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Fishdude

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Posts posted by Fishdude

    Building a Fishroom with Fishdude

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Alright so we've had a few changes of plans this week. Rather than waiting on the builders to start their project of adding water to the room I'd planned to use, I'm instead getting an existing utility sink in our laundry room fitted with a faucet that can accommodate my RO filter. This is going to save a whole lot of money! But it will also move the fish room and have all of the tanks along the a wall that's currently storage. More work for me. 

    I've toyed with the idea for connecting a drain directly to the sewer (having a plumber do it) but I'm going to "budget" this part because we're also on a renovation budget. I have my drill bits and bulkheads to add overflows to all tanks and I'll run a drain line into a 110g tub beside the sink. Then I'll use a pump to empty the overflow water into the sink. Not elegant, but effective and it'll allow me to put money elsewhere.

    More pictures of the space coming as soon as I get it cleared!

    • Like 2

    Interesting local water chemistry

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    32 minutes ago, KBOzzie59 said:

    So are these different treatment plants as well?

    Essentially, yes. There is no filtration for a number of the wells in the surrounding region, but the water coming from an above ground stream and two of the original wells goes through a big treatment plant and filtration. This serves most of the original population center of the town, but as the area expanded they drilled new wells and simply treat with chlorines at pump stations. 

    Fluorescent bulbs for growing plants.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    10 hours ago, Fish Folk said:

    We prefer LED lighting, however, we have used Zoo Med Flora Sun bulbs for planted tanks. You want to be sure that you are selecting the proper bulb for your hood. Bear in mind that aquarium depth is the most prohibitive factor with light penetration. IF you are only trying to penetrate a depth of 12 inches, you can spend less than $20 on cheap under cabinet LEDs at WalMart, and get away with a splendid planted tank (see 33 gal below). We use a blend of cheap 5,000 K LED combined with a T-12 fluorescent coral bulb for our 29 gal -- a much deeper tank (see below) -- which also gets a touch of sunning for about an hour each day. 

    Screen Shot 2021-04-04 at 11.16.19 PM.png

    Screen Shot 2021-04-04 at 11.17.09 PM.png

    Screen Shot 2021-04-04 at 11.17.57 PM.png

    IMG_3497.jpg

    Screen Shot 2021-04-04 at 11.23.30 PM.png

    Man those tanks are just gorgeous. Makes me want to get another 33L.

    • Thanks 1

    Interesting local water chemistry

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I found a basic chemistry analysis from my local water authority that I thought would be informative to post here for people wondering about TDS and the differences in tap water. I live in the middle of Pennsylvania and thus our local water authority draws water from drilled wells in different parts of town and delivers treated water to homes and businesses that comes with very different profiles based on your location. Here's a breakdown of some interesting numbers that are different between two wellfields that are only a few miles apart. My current house draws from one and the house I'm moving to in July draws from the other.

    • Hardness - 115 mg/L vs 251 mg/L
    • Calcium - 24.9 mg/L vs 60.7 mg/L
    • Magnesium - 12.8 mg/L vs 24.2 mg/L
    • Nitrate - 1.48 ppm vs 4.4 ppm
    • Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) - 99 mg/L vs 331 mg/L
    • Total Coliform (bacteria) - ND (not detected) vs. 66.8 mg/L

    So as I said these wellfields are within a few miles of one another and the house we're moving to is just up the road. Based on this analysis the water I'm using now vs. what I'll be using in my fish room are very different. One well is at a slightly higher elevation and the other is essentially in karst limestone. We're going from water that's perhaps moderately hard to some that creates limescale on every surface it touches (crazy hard water). In the fish room I'll be cutting the water from the wellfield with RO/water so it should make it a better match with the species of fish I intend to keep. If you can find similar analyses for your water I encourage you to look it up because it makes a huge difference!

     

    • Like 6

    Can plants cause high nitrite.

