OnlyGenusCaps

Nice! I'd like to be blackworm self-sufficient. I'll be eager to see how this works out. Thanks for posting this!

Off topic - but not political; I actually grew up with cases in my county in CA every year. The Spanish land grant for the area was called "Las Pulgas", or "the fleas" in English. I still remember constant flea bites around my ankles in the summer from playing outside all day, and flea eggs and pupa all over the outdoor tables and chairs. It was HUGE when Frontline was introduced! Changed the summers entirely. Makes me wonder how Silicon Valley would be now if they never introduced that product. Would all the software engineers be willing to swim in a sea of fleas all summer? To be clear, I am not trying to get into politics here. I'm neither arguing for or against this. I'm simply hoping that by pointing out the sections of S.626 that potentially relate to our hobby, forum members can form their own more informed decisions. Disclaimer done. In terms of S.626, the sections that seem most relevant to us as hobbyists are as follows with relevant sections in bold and a bit of a translation from me in blue: SEC. 2. Amendments - "d) Presumptive prohibition on importation.—" This is a declaration of intent to create a whitelist of acceptable species. SEC. 2. Amendments - “(1) IN GENERAL.—Importation into the United States of any species of wild mammals, wild birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), amphibians, or reptiles, or the offspring or eggs of any such species, that is not native to the United States and, as of the date of enactment of the Lacey Act Amendments of 2021, is not prohibited under subsection (a)(1), is prohibited, unless— I have bolded the relevant passages within this section. This establishes this amendment as a whitelist of approved species rather than the current blacklist of banned species. That is a fundamental shift from the current approach. SEC. 2. Amendments - “(1) IN GENERAL.— “(A) during the 1-year period preceding the date of enactment of the Lacey Act Amendments of 2021, the species was, in more than minimal quantities— & SEC. 2. Amendments - (1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate regulations to define the term “minimal quantities” for purposes of subsection (d)(1)(A) of section 42 of title 18, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(2). Again, I have bolded the passages of relevance within these sections. They combine to state that animals traded in sufficient quantities will be exempt from this prohibition, but we don't get to know what "minimal quantities" will qualify as sufficient for a year. Because the agency will decide that later, there will likely be a "public commentary period" which is standard practice. But, barring overwhelming public commentary, agencies have pretty free hands in making those sorts of decisions.

Apparently, the house has already voted on this, and any changes/or not are now dependent on the Senate. If you are curious, you can see the voting record of your representative on this topic here: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202231

Sounds like you have access to good advice, and I think starting with the easier species makes sense. I'm following just as gleefully with the species shift! Looking forward to the journey.

