OnlyGenusCaps

Cory mentioned in a recent video that if they are out customers should buy from their competitors. Based on that comment, I am still not going to name the company as it is a direct violation of the forum rules. However, I will say if you use the search engine of your choice to look for "linear piston air pump", there is a company that has been around for years that has equipment to outfit fish rooms. I'd check there. In Cory's old vids where he is building out his old fish room he recommends purchasing from them. Sorry I can't be more direct.

Some quiet music for bed...

Thanks, @gardenman! That's all good perspective! I'm checking out the article right now, and already it looks good. That second paragraph really rings true today. I might have to check out a few more articles on that site! This is probably the bigger issue for me. These will be going into hard, high pH water. And I'd like to keep it that way as that's my well water, which makes it easiest. Plus, I've leaned into that for fish, which has made this hobby much, much more enjoyable for me. Tangs will be going in there, and they like that water too. I'll leave it all as is and then tag you when I am in a fluster about it now working out. Kidding! I'm just kidding. I do appreciate the measured advice. That's always the most helpful!

The thing I hate about osmocote is the poly coats never seem to break down. At least in plant pots and gardens. Haven't used it submerged, but the duration in other settings give me pause. I am not familiar with Safe T Sorb. Sounds similar to Turface. Do you know if Turface would be an acceptable substitute? I have like 150# of that on hand. @Mmiller2001, I'm also checking our the Landen too. Thanks!

So, I think an axolotl might be perfect for a 5 year old. After the first few days I suspect they'll only want to interact at feeding time anyhow, and they are pretty interesting when they feed. More so than most fish in my mind. But then again this is coming from someone who can clearly recall the wonder of the first time I saw a newt as a kid. It is what got me into the aquatic hobby in the first place. That said, I understand how all pets can become dad's responsibility. "We" are contemplating a puppy in this house. 🤨

So then I am left with sand. That has turned out poorly for plant establishment in the past. Should I be using a specialized aquarium soil underneath a sand cap? Also, I'm given to understand those soils, for lack of a better term, wear out over time. If I put that in capped with sand, does that give the system a lifespan, or is there a way to maintain it long-term? These are the questions I have. And probably more.

Okay this bit got my attention. I am just about to fill a 75 gallon tank with plans to grow rooted plants. Right now, I have added a ton of root tabs under the sand in the area I want the plants to grow. Though it would be a lot of work, I can still change this at the moment. What would you recommend? You can see what I am talking about over here (and if you reply - perhaps you should do it on the thread as not to pull too far off topic from this one): Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Though I don't think you'll need to vac under the plate, however... You could cut just the slats out of the grate leaving a larger hole to improve water flow, while maintaining the secure hold for the uplift tube. I'd probably go that route - and indeed did back in the day when I was using UGFs. Mine would be a worry about unimpeded flow.

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These days, I find this song playing the the background in my head. 🇺🇦

@gardenman, wow, that German place blew my mind! That's a serious river setup! And now, I want to wave maker for my Rift Lakes cichlids some day. Crud! That's not going to be cheap.

I like the direction he said he would be going. As I build out my rack, I find I've been watching a lot of Cory's older videos. They are so useful and it doesn't feel as chaotic as the livestream. Plus, I'd rather be working on my tanks than listening about people's issues with them for 2 hours. 🤪 But then again, I don't listen on a drive or anything. Sounds like he got in the cross hairs of the "Low2 cult" as I have grown to call them. The only two bad interactions I've had on the forum have come from that group. At least one was bad enough I think it resulted in some bans being handed out. Not to me. Thankfully! I don't think he is going to be able to avoid conflict with them. Cory seems to be very much a live and let live sort. Do what works for you. Enjoy this hobby. That is antithetical to the ethos of my way or the highway. And any acceptance of outside ideas feels like a threat to folks like that. I'm mostly sorry he feels it so hard. Especially because he doesn't deserve it. So, I am glad he's doing what he needs to. I'd be glad for anyone doing what they need to in the same circumstances.

The great thing about UGF, and probably why they were popular for so long, is they are pretty well plug and play. Put the plates in, substrate (nothing that breaks down, and don't use anything too fine), put in the airlifts and stone, cycle, and done. Can help to gravel vac, and may not be the best filter for strongly digging species. Other than that they are pretty easy.

I have a friend who studies weakly electrical fish, including mormyrids. As @Fish Folk pointed out, they do get decently large. Large enough they are fished for as a food item in their native Africa (my friend says they taste okay). This means they eventually will prey on other fish in most tanks. Perhaps the bigger issue is they tend not to get along well. And because they can find each other's electrical signals, there is no hiding for them in a tank. They are cool fish! And you might be able to keep one long-term in a 125. Just recognizing that you might end up with one and it might be nearly the only fish in there. That might be a cool tank with the one big fish though. Hope that helps.

Got 'cha! Thanks for explaining it!

First off, I love this project! I know squat about plecos (and I mean pretty much all of them). But I've been planning a similar tank for some gobies in a 33L, I have yet to buy. My plan is much like yours above, but differs in some significant ways. I'll describe my plans just in case any of the differences might be useful to you. They might not. But you never know. I'll be doing the same basic idea of pulling the water from one side of the tank and returning it to the other. I will also be looking to do two inlets and outlets So far, so similar. I plan to also do two cross over pieces on the bottom to connect the draw tubes. This should add both stability to the structure and better equalize the flow across the depth of the tank. I'm also planning on trying to use air to power it with JetLifter tubes. I'm not sure that will be enough flow for your purposes though. But with the lift tubes, it means I need another source of filtration. My plan is to have a matten filter wall at the end with the intakes behind it. This should also help even the flow, protect fry from being sucked into the intakes, and provide the filtration I would otherwise be missing. Otherwise, it's a pretty similar design to yours. If you like the matten idea (great fry protection for your purposes), you could hook up powerheads as the source of the flow and size them to your needs. Regardless of what your final design is, I'm going to be following this build closely. I imagine I'll learn loads I can use when I get around to my build.

