CalmedByFish
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Posts posted by CalmedByFish
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On 11/21/2021 at 5:22 PM, lindabee53 said:
I scolded the kid, but his grandmother said he was just interested. I told her not to bring him back.
"Annoyed" is such a mild and merciful word for this situation.
At the least, good for you for directly telling her to not bring him back. For all I know, he's in some way younger than his years. But even if so, that can not be considered acceptable behavior. By some method, it must be made to stop. So again, good for you.
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Been there, done that, with a 55 gallon and a little kid. 🙈
Welcome to the forum!
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Based on @GameCzar's image, I went to Amazon to see if there was a picture, only to find a note that the gravel sample I bought was by the front door. Woohoo! I rinsed a bit, and walked around holding it by my plants (still in their travel totes). I can't say I love it, but I do like it, and I won't hesitate to buy more and use it as the substrate.
It's Pisces' (Aqua Natural's?) "Gold Pearl."
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@GameCzar and @laritheloud Yesterday, I ordered a single bag of Pisces 2-4 mm gravel to make sure I like the color before buying the rest of the amount I need. I didn't see any pics of it wet though, and looked on several sites.
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On 11/20/2021 at 11:00 PM, Torrey said:
I spent the past 6 years trying to get our elected officials to pass laws to protect consumers who have to cross state lines and use a moving company.
Were your belongings held hostage until you paid the jacked up fees?
Endlers are nothing if not reliable with dropping fry!
I'm sorry you had that experience. Thank you so much for working toward fixing it. I really do appreciate that.
Yes, essentially. As best I can figure out, the company realized we were sick, and that it was a bank holiday, so we wouldn't be capable of fighting back. They started making threats related to keeping our belongings unless we paid exorbitant fees in a specific near-impossible way within a specific tiny timeframe. It absolutely felt like we'd hired the mafia to help us move. It was like something straight out of a movie. They destroyed furniture, severely scratched furniture, crushed cardboard boxes that had things in them, broke plastic bins... and they probably knew full well that I would have no proof the damage was their fault. Never again. Never.
As for the endlers, you are so right! 🙂 In fact, I was rearranging the little tupperware containers I'm using as plant pots today, and when I lifted one, a herd of tiny endlers went scattering out from under it. Some gravel had gotten underneath the tupperware, creating a nice little cave system for them.
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On 11/20/2021 at 3:50 PM, Dawn T said:
Well, a gallon of water weighs right at about 8.3 pounds...
Doing calculations, yes, a cubic foot container would contain about 60 pounds. 1 ft x 1 ft x 1 ft - contains 7.47 gallons of water. 7.47 gallons x 8.3 pounds = 62 pounds.
This prompted me to grab a tape measure, and a gallon of milk. Wow! A gallon of liquid is a lot smaller than I thought! Thank you for this.
But I'll leave my clueless post, in case it helps other people who are having the same "duh moment" I did. 😂
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Googling, I'm finding that 1 cubic foot of water weighs 60-something pounds. Nope! (Can you imagine trying to pour milk on your cereal if that were true? 😂 )
And I'm finding that 1 cubic foot of sand weighs 90+ pounds. Considering that I can pick up a cubic foot of sand, nope!
I'm just trying to know how to not put too much weight on the counter my tank is on.
Anybody nerdy enough to know the actual answers? Or perhaps you can confidently tell me something like, "Sand and gravel do weigh less/more than water?"
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On 11/19/2021 at 9:07 AM, Streetwise said:
the best Christmas movie of all time: Die Hard.
WHY is that considered a Christmas movie? I've heard that said so many times, and am baffled. (In case this is relevant, I've never watched it.)
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On 11/19/2021 at 11:50 AM, Guppysnail said:
I’m glad I’m retired now 😁
GEEZ. I'd be glad, too! May this section of your life be way better than that.
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On 11/18/2021 at 4:18 AM, Scapexghost said:
My experience is that things look darker when wet but not when submerged.
