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OnlyGenusCaps

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  1. Quick update on the goby fry: they are all dead. They didn't die from the moving the tank around. Believe it or not. I just think the flow in "Fry Falls" was too high over time. The fry and teeny-tiny and I think they simply got exhausted and petered out. So, I have doubled the space in the receptacle of Fry Falls and added a few small rocks. It takes two clamps now, further proving the worth of always having extra clamps on the utility tub! I'm hoping this gives them a better chance to have somewhere to rest. Obligingly, the pair has spawned again, so I'll be able to test this new system soon. Plus, thanks to the last MAS meeting, I am now connected with another person attempting to breed these, which is nice. Here is the new setup: Mostly what I have been doing is bunging out the back area of the Subsclarium. The back bit under the stairs was a storage space for soil components for the exotic plants I grew. I don't need most of those things these days, so it was time for them to go. First, I had to unearth them from the other crap I had piled on top in the name of expediency to get the faux brick walls up. I am happy to report, after mush struggle and reorganization of the remainder of the storage areas of the basement and garage, the are has been cleaned out. It's looking like a nice new start if you ask me.
  2. This will be the least update, update ever. But here we go. With the days getting longer here on the 45th parallel, I walked into the room with this tank before the lights came on and realized a couple things about it. The first is that the water is really sparkling clear. That just made me happy. But the other is just how badly my phone takes photos of the tank when the lights are on. Here is what the tank look like from above without the lights on (it's a bit blurry because of the surface agitation; the color is the point): Nothing like what I have been able to show. Actually, a bit bland in my mind. I do like what my lights do for the appearance of the tank. But it definitely makes it a challenge to take photos. So I finally bit the bullet and bought the photo app for aquariums. And I have to say: Wow! Here is the very first photo I took with the app, just using automatic settings: That, ladies and gentlemen, is what my tank looks like in person. I haven't learned how to use all the features, but with a default that good, I may not have to. Subsequent updates about this tank will look a lot more like this. Like how it looks in person.
  3. I swung by Urban Dictionary for my semi-regular visit to give a thumbs up to @Hobbit's definition of "Nerm", and I noticed that now if you click on a link below it you can get yourself a Nerm mug! Sure, it's an expensive mug, and you can get one for any definition, but I still thought it was funny. Am considering...
  4. "Anger, Mercy, Revenge (The Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca)" And for something a bit lighter, also: "The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China, and the West"
  5. Well, I finally got around to adding some smaller rocks to create smaller crevices for the fry and smaller fish to hide safely. Can you spot the new rocks? I think those new ones look like they'll eventually fit right in once they are covered in diatoms. I can't believe how blinding white those rocks are when new. I'd completely forgotten that. Plus, it's put into focus how much I enjoy how they have aged. They really have grown into looking like live rock in SW tanks in a lot of ways. It's just such a nice effect. I've been really happy that they haven't been covered in green algae, which would make them look very FW to me. The other new one I had to put in fits in a little less well, but you can only see it from the one side. I'm hoping it looks a little less contrived once it ages. That one I needed to put in to disrupt the dominance hierarchy in the Julis. It seems to have worked, too. So for the time being, that's been worth the weird bump in that pile.
