OnlyGenusCaps

@Patrick_G, I want to see into "Reptile World" too! I also like that they store half of their dry goods on the ceiling. That's a space saving technique! 😉

That sounds familiar. 😃 Great news! I am glad you made it through without issue.

Feel like they could of used a roll of that in Germany recently!

Shoveled? Really?! You seem like a dude that's got a serious snow thrower! Like my neighbor across the street who has one on tracks. Dude can probably toss snow over his house from front to back! 😂 Meanwhile, the auger on my snow thrower broke this year about 30 seconds into that big, wet slush pile we got a few weeks ago. I had to wait on the part for a couple weeks. The couple weeks we got loads of snow! The funny thing is that my wife ordered it for me as I texted her while I was out shoveling, and it came early, but she thought it was a gift, so only opened it today to wrap. 🙄 At least I got my exercise, I guess. @Streetwise, glad to hear you came through okay! After the folks I know in Burlington lost power, I was concerned for you. @Cinnebuns, you started this thread. How are you doing?

Glædelig jul, you @eatyourpeas, and to everyone here! We are sledding and taking breaks to check on Santa's progress on the NORAD Santa Tracker. 🧐

We didn't even get much drifting. Although, I'm in a fairly wooded area which may account for that.

I like the new pfp photo!

I love it! I would be so tempted to set up an axolotl tank right next to this, just to confuse people. That is an amazing fish! Full stop.

I am going to interpret your comments not as the standard "how much filtration do I need?" question that forums get often, but as are we being duped into thinking we need more filtration than necessary. I think it's an interesting question. And as always, I'd say the answer depends. If you want to frame it as can tanks be done without specific biofiltration equipment, then the answer is absolutely! There are great example of folks doing precisely that on this forum. But does that mean all of the biofilter equipment is a scam? I'd argue not. I think in most cases, most aquarists, with find that specific equipment for biofiltration is beneficial to their success. I think of it as a means by which the aquarist can take control of a core process in the tank. They have a spot to focus their attention, and an easy means to manipulate attributes of their filtration. For new aquariums, it allows people to meet the waste processing needs more quickly, and as the aquarist advances it allows them to learn and experiment about this process if they choose. The larger area, and optimal conditions also give a buffer against perturbations, such as when medications may impact the process. Plus it provides space for heterotrophic bacteria, which are often under appreciated in an aquarium. Can you have too much flow? Sure, depending on the species! Can you have too much biofiltration? Probably not a concern. Is it a scam?... Most aren't. Canister filters, are another story in my mind though.

How did everyone do? It ended up not being so bad near me in the Cities. It never seemed like the wind got as bad as predicted, which I am fine with. And Xcel was pretty brutal with their tree trimming a couple summers ago, so maybe that helped? 🤷‍♂️ We had family in VT that lost power, but only for a few hours. Are you doing okay over there in VT @Streetwise? I hope everyone and their tanks are doing well.

I'll spare everyone the details of a conversation they don't have an interest in, and send you a DM. Maybe we can figure out ways for you to get better connected around here. 😃 Sounds like you got a pretty good plan than will get you through! I'm off to clean up from last night's snow, and the now packed down ice from those 🤬 snowmobilers driving down the sidewalk (I hope they... Well, I hope all the bad endings for them!). Hope we both keep power. See you on the other side (I think we are supposed to be getting the winds here tonight/tomorrow). Good luck!

Fair enough. But annuals, though really interesting, are not my sort of thing. I don't even buy petunias and marigolds for the garden. 😜

Yes, I think you have something pretty unusual and cool there!

Nice! I like a good amphibian!

I think your quest to drum up more excitement for killi fish is going well! Killis are on my list of "if I only had soft water" fish. Right after Amazon leaf fish. Oh well... Nice to see your success with them!

Are you in MN too?! I'm watching pines leaning on powerlines already. Fingers crossed, eh?! In terms of tanks, none of mine are super heavily stocked, and I got all my fish through the mail, so I figure if they survived in bags for a day or two, they'll be fine in a larger quantity of water with access to the open atmosphere for a while. Heat... Well, that might be a thing. Our previous HAP chair was without power at his house for a week last winter - he had to move into a hotel. He lost everything! I think he had over 30 tanks. It's been a serious set back for him. Here is hoping none of us lose power. Good luck to you as well @lefty o!

