DaveSamsell
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Posts posted by DaveSamsell
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We all have aquariums; some more than others. They come in different styles, designs and fabricated materials.
But did you ever have a tank outright bust open? Or perhaps even a slow leak?
Always wondered what the percentage of tank failures were, compared to aquariums in operation, for many years.
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On 10/24/2020 at 10:58 AM, Daniel said:
@Marnol D mentions algae and mulm.
Those are fantastic indicators as they are both universal and easy to measure or at least observe.
If we have algae, we have primary producers, with which without we have no food chain, no ecological system.
And mulm, which is the dark mysterious end of the food chain with its decomposers and beneficial bacteria doing all the heavy lifting of the nitrogen cycle and all the other cycles that never enter in to our thinking.
I agree about the aglae being an indicator. Maybe different levels of establishment as well, if cyanobacteria, black beard algae or other types are present (or were present).
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11 hours ago, Ikantspell4 said:
I like eating Nerds because I'm secretly hungry for aquarium gravel and it takes the edge off.
@Ikantspell4, When I get a hankering for gravel, Grape Nuts cereal, dry, usually hits the spot for me, lol. 🤣
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@Daniel, I must admit, you always find new ways to motivate me, lol.
Am beginning work on a little project. Just some junk circuit cards laying around. Putting together a DIY 12 vdc to 5 vdc converter with spare parts. Think I have enough parts to do the project, but may need a few connectors, etc. It's basically a 12 volt lead acid battery, used as a source, run through a DIY voltage converter, to ultimately power all my USB nano air pumps, in case of a power interruption.
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I initially had stunted growth with my Val's. They would grow a bit and then stop. Part of the problem with my tank was too much gravel vac'ing near the Val's. I was removing a lot of the 'good stuff', it seemed. Now, the tank is well established and seems like every week or so, I see a new plant runner. They are a beautiful plant.
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18 hours ago, TJB5280 said:
Not sure how I did it but I misplaced the uplift tube of one of my Aquarium Co-op sponge filters. Anyone know how I can get a replacement?
If you have a local plumbing/hardware store, maybe take the filter there. They might be able to "size up" a small piece of PVC to make it work, if you don't mind possibly a different color, etc. Good luck..
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10 minutes ago, LadyoftheLake said:
I thought larger heaters went through fewer cycles?
I am finding out that a couple of smaller heaters, placed throughout the tank, heats everything more evenly than one big heater, IME.
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2 minutes ago, Brittany H said:
Hi everyone!
New to planted aquariums. I want to add some plants to my betta tank. It is a 10 gallon divided tank. With that, I have only 5 gallons to work with. How many plants can I put in? Any recommendations? Was looking at java fern, anubias, and I have 4 moss balls already. I just do not want to buy too many and not have room for them. Plus plants grow and fill in the tank correct? I hope someone can point me in the right direction. Should I get one java fern and one type of anubias? Qas also looking at Cryptocoryne Lucens. I should also mention they need to be low light plants. Thanks! I already have the easy green all in one fertilizer.
Thanks a million,
Brittany
In my tank I have anubias nana petite, java moss, marimo moss balls & actually a bit of water sprite & moneywort. It's a bit tight at times, but easily customizable. Plants will be a matter of personal preference, to a certain extent.
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35 minutes ago, subramn said:
could any one suggest best / useful fish youtube channels. i have subscribed to cory's one & aquarium coop.
interested in guppies , tetras and maintenance tips.
any recommendations.
D Grey
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnfRohrpwn5qOr1Y9AMSllA
Prime Time Aquatics
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYVN7EN0ALL6CE4U7NpMUTA
Father Fish
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_yczBK9HleS-HOFFHtM5Wg
Rachel O'Leary
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi0_5nJ6u7FNAmEkKJqmmzQ
Michael's Fish Room
https://www.youtube.com/user/dylandrewsdad
Ben Ochart
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WISHING EVERYONE A SAFE & HAPPY HALLOWEEN
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47 minutes ago, Ruud said:
12 months seems to be a very low lifespan to me for an aquarium heater. I am not familiar with the Aqueon name and whether it is known as a quality brand in US. Here in Europe I always used Eheim heaters and never had a failure with one of them as far as I can remember.
In what size tank and what temp did you run the 50w? I guess if it had to work at 100% to keep up, it might have reached end of life sooner than a 100w that maybe uses 70% of it capacity to reach and maintain the temperature?
Thanks for the input. 👍
BTW, It is a 78 deg Fahrenheit , preset heater. Not an expensive item, but it did seem to fail, prematurely.
It was in a 10 gallon & the room temp was around 72 deg, so the heater's duty cycle was of average duration & nothing excessive.
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@Daniel, Glad to to see the power came back on for you. We have been receiving power dips (brown outs) & temporary outages (less than 5 seconds), here in PA, lately. Just off long enough to require me to check all my aquariums, lol.