  6. That's like the epicenter of my misspent youth! No finer place on Earth. Or it was at least.
  7. That's a rough day on it's own, and doubly so given that you are recovering. I'm heartened by the resilience I saw in your post. I imagine it took a bit to get there. Every hobby has it's challenges. I remember when I was learning to surf. Never had I tried something that gives you absolutely nothing encouraging until you get the process completely down. Then once you do, it's magic. But getting there is nothing but frustration and persistence. I think aquariums are almost more insidious. There is nearly instant joy, and it encourages expansion. They enjoyment grows, but inevitably there will be a day like yours. Or one where you get hit with a serious disease in your tanks. Or when your aquarium floods and waters the carpet overnight. Or one when... Well, you get the idea. Suddenly that joy is tested. It feels like that thing that was purely good is now a surprising source of frustration or pain. I think that is hard for people to get through, and I think it ends this hobby for some. It's why I am so impressed you managed to come back, at least in part, by the time of your post. Because the truth is, no matter if it is your first bad day as an aquarist, or you've lost track of them over the years, it still stings. I also believe that is why support, like this forum, helps, but also people who are willing to share their struggles so openly, like you do. I have no doubt telling people about your bad day, and pushing through it here, will help others when their time comes. Thanks for sharing your struggles here! Now, back to goofing up my projects and being my own biggest source of frustration. 😛
  8. Well, I am afraid I will have to disagree. You and I interact on a fairly regular basis it seems, and you have been noting but lovely. No use in protesting either, I'll stand by that. For me, I've really only interacted on one other forum for any length of time. And that was because it was a nice and supportive place. I've tried two others that were not and rapidly grew disenchanted. That's my entire social media experience. I'm fine with that. But I think @Streetwise asks a really interesting question. And it had gotten me thinking about the role I (try) to play here. When I first arrived, I wanted to contribute broadly; though I've never been good about playing the welcome wagon (I'm absolutely not disparaging people who welcome every new member, it's really important! I'm just not good at it.). I was in the fortunate situation that when I arrived here, I knew a couple people. Really good people. Over time, I've found I gravitate to focus on topics of interest, and to interact with those folks I like very well. Some of the community I've built here is through shared interests (same kinds of fish, or filtration preference, etc.). And following their journals is a big part of that enjoyment for me. Other journals I check in on less frequently, and I really only do so because I like the folks doing them. They may be doing things very different than I am, but it's nice to see what they've been up to, even if it doesn't have the added benefit of being directly applicable to my efforts. It's part of the community I've built here. Along those lines, I also try to keep folks posted on local happenings in Minnesota. Through I don't consider myself a Minnesotan, and probably never will, this is where my local community is right now, and I'd like to not only keep the folks from MN on this forum posted about happenings locally, but extend the offerings locally to those across this forum where they can participate as well. That's about it. That's what I try to do. I come up short. Often. But the next time I log on here, I get another chance to live up to the expectations I've set for myself. We'll see how I do tomorrow. 🤪
  9. Got it. Those corys are small! Probably not. People don't ship sand far. It's inexpensive, weighs a lot, and is found in various forms just about everywhere. Not much economic incentive in most cases to move it far. The play sand I find here is chunkier and sharper. I'd even thought about shipping in dune sand from Oregon. Found a site and everything. That would end up being some expensive sand though! Oddly, if I could get the sand they mine not far from here that goes to the fracking operations in ND, that would make great sand for a tank! Hmm.... 🤔
  10. I suspect I don't understand how small the corys are. That's nice sand by the way! I wish I could get sand like that around here. 😢
  11. You could read it as "what province are you in?" All the Canadians do it that way, so why not the Netherlanders too. 🤪
  12. So much death in that tank. Perhaps it is now time for some new life to arise there? But just who is the father? We'll find out next time "As the Tank Turns"!
  13. I love khuli loaches! They were the first fish I ever kept way back in Jr. High. I'm surprised that with all of the cover in there, there aren't more spots the corys can hide. That's more of a headbutt than I suspected a kuhli could deliver. I always think of them as more fragile fish. Did you give it a helmet?!
  14. Really?! Wow! I never watch that channel. I feel like that dude puts stuff together and then throws it away or something. Perhaps I am missing out though! I will do. And I'll tag you in it. But, I suspect mine will be the janky version of yours. 🤪
  15. I love this! I've just bought a plastic planter to do basically the same thing on my deck for the summer. I wasn't sure how I was going to do the outlet to the pump, but I think I am going to try to copy your approach. My best Idea to this point was to drill a spot in the edge for the outlet to come up and run the tubing through bamboo. It was going to look a bit hokey. I like the PVC supporting the light grating much better! I might go with some sort of a black tub so I can create a biofilter of sorts and control where the water leaves, but otherwise I'm pretty sure I'm going to copy emulate your approach.
  16. Sorry, I should have elaborated. I suspect a PVC loop is quite specific to this situation, and not something to toss out like it is common knowledge. That's my brain fart. A PVC loop is really just what it sounds like; it is a looped connection of pvc pipe. The idea is that if you have a straight pipe of pvc running out from your pump, then as the air is pulled off the line from close valves, it decreases the pressure available to those valves further down the line. With a loop this is minimized because the line can more easily equilibrate the pressure throughout. At least, that's the idea. I suspect you'll need to get a bit creative to incorporate a pump like this into your space. In the end, it might not be worth it for you; if it disrupts an enjoyable environment. As I now work to improve the aesthetics of where I have my tanks, I have a better appreciation for how important that can be to the enjoyment of what is actually in the tanks. I'm glad you have a space you like so much! I aspire to do just that.
