Ken Burke
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Posts posted by Ken Burke
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On 11/5/2020 at 12:52 PM, Ben Ellison said:
I'm leaning towards starting with high fin panda to start with. They seem to be reasonable price and I like em. Green or orange laser are my favorite but like mentioned they are spendy
I’ve had great success with pandas. I don’t use RO or rain water or do cool water changes, my gravel substrate is on the larger size, I never see any spawning behavior, let alone eggs, but some how I need to take 5, 10, 15 down to the LFS every month or two. So, I’m guessing they are pretty easy to breed.
all I do is 1) keep the water clean, 2) feed them lots of high quality food, and give them hiding places the larger fish can’t access easily.
best of luck, and keep us posted.
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Yay. Glad to hear it’s going well.
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7 hours ago, Daniel said:
I think I have my first result in this project and it is that the middle tank (the dirt tank) stays a bit warmer.
This has been consistent since the first day when I calibrated all three probes in the same cup using a NIST calibrated thermometer that is certified to be accurate to +/- 0.1 °F. All three tanks have the same 50 watt Aqueon heaters. I set all of the heaters to 80 °F on their local control knob. Since a 50 watt heater in a 40 gallon tank in a 69 °F room will never be able to bring the aquarium temperature to 80 °F all three heaters have run continuously and never turned off, not even once.
Since the same heaters are warming the same volume of water for same amount of time, why is the middle tank warmer? I suspect that it is due to the funnily named zeroth law of thermodynamics (physicists came up with this law after they had already named the first three laws and because it was more fundamental and because they are physicist, this passes for humor).
Here is are the numbers from the first few days.
What say the engineers and other heat minded folks on this forum? Zeroth law? Randomness? Crappy probe calibration? Something else?
Future posts will follow changes in plant growth and changes in water chemistry, just wanted to throw this out there before it slipped my mind..
A lot of things could be going on, probe, heater, and the fact that it is the middle tank. Easy to control one at a time for most things though. Swap the probes biggest and smallest. If it is the probe, it should follow. Same with the heaters. Also double check hvac vents. Maybe swap the lights. Unfortunately moving the middle tank is tough.
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@Daniel more pictures please
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21 minutes ago, Daniel said:
In my Dirted tank project this afternoon, I calmly and deliberately added 1 angelfish to each tank, you know, the take it slow approach. Don't add too many fish, let the tank acclimate to the fish. My plan is to add another angelfish in a day or two if all goes well.
Holy smokes, the first fish look fine, wouldn't hurt to add a second one to each tank. No, wait. Be patient. Slow and steady wins the race.
I am the little boy in the marshmallow project. As soon as the researcher leaves the room, I eat the marshmallow.
I just added a second angelfish to each tank....
That’s me too!
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1 hour ago, Mudkicker said:
I searched the forums and to my surprise I didn't find any posts on the ethics of fishkeeping. I've been in the hobby for just over 20 years and it's something that I've struggled with as I got older. I'm now in my mid 40's. I stopped keeping birds a long time ago because birds were born to fly and not to be kept in a cage. Sometimes I feel the same way about fish. We take them from the wild for our pleasure. I'd like to hear you arguments with the hopes of someone saying something to make me feel better about keeping fish in captivity.
So I agree we need some kind of ethics in fish keeping, but I don’t think the practice of fish keeping is immoral. As long as you are keeping fish in an appropriately sized tank, and provide for their unique needs for clean water, cover, swim space etc, you are giving them a far better life than in the wild. Most fish in the industry are commercially bred, not wild caught. And they bred to bring out colors and fins that would leave them vulnerable in the wild.
just my opinion.
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28 minutes ago, Daniel said:
I think the bewilderment is more due to that biology is complicated and it takes time to get a handle on what is important to keeping fish alive than mastering the technology is some sort of new barrier that didn't exist in the past.
I worked in a fish store in the mid 1970s and people then where just as bewildered and bedazzled by 1970s technology.
I think your @KoolFish97 point about the reef keeping community is spot on. The technology to keep a coral reef in your living room is as much of a draw as are the corals. Certainly the fish in a modern reef aquarium are almost incidental.
I have been researching aquarium keeping in the 1930s and they basically had all the same stuff we do now. Here is an ad from 84 years ago this month, the November 1936 issue of 'The Aquarium' magazine, offering glass internal heaters, linear piston air pumps, and even an early canister filter.
There were also ads for brine shrimp eggs and rice fish! And my favorite, 'Radio-Activated' fish food (right above the ich cure 😉)
Have things really changed. Personally, I think we are as gullible as we ever were. I know I am 😇
Too cool
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On 10/31/2020 at 1:23 PM, Preston John said:
I like to think I’m a smart guy, but I know better!
