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Torrey

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Everything posted by Torrey

  1. Torrey
    So you got 2 for the price of one @TankofFish? That twisted wood is truly gorgeous! @Guppysnail I have one tank with lots of wood since May 1st. Barely any tannins and pH dropped from 7.8 to 7.6. It didn't finish sinking until last week, I let it go natural, lol. The guppies and snails have completely cleaned up the biofilm..... it had a nice thick layer when I finally added the fish in June.
  2. Torrey
    @Its Hutch there is finally a resurgence in language. I relocated from Tuscarora lands to Tiwa and N'de lands. Unfortunately, I had a TIA in February, and I am still relearning English. Some words from other languages I knew come back to me, but I don't always get word + meaning to match up. Typing I can at least proofread. Talking is frequently a word salad🤣 It's good to see so many people reclaiming heritage and community. It gives me hope my grandkids will experience a better world.
  3. Torrey
    Wait..... you are in NC????? I grew up in Raleigh, my BIL knows Dr Diana Walstad, and my first foray into SW tanks was because I spent summers OBX and when my mom brought me home to Raleigh with a cooler of live crabs we discovered an octopus hitchhiker 😅 Tiny guy survived me for years.... but didn't survive the 2 week power outage....
  4. Torrey
    @Guppysnail my kids recently taught me to put the kitchen sponge in the microwave while wet, drop of soap is optional. Heat until steaming to kill bacteria and mildew. They were right, it works! New adventures in fish keeping is right! I used to have several large tanks (a 55 g was my smallest), and a farm. Now I am in an apartment with more tanks, but less water😅
  5. Torrey
    My only experience with black worms has been in Walstad tanks. Since they go in before the fish, they have a pretty established population and as they reproduce to the point of filling the dirted area, the fish pick off the worms they see near the top of the dirt. I still see some in the substrate, so I have not bought more yet... and they are already in the tanks so I don't have to harvest.😅
  6. Torrey
    You have invasive zebra mussels in your lake😳 My sister worked with the forestry department, and those mussels are a nightmare. I'm sorry you have to worry about them. How do you get rid of them?
  7. Torrey
    @Daniel that's pretty impressive! My best friend through school, her dad was a beekeeper and the risks with new queens is real. How long do you give the hive to get used to her smell / let her begin to smell like the hive?
  8. Torrey
    Enjoy your selves, you have sooo earned it! Plus, the rest of us are enjoying vicariously through you. 🐡
  9. Torrey
    I just started a more Walstad inspired tank. If you only want the critters, more than the dirt, try locating the closest pond supply place that grows plants in outdoor ponds. I just bought $5 of azolla last week. It came with mosquito larvae (fish in other tanks were thrilled with the snack), a dragonfly nymph (it went into the outside pond), a few snails, amphopods, and I think some daphnia. I had the plants in a 5 gallon bucket with an air stone, and slowly picked my way through the leaves. There are a few worms in the azolla, I am monitoring as I can't identify. Amphopods went into the Walstad tank, along with two handfuls of the rinsed azolla.
  10. Torrey
    Has anyone allowed soft wood to help with tannins and lowering pH? I'm running an experiment in the guppy tank. So far, the males are coloring up better than in their other tanks, and the fish and snails all love the softer wood. So do the plants, even the floaters. It took a little while longer to get stable, but the water parameters are consistent now.
  11. Torrey
    You speak Tsalagi? Atsadi is a gorgeous boy!!! All of my kids have 'autistic traits' The youngest was officially disabled by age 6 due to autism and the struggle to self-regulate in a world that wasn't sensory friendly was real. Your kids have an awesome dad who understands their needs. That is a kindness. I look forward to following your journey back into fish keeping.
  12. Torrey
    Have you intentionally maintained a tank of the symbiotic hydra? I wish I had been better informed about the benefits of so-called aquarium pests. I spent so much time trying to eradicate "pests" instead of appreciating them, I wasted decades of what could have been more aquarium fun. Out of 13 tanks, my spouse's 2 favorites are the amphopods and the plant grow out tank with the guppies.🙄 However, the Walstad is gaining appreciation.
