[Hidden talents and party tricks]

7 minutes ago, Irene said:

I've never shown this at a party, but I can twist my tongue upside down. That also means I can put it in a vertical position. 😛

I can almost do that too, actually. I've seen people make some really weird shapes with their tongue.

[Hidden talents and party tricks]

What is your hidden talent, quirk, or party trick that most people don't know about?

I do decent impressions of Kermit the frog and Johnny Cash. I can also clap one-handed.

[What is your favorite tank size]

I love my 33L. Also would like a 50g lowboy.

[Summer Tubbing with Corydoras?]

I breed these and love them. Excited to follow your progress and glad you're getting back to some of the fun of fish keeping. I've managed to turn about 6 paleatus into over 100!

[The effects of a whole house Water Softner]

3 hours ago, ererer said:

We don't run our softener, so I don't personally have experience with using water from a softener in my tanks. Enough people have done it without noticeable ill effects that it's probably not an issue. Sensitive fish could potentially have a reaction to the trace amounts of sodium left over after the softener. Two non-industry sources have the following to say about sodium levels of softened water:

"The exchange of hardness minerals for sodium adds 7.5 milligrams per quart for each gpg of hardness removed." -PennState Extension

"Softened well water in our area on average contained a 2.5-times-higher concentration of sodium than local municipal water, comparable with previous reports." -Archives of Internal Medicine

Here's some information from Practical Fishkeeping on the effects of salt on fish.

I think the bigger issue is that shrimp, snails, and plants all need the elements removed by water softeners, which are calcium, magnesium, and iron, so what you will likely need to do is add these back into your water for your aquariums if you do use water from your softener.

I would recommend testing the water before and after your softener for kh, gh, ph. If the pre-softener water isn't too hard and doesn't have a ton of iron in it, I'd recommend figuring out a way if you can to use the unsoftened water for your aquariums.

 

Hey it's Penn State Extension! Woohoo!

[The effects of a whole house Water Softner]

You get more sodium the harder your water is. I've spoken to some folks for whom softened water was a problem for plants but not a problem for the fish. The water coming from my tap is basically liquid rock because it originates in a limestone aquifer, so we'd have more sodium than I'd like in my aquarium water.

You can also exchange the sodium for potassium if you feel like spending an absurd amount of money. I just opted for an RO filter as a way to cut my water from the street (rather than remineralizing with Seachem).

[Fomorian’s Fish Room]

17 minutes ago, Fomorian said:

There is a bit less than 6” between the 29’s and the next row.  Enough room for a net, but I’ll be limited in what  I can fit in there.  It was a bit of a compromise in headroom between rows and making the whole thing short enough to reach the top row without a stool. 

Really nice work. I'm trying to decide how to space things now but I hope my setup turns out even half as nice as this.

[Shipping Prices Question]

Oh poor Rams...that's rough. I think a lot of the economy is delayed and slow because of a lack of staffing and I'm sure that's hit the postal service as well.

[Water pump for a drainage tub]

So I think I've mentioned something like this before, but now I'm interested in recommendations for an auto sump/pump that I can use to push water into my utility sink after it drains from my overflow lines. Essentially I'll have a 100g basin pumping fresh water into the tanks and overflowing into a 40/50 gallon tub beside the sink. I want a pump that will switch on automatically when I do these water changes so I can focus on the water going into the tanks without worrying about the basin overflowing onto my floor. 

[What do you like to do other than fish]

59 minutes ago, Jungle Fan said:

Nope, after I got out of nursing for health reasons, I went back to photography, did some teaching as a language instructor, and medical technical translations.

And now working on building yourself a fish store.

[How do I find ACO's member only videos?]

12 hours ago, Jeff said:

Thanks, y'all!

Welcome, member. It's a good club we're building here.

[What do you like to do other than fish]

2 minutes ago, Jungle Fan said:

Cool, I took some of that for my B.S.N. in Nursing, if only I could've combined it with my graduate degrees in Mass Communication, emphasis on Photography, and American Studies, all of that would have really added up to something.

The only reason mine added up to anything is because the institution I got my degree from liked me enough to hire me to teach. Otherwise I might be back as a Grubhub delivery driver. Are you communicating about nursing to America?

