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Speakeasy

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Posts posted by Speakeasy

  1. If you are using the zoo med canister filter for a turtle...save your money. The "bio" media is smooth and non porous like ehiem's stage one mechanical filtration; nor is there really any water flow through the bio area. 

    Very hard and clunky to clean when it comes time as it doesn't have removable media baskets and no good way to prime the filiter.

    Its basically a glorified sponge filter but harder to use at a high price...it will work for fish but there are better options at a better price. 

     

     

     

  2. That tank has way to many turtles (4 under 6 inchs) for its size (75 gal) so weekly I'm mess with one of the filters...it has multiple and mostly I do a 95% water change (python water change system is worth its weight in gold) once a month.

    Turtles aren't as sensitive to water parameters as fish so large water changes do not seem to stress them as much...or really at all.

    There are "feeder guppies" breeding in that tank. They don't get fed any extra just the turtles leftovers. And they do a good job at turning big turtle poo into little fish poo and are hardy enough to handle water change.  @Beardedbillygoat1975

     

  3. If you're trying to run poly fill and you're already running air to your tanks...a box filter is a stupid cheap option....unfortunately to get one that is of usable size you kinda have to DIY 16218613525738580789614088268756.jpg.f82ffe69804ef130fe42165d899d3954.jpg

    It messy cause I'm in the middle of maintenence. This is one made out of a coffee can and some pvc. If you drink decaff you'll have a green filter and you can cut the upright tube level with the top of the can for a better/hide-able look.

    20210524_082645.jpg.eb893fdcf1250a27056f610dbc0b5f1c.jpg

    Added small hole to lid using a soldering iron and used an exacto knife to trace/ cut a hole for upright tube, much easier to cut a 1 inch square and makes absolutely no difference on how well it works

    20210524_082718.jpg.9c1bf19463a87be27b854476ba189c6e.jpg

    Used a 1 inch to ½ inch reducer coupling as a bell end so water can get around the air stone just drilled some holes in the side. Then a ½ inch pvc upright tube.20210524_082850.jpg.f6a7827978b39341f5d46bd86b4fcd24.jpg

    Center the tube in the can and cover the bell with some lava rock. I like this stuff: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mosser-Lee-1-5-Qt-Red-Lava-Rock-Soil-Cover-1140/204372347 

    Or any bio media

    20210524_082944.jpg.40748f4bd688321d4560359db42c96da.jpg

    Top with poly and you're good to go.20210524_083024.jpg.4043e13d2bbf92ce3bb977dd9f9cc226.jpg

    Cheap and easy to make especially if you want to get a bunch of them going in multiple tanks 

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  4. I know I'm late to this party....that looks like the start of a rough shed on a young terrapin....check your basking temps and replace your UVB light....if you can try to move away from CFL bulbs (curly Q bulbs) as they don't throw uv as far as people think (think zoo med) or way to much uv as some of the Amazon brands have been proven to do....and try to get em under a T5 HO or a T8 bulb if you can...he'll drop those scutes in time.  Terrapins don't shed near as often as other turtles and when they do it seems to take forever and their scutes can start to look narly  when they do

  5. On 11/24/2020 at 7:13 PM, Ali said:

    I really just want a digital thermometer that is precise AND accurate. Many digitals I've tried are precise, but comparing multiple units of the exact same model set up right next to each other (controlling for location, flow, etc.), I have yet to find some that agree within a couple degrees. Any good ideas? Please share!

    Professional grade meat thermometer....can go tank to tank getting readings in seconds...use an alcohol wipe between tanks for bio security...its actually pretty cool as the alcohol evaporates you can measure the affect of evaporative cooling. 

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  6. Hey all, not gonna bore you to much with fancy words and what not. Just gonna let the pictures speak for themselves. (Sort of)

    20201019_185719.jpg.5a774e5a8f65daa320985b2957f39bb0.jpgThis is an eheim pre-filter. If you cut the strainer off one of the intake tubes for an aquaclear 110 or 70; then wrap the top tube of the prefilter cage with Teflon tape. It will wedge nicely into the intake tube.

    20201019_185841.jpg.1c7b19f4e81928e282ba88f4db86fea6.jpgunfortunately the sponge that comes with the eheim prefilter (white) greatly restrics the flow of an aquaclear when its brand new. You can see its a much finer sponge than the aquarium co op  prefilter sponge. Because of this they need to be cleaned almost daily.

    20201019_185943.jpg.d298ea51794b784c6f90f820d01feec7.jpgbut an aquarium coop med. Prefilter sponge fits the eheim pre-filter cage, almost.

    20201019_190009.jpg.860d7f3cde72c6cae0e2e68b484aa1f8.jpg a 5 second trim later

    20201019_190141.jpg.bb144f6ef21064dcd8ced76e03513043.jpgand presto. Fits like a glove.

    It takes 2 med sponges to fill the cage (the cage comes in two sections. But is so worth it.

    For those who may not know there is an  ancient blood feud between turtles and sponges. A feud my turtles still honor to this day. So much so, I'm convinced that ritual prefilter/sponge filter sacrifice has become a rite of passage for the turtles living here.

    Which is why I'm super stoked about this mod. No more senseless sponge massacres and a working filter !!        

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  7. I don't really see any thing wrong with your water perimeters. Your fish that passes looks like it had dropsy. Which is a symptom of a few things, internal parasites, infection or liver dysfunction. I don't see any signs of infection on the other fish. She probably just had a bad liver. But being that we cant see interal parsites; If it were my tank I run a full treatment of Paracleanse or General Cure (both are the samething just made by two diffent companies). Paracleans tends to be cheaper. Give it about two weeks and run a second treatment. If it was internal parasites, this should get rid of them in your other fish. The 20 packet box of paracleanse should be enough for both treatments on that tank.

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  8. Theres no point to adding both, you'd just be double dosing. Try a bacteria supplement, I like stability from seachem but I've heard Fritz has some good stuff too. And control your feedings. When starting a new tank try feeding only once the first week, then twice the second week (spaced out the time) three time the thrid week, and so on and so on...build your way up to feeding every day and try to measure out the amount of food your feeding each time (measuring spoons work great)...enough for everyone to eat but not so much food is being left behind, uneaten food is a huge source of ammonia...above all test and keep testing. About a half hour after a feed dose stability. After 4hours test, if your ammonia levels are highish then dose with prime. Prime will bind with the ammonia, detoxing it for about 24 hours giving the bacteria a chance to process it. When your tank clouds up, let it, don't fight the cloud, the cloud is bacteria multiplying in order to process the ammonia. It will clear up with time. Only do a water change if your ammonia levels are through the roof. Remember if you do a water change to remove ammonia you are removing the food for the bacterial and this will increase the time for the "right" amount of bacteria to grow. So only do a water change in extreme circumstances.

  9. Wonder shells / crushed coral.... you mentioned you have crushed coral mixed with your substrate. If that by it's self isn't working and you don't want to add more to your substrate? Try putting a little in media bag and drop it into your filter. Me personally I use wonder shells which is mostly calcium carbonate. The calcium is way more beneficial that sodium. I would try them first and if they were melting too fast I would try adding more crushed coral to the tank some how.

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