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On the contrary, I think "water parameters" try to understand "Newbies" in what they do or should have done, lol. Science & nature can be pretty cut & dry (at times), but being a proud NERM and somewhat of a "Newbie" myself, I look for growing plants, as a good sign.
It shows the tank is starting to process the ammonia/nitrite. I like the liquid test kits better. Takes a bit longer to test, but they are easier to read, IMO, compared to the test strips or apps.
But, everyone has their personal preference. Lots of good input here.
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14 hours ago, ange said:
For whatever reason, I can't stand a lot of betta owners. There are so many I've interacted who pat themselves on the back for rescuing/adopting their fish from a PetSmart/Petco when in reality they bought a fish at a store just like the majority of hobbyists.
It's such a minor thing that doesn't really hurt anyone but it grinds my gears nonetheless.
My pet peeve is someone whom they think they have all the answers, every time, all the time, without question.
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Had an Aqueon 50 watt heater go out yesterday for me. It did last about 12 months of good use though. My others are still working fine.
One thing I noticed was that this particular heater was a bit further away from my HOB filter flow, than my other set-ups. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not, in contributing to the burn out.
How long are your heaters lasting, on average?
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17 minutes ago, Daniel said:
I confess, it is true...
I don't:
- do any cycling on a new aquarium and I put fish in moments after the water goes in to the new aquarium
- have a quarantine aquarium or think about quarantining new fish
- rinse my baby brine shrimp
Probably the first 2 are much more serious sins than the 3rd one.
I think I get away with the first one because all my tanks are dirty and I use a lot of hornwort. I think I get away with second one because most new fish go into their own (uncycled) new aquarium (or maybe it is just luck and I just haven't run out the string yet).
I pretty sure @Dean’s Fishroom would give me demerits for the 3rd one, but it is my lazy way of providing trace elements to my fish 🙂.
Fish Father Dan,
I (think) @Cory, doesn't rinse the shrimp either, from a video I watched awhile back, for your exact reason: adding elements to the water. But, everyone has their own ideas.
My first few aquariums received, probably more fish, than what was desirable, when initially starting them. I didn't quarantine the fish, as recommended & luckily didn't have any issues with them.
When I was a brand new Aquarist, I wanted everything, now. Fast growing plants, lots of fish & the tanks to be cycled ASAP.
Now, I wish the plants would grow slower and my live-bearers to stop reproducing so much, lol.
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1 hour ago, Steph’s Fish and Plants said:
I FINALLY got to put my stickers on my fridge! They’re pretty lonely. Maybe I’ll have to bolster the collection when I get a ziss brine Hatcher... I need to find my Murphy sticker too, it’s somewhere in my storage unit I hope. If not I’ll order another
@Steph’s Fish and Plants, here are a few of my recent stickers. Will have to look in my fish-room and see where there are some open spaces for them.
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On 10/14/2020 at 10:08 PM, TheDukeAnumber1 said:
I very much enjoyed Monday's live stream and liked the talking points on touching nature every day and how nature finds a way. But... I definitely don't want nature finding a way in my hat.
Love my Murphy flex fit hat and wear it a bunch but it's nearing cleaning time and I didn't see recommendtions on the tags. My go to on my other hats has been a bath of warm mildly soapy water and follow up with a rinse but I want to keep this hat looking extra sharp. Any official or tested recommedations out there?
Thanks.
@TheDukeAnumber1, I have a couple of the solid black (non-mesh) Co-Op hats and used very mild dish liquid and only cold water (to avoid shrinkage) and let air dry. Seemed to work well for me.
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On 10/25/2020 at 1:30 AM, Preston John said:
So I did this today. Lucked out and I was not crushed by the tank and the tank stayed in one piece.
Watched the video and seen you starting to move the tank and I was like, NO WAY, lol... Then I seen it was acrylic, which is still very heavy & awkward. Glad to see you were safe & it worked well for you. BTW, I thought the DIY ramp was an enlarged version of the 'Aquarium Co-Op merch signs" they sell on their website at first, lol. Good video.....
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8 minutes ago, clovenpine said:
I'm realizing now after two months that I wish I'd kept better records during the setup process. When I added new fish/plants, when and how many fry were born, etc. I'm sure I could recreate some data by looking at receipts, but I'm definitely planning to create a spreadsheet when I start my next tank!
Is anyone else a nerd for documentation? Tell me about your tracking tools and methods!
@clovenpine, Check out this good post by @Daniel:
Website Suggestions?
in Off Topic General
Posted
I don't think you're stepping on anyone's toes. The Forum is for comments, right?
@RyanR The website does have a "wishlist" for out of stock items, but maybe your suggestion would be taken under advisement.
I always wanted to see an "auto-ship" feature. That would be neat, too.