Interesting. I wonder if the tank's light brightens it back up.
On 11/18/2021 at 6:03 AM, Atitagain said:Not sure if you would be interested because it has different stones than tan and not sure how much you need. I got this from a big box hardware store Home D. 50 pounds for about $5
I love it holds plants really good and cheap
Considering that what I've been looking at is $15 for 10 pounds, I will at least look at this $5 for 50 pounds idea. That's an astounding price difference!
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On 11/18/2021 at 3:03 AM, Guppysnail said:
I’m glad you and your family have arrived safely. You have my complete empathy. I’ve been forced to use movers by my company including cross country several times through life. It never went well. It sound like you had a very harrowing ordeal. I hope you are soon able to take time for self care. My condolences on your losses.
Forced to? That's horrible.
Thank you.
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Getting my tank set up at the new place, I'm finally ready to add substrate. Although I like the look of tan sand, I can't stand the feeling of sand. Gives me the heebie-jeebies. So I'm thinking of gravel labeled as "2-4 mm."
What I can't figure out is color. My old blue gravel looked darker when wet. Since I'm aiming for tan/beige, should I choose a color that looks tan/beige in its advertisement, or a color that looks a bit paler?
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Great expression on the goldfish's face. 😮
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Thanks guys!
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On 11/17/2021 at 5:44 PM, meadeam said:
The rigidity of the tank is providing additional structure. In order to deflect that 4" of overhang, the tank itself would have to flex, or a majority of its mass would have to be on the overhang.
So because the tank is stiff as a rock, and 2/3 of its weight will not be on the overhang, the tank would stay up firmly by its 2/3, even if the overhang gave way. Right?
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20 minutes later...
I marked a potential weak spot on the wood so I could tell whether it shifted. Then I parked myself on it and did that "try to make it break" shimmy-bouncy thing we all do. I even hung off a certain spot by my elbows until my biceps shook. 😂 The markings look the same, and I didn't feel or hear anything that indicates weakness.
Unless a knowledgeable nerm speaks up to tell me I shouldn't, I'll put the tank in place, and just add 5 gallons per day, meticulously watching for anything like bending of the countertop, tiny cracking in the wood panel under the countertop, etc.
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On 11/17/2021 at 4:11 PM, s1_ said:
What is the countertop material?
Looking from underneath, here's what I see.
The countertop is either 1 panel of wood, or 2 panels, that run the length of the counter. That wood is 5 horizontal layers tightly sealed together, rather than being a single solid slab.
The panel(s) are held up by what appear to be vertical 2x4's. On the overhang side, the panel isn't flush with the top of the 2x4. In the exact spot where the panel ceases to be in contact with the 2x4, the panel has a tiny crack. The panel dips a tiny bit, with the lowest part being at that crack.On the far edge of the overhang, I can make the wood slab rise a couple millimeters by pushing up hard with my thumb. And I can pull the top surface of the countertop downward toward the wood panel, as if the surface material doesn't quite contact the wood panel it's on.
On 11/17/2021 at 4:23 PM, meadeam said:So the extra 4" are supported by countertop, it's just that the countertop extends beyond the framing on the edge, correct? It sounds pretty ok to me. 117lbs really shouldn't be a problem for the countertop alone, but the acrylic is going to provide extra rigidity. Not that you would ever attempt it, but you could probably hang the tank itself 4" over the edge and be ok.
Correct. The extra 4" would be on countertop, but the countertop extends beyond the framing.
Can you re-word or explain the part about the acrylic providing extra rigidity? I don't understand.
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On 11/17/2021 at 2:07 PM, Flumpweesel said:
I hope the trouble is behind you and it all feels worth while soon.
the fry were going to be high risk for move and I'm sure they'll get replaced soon as the parents get resettled
Thank you. That's what my irl friends said, too.