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    Alright, let's work backwards a bit - nothing in your fertilizers should be introducing nitrite into the water, and the lighting might just cause an algae spike. 

    So relevant information -

    what was your process for the fishless cycle? what kinds of readings were you getting and what process did you use to add ammonia?

    How are you testing the water (API kit, test strips?) and can you see if another test confirms that high reading?

    How many fish did you add after the fishless cycle? How long has it been since you added said fish? (depending on how you cycled and then added fish it's possible there's a bigger bioload than the tank is prepared to accommodate)

    If all else fails, what are the measurements of your tap water?

    Just trying to get some ideas going, hopefully it clears up soon!

     

    • Like 1

    The new fish room and studio build thread.

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    On 4/3/2021 at 2:22 PM, Cory said:

    I'm not sure yet. Maybe at some point.

    Yesterday we got the last 12 totes finally plumbed in. Put in 3 tanks worth of gravel. Got the 800 gallon stand wrapped in the sound panels and 4 out of 5 tables in the fish room wrapped in panels. Then setup the ping pong table.

    IMG_3182.JPG

    This is reminding me more and more of when Penny Arcade (also a company based near Seattle) started building out their space. They got heavy into ping pong as well. I'm hoping you see as much success as they did.

    • Like 1

    Little cories!

    in Fish Breeding

    Posted

    You guys would find this cool - I had the idea to get a 50 gallon low-boy from ZooMed and make it like a huge corydora tank with a variety of species. The nearest store to me that sells the tank is a few hours away so it may be awhile but I'm thinking of keeping a few colonies together in a tank with a huge substrate area like that (the 50g is 48"L by 24"W by 10"H). 

    • Like 2

    Little cories!

    in Fish Breeding

    Posted

    I would say get one type for now, focus on a species that's locally available and that you really like. They'll do okay in a mixed group, but they really do well with 6 or more of the same species. So all of what I have at peppered cories (except for one panda who swims alone that I saved from Petco). I think you'll get more enjoyment and the fish will be happier if you focus on one species. Cory from Aquarium Co-op just posted a good video about value fish for beginners. He actually suggests albinos against a black substrate. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeOOfGW7eAk&t=389s

    For a 29 gallon some danios and/or white clouds would fill in the middle level of the tank as well. That would add some interest!

    Peppered cories are my personal favorite (and why I have so many of them) but find one you like and go with that species. Just make sure they get enough to eat!

    • Like 1

    What size drill bit do I need for a 1" bulkhead?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    The tanks drilled by people in Youtube videos seem to use a 1" bulkhead on drilled aquariums. I'm wondering if the diamond hole saw drill bit should also be 1" or if it needs to be larger. They're expensive so I don't want to buy the wrong ones! Does anyone know what size Cory uses in the old video where he's drilling 20 gallon tanks for his fish room?

    RO water....

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, Anita said:

     

     

    Haha, you are both correct! 😎

    Fresh from the output, R.O. (or distilled) water is neutral, pH 7.0. However within hours of being exposed to the atmosphere, the water absorbs CO₂ (carbon dioxide). Some of the CO₂ dissolves in water and turns into H₂CO₃ (carbonic acid), which being an acid, drops the pH down to roughly around 6.0, sometimes lower. This is also why planted tanks running CO₂ typically have lower pH than tanks without CO₂. 🍃

    This science break brought to you by the letters C and O and the number 2!

    • Haha 1

    RO water....

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, ererer said:

    It's actually neutral. The lack of carbonates to serve as ph buffers means that the addition of acids can more easily lower the ph.

    Oh, I had read somewhere that it runs a pH of like 6 - 6.5 (maybe that's neutral?)

    RO water....

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Depends on what you need it for? I think it's only worthwhile if your tap water has issues that you can't clear up without that kind of filtration. One issue with RO water is that it's acidic and will need minerals added to buffer the pH. What issues do you have that you're considering RO water?

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