[What do you like to do other than fish]

42 minutes ago, Littlefish said:

There sure are a lot of talented and nerdy people on here!  The world would be a better place if it were filled with aquarists.

Having a toddler means almost all hobbies are gone, but I'm planning on connecting more with the outdoors for my mental health this next year.  Shrimping, crabbing, and fishing for meat as a sort of return to the old ways.  As my father is slipping away, I am seeing things through his eyes more, and the rightness of getting your food yourself is starting to appeal me.

Sorry to hear about your father, I can relate to that (my stepmother passed a few years ago). I've always wanted to be able to grow/farm my own food but never had the space to do it. On top of that we're surrounded by local farms that make cheap food for us all locally.

[What do you like to do other than fish]

5 hours ago, Anita said:

And I announce live sports events for the local colleges. It's the perfect break from staring at a computer screen. 

 

 

This is the coolest side-gig hobby, haha.

[What do you like to do other than fish]

4 hours ago, Jungle Fan said:

@Fishdude what subject do you teach?

I'm a professor of Human Development and Family Studies. So basically Applied developmental psychology.

[Fomorian’s Fish Room]

Sounds a lot like what I'm tinkering with now, nice job. How much space did you leave between the top of the tank and the next set of 2x4s?

[ACO and Your Local Store]

Definitely time to open my own LFS.

[What things are toxic to freshwater fish?]

I had a plastic skull in a tank during Halloween and started having fish die off until I removed it and changed the water. Could be unrelated, but I lost quite a few tetras during that time so...I dunno!

[Two-Tier Aquarium Stand Build (with storage!)]

What is the weight limit of cabinet sliders? I love the idea.

[What water pump does Dean use?]

Seriously though, I need a good quality pump.

[What water pump does Dean use?]

1 hour ago, Cory said:

He used the MJ1200 cobalt pump. He's now using an aquarium co-op test product that should launch this year 😉

[Building a Fishroom with Fishdude]

The remaining purchases I'll need for this fish room are:

1. the water basins, both for mixing my street and RO water, and for overflow drainage.

2. Drainage pipe and mounts to attach it to the wall. May need a drill bit as well.

3. The airline system. I'll be picking up 1" PVC this week to run along the ceiling for my air system and then probably in May I'll be ponying up for a piston pump. I got the outlets in my last ACO order and I have plenty of airline for the tanks I'll be setting up. 

4. Lights! Holy crap I almost forgot about lighting. I may use the lights currently on my tanks at my house but at some point I'd like to get some Finnex to hang in the shelving.

5. Anything else I've probably forgotten that will require a trip to the hardware store.

 

Ours is not an inexpensive hobby friends, but I'm glad I have this community to share it with.

[Building a Fishroom with Fishdude]

Today I also got my order of a sicce Ultrazero pump and a 10 ft python line. This will allow me to easily move prepared water from bins to tanks, and overflow water from the basin into the sink drain. I may buy a second in a few months to have a set for each purpose, but for now I'll try this one.

I like this pump because it pulls from an intake on the bottom, has a very long electrical cord, and does not use an oil-based motor so there is no risk of contamination. 

 

[Building a Fishroom with Fishdude]

So today we have a dumpster out in front of the house and we have filled that dumpster. Here's the current look of the basement region that will house a fishroom. Where my father (we'll call him FishGramps) is standing, there used to be a wall and a door. 

We'll continue to clear this space and prep it for racks along the back wall. You can see there's existing drainage high on the wall, that was for a pair of dehumidifiers. I'm leaving that mounted because why would you ever remove drainage? I'll be adding the 2 inch drain pipe along the back wall in the next week and painting the wall royal blue (on my wife's suggestion, we'll call her FishWife). 

I'm only starting out with about 10-12 tanks, but I'm preparing the space so that when I have the time and money to add more it will be an easy process. 

[Help white/grey either algae/fungus]

4 minutes ago, Tobezoned said:

Thanks for the advice I will try all this. Although now thinking about it, the bristlenose havnt really touched the algae at all. So maybe it's not algae if they aren't interested in it?

Possible, although if they're small they may be getting enough to eat from what you're feeding and off the glass and ignoring what's on the plants themselves.