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Ken Burke

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Posts posted by Ken Burke

    Is this Wood Aquarium Safe?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Do you know what kind of wood it is?  Does it look like any of the trees or shrubs in the area?  
     

    it’s pretty hard to tell from a picture, and several varieties are toxic or breakdown rapidly in an aquarium.  I wood want to positively ID it before trying it

    • Thanks 1

    A question about cycling for the scientific-y types out there

    in Experiments

    Posted

    On 6/9/2022 at 5:32 PM, Torrey said:

    And I have one last piece to add, that comes from work in the field: the bacteria require even more oxygen than our fish. Warmer temperatures will frequently see slower development of bacteria, because the bacteria are not getting enough oxygen. 

    Otherwise, Odd Duck, Modified Lung, and Only Genus Caps already covered everything else better than I could. 

    Another great argument for the  “go slow” approach.  I’m still dialing in my water temp, getting the plant settled in, etc.  in the meanwhile, two sponge filters and a usb nano driving an air stone 

    • Like 1

    Filtration Article, interesting read!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/9/2022 at 12:39 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

    True fact, sir!  I take the certainty there with a good salt lick of salt.  In terms of sponge in a HOB, would it work with rings?  Most likely.  Lava rock?  Sure.  Would it be technically less efficient?  Seems probable.  Will it matter in a typical tank?  Doubt it.  I get the feeling Dave is trying so hard to teach people what is "best" or most efficient, that he can forget that under most conditions, it doesn't need to be "the best", it just needs to work.  I still think his heart is in the right spot. 

    Agreed

    • Like 1

    Filtration Article, interesting read!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/9/2022 at 9:33 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

    @gardenman from this forum has a shout out on that site too:

    https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/8-7-7-bottom-of-the-tank-matten/

    Here is the OG thread:

    I think the article says that "One MUST replace these cartridges with foam or pot scrubbers per the directions below."  Although, he does go on to make a case that pot scrubbers are better in a HOB.

    Dave is an opinionated guy, for sure.  But his site loaded with a ton of useful, and factual, information.  Wish he'd use references a lot more, but I think he's pretty solid in how he wants approach that.  Regardless, IMO when misinformation is bandied about in this hobby, it's still a good spot to point folks towards. 

    Agreed.  Tons of good info.  But when someone says must, or must, my spidey sense goes all tingly.  We often hear a lot of opinion expressed as fact in our hobby.

    • Like 2

    Filtration Article, interesting read!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/9/2022 at 11:58 AM, Odd Duck said:

    I rinse sponge filters in tap all the time and have never had an issue.

    Me too.  One thing to remember it that everything in your tank has bb on it.  Plants, gravel, rocks.  The total surface area for all the other stuff likely exceeds the little cartridge.  Even if you just through it away every time, you likely would never see any problems.  My HOBs are more for mechanical filtration and water circulation than for bio filtration.

     

    btw, I don’t have a filter in my summer tub.  Just an air stone.  It stays in balance just fine.

    • Like 1

    A question about cycling for the scientific-y types out there

    in Experiments

    Posted

    On 6/9/2022 at 6:59 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

    So, I heard a talk by Dr. Tim (of the eponymous products for aquariums), who has a wealth of data on cycling BB under differing conditions in aquaria.  I recall a great deal about the differences in pH and salinity, but either I am not recalling much about temperature, or he said little about it.  Checking his site for information might be worth your time. 

    As a more general rule, bacteria are thermally little more than the responses of their enzymatic reactions (I'm not throwing shade at bacteria here - they have the most amazing enzymatic reactions!).  What this is likely to mean for cycling a tank is that warmer water should result in more rapid cycling, to a point.  In general, the kinetics of enzyme reactions follow a basic curve where increasing temperature increases activity, up to a threshold, after which the activity drops off rather sharply. 

    What is the effective temperature range of an enzyme in a typical cell ...

    I suspect you are not in the later danger zone with your temperatures, and therefore should expect a faster cycle.  That would be my take constructed from general assumptions about bacterial biology.  Mind you, I have no specific data I am drawing upon or pointing to here.  Still, I hope this might help a bit.

    This is the kind of input I was curious about.  The apex appears to come in around 100 Fahrenheit. 

    Solar Solutions for Tubbing

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I’ve seen several post asking about this, but have not seen any success or failure stories.  One that comes to mind involved solar charging a usb power bank to run a usb nano air pump.  I think that setup could work as long as the solar could keep the battery charged.

     

    recommendation: Go for it.  And start a thread in the  Experiments forum so we can see your progress.😉

    • Like 1

    Finally!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/9/2022 at 3:59 AM, Brian said:

    That is looking great.  
    A couple of things.  I have never waited to put fish in.  In fact I don’t think I’ve waited more than a day or two.  Especially since you have other tanks and used gravel from one of them.  I would always just add my stock slowly, feed very little and test.  Also I kept a couple different crypts at high temperatures.  What I did is I kept them in the pots they came in placed them  in a different tank with temperature around 77-78, and over a month or so I would get them up to my main tank.  
    But that really Good.

    Actually I have a couple snails, and a single panda Cory that snuck in.  I really want to savor this part. I won’t get to set up a new tank for a long time.

     

    On 6/9/2022 at 4:09 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

    are you running a canister?

    As a hobbyist who very much appreciates black/dark substrate, I wonder what your setup is for canister and highly encourage you to run the crushed coral in the canister compared to on the substrate. Even to run powders/buffers compared to a layered substrate.

    Yes, running a can with about a pound of crushed coral. 
     

    it’s an aqueon 300 so the flow is bottom to top.  On the bottom tray I’m using the sponge and charcoal that came with the filter.  I’ll replace it with more sponge in 30 days or so.  The top tray has the ceramic that came with the unit, some matrix I had laying around and a bag of ceramic from my tidal.  
     

    the filter really gets the water moving, maybe too fast.  I think I’m going to instal the “polish filter” this weekend to see if that works better.

     

    I also need to order a pre filter for the intake.

    • Like 3

    Bar aquarium assistance please

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/8/2022 at 9:35 PM, Torrey said:

    Best advice so far!

    The carbon bags at this point are home to a lot of beneficial bacteria, so can lay in there with coarse (<20 ppi) sponge to seed the sponge faster, Next maintenance day, take them out.

    In the meantime: Stability is key. Much better to keep making smaller water changes until the tank and tap match. Power heads on UGF are a great way to obtain stability, and the canister becomes extra filtration. Adding plants will keep the nitrates down. I'm shocked the nitrates were that low after zero maintenance for 2 years. Indicates the fish have probably been chronically underfed.

    Stability is always key.  Especially it the fish are stressed or weak from neglect.  Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

     

    if you can swing it, try feeding frozen bloodworms every few days.  Should help them gain some weight.

    Bar aquarium assistance please

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/8/2022 at 9:16 PM, Woogie23 said:

    Well, I talked them into moving the tank into the lobby area of the restaurant and away from an exit door and a mini basketball hoop.  It'll be good to get it moved. That won't be for a couple weeks at least though. So in the meantime gonna try and get them fed a little better and try to get the PH up as well. I'll work on the UGF after the move I think.

    I really appreciate everyone's help! I'm gonna get a shopping list together for everything I need to include some foam, a new airstone (for now),

    You might consider crushed coral in the canister. 

    Finally!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 6/8/2022 at 9:10 PM, Odd Duck said:

    Liking that background.  Is that a white wizard snail?  How do you like them?

    It’s a Japanese trap door. Very hardy.  They over-wintered in my tub, and reproduce reliably. I started with 3 or four, probably have a couple dozen between my tub and 4 tanks

    • Like 1
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