OnlyGenusCaps

Yes, Lake Superior gets me my "big water" fix every now and then. Like 4-5 times a year. I mean it's only 2.5 hrs away. 😏

So many pictures of home. I miss the Pacific! Sure, make me as a California kid feel even more guilty that I am raising my kids in Minnesota. 😉

🙀 I'm on the edge of my seat!

This, to me, seems like the sort of idea that comes from someone with a wealth of experience. So, I'm not surprised by your depth of knowledge. I've mentioned somewhere, but I'll admit to here again, that I'm totally stealing this concept for my over engineered QT tank I am putting together right now. It seems like the perfect solution for that, although I'd be following this thread regardless. As a quick aside, when you have time, would you be willing to share your experience using K1? I am planning on using it in a sump chamber that is in the works, and would be curious about your thoughts. Thanks!

Good. Lawns are stupid anyway! 🤣 Unless you are grazing sheep, then, useful. 🐑 🥩

This was amazing! Tusind tak!!! (Many thanks.) I will be attempting to replicate this as I do a little expansion. I hope it is okay if I DM you with questions at some point. I had been using drip lines, but wanted a different system moving forward. I watched Cory's old vids on his install using PVC, but the valves are always sold out. I think this is my solution! I have to start from a garden hose attachment, but I don't think that's insurmountable. Your build is very inspiring! I am currently expanding by space for tanks, but I must admit it driven by a bit of opportunism. In my boiler room in my basement, there is waste heat that brings the space up to fish room temperature for half the year, there is a concrete floor with a floor drain, and a utility sink. Plus, I have access to all the source plumbing - i.e. the well tank through the filtration of various sorts and the water heater, so I can tap into water at whatever stage I want to. This in not meant to induce jealousy (although I suspect I am at least as jealous of where you live compared with where I do, so that might balance out 🤪) as much as to support my assertion that I am impressed with your dedication. I don't think i would have gone to such efforts, I just had an easy opportunity. Your fish room comes from a force of will. It's really cool!

Not only do I love this experiment and idea in general, I also am impressed by your dedication to learning about it in the long-term, and not just as a quick lark. I look forward to the weekly updates, and I will be following this thread as long as you experiment continues. I know I've said this earlier in the thread, but thank you again, so very much, for sharing this process with us all! This thread epitomizes what I love about this forum - creative ideas explored in an open and supportive environment. This is how the hobby advances. Well done!

I'll second @Streetwise 's humble request for photos, but add that I would love an entire documenting of the system. I have worked with Pex a very little bit, but would never have thought to use it this way. I'd love to see a full set of photos and description from source to spill (i.e. where it exits into the tanks). To me it sounds like you have a system that should be replicated!

I suspected as much. Me thinks we'll get along just fine. 😁

Welcome! Will be great to have your experience and expertise here! BTW, here is what I took away when I read your post: Resourceful. Nice! Contemplative. Excellent! Great! I absolutely want to do this, too. He's willing to experiment and make an effort at it. Perfect! And you are going to share what you are up to with us. This couldn't get any better!!!! Welcome. You are in good company here!

Not only is that a great story, it rings true, as my two little kids love that song!

Been listening to sea shanties again (driven by how much my 6yo loves them). Here are a couple from the genre I think of as "remember the good ol days" which evoke a wistful feeling about the by gone days of sailing. I can just imagine the cranky old sailors indignant at the idea of the young whippersnappers even getting to call themselves sailors, when they don't know how to sail. Here are a couple from "Fisherman's Friends". I like this first one with the snarky - sure you're a "sailor", can you haul in or heave to? - attitude. "A Sailor Ain't A Sailor" And this second one directly bemoans the loss of shanties. But I love the lines you've got "leavers to pull and buttons to press" as a - oh life is so hard, and the "real life sailors they need them less", a direct stab. The lyrics always make me laugh. "Shanty Man"

It's time for another MAS meeting. This one for February is a bit different - it's about frogs! Yup, in a deviation from fish and plants, we are going to explore keeping frogs in tanks. I know there are paludarium/vivarium and terrarium keepers here who might be interested in this topic. The speaker will be Zach Brinks of Josh's Frogs. If you are familiar with the world of amphibian keeping, you'll know Josh's Frogs is a pretty big outfit. So, I am sure Zach will have loads of experience and information on the topic. Here is the summary: "A quick overview on the challenges of captive amphibian reproduction, from a biological, ethical, and moral perspective. I'll discuss acquiring animals, acclimating them, breeding, and rearing of offspring. We'll also take a shallow dive into the ethics and morals, legalities, and challenges of amphibian captive propagation." The meeting will be entirely online, at 7pm Central time on Thursday, Feb 3rd, and we use Zoom. Use the "Register Now!" link on the meeting page I have linked above. And remember, you do not need to me a member of MAS to attend. We welcome everyone from everywhere! I hope you'll be able to join us.