That seems like a really good work around! If I may make a suggestion... I've done a few AWC systems at this point on my tanks. It's been my experience that a constant flow exchange ends up being less efficient than a pulsed system, for the sole reason that with greater mixing time you end up change out less "old" water, because it has been diluted by "new" water. If that makes sense. The optimal scenario for efficiency is the standard drain the tank x% and then refill, which ensures 100% of the water going out has the higher pollutants in it. The longer time the new water has a chance to mix with the old water, the higher percentage of new water goes out, which doesn't as efficiently reduce pollutants like nitrates, etc. I put my inlet for my AWC behind mattens and on the opposite side of the tank as my overflow as well as keep the flow fairly high so the incoming water is of short duration in an effort to reduce this problem. Just my 2𝇍

You are going to have to change the fish in your company seal. 😉

Hot take: No, you do not. I've done it. It's not my preferred method, but sometimes life is does not follow a plan. I am sure there are species that would not tolerate it, but when I have done it, I have done 25% water changes 2x daily. Ammonia stayed in safe ranges, as did the rest of the measured baddies. Maybe don't try it with a prize discus, but it can be if you need to. But it sounds like you are planning, so... Yes, I agree with @Guppysnail. If you are using an intake sponge on a HOB, and have a similar HOB on the QT, swapping just the intake sponge should be enough to take care of your biofiltration needs. Indeed my QT tank is prepped similarly. I have a single 20H tank that I use for QT, wither it be freshwater, saltwater, or dart frogs. For the fish, I use a Seachem Tidal HOB (my only one) and have sponge hidden in other tanks (behind matten filters, or in sumps) cut to the proper size for the HOB. When I need a freshwater QT, I put in the proper water, and add the correct pre-cycled sponge. I've dumped in upwards of a dozen fish, and the water quality stays great! Remember though that the longer the sponge is cycled, the better your results will be. Also, keep in mind that though you can use any SW cycled media on any other (ocean is pretty much all the same water type), don't try to use a soft, blackwater tank sponge on a hardwater QT or vice versa. Your results will be disappointing.

Congrats! That's exciting news, and the start of a long relationship with a wet pet! I'm excited to follow your, and his (her) progress! Plus, that species looks a bit like an axolotl, and I am a sucker for amphibians. I have never kept anything quite like a LF, but were it me, and it is taking frozen bloodworms (which seems convenient to me, but...), as a first pass I would give live blackworms a try. Perhaps the similar shape + movement would start him down the path to accepting live foods? Just a thought.

One of my local LFS has an albino West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) and if you wanted that one, you might have to not only sell your wife on it, you might have to sell her for it! Joking aside, lungfish are awesome, and if you go that route, please, please update us here! Tag me in it. I don't want to miss it!

Have those been bred? I'd be into trying if I knew I was getting this species. Brackish, not so much.

So, while I'm not arguing with you, I wonder if this is partly correlation. Cory had the big glass tank fail and moved to acrylic, in part because over a certain size most tanks are made of acrylic. That being the case, if a big tank is going to fail, it seems that just by probability alone it will be an acrylic one. To figure out if acrylic is really more likely to fail as a material for big tanks, statistically that would have to be corrected for. Still, I'll be watching that 300 like a hawk now!

Yes, you did an awesome cycle type. In SW it is called "biome cycling", and it's all the rage. Actually, I have some thoughts on this for FW. I'll DM you soon. I'd say solidly medium. I have a friend breeding them in tubs in the summer, but that doesn't work for me (or anyone else I know). For me I have to pull the eggs, mimic the paternal water flow across them, then feed tiny fry that hide among sand grains. Doable. Just takes a bit of work and planning. Then you will love the epaulette shark!!! A species I would love to breed one day... How? How, do you always know the coolest looking fish in any group, sir?! How?! 🤨 I'm off. I have some research to do about a fi... Something.

That's not what the owner of a 300gal acrylic tank wants to hear! 😬 So, it was insult to injury then...