meadeam

I saved and refrigerated the tannin infused water from boiling botanicals. Is there any reason I shouldn't add some of it back to the tank with water changes? It's theoretically been sterilized. I'd pour it through some fine filter floss to take out the particles. Some of what I boiled can be seen in the tank. An assortment purchased online, and cattappa leaves from ACO.

I would really want to know what is driving your TDS. Before you started mixing in distilled water had you been topping off your tank a lot straight from the tap? With TDS as high as your tap has, if you are replacing evaporated water on a regular basis then whatever is in there will be accumulating in the tank.

Not rare or particularly difficult to keep but I would like a suitably large group of pictus cats in a suitably large aquarium, likely species only, and biotope inspired.

I find it comes down to the individual mail carrier sometimes. We have one gentleman who is great. When he delivers a package, he comes up the stairs to my front porch and sets it on a wicker chair, knocking on the door a couple times to get the dog barking so I know to check. Other USPS carriers have left boxes in the driveway, clearly marked "Live Animals". UPS, FedEx, and Amazon all leave my packages on the porch next to the door with a knock. I've had some really great USPS carriers who I've been on a first name basis with. One told me how difficult it is to hire good people. This was several years ago, I imagine it is even more difficult now with the competition for good people meaning hiring salaries. It's a good market if you're a job seeker, challenging if you're an employer who doesn't have the resources to pay market.

I had some tanks when I was in jr. high through college. Nothing consistent. I always enjoyed aquariums, but wasn't a real hobbyist at that point. 4 Years ago I bought my kids a 10 gallon and have had several tanks since then. The most tanks I've had up at one time is four; 5.5, 10, 29, and 36. The 5.5 was plants and snails only. I consolidated down to my one heavily planted and stocked 36 bowfront, but I'm starting up a 20 Long blackwater tank right now. Next on the list is a shell dweller biotope in something from a 20L to a 40B. Following that, I will be putting a 120 in new construction happening at my house right now. The 120 will likely be primarily angels. I like biotope style tanks, but not in the strictest sense. My favorite fish are all nanos. Angels are as large as I would keep in any aquarium that I could have in my house.

I so miss living in Seattle and on Bainbridge Island. I still listen to KEXP everyday and pretend I'm local. I so miss living in Seattle and on Bainbridge Island. I still listen to KEXP everyday and pretend I'm local.

So I tested the water in the snail box out of curiosity, and despite daily water changes (sometimes multiple) it showed >=.5ppm nitrite. No ammonia though, which I don't fully understand, and I tested several times. Anyway, I didn't wait for a breeder box, I made one out of a "critter keeper". I just made holes in the sides and stuffed them with sponge, then clamped the keeper to the side of a spare 5.5g and dropped in a cycled sponge filter and a few adults. I'll still test daily as I know there is usually a blip in the cycle when doing this. These poor snails have been through a lot. I hope I don't regret hatching them. The adults have had a wild ride since moving them as well. Their cycle crashed and is just now back on track. I treated with prime and lots of water changes, but I'm afraid it was hard on them. They don't seem to eat much or get around as much as the ones in my display tank do. I made snello, but nobody would touch it. I'll try another recipe.

I really don't know, but to begin with I would reverse anything that happened just prior to the issue starting. Have you removed the manzanita?

Multies are absolutely on my short list of fish to keep. I'm tempted to start in a 10g because that is what I have available, but I imagine a huge colony in a much larger tank would be awesome.

It turns out that a standard 30X12 glass lid fits the non-bowed area of the 36 bowfront with the addition of some extra-fat, extra-wide rim clips. I'll ponder a solution for the bowed area that maintains the look. Or, I may be able to just leave it open. I am sure having most of the surface area covered will go a long way in maintaining heat and preventing water loss to evaporation. I am setting up a 20L for the softer water fish in this tank, so the fish catching will commence soon.

The Chinese Restaurant in my neighborhood switched to only take-out during the pandemic, so I hadn't been inside for a long time until recently. They've always had a goldfish tank, but now it includes an interesting filter.

Thanks I'll order a breeder box. I've been doing water changes everyday in the meantime. I just carefully pour off most of the water and the refill it in the tank

He/she is actually wedged between the box and glass. I haven't had an adult get in the box yet. They are interested in it though. I have molly fry in this tank as well, and they are also fascinated by the box of baby snails.

I powdered some nano block, spirulina flake, and Hikari micro pellet then mixed into a solution of tank water and turkey-basted that into their box (after removing the old food and doing a water change). The water is slightly milky, and the dust is settling on the bottom. The snails are scooting around again, I'll just assume they know what they are doing. This would be either an aunt, or uncle snail. Part of the surprise tank-raised generation that came from my first purchased snail.