Truer words and all that... I couldn't agree more! I'm not trying to start a heated discussion in any way shape or form. But I would like to politely disagree with this, a little bit at least. Fish like the tequila splitfin (Zoogoneticus tequila), which was only just reintroduced to the wild in Mexico recently, are available for anyone who goes looking for them. They are truly rare and endangered in habitat. But they are truly rare and endangered in Mexico, which makes them legal in the States. Now, there are far, far fewer tequila splitfin fish in the wild than there are Sonoyta pupfish (Cyprinodon eremus) out there, which though their original habitat is very much under threat, have many, many successful safe harbor introductions maintained by the USFWS. They even have populations at community colleges and retirement homes in Arizona. This is a fish I would love to keep, but because it is ESA listed, it's a non-starter even to discuss in a serious way. This species happens to be endangered in the same country in which I reside, and that is the major stumbling block in this case. My point is simply that your Asian arrowana example is very apt. The wild ones are fairly under threat, though not really more than many other fish, but because they were "listed" (in this case as CITES Appendix 1) keeping them has legal issues surrounding that. Some places have obviously worked the details out for captive bred fish, but the US takes an all or nothing stance. These conservation tools, while critical for not losing many species, are also blunt instruments - they don't offer easy flexibility on case by case basses. By design. I didn't mean to go so far down the garden path here, and I certainly hope I didn't cause offense in any way. I just wanted to make sure that folks interested in keeping, and propagating rare fish didn't feel too dissuaded to explore that. Uncommon as it has been, it is true that dedicated hobbyists have saved species from extinction in the past, and I suspect this will happen again. I'm not advocating anyone taking rare fish out of the wild, nor breaking any laws. But if people are interested in dipping their toe in to see if they like keeping rare fish from becoming gone fish, it seems like a worthwhile endeavor to encourage this exploration. I guess that's really all I was trying to say.

I'll qualify my response by saying that I do not have the Ziss bubble filter, and that I have not tried the idea(s) I am about to present. It's just me thinking through this. Seems the issue is that the large bubbles are making a lot of sound when the surface tension collapses after the air's escape from the water. Smaller bubbles do not have this issue at the same volume. Breaking larger bubbles into smaller ones at the scale we are talking about in FW is challenging without air pressure (SW has the opposite problem, but I digress). This means, if there is a way to lessen the collapse aspect, it should be quieter (there may be more to this, and full disclosure @dasaltemelosguy is likely to be better equipped to handle the physics of water noise than I). But, I wonder if it might be possible to invert and partly submerge a very small net pot, like the ones that are often stuffed with rockwool when you but an aquatic plant from a LFS, immediately over where the bubbles hit the surface. I'm thinking if you capture them, and keep the bottom of the pot close to the surface, you might disrupt the snapping collapse of the water and lessen the noise. You'd likely have to play with the depth of the pot to see if that impacts the noise. And there is a chance you might need to try adding a bit of fiberglass window screening inside the pot to further disrupt things. But, I think it would be worth a try if it were me. Again, I don't know if this will work, but it should be easy to give it a go with supplies that are easily available to an aquarist. Just a thought. Good luck!

As a biologist and aquarium hobbyist who has kept quite rare fish, I'd like to chime in if that's okay. I think the first thing is that rarity in an aquarium and rarity in the wild can be quite different. For example, Endler's (Poecilia wingei) are likely at high risk of extinction in the wild, but they are not particularly rare in the hobby (that said, they have not yet been evaluated by the IUCN). Although, most Endler's in the hobby are hybrids, which mean they offer no value to conservation. That kind of sums this up in a nutshell. If a fish is in the hobby and not officially listed as "engangered" in your home country, or is unevaluated, you can, usually, keep it very easily. But hobbyists tend to be pretty poor stewards of the genetic material that is the concern for conservation. I could go into more depth, but I fear it will become a detailed diatribe about the intricacies of legality and population biology. But, hobbyists can make a difference, and have. If you want to get into keeping rare fish, all you need to do is track down authenticated N-class Endler's. I did so as an introduction to the area, and my little colony is still happily with me. I've even shared them around to other interested folks (not on here though, and this is not an offer as that violates forum rules). When you look around, we have a lot of "rare" fish in our tanks, the first step is learning about them, and then caring for them like they are. I hope this helps. Good luck! It's nice to see others interested in rare species preservation.