Remember how a few posts ago I was thinking about how I might mess this up. Well... At least in a small way - accomplished! I had some time on my hands in an actual block this week and thought I would take advantage of it to work on this tank. Everything takes time with efforts at this scale I am finding. No "I've got 10 minutes, let's get something done" going on here. I decided with this windfall of available time, I should get the magnets attached to the boards I'd cut, attach the acoustic paneling (really just crinkle cut foam, but whatever) to the first panels, and then cut the remaining necessary panels. Good list of goals. So, I penciled in where the opening is between the steel for the two panels, being careful to mark their proper positions. I decided use epoxy on the magnets. Got Gorilla Glue brand after watching a video on epoxy tests on the YouTubes. Sure, not the strongest, but each magnet is small, so I should work. Here is the result, see if you can see my mistake: Now, I can't be sure how many magnets I'll need, but one at each corner seemed a good place to start, and with the pull strength of these little guys, it should, technically hold the weight. That meant, I ended up with two panels that looked like this: Feeling chuffed at my efficiency, especially with epoxy that I have little experience with, I started in on gluing the acoustic tiles (again, just fancy foam). I've done this before and know hot glue works well so... Craft time! I was making great progress, but every time I bumped the epoxy it was still really liquidy. Like when the threads of hot glue draped on it, they would embed and I had to carefully pull them out. I checked the epoxy label and sure it was quick set, 5min, but takes 24 hours to dry. Okay, I'll just be careful. I got all of the foam glued down, which too some time. Frankly after slowly squeezing hot glue around panel edges, I was done after two of these. But, I think they turned out fairly well: Off I went to cut the remaining panels. When I returned I set the panels off to let the epoxy dry somewhere safe from little fingers. My kid's, not mine. After 24 hours the epoxy seemed like it had cured, though didn't end up as rigid as I was familiar with for what I think of as "epoxy resin". I didn't think much of it as my trusty video has explained that quick set epoxy is not as rigid or sturdy as whatever the other category is. Real epoxy? Slow set epoxy? Epoxy classic? Whatever. I gleefully popped the panels on and off the steel frame, and it worked! I worked beautifully! They looked great when they were up. Held well enough with just 4 magnets, and popped off easily. Who could ask for more?! Cut to the next evening. I wanted to show this off to my wife. As I approached I noticed that the boards weren't sitting smoothly against the frames at a couple of corners. I announced the boards must be warping because it is so dry (this might continue to be a concern as our basement is like 20%RH all winter and 100%RH in the summer if the dehumidifier goes off for various reasons). Figuring all I needed to do was add a few more magnets to correct the situation, pressed on with my demonstration. As I pulled the panel away from the frame there was a loud "CRACK!!!". Already I suspected this was not a great sign. For those of you who saw my mistake right away this will not come as a surprise, but when I finished pulling the panel out, the magnet remained. Stuck firmly to the frame. You see, I had been concerned about the thin magnets (which in my defense are brittle) would crack snapping against the frame over repeated use. So, I figured the solution was to cover them with a thin layer of epoxy. This turned out to be a mistake, mostly because the epoxy never fully hardened. I'm guessing because I didn't mix it well? And then only hardened under pressure between the magnet and the steel. 🙄 Figures. For those of you familiar with epoxy I have a few questions for you: 1. Is there a solvent you can use to remove epoxy? Specifically to salvage the magnets I've already used. 2. Is there an epoxy or glue I should be using instead of the Gorilla Glue quick set epoxy? Or do I just need to be better with what I have? Thanks in advance! And also, if you've read through this whole thing, I'm impressed!

Well, I mean when referring to jokes I make "humor" might be a strong word anyhow. 🥸

That's a load off my mind!

While that's all right and great information, @Torrey. I must admit, I was not being intellectual at all. I was just referencing the movie "Caddyshack". It was my version of wit.

Manganese. A lot of people don't even know what that is.

I think a lot of the aquarium lights are really for the keepers. They are excellent at making the tanks look good to us. But, the plants probably don't care as much as we want to believe. 🤭

This is the world's most entertaining tank thread. Not just from the gladiatorial arena nature of the tank inhabitants, but I think we feel that because we get to see it through your evocative and engaging descriptions of the inhabitants. I appreciate this tank, but I appreciate it even more through your stories about it. Thanks for keeping us all hanging on for the next episode of "As the Tank Turns"! This is a piece of SW keeping that I think fuels the tech used there. WC when you don't live within walking distance of an ocean are not as trivial as they are for FW. I know plants can help achieve this in FW, but in SW it's all algae based. It's part of why I am so curious about your BBA tank project. I wonder if it will serve the same function in your FW system as the marine species do in SW. And you are a person with both so there can be direct comparisons. It's going to be super cool!

Of course not! That's why I am following you; I want to hear what you have to say. Yup, I was aware of that bit. Always cool when tech can transfer from one are to another. So this I have not heard. New information here. I'd love to learn more about it. Can you post some references? Thanks! The only ones I found that truly sink right away and reliably were a no name type on Amazon. I could look that link up if you like, but my efforts were not exhaustive. Plus, if you are trying to emulate @Torrey's setup, I'd just use what she is succeeding with personally. What do I know?! 😁

I'll echo what @modified lung said. It will depend on your application. In my regular sumps, I want a sinking bioball. That's the most important thing. But I am about to put together one with air to circulate K1 for the conversion efficiency - but it is designed to deal with the down sides of the media. What is your application? Perhaps that would help folks weigh in as there are trade-offs.

I have no doubt that in your hands it will be a wonderful and successful journey! I look forward to following it with envy.

That's haunting. I love it!

If I had softer, lower pH water there are two groups of fish I'd like to try: annual killis and Apistogramma panduro. I think you should go for the annual killis. They have such and interesting biology and are are new challenge for you. Sounds like a great combo to me. If I could, I would try to tub them in the summer. But our summers are too short here,and my water not suitable. Really interesting group. I vote go for it!