No huge updates. The goby eggs that I pulled into the "Fry Falls" setup, already had fungus when I pulled them. I'm not sure why. But I thought I would leave them there anyhow. Predictably, the fungus spread, though not as fast as I'd expected. I figured it got them all, and I'd try next round. Much to my surprise however, a few days ago I saw fry in the container with the moss! They seemed to be doing well. So, I started feeding them. We'll see how it goes, but it is a nice surprise. I'll get to see how I can do with the fry this time. Still don't have a vinegar eel culture going, which I think I should. I might try putting together an emergency infusoria culture though. At the very least they seem happier with the larger container; not being blown around so much. Now it's just trying the new stuff, making observations, and hoping for the best.

I'm back at the punk. Jazz, though still good, was short lived this round. Here is a old one but a good one from The Story So Far, a band from Walnut Creek, CA (they have a song with lyrics about the sunrise over Mt. Diablo!). Quicksand: And because I know some of you out there prefer live versions, here is a live one, gives more the feel of being at a punk concert:

I've had the opposite experience with vals and cyrpts. Mine got really weak when I went to only water column dosing. And my sword gave up the ghost real fast. I'm going to be using root ferts exclusively for my root feeders. But, I have sand, so maybe that makes a difference?

So, I always put rocks right on the glass. Carefully. But I've done this for years with 20+# rocks with no problem. I do this for two reasons: 1) Aesthetics - rocks look more natural when they emerge from the substrate. Putting them on top of a layer first often makes them look odd to me. This is true for the light diffuser as well. Plus, if you have diggers, they can uncover it and that's just ugly too. 2) Stability - back to those diggers, if you have digging species of fish or snail and fairly extensive rockwork, I have been told (please note, I do not have first hand experience with this - nearest is a friend with a SW tank there this happened) that the digging can cause the rockwork to be come unstable and it can tumble. Sometimes even scratching or breaking the glass. Plus there is the smaller scale danger of crushing your inhabitants. To avoid both of these issues, I always create a stable structure first (at least with the first layer), and then backfill with substrate. That said, I am intrigued by @Ken's idea of using the "plastic canvas". It is so thin that I don't think you are likely to run into any of the issues I've raised. I've just never heard of anyone using it before. This might be a game changing innovation for me! Thanks, Ken!

If you know where they are cheaper I am all ears! I've found them to be far more expensive for the same volume. I'm guessing from the front opening doors, which I suspect this one does not have though. Seriously, reptile enclosures cheaper than the dollar per gallon sale would be huge news for me, and I would love to hear about them!

Sorry, I was not clear enough. I have the "limpets" in a tank in the Subsclarium right now with some Asian gobies. hey tank was getting filthy and they seem like they would annoy other snails. I put the limpets in on the rocks and held them there until the pulled themselves on. Once they are attached, they are not coming off! So, I had to quickly learn how to deal with that from the ACO Tough Specimen Container I acclimated them in. Sure enough, once the snails were all in and my hand was out the gobies gave the limpets a good going over to see what this new thing was in their tanks. But they couldn't budge them, so it all seemed to work out. You are incredibly helpful! I don't know what you are talking about. Thanks for helping me think through what is probably an impossible dream. I was totally thinking about that conversation with the member here who posted about them, who is in Israel and has them in their tank! I was chatting with them about this species, I should send them another DM. See if they really don't have a veliger stage. As for these ones, we'll see if I go to the trouble. Although if there was ever a snails that might be worth it... Also, on the fish front, actually in this tank, I lost a julie. I think it was bullied to death. One of the pairs has bred again and I think the tank is getting a bit crowded. Good thing BAP is coming up so I can offload some of the production from the julies! For the time being, it's time to give the little ones a new home, methinks.

Oh no! I hope she can do something about this upstart! I think Ursula is everyone's favorite anti-hero.

@LisaS I fully agree with @Biotope Biologist! A well designed sump, with a DC return pump should be so silent you are worried it has stopped working. I am no canister expert, so I'm honestly curious here. Given that there is no advantage to the K1 unless you are tumbling it in a moving bed, can you do that in a canister? I know some of them are big open spaces, which allows for more flexibility in media choices. And I learned one brand allows for integrated heaters now. Does this mean they can tumble K1 now as well?! If so, canisters really are getting more advanced! (I still like my sumps though 🤪)

It's funny you say that. Later that night I did just that, and learned that nerites in general have a veliger stage. That makes them pretty much out right away for breeding. It also means those annoying eggs are never going to be useful in a home aquarium. Plus, I suspect it is even worse with the species I have (Septaria porcellana) which is found across the Pacific from Japan to Costa Rica, with no known subspecies or geographic variants. Suggests to me their planktonic stage is not short. To say the least. And on top of that, apparently mine lay large eggs for nerites too. 🙄 This will serve as a reminder to me to do my research before buying an animal. If I want a limpet type snail I should probably track down the much less impressive Ancylus fluviatilis. Not as big or attractive, but at least it would sustain in my tanks. Don't leave me in suspense, which two?! I would have given you a "thanks" like, but as an admin you don't seem to have that feature. So, I was forced to quote you to say - Thanks for letting me know! Hopefully that's not too annoying. Sorry.