I can’t seem to figure out how to get the Search to work on my desktop or iPhone. Are there any known issues when using Chrome on a MacBook Pro or iPhone. Or with Safari on an iPhone?
after searching on my desktop I can only see a few topics but am unable to move down on the page. On the iPhone I can type in my search, but can’t scroll down.
Just a quick note: 75% of people think they have above average intelligence. They also believe they have above average looks. Reality suck (sometimes) but welcome to the international order of realest.
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29 minutes ago, Daniel said:
Okay, I was showing off.
And I only sound like I know what I am talking about. You should discount at least half of what I say. Just because something is said confidently doesn't make it true. And I can't even juggle one ball 🤪
I think I am like @RovingGinger. When I get into hobby, I go whole hog and then burn out. And then I pick up another hobby. I admire someone who can do something for a long time and get a deep knowledge that I miss because I keep switching around.
After a while I come back to the original hobby and pick up where I left off. Sometimes I learn something from the other hobbies that bleeds over into the current one. The recent biology binge upped my chemistry game a bit which is helping me now with fish.
I admire someone like @akconklin who can play music, contributes her time a church, and takes care of family including a special needs child. And she still has time for a nice aquarium with about bazillion guppies in it! I am not so good at the selfless giving part.
Here here! A toast to @akconklin, who espouses ideals we should all aspire. (Was that too corny?)
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14 minutes ago, RovingGinger said:
I tend to flit from obsessive hobby to obsessive hobby like an ADHD butterfly. I’d say the constants are doodling, jewelry making, and ecosystem experiments. I have a laser cutter I do fun stuff with, I crochet and knit, have whittled, have done some other art and sculpture, calligraphy, terrariums, vinyl embellishment, etc, etc.
But in general I like visual storytelling, design, and putting together tiny worlds.
Another over achiever
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2 hours ago, Larrimore said:
Ordered from the Coop on Monday afternoon. Received my order this morning. My house is 2837 miles from them. They didn’t even give me time to get my new aquarium stand built...the nerve.😉
Maybe they need a warning label -
CAUTION: repeated use of time travel technology used to deliver these products is linked to MTS and may be hazardous to your budget.
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Oh and I turn pens on my lathe
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@Daniel show off. I mean really, you convince flying insects to go out pollinating plans, and bringing back stuff to make yummy honey. Have an insane death of knowledge in our addiction, ooo t meant hobby. Now point out you dabble in SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY! I juggle one ball🤪
@akconklin so I have a really nice guitar, operate the camera at church for the live stream, and have 3 dogs, including a 11 week old glodendoodle. Sooooooo
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7 hours ago, Nataku said:
Just the other day on a discord group we were walking someone through setting up their co2 system and calibrating it for their set up.... only to learn they had no light on this tank! Talk about putting the carriage before the horse.
But the poor guy just didn't know. He wanted lots of great looking plants and growth. He was a new hobbyist and had heard that the best planted tanks had co2- so he went and got it. Totally missed that they also need light and ferts BEFORE you worry about co2. So yes, there certainly can be more gadgets than the beginner hobbyist knows what to do with. But you know, I'd like to think that's why so many aquarium communities exist. So we can help each other through the mountain of 'stuff' that we could buy for our tanks, and figure out what it is we really do and don't need and want. There's as many different ways to keep an aquarium as there are aquarists out there. So we can all offer advice on what works for what we do, and what didn't work out so great.
Thanks for the input. It really illustrates what I’m talking about. Aquarium communities definitely can help, but they are not all equal. And it’s hard to build a forum to maintain the interest for intermediate and advanced fish keepers, that is helpful for the new blood. After all, how many times have you given the same ol’ advance on the nitrogen cycle, algae, ich, etc. After a while it start to get redundant. Stale. Helping others succeed is really rewarding, but only takes you so far.
BTW, with a name like discord, not sure it is for me.....
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1 hour ago, varanidguy said:
I'd definitely invest in something like that!
Ok. I’d buy that too. But I might not use it. I really enjoy sitting in front of my big tank feeding a few red worms at a time. Watching my angels, especially Mable, charge the little buggers is so fun. You’d think she never eats when it’s frozen food day.
And you and @varanidguy are right. Expert, or advanced hobbyist need some of those gadget. But for the entry level, it’s like walking into the dealership and buying a formula 1 race care. 🤪
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On 10/19/2020 at 6:39 PM, MickS77 said:
#nermnation
2 questions - is that a coffee mug? And I WANT ONE!