And the results are in! It seems the rescue system I created as been decently effective. I did lose half my pagoda snails, but none of my rabbit snails were lost. They are all now crawling around and eating happily. At this stage, I don't expect to lose any more from the treatment. So, I'm going to call this aspect done. On an other note, the Julie fry have made it through the treatment too! At some point I am going to have to catch them out. Anyone have any great techniques for getting fish out of tanks with loads of rockwork?

Thank for the reply! I also really love sumps. I've never run a canister, so I don't have a point of reference, but sumps are so flexible and I also like the design aspect of them. A hand I have perhaps already shown. 🙊 And you just have the one drain on each side, yes? Just trying to get a mental image of your setup. I am drilled for a Herbie overflow. I'd have loved to do a BeanAnimal, but there just wasn't room in the overflows. I'm hoping the Herbie will be enough to keep mine running silently. It sits next to the only TV in the house. That's great to hear that even with the bubbles it's not too noisy! I don't think bubbles are an issue in FW tanks, that seem to be a SW concern. Plus, yours are at a far end and I'd imagine are dissipated by the time the water gets to the return. I was mostly curious about the bubbles because I didn't know if the air going down the line was causing undue noise. Sounds like not, which is great! I had to fix that on one of my current tanks. It worked and now it runs silently (well, except for the cheap Chinese return pump, but whatchagonnado?). Really?! Wow! I've heard about this from so many folks, but so far I've not run into that yet. Thankfully! Sorry to hear you did. That does explain the wad of filter floss I saw in the photo though. Makes sense! Got it. That makes sense. That is quite the assortment! I'm going to put all my eggs in one K1 sized basket. We'll see how it goes.

I lived down the street from one when i was a kid. I miss them!

Thanks for posting this! I really like the cabinet! The access panels, including on the side ones, are really sweet. It looks like you have another thread on that, but I thought I'd mention it here. Ready for the litany of questions? Here we go! How are you liking the sump? It looks like you are running single drain lines and then a return through the bottom of dual corner overflows. Is that a correct interpretation? I tried to trace the plumbing, but I might have doe so incorrectly. Is there a reason you chose that configuration for the overflow and return? I see a lot of bubbles on the return. How noisy is it? Did the move to 300 micron socks improve your clogging issues? It looks like you are running a UV sterilizer that bypasses the bulk of the bio-media. I've not seen it run this way before. How is that working out? Do you like the sterilizer? Can you tell me the rational for the config on it? Sorry for all the questions. I really like the sump, and DIY sumps in general. I love knowing the thinking that went into the design. Thanks for humoring me. And again, nice sump!!!

I look forward to reading it. Thanks!

When you do get it published, please post a link to the article here. Online preprint would be great. Just saying. 😉 And welcome to the forum!

I know @eatyourpeas built her Puget Sound Biotope tank; however the build occurred before her move here and so wasn't captured on this forum. But if you want to ask someone who has gone through the process of a custom acrylic tank build for tips, perhaps she can offer advice?

Welcome to another large tank and sump aficionado. Great to have you here! That's one clean looking sump! I'm putting together a sump for my first big tank (~250 gallon; I have 75's and such but I can carry those around, so they aren't "big"), so I might have all sorts of questions for you, if you don't mind, or even if you do. 😜

I was poking around on eBay today to try to find a filter sock hanger that will work with my planned sump, when I came across a planter for lucky bamboo that hangs on the side of a fish tank. Of course, I immediately thought of this thread. Anyhow, I thought I would share the find just in case someone wanted to try using this plant (or another) for nitrate reduction but didn't want to plant bamboo directly into their substrate. Perhaps this would be a way to dip your tow in the emergent nitrate reduction world. Anyhow, hopefully someone finds it useful. Back to searching for sock holders for me...