So, one of my great joys of reaching drinking age was to get to play bartender and get my parents, for whom a six-pack is a month's worth of alcohol, a bit tipsy. They caught on quickly though, and those days are over. Sadly. Also, your parents are clearly funnier than mine. Sigh. You'd have to be a much younger twin. I have to admit, I sent your video link to my friend, and she was shocked. Her response was "is reality real?!" 💀💀💀 Okay, I'll stop derailing this thread on an awesome tank. I'm stoked to see it come together!

Like Atitagain, I too have a question for you, sir. Right away, I saw you are running a reef pump in the tank and I wanted to ask how you like the flow. Then I read through and learned you have two cans on there as well. How much flow are you getting? Do those fish like it? I ask because I am thinking about getting some reef pumps to add current to my big tank I am setting up. Also, those cherry barbs are really nice looking! They are one of the few "community" fish I really like. Sadly I think they would instantly fossilize in my hard, high pH water. Here is a bird who got too close to one of my tanks once:

That could have as much to do with my terrible photography! 😆 I tried to take a photo in daylight, and the glare was terrible. I have to take a close up or all you would have seen in me and my stairs warped by the bowfront of the acrylic.

Hmm... I feel like you have not checked with my wife on that. I'm fairly certain she'd disagree. 🤪

So a few thoughts: 1. This is absolutely amazing! Definitely worth the hype and teaser fro yesterday. 2. You 100% look like the doppelgänger of one of my friend's husbands. Even the cadence and vernacular. It's a little weird for me. 3. I'll be DMing about something. It's nice I swear. Not that that doppelgänger comment. 😜 I am really looking forward to updates on this. Following!

With the snails doing well in recovery, I decided it was time to add a Zenzo style ABS hide in the tank. I'm hoping this and some smaller rocks I am going to put in there will give the Cyp young somewhere to hide out and perhaps allow them to get to a size where they will survive to adulthood. I stuck the thing next to the overflow pre-filter, and I think it doesn't stand out too much. At least not more than the algae i need to clean off the back wall. What do you think?

Finally, I have restarted work on the Deep Reef tank. The tank is so big, it's kind of intimidating to work on because the cost of mistakes will be so great. But, I've got to get over it, and get at it. To start with (besides all of the behind the scenes ordering of materials), I wanted to get the skin put on stand frame. Perhaps this seems an odd spot to start, but it means I can then line the back up with the wall when I need to drill through for the MBBR air supply, and I can line the stand walls with acoustic foam, which I like to do to lessen any noise from the sump. Speaking of... I'm impressed by just how compact the foam is when it arrives. Check this out: The foam came in two equal packages like the one on the right. Left is how much it has expanded after a day. Just amazing! The other odd thing is that it feels rubbery when it first comes out of compression, but then hours later it begins to feel like regular foam. So, I want to skin the frame of the rank, which is power coated steel, to make the sump less obvious both visually and acoustically. It'll also keep the evaporation down a bit. At first I wanted to use plywood, and counter sink some strong magnets into it to hold it to the frame. I even did a test piece: A problem quickly showed itself though. The plywood is really heavy! I would need to order some pretty good sized magnets to hold the weight of the wood up. Now, I have 60+ smaller, good quality neodymium magnets around. After a trip to the big box store, I found thinner, and frankly much nicer looking stuff. Can't recall the name. But here it is leaning in place on the tank stand: The next step will be to get the magnets epoxied onto the boards, and figure out how many I need to hold this much lighter stuff onto the frame. Then, once i get the other boards cut, it's craft time, using the hot glue gun to glue the acoustic foam all around the inside! I'm hoping for more frequent updates as this work progresses.

Sacrilege as it likely is around here, but, kind of, me too. I had cherry shrimp and they were okay. But I never really got attached to them. They did fine, I just didn't connect with them. On the other hand the CPO crayfish I had I did like! They were territorial, and interacted with each other. They defended homes. I found their behavior to be far more interesting than the shrimp. Sadly, I thought it would be a great idea to add some crustacean eggs that came from a wild source in there to see what they would do, and it clearly introduced a disease. They looked like dismantled cars one by one over the next week. I haven't tried them since, but maybe I should. Although now most of my fish would eat them in no time, so... I'd have to have a dedicated tank.

I'm glad if the idea was useful. I'll be curious how my hair-brained idea works if you try it out - or anything that end sup working for you really. Good luck, and if you can let us know how it goes.