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PlaneFishGuy

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Everything posted by PlaneFishGuy

  1. Running the Aquarium CoOp Co2 regulator on a 5lb tank. The guage is at the top of the red area after about 3.5 months. How deep into the red would you let the tank get before swapping it out? Any experience with this regulator and the accuracy of the guage?
  2. I keep similar fish in a tank at room temperature (70-72F) with no issues. I keep the heater around in the event of a power outage where we lose central air/heat and I need to run the tank on backup power. As long as your not dealing with some crazy swings that happen regularly and fast I think your fine using a heater as an emergency backup. Most fish in the wild experience a range of temperatures with sunrise/sunset, rainfall, etc.
  3. @Saltinthedesert I'm running about 5-7 bubbles per second in my 75g . This keeps my drop checker are the slightly darker side of green so its fairly conservative. I am leaving a margin of error for the fish. I also have a lot of flow from my HOB and an slow airstone so I am assuming there is some waste. Your set up may be more efficient. The challenge I also had in the four foot tank was even distribution, so I had to work on improving flow throughout the tank.
  4. This is a massive improvement over the original - thanks for sharing
  5. @Jackson Ive never done it but I think "No Planaria" will kill them off (Maybe spike ammonia and hurt beneficial bacteria?). I think the hard part will be the due diligence needed to prevent reintroducing them when you set things back up. Cleaning new plants and equipment is pretty labor intensive from my standpoint and outweighs the snail problems. Ive kept snail populations managed by making them compete for food, and cleaning my glass frequently. They seem to lose the starvation battle well before the shrimp and fish show any impacts.
  6. My lesson learned on a 4 foot tank is to have multiple lights instead of one full length. I have some plants that require lower light, but also want some of the reds that require higher lighting. I am now having to get creative to shade some of my larger Anubias and filter sections of the light to prevent algae. 2 smaller lights would allow me to create zones in the tank. Just my two cents....
  7. No luck totally wiping them out but I have knocked them back pretty good by making them compete for food and keeping my glass cleaned all the time. I noticed too that my whiteclouds like to hunt the babies on the bottom of the tank. I cant quite tell if they are trying to eat them whole or if they are just attacking them and trying to rip them out of the shell - either way it looks violent enough to hurt them or maybe even kill them.
  8. I'm running an AC110 and a small Fluval circulation pump on the opposite side (back wall). The circulation pump was mainly added to help with better distribution of CO2 throughout the tank. I also have some low flow from an airstone. I get it - Its a bit of an unorthodox setup for CO2 but I get the saturation levels and results I want even if it means shortening the time the CO2 tank stays full. The left side of the tank where the filter is has pretty good flow, but its not uprooting plants and the fish seem to navigate it ok. I prefer to feed on the opposite side of the tank because the AC does blast food once it hits the down draft. As far as performance. The AC 110 has been adequate for my needs. I am moderately planted, lightly stocked (plan to increase overtime with breeding), and heavy handed with food. I am trying out a plenum for the first time for beneficial bacteria, and am only using the AC purely for mechanical filtration. 7 months in, and I am very happy with water quality and clarity. If cosmetics weren't important to me (its my living room display tank) I would have mounted the AC110 on the side and ran the flow long ways.
  9. @zebrazebra Have you been testing your tap water after it has been sitting out for 24 hours? My understanding is tap water needs to be rested before testing to get an accurate reading. 60 gallons is a large volume of water - I'm surprised that just a few cups is enough to swing the PH. Also is the PH causing any issues (unhappy fish, plants, etc)? If not it may not be a huge concern. You could ease in with small water changes and monitor. The stresses of moving fish and lots of changes may aggregate to more stress than the PH fluctuations. My tap water and tanks tend to not maintain KH/GH very well on there own. I've had good luck running crushed coral in my filters to keep things stable. Even running CO2 my PH seems to be in a range that is keeping fish happy.
  10. Wow that is so cool- I learned something new - thanks for sharing
  11. @lefty o I was actually kicking that idea around - I have a garage I can use and shim up the stand to account for the garage floor slope. Im hoping after looking at it again tonight I see something obvious and that I'm posting a "hey sorry for wasting everyone's time, I'm just a bad carpenter" update.
  12. Thanks everyone for the great input. So I finally heard from Aqeon. According to them as long as the stand is square and level front to back, side to side, and diagonally the tank will settle level to the stand within 1-2 days of filling. That being said when I get home this evening I am going to triple check everything just to make sure Im not missing something obvious- Im not completely comfortable I will just exchange with PETCO and they can deal with the paint. Ill post an update once I get a path forward.