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I just use a simple wooden chair. Of course it has a towel over the ladder back, just in case.
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4 hours ago, Cory said:
I'm doing testing, so likely the next few months shipping rates will change slightly as I view different metrics.
gotta love @Cory and his pursuit of perfection. Thanks!
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@StephenP2003 I get what you are saying; the new light are amazing and really help with plant growth, but cost an arm and a leg, canister filters are great because you can pack all sorts of media in there, but how much filter do we really need. We now have ammonium chloride and BB in a bottle to kickstart cycling tanks. There are planted tanks, darted tanks, bare bottom tanks, species tanks, and on and on.
All of this is great for the intermediate to advanced aquarists. But time after time I read posts from newbies, both here and on Facebook, that are having problems from all the techie stuff, or additives more suitable for more the more advanced.
I write all this just to ask/discuss the fundamental question, “Are missing out on something by going big and complex over the simple elegant approach?”
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13 minutes ago, Cory said:
Well if it proves anything, it's that test kits aren't required to keep aquariums. A lot of people get hung up on numbers instead of seeing what the fish are doing in the environment. It'll be good to know you'll have a reliable kit going forward though.
Yup, it’s easy to get hung up on a target, and miss the big picture. This leads to chasing parameters instead of consistency, and a whole lotta heart ache.
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I’ve kept fish several time since I was a kid, back in the 70s. Every time I’ve come back after life happened, things changed. New filters, lights sub-straights, on and on. Filters have evolved from simple UGF, and box filters into power filters (AKA HOB) to canisters. Lights went from simple incandescent to fluorescent, to LEDs controlled with your phone.
Don’t get me wrong, seeing amazing aquaecapes is really cool, and all. And in some areas the new tech has made fish keeping more accessible, but do you thing all the new gadgets are becoming a barrier into the hobby?
asking for a friend
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I don’t think 5 year olds and patients go together. But what a wonderful way to spend time together. Your in the right place to get help, just stick with it.
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6 hours ago, Hillbilly nomad said:
My nabours have a son who was in a horrible accident when he was four, he is now ten, little guy can't do anything without assistance. He is basically bed ridden or wheelchair bound, he doesn't speak but is aware of the things around him. He has a spot in his room for a twenty gallon long aquarium and I'm buying him one and going to set it up for him and his family. I got my shipment from the Co-op the other day so the aquarium is going to get a sponge filter and usb air pump. I've still yet to figure out exactly what plants but I'm going to stick to low light plant's. After 30 years of being in the hobby I'm currently stumped on what fish to get. I was going to set it up with my cull male guppies but I think more types of fish( a couple of small groups) would be more visually stimulating for the little feller. Any ideas on active, colorful, small fish of more than one species or do y'all think just a species only tank. It'll be a twenty gallon long aquarium I just don't want it to be boring for the little man. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I think your looking for easy maintenance, so hardy fish that don’t hide all day. Suggest under-stocking it as well. (Just a touch under-stocked ). The only concern with live bearers is a lightly stocked tank can get pretty crowded left unchecked.
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4 minutes ago, akconklin said:
As a mama of a special needs kiddo (who's 20 now, but still a "kiddo" - he's non-mobile and non-verbal), I'd suggest to be sure you include something that bubbles! All children love bubbles, and they are eye catching. Often, those with brain damage have trouble with eye tracking, so the bubble will catch their eye sometimes, even if the fish don't. Maybe a bubble bar or something similar.
Our tanks were started for our son, too, but unfortunately, he just isn't interested in them. LoL! I know! How rude, right?! 😆 But we discovered how soothing and interesting and relaxing they are to US and so we continue. You may find that the parents also enjoy the tank very much. I know for sure they are so appreciative of this blessing you are giving to their family. ❤️What a great encouragement!
Bulletproof aquarium set-ups
in General Discussion
Posted
I’m proposing a “contest.” No winners or losers, just for fun -
If you were asked to set up a tank for, say a pediatrician’s office, describe what you would set up.
- what size tank?
- what substrate?
- what filter?
- plants and decorations?
- lights?
- how would you stock it? Pictures encouraged but not required
once you have provided your answer you can assess other people’s input using the following criteria
1. Ease of maintenance 30pts this is for someone else to maintain after all.
2. livestock hardiness. 30pts dead fish just are not appealing
3. aesthetics. 20pts capture the imagination, captivate the attention, draw people in
4. cost. 15pts Let’s keep it real
5 flair! 5pts that little extra
this is just for fun, but try to keep your solutions realistic