use bio-rings at all, but had great success with the CO-OP's coarse black sponge pads. The sponges were easily "cut-to-fit", for all my HOB's. My tanks are heavily stocked & don't recall any water parameter issues, because of surface area, etc.
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Additional aquarium lighting fixtures for a couple of the tanks. Already had them installed recently, lol, couldn't wait. Will have to pick something else then, like maybe another aquarium. 😎
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@Candyman6611, Wonder Shells primarily raised the GH in my aquariums. Did little to the KH & Ph in average dosages.
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I like drier air, in general for many reasons, & we keep the humidity levels around 40-50% or less, year-round.
Even before I kept aquariums, we did have a slight mold build-up on one wall, in the upstairs bedroom. I measured the humidity and at that time is was about 65%
There are other variables as well such as proper air flow / ventilation, etc. to be taken into consideration.
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Sunlight contains the entire color spectrum, unlike some aquarium lights. This is why you are seeing the difference.
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Happy Thanksgiving. 🦃
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11 minutes ago, Kieflow said:
I’ll be gone 4 days.
4 days is really not that long. I have used similar products like Zoo Med Banquet Blocks, without issue.
Mini Banquet Original
WWW.AQUARIUMCOOP.COMThese are great for snails and shrimp as they have a ton of calcium and some protein for them and are a long term feeding product so that they get a chance to eat. Now with high protein micro pellets! Great for bottom... -
3 minutes ago, Ruud said:
Hello fish friends,
As the title says, I have a 100 liter (about 25/26G) planted tank with substrate. Currently holding:
- Pair of Swordfish
- 5 Cardinal Tetra's
I definitely want to add at least another 5 Tetra's to make it a group of 10 or more. But what else are nice options with these fish? I really could use some suggestions.
I am running the tank on about 25/26 degrees Celsius, PH of around 7.2 - 7.6 and Gh7 and KH6
Lots of possibilities. If it was my aquarium, I would purchase about 6 Otocinclus. They are very docile & one of my personal favorites. Great biofilm\algae cleaners.
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42 minutes ago, TWBRIN said:
Thanks for the help guys been doing aquariums on and off for 7 years now depending on where i live and how often I'm not traveling for work. and I'm starting to realize I'm at the know enough to be dangerous stage not the know enough to keep things smooth stage.
I did know to hold them to the test card and use bright light. I just seem to keep getting a .25 pp ammonia reading in my tank but my ammonia alert has no reaction but I've read the alert reads free ammonia and the test kit reads total. Is it normal to have a small reading of ammonia. tank seems to be cycled as no increase of ammonia or nitrite and is producing nitrate . doesn't seem to be overstocked did a 50% water change and my nitrates where only at 20 ppm a week later. I have also learned i need a spread sheet as memory not good enough for when things in tank start to go wrong.
and i like you build there Dave, I'm going to have to build myself one. is there anything you would change?
Thanks for the kind words. I just fancied it up for something a bit more formal. Definitely wanted a battery powered light for safety.
I like the API kits for what they are & sometimes it looked like I had a bit of ammonia, but the bright light showed it differently as 0 ppm, in my case.
Your ammonia level should be very close to zero, as you know. What is your tank Ph? If it is under 7.0, ammonia does become a lesser issue.
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16 hours ago, James Black said:
I play the guitar. Guitar and Aquariums are the two hobbies that I love the most! Both a great way for me to forget about whats happening around the world and just focus on my fish, or the new song I'm writting/ practcing.
What kind of guitar? I play mostly my Fender Telecaster nowadays. Started off about 30 years ago with an old rust bucket acoustic. It's a nice hobby and I think my fish enjoy the music (maybe, lol).
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@Ken, That is pretty slick. I like the deign. Only thing, if I may 'suggest' is to waterproof it? But, that may be just cosmetic. Not sure how much moisture would absorb into the wood/glue joint, over time etc.
Nice job. 😊
a
in General Discussion
Posted
Maybe, since the letter "E" can also represent the shrimp being "Encapsulated", lol.