  13. @Pepere the stand is square and level all the way around - for more clarity it the last 5" or so of the of the corners go from zero gap to about an 1/8in gap. Its almost like the frame of the tank was pressed on tighter into the silicon that the rest of the tank. The tank is sitting level all the way around when checked on the top of the tank. One thing I have not checked yet and will do when I get home is measure the distance between the top frame and bottom frame and see if that is even all the way around - I think that would confirm if they pressed the frame to tight at the corners.
  14. I am setting up my Aqueon 75g tank. Its framed and center braced. The floor, stand, and top of the tank are level. That being said the rear right corner and front left corners have a gap when sitting on a level surface. I can push down on rear right and front left comes up. I have the tank sitting on 1/8 thick yoga mat as a precaution. My stand is 2x4 construction and supports the bottom frame all the way around. It looks to me as if the bottom frame wasn't applied evenly, or less silcon in the corners allow the frame to be pressed on tighter in the two high corners- Im not sure how the frames are attached. Other forums seem to have split consensus on whether this is an issue or not. Some folks say it works itself out when you fill it - other folks say its a disaster waiting to happen. I painted the back of the tank before noticing the issue so I may be past the point of return. I'm worried about the structural integrity, but its also a cosmetic annoyance because I have perfect reveal all the way around on the trim of the stand, but one side looks out of square because the one corner of the tank. I wanted to get the thoughts from the CO-OP community.
  15. Rustoleum Oil based flat black with a cabinet roller and cut in edges with disposable brush - I laid the tank on its side do avoid runs even though Im sure from the viewing side it wouldnt matter.
  16. Ive had good luck on painting glass and avoiding brush marks with a roller and cover with a cabinet specific nap - especially if you keep the coats light avoid drips you may be able to avoid a brush all together https://www.lowes.com/pd/WHIZZ-Cabinet-and-Door-2-Pack-6-in-Mini-Foam-Foam-Paint-Roller-Cover/3033668 https://www.lowes.com/pd/WHIZZ-4-in-Foam-Roller-3-Piece-Mini-Paint-Applicator-Kit/3013608
  17. @neitherman I think your steps are solid but would try to keep the paint out of the water line around the recessed lip of the tank in case it leaches toxins into your water. I may just be paranoid about that kind of stuff. Maybe someone can pop up with what kinda of paint that is safe I did a quick google search for aquarium safe paint and a bunch of articles came up that might help...
  18. Any chance of adding some fish for a short while to knock them back? No experience specifically with scuds with this just hate seeing the "nuke" option employed before diplomacy has a chance to work 🙂 This would also allow you to keep the shrimp in the tank and avoid the hassle of re-homing them.
  19. I use Aquarium CoOp Test strips for routine testing and from time to time check it with an API liquid kit. I think either are within a reasonable margin of error to get your baseline and then measure how it deviates from there.
  20. I have a related question - I built my 75 gallon stand (standard 2x4 construction) for an Aqueon tank that has the black frame on top and bottom as well as center braces. is putting foam under the tank an absolute must do thing? I built the stand with some trim work to hide the edges and I forgot to account for the foam when setting the reveal height. Trying to avoid rework on the stand but also don't want to risk the aquarium over what is really a cosmetic issue. Any thoughts or experience would help.
  21. Another thing to consider is not all power strips have surge protection - something to consider if your plugging in a lot of expensive gear on the same circuit and not sure about the circuits ability to handle the load. I've seen this confusion before in other electronics venues where people thought they were protected....
  22. I would say they would be better off in a tank with no light than left in the box. Even some ambient room light would be good
  23. @Pepere and @Cory thanks for the insight - just got my CoOp regulator today. Looking forward to getting things set up.
  24. Thanks @Tommy Vercetti - I didnt think to add my tank size to the post since I assume its a factor saturation levels - Im setting up for a 75 gallon. Great looking tank btw. You getting me thinking about a small Co2 tank for my 14.5 gallon cube if I can get 10 months out of a small tank
  25. Venturing into Co2 for the first time. Trying to determine how long a tank typically last. I plan to run on the low side for about 8 hours a day while lights are on. Local supply store didn't have tanks to sell outright so I need to buy one and they can fill. Obviously for cost savings Id like to get a 5lb, but also don't want to be running to exchange tanks all the time. Any insight would be appreciated.
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