  17. Well, it's been a bit and there has not been a ton going on in the tank. No new breeding activity. Not sure why. The Cyps could give it another go for sure, but I suppose it woild be futile with the Julies in there. I think most of the Cyps will end up heading down to the tank room (my Subsclarium Journal linked in my signature), with a few of the extra males left in this tank as dithers for the subordinate Julies. The Juli fry are growing and getting quite big! Believe it or not, the fish toward the bottom of this photo is one of the 3 fry from the first batch. (As a side not, it's really not that blue in there. I need to get one of the photo app the reefers use to color correct their pictures.) I'll probably need to trap and BAP these soon. Although the parents have been really tolerant of the offspring. Perhaps because they haven't spawned again? Don't know. Besides the spawning slump this tank seems to be in, everything else seems to be going well. The fish are happy. Mostly all getting along, which is a small miracle for cichlids. The tank boss has gotten a bit bossy, and has claimed much of the open water for himself. I don't think this bothers the Julies much, but the other Cyps would probably be happier if they didn't have to hang by the rocks so often. Another good reason to move the Cyps to new digs downstairs when I can. Still, they make a nice little shoal!
  18. Unfortunately, I can offer no advice on running a linear piston air pump straight into various airlines. I put in a pvc loop. Theoretically, I suppose you could take the diameter of flex tubing that fits straight onto the pump and run that low, or though a wall, and branch from there. I suppose if you had a hidden location that was central, you could run it into a mini pvc loop just a few feet around, and branch off of that like a manifold to the various tanks. I think it will depend on the layout of your space and what you, or your spouse's tolerances are for pvc versus a web of airline tubing. One thing you might do is to figure out if there are in folks with fish rooms you like the look of, or are similar to your space, on the You Tubes, and try to figure out how they have hidden equipment. Sorry, I can't be more helpful.
  19. If I am counting correctly from your text, it sounds like you have a dozen air outlets you are running now, yes? To me, I'd say the pump upgrade is worth it anything after 12. I've told others that as a basic benchmark, but in your case it would also only use one outlet, freeing up others. That would have a secondary advantage I'd guess. The other thing is that the linear piston pump can really crank some power. I've found that for a couple of my species I've been able to get powerhead like flow with just my jet tubes. Some of the fish have really loved that! Now, you do have to keep the jet tubes clean, but with that caveat, it's so easy to dial in the flow you want. In your case, you could even plumb it so the pump is outside of the room and somewhere else in the garage (not that it's too loud - my little, cheapy, diaphragm-pumps are louder). I think from a very pragmatic standpoint, you are at a stage where it makes sense if you have any expansion plans. My 2¢.
  20. Nice rack system! I'm assuming this will be a sump that is common to all of the tanks, yes? Are you looking for the sump to largely do biological filtration, or do you want to try to get mechanical filtration out of it as well? What are your priorities for the sump, i.e. does it need to be efficient at converting waste from high stocking or messy fish, does it need to be ultra quiet because it is in an area where noise will be an issue, etc. It looks like you have a single drain line coming in to the sump, is that true? Are the tanks drilled for overflow or will you need siphon boxes? Sorry for all of the questions, but a nice big sump and set up rack like that really gives you a chance to dial it in to be exactly what you want it to be. Sicce makes nice pumps! And the Syncra 5 is a big one - probably something around 1,300gph. But always cut the gph in half for your estimates, especially as you are going up a decent distance to the top tank. I believe it is an A/C pump so it should be reliable, but will have that A/C pump hum. This should be a cool build! I'm excited for you!
  21. If you added them at night, so they would go unnoticed by the cichlids when first introduced them (and assuming you have enough rockwork and hiding places), you might try Asellus sp. (freshwater isopods). Mine have made a tank crystal clear of algae. If you have driftwood though, they'll go after that once the algae is gone, but if their population gets large, the cichlids would probably find them, and have snacks. Might be worth a try?
  22. Young? Young?! Why, I'm old beyond my years. I was born 40 so I had a head start getting all old and cranky. This'll be me in a year or two.
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