As for the fry, you won't be surprised to hear that my endlers had a few fry en route. hehe
On 11/17/2021 at 2:09 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:I was so sad to see this post! I am glad that you made it- and glad that most of your fish did too. Here's hoping for a bright light at the end of that dark tunnel.
Empathy is needed. Thank you for it.
On 11/17/2021 at 3:49 PM, lefty o said:glad its over for you, moving bites the big one. ive always kept my moves short distance, but even a few miles is a pain in the rear.
For real. If I'd had ANY idea how hard this was going to be, I would've spent an entire year planning it out. More important than anything, I would've given up enough belongings to drive a truck myself. It would've felt like a slo-mo house fire, but it would've been the better option. This experience was straight-up scary.
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@meadeam's thread got me plotting:
My tank will be a max of 350 pounds when full. The footprint is 35x15.
My kitchen counter has 1 spot where the footprint would fit. The whole 35" can be over supports, but not the 15". Looking at the 15" side, a full 4" would be on a overhang, rather than above a vertical support.
That means: 1/3 of the tank weight would not be directly over supports. In other words, as much as 117 pounds on the overhang.
This is the 1" thick acrylic tank made by the dude who made Murphy's tank. It will not break.
BUT could that stress compromise the counter? (I'm renting, so this is not my counter to break!)
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Suddenly I'm wondering if I can put my ~300 pound tank on the kitchen counter, above the dishwasher. I don't have furniture strong enough, and can't afford to buy any. I was going to put it on the floor. So... hmm...
Edit: I measured the counter. Not long enough in either direction. Grr.
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Days late, sick, with the move costing 8K more than we thought it would, and even with an incident of harassment the likes of which should not be written about here, we arrived... maybe 3 days ago? I've lost track of time. The whole experience was one of the most miserable experiences of my life, and I say that as a parent who's lost children.
It appears that all my fish stayed healthy, and most plants can recover. The only exception was my container of fry less than a month old. There were almost 50. Now there's 2. I suspect a bacterial infection, but at this point, I hardly care what the cause was.
I'd write a novel here, if it wouldn't suck the life out of me to spend the effort. I just wanted, at the least, to tell you I did get to the new place (mostly) safely.
Tip to any of you who ever need to move more than a couple hours away: Do not turn your belongings over to a moving company. If you have to say goodbye to 3/4 of the bulk of your possessions in order to rent a small truck and keep everything under your own control, do it. I would rather have lost 3/4 of my belongings than to have gone through what we just did with the moving company we hired. (Surely companies with integrity exist, but there's no way to know if you've got one until the move is finished.)-
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Approximately a zillion more pothos couldn't hurt. Maybe an entire oak tree. 😂
Pretty impressive how many survived that. They really are tough!
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On 11/8/2021 at 11:30 AM, Flumpweesel said:
Urgh grim for you to. I personally wouldn't worry about the smell hurting the fish you'll be keeping the air flow through the car pretty high no doubt for your own comfort so that should reduce issues.
The main issue is the smoke reducing o2 and increasing particulates in rooms with tanks and reducing gas exchange and there is no smoke in your situation
But if you use anything to try and remove the smell make sure your air the car well before adding the fish as that will hang in the air longer.
That makes sense. Thank you!
Alright, guys. Back to finishing packing. Aaaaggghhh.
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Carpeting Plant with Tough Leaves?
in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers
Posted
I want to get a carpeting plant for my main tank.
The catch is that every plant I've tried with papery/thin/flappy leaves dissolves. Like toilet paper when it hits water. It may take a month to do so, but it dissolves.
Even the toughness level of Amazon sword leaves and vallisneria do it a little. Dwarf sag hasn't dissolved, but grows SO slow.
The only thickness of leaves that have not done the "toilet paper in water" thing have been anubias.
(And no, I don't have fish or snails munching on the soft leaves.)
So: If you had to name just 1 or 2 carpeting plants with leaves as sturdy as anubias, what might you suggest?