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for 2$ each I'd run out the door right now. I ended up giving away about 40 in late summer.

yeah i tested the water and got 0.5 ammonia so i guess every other day 50% changes is not enough now that they're bigger and I'm feeding more. I better get their tub up and running sooner than later.

Thought I'd share my DIY light for my 5g tank. I wanted to see my rice fish from above so I ditched the lid and made this light instead. Its growing flame moss and floaters quite well. I took a couple feet of this [1] (probably <2$ worth) left over from a project and slid a generic ebay "COB" style daytime running light for cars (~$2.50) into the housing. It came out really well. I think the light level is just right for what I've got here. If you turn the voltage up past 12 V (a running car would be close to 14) it gets VERY bring VERY fast too. If the specs are to be trusted its about 350 lumins (Directed straight down) and 7000k color temperature. [1]:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M09PBYX Here's a photo of the light module.

I'm working on my first breeding project (rice fish) and I found my first dead juvenile. Whats a typical percent that don't make it?

A zip tie around it would help too. or a more elastic tubing like silicone.

At least for me, my defective ones don't register hardly any difference between ph 6 and 8. While extreme accuracy isn't important here, we also don't want to be measuring time with a stopped clock. But for me this is a "clock" that I don't really need so I didn't bother returning the strips. After seeing corey's test I'm pretty confident that my next batch of strips will be okay.

I think I remember Corey saying in live stream that letting it sit for 3-4 weeks is enough for any parasite he's seen to die off.

My water is low to mid 8s and the strips that I have always say under 7. I validated my pH with a calibrated lab meter.

I have the same issue. it always reads under 7 for me. I found a reproducible condition and Corey had the lab test it. it worked in their lab so I think some of them have bad pH pads.

I just saw @Irene's latest video (Congrats!) and I think she needs to change her forum avatar to celibate this milestone. Here's my suggestion:

if they came as separate plants then you did it right. if it came as one long rhizome, then you just propagated it like 6 times. either way give it some time and you'll have a bunch! 🙂

I have an open bag of this stuff in my back yard. it says "moisture control" but i don't see any white spots or rocky stuff. just looks like black dirt to me. EDIT: I'm trying to put it all together last minute because ACO ships too darn fast and my stuff is already here! 😛

If I put potting soil in a pot for my tub, do I have to rinse the soil or can I just wet it and put a gravel layer over it? I'm impatient and the directions online call for a sieve and rinse and stir over several days.

Shoot! I wanted to see this one live so I could ask questions. Oh well. I'm really thankful for the VODs otherwise I'd be missing them all.

I wanted one higher up (so you could see it past some hardscape) but not floating so i put a plant weight around it and it "stood" on its roots about 2" above a hidden cholla wood I keep back there for my shrimp and otos. I went to move it a couple weeks later and apparently it had other plans and was firmly attached "floating" above that wood.

I know they don't like plants going out like that, but I'd check the roots too. The truth is that the leaves may have been destined to die back since they grow above water at the farm. In the warehouse they get a few days to a week(s) to melt back and regrow, so technically you're getting a plant that's one step closer to being happy submerged (assuming big healthy roots). But yeah I can see being unhappy with that so I'd ask their support. But don't throw it away see what happens 😉

what plant is that?

Also, if you have 0 nitrates they can't grow. I'd put a pump of easy green or any all-in-one fert.

I have this theory that there's some chemical war that goes on between plants and algae. To me it explains how EI method can work and why the "algae can eat any one nutrient" idea is such a pervasive explanation for why "unbalanced" tanks grow algae even know it doesn't make sense*. It also explains why my java fern has no algae on it and my anubias 1" away grows algae. both are slow growers but I presume my java fern is a better fighter. I also have a tank full of algae I can't beat, so if I'm right I still clearly don't know what to do with my knowledge. *unless algae can have tiny nuclear fusion/fission reactors to make their own elements they need NPK + trace like everyone else.

The typical heaters with bimetal thermostats fluctuate that much or more over the course of a few hours so I'd say thats fine, especially on a 24hr cycle.

And, how would you plant them? It's going to be a bare bottom tub with a medium sponge filter and whatever plants. I've got SOFT water too if that matters. I'm thinking Brazilian pennywort because it can look like little lily pads if it reaches the surface. What else looks good from above. Would a pot of aqua soil work to plant plants? Can I keep them in their rockwool forever? I've never had water wisteria or water sprite I hear those are both easy and fun. pogostemon octopus?

Both work for me. The rumors about pla biodegrading are misleading. It only breaks down in an industrial setting. That said I use petg for most things anyway but I do have some pla in my tank.

ah yeah! It must be a Hydrocotyle sp. From random internet photos it looks closer to H. verticillata, but it looks like leucocephala is sold by ACO so probably that one then. It occurs to me that @Robert would know for sure. Also it looks to be sold out online. 😞

I wish I took a photo. It looked like little 1" lily pads chained by stems with roots growing from each node.

I commented in the other thread about this too, but I use a plugin called "dark reader" to get "dark mode" on this forum (and the rest of the internet). it looks like this