  13. Torrey
    Have you ever used the medicine syringe to suction the unfertilized eggs off of the rock? I wish you the best, Rams are notoriously hard to breed. Which is probably the fun, right?😅 Your brave one has spunk! <died laughing at "this happened" because I just delivered dwarf zebra danios to the lfs.... and the ones I kept for my breeding program spawned immediately. Since their spawn date was 5/1 I didn't bother trying to hatch any. In a few more months, I will try for an intentional spawn.>
  14. Torrey
    I did my water tests today instead of waiting for the weekend, as we may have out of town guests coming. Plants are using the nitrates in the Walstad, faster than the bacteria is converting the ammonia 😅 Ammonia is slowly coming down, however, so obviously something is happening. Plants are getting a trim next week, and the tops will be replanted. So today was water test, 11 top offs and 2 water changes. Everyone have a great weekend!
  15. Torrey
    Thank you for sharing your journey, and your betta is as gorgeous to watch as the tank.
  16. Torrey
    @Jimmy unless your garage is pretty well insulated already, I would go for the extra insulation which will be more expensive upfront, but save $$$, frustration and fish long term... especially if there's more 116° weather in the future. Does that help explain my logic? Venting the room with an exhaust fan may be less expensive than running a dehumidifier, unless you are planning on using the dehumidifier for temp control, too. I don't think anyone will get annoyed at having an opportunity to explore the pros and cons of insulation, especially after seeing the video(s) of Dean's home during the heatwave.
  17. Torrey
    @MichelleN CT can handle a little more flow than dumbos, halfmoons, veils and doubles. It looks like he's thrilled with the accommodations!
  18. Torrey
    @Patrick_G I run several nano tanks and a few pico tanks. Try putting enough fert for 10 gallons (1 squirt) in a gallon jug of water, and adding half a gallon at a time. I have found this to be the easiest, most effective, and most affordable method of dosing my tiniest tanks.
  19. Torrey
    What a gorgeous CT!!! I see the dots you are asking about, and the white film. Does your betta have any tankmates? Do you watch your betta to ensure he actually eats all of his food and doesn't try to hide it anywhere? [Don't ask.... I've had some... uniquely tempered... betta] When you cleaned it off before, what was the texture? Did it have an aroma? Weird things growing on wood generally don't concern me unless texture or smell indicate I need to be concerned.
  20. Torrey
    Hornwort needs a lot of calcium, too. Sounds like your water supply has plenty, as the other tanks are doing well. I use hornwort as a visual checklist for water quality: Is there getting to be a long internodal length? -add more light Are leaves/needles turning yellow? -nutrients Are leaves browning on the plant? -water change shock or decreasing calcium levels in the water My healthies hornwort growth is on stems that dropped 90% of their needles in new tanks. In my 4' guppy tank, the hornwort went completely brown and I was starting to consider scrapping it. I had already gone through my full checklist and I simply couldn't get hornwort to grow in that tank. Hornwort can be allelopathic, so I had given it an entire cubic foot of space to have to itself.... and it simply would not grow! Then, when I made the decision that if there wasn't any new growth when I did my next water change, I was going to accept defeat..... It decided to stay in the tank. This last picture is from last week. Tomorrow I can get a better image of all the new growth. I still don't have a clue what exactly changed, but 3 months after melt back had started, and a month after I was ready to give up.... the hornwort is growing like crazy.
  21. Torrey
    Top is local moss I am propagating, and bottom is hornwort.
  22. Torrey
    @Carltronics when I lived near Mount Baker we had a wood stove to cook on and heat the house. In fact, it was reminiscent of the one my grandmother cooked on during the Depression. Stoked properly, they keep most of the home above 60°, even when it's -5° outside.
  23. Torrey
    @Jimmy when I first moved to the PNW I was told the weather was like NM: west of the Cascades the snow will melt by noon, and east of the Cascades the snow will stick around. Two days into my move, I-25 was closed for almost 2 weeks.🙄 I was also told we didn't need A/C... 8 years later we had a (then) record heat wave that killed a dozen people. My lessons learned were it's better to overplan. Build to code to save hassles. Vapor barrier pays off in preventing black mold, and we actually used the roll out insulation plus the foam board because it kept us cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. ArchwayAquatics had it right with flex on the outside of the walls to make future additions to electrical needs easier. GFCI is not as complicated as people make it out to be, and an exhaust fan can make both heating and cooling the room easier. Look forward to following the journey!
  24. Torrey
    @sudofish my original QT became a grow out tank, lol I have a few 5 gallon QT tanks for individual fish. They don't work so well for schooling fish so... another 10 gallon was needed. And 2 for the price of one couldn't be beat, lol
  25. Torrey
    @Cory, I can't imagine getting ready to go to Peru and having to answer a question about the forum rules. Thank you for hosting this platform, and hopefully everyone will read your answer and apply the intent across the board.
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