Thanks! They haven't been attracted to any of the food I have placed in the specimen box yet, so I will try the swirl method. A few of them latched onto the java fern which came from a seasoned tank and I assume has some bio-slime on it, but the vast majority are on the walls near the waterline where the can't be much to eat.

I put some floating java fern in the box, and some small chunks of nano block. With this many snails I suppose it is time to learn how to make snello.

The last batch to hatch in my tank did so on their own. They were in a standard tank with a rim and a lid, and I didn't even notice them until they were big enough to see and even then for a long time I thought they were pond snails. This clutch was laid in a rimless tank and I hatched them intentionally in a tupperware container. They are now in a specimen box floating inside of the tank, and I guess I have to learn how to feed them, or just release them in to the tank. Leaning toward feeding and keeping them on their own. There are still dozens more from the same clutch who haven't hatched yet... at some point I will have to say enough is enough. I wanted some different colors, and it does look like I got a couple light colors, but no darker ones yet.

I do not look forward to this. I've read some threads on the subject and it seems I've thought of most of the methods. I was hoping for a super-secret foolproof tactic I hadn't thought of. I've only ever had to net living fish in conjunction with rearranging a tank, but this time I will need to catch 10 black neons, 5 harlequin rasbora, 6 cories, and 1 pleco out of a heavily planted tank. The neons and rasboras might be the easiest. They tend to stay in open water, and if I am patient with a large net, they will swim right in. The pleco may the next easiest. She spends most of her time under a piece of driftwood. I have moved it inside the tank without disturbing her, so I may be able to put a net under it while gently lifting until she lets go. The cories are going to be a nightmare to catch without tearing up the plants. I may need to set a trap for them, and constantly clear it of the red cherry shrimp I will probably catch instead. I have actually considered re-scaping the tank rather than try to catch these critters with everything setup.

I'm interested in the "Hydroponic herb growing thingy". As for repairing the bowfront brace, there are plastic welding products at auto parts stores. I've used them with some success in repairing motorcycle parts. That piece on a bowfront aquarium is structural, so you'd want to make sure it is strong. That said, my bowfront doesn't have a rim at all. Then again it is only 36 gallons. It's a tough call wether or not you could use the tank without the brace. Perhaps half-full as a riparium.

My main planted tank is a slightly alkaline at 7.4-7.6 when the C02 is off, and TDS gets up to >300 between water changes (my tap is around 185). This is with the addition of crushed coral in the filter, and wondershell in the tank. It is definitely in range for the Mollies and Snails. I was losing mollies for no apparent reason several months ago, so hopefully that is under control. It isn't totally off the scale for the Amazonian nano fish in the tank, but definitely not ideal. If the new blackwater, or Amazon setup can get just under my tap values in terms of pH and hardness, I'll be happy with that and hopefully the fish will be too. I'm looking into bottled products as well as botanicals. I think it will be fun to have a couple tanks that are going in different directions water-wise. I like that part of the hobby.

Here is my battle with what turned out to be diatom. TLDR; I used Phosguard and it seemed to work, although it may have been in combination with the other steps taken. My issue may have been due to an overabundance of silicates in the sandstone rocks I collected locally, and the play sand substrate.

I got the pH and KH up in my tank, and now it is on the hard/high side for everybody but the mollies and snails. I decided to move out the rest of the inhabitants, and I rather impulse bought a 20 long and Oase BioPlus 100 filter for a kitchen island mini-peninsula blackwater. I don't know if it will be a true blackwater in the strict sense, but I'm going to shoot for something more hospitable for tetras, cories, rasbora, and pleco. I bought some inert substrate, a bunch of botanicals, and I have some driftwood to add. I'll order some low light plants, or steal a few from another tank. New setup, yay.

A better idea has occurred to me. I've been raising the pH and KH in this tank to make it more hospitable for the mollies and snails. It's there now, with the addition of crushed coral in the filter, and wondershell in the tank. Why not let them have the mollies and snails have this tank, and move out the tetras, rasboras, cories, and the pleco? I'll have to decide where the shrimp should live since they could go either way. I've really wanted to do a black water setup. My water is pretty much in the middle; in can go either softer and more acid, or harder and more alkaline (which I've done in this tank). I think I will work on making that happen. Perhaps a 20 Long. I've already got a filter, light, stand, and lid. I'm tempted to add another bowfront though. I like symmetry. Oh well, that is for a different journal Got a little green and black algae happing now. Nothing major, and only in spots. The critters are feeding on the green algae, so that is fine. I'm hoping to turbo charge the plants enough to take care of the rest. My nitrates are already accumulating more slowly than when I first set it up.

Are they all the same type of pleco? If not, that may explain the different preferences. Also, there are likely other food sources in the tank and they may not be particularly hungry. My community pleco feeds primarily on a hollow hunk of driftwood that she rarely ever comes out of. I have seen her on an algae wafer from time to time, but veggies she leaves for the snails.