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nabokovfan87

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Everything posted by nabokovfan87

  1. nabokovfan87
    .....alright, buckle in, it's been an afternoon! It' been a few weeks and so I decided to test basically every tank to compare everything and to just do a sanity check. I have one tank that's newly setup and I want to see how the cycle is going. I have a shrimp tank with potential GH issues that I need to verify. I have a QT tank that just had meds in it. Finally, I have my display tank with the black corydoras. Yesterday was maintenance on the shrimp which I've missed, so I wanted to go ahead and verify I needed to do maintenance today (given bioload, I could give it a week). I got my sheet of note paper, wrote out a chart and started doing all of my tests. A. Shrimp tank is awesome and the GH level is perfectly fine. B. My thermometer is broken (dropped it two days ago) C. I found a nitrite spike and needed to change water again to resolve it. ----> Tank in question was the QT tank, which should've had a 0 and prime should've still been neutralizing it. I just did a water change yesterday to remove meds, went ahead and did another one today. .....so, what's the tale here? Yesterday I was doing my normal thing, I just happened to forget entirely that it was Wednesday, shrimp tank day. The QT tank needed cleaning and it was time to remove the meds. I just went about my normal maintenance for that tank and siphoned the sand. Trying to clean the back of the tank behind the pleco cave and one of the fry went into the bucket. I rescued the fish out and she went back into the tank with the rest of her fishy friends. Then I got a paper towel and was trying to clean off the glass. For whatever reason at this point all of the fish in the tank were extremely stressed out and trying to "swim through" the glass. Trying to basically swim through my hand, into the side of the tank to get out of the way of my hand slowly scrubbing the algae off the side of the tank. Now I know why.... Nitrite was off the chart high for me. I couldn't even tell you the last time I saw nitrite on a test, but now I know. The tank in question is intended to be plants only, one fish stocking with very low bioload. It's been going fine for quite a while until discovering this result just today because I forced myself to go out and test every tank. Even the one I just did maintenance on and everything would've been "fine". I really do appreciate the context, the message, an the advice of the video posted above. I implore you, go test all your tanks and let us know what you find. Black Cory Tank (29G): Temp: 70.3 (probably higher) PH: 6.8 GH: 200 KH: 60 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 10 Shrimp (29G): Temp: 73 PH: 6.8-7.0 GH: 80 KH: 80 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 10 QT Tank (10G): Temp: 72 PH: 7 GH: 150 KH: 50 Nitrite: 10 Nitrate: 5 Ammonia: 0 75G (Cycling): Temp: 72 PH: 6.5 GH: 100 KH: 40 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 0 Ammonia: 0
  2. nabokovfan87
    Yeah that's what it looks like. Like a puppy trying to find the limits of their new tank and what has algae/aufwuchs
  3. nabokovfan87
    Yeah... I basically end with either a nice rimless or acrylic thing. or just say to heck with it and get a 20L, 30L or 60B
  4. nabokovfan87
    opening on the jar was WAY too small. Jar was tall and not wide. No real light on the jar either. All of this I can remedy now, but I do need to have a proper size thing. This is the main reason why I got that 10G, just to have for plants and whatever need be in the case I need something. Awesome choice. Wood / Rock does a lot of things for the sake of shrimp grazing! It's so fun to watch them and see where they decide to graze on. Lava rock and others would fit too. The tumbled lava rock might look pretty awesome in a shrimp tank!
  5. nabokovfan87
    It was in one of the older vlogs and it's very difficult to find which one. 😞 There was one when he is feeding cyclops and the tank had a sponge filter. It's slightly different than a tank with a HoB filter as far as keeping the food in the water column. For mid-water feeders it's a good food. Powdered foods also should have a similar affect depending on what it is and how well it stays suspended. Something like xtreme nano is the right size, but I cannot confirm it's use. I had the standard size "semi-floating" pellets and those things essentially never sank for me. I would have to go back hours / days later (experiments) and it would still be floating around. A new food I got to try out now, 1mm pellets (good size, too big for a lot of nano fish) and it's labelled yet again as semi-floating. NOPE. sinks immediately. Vibrabites, works well, especially when you crunch it up, but it sinks immediately. I would look into discus food. It's got the right size / shape and should stay somewhat suspended. check videos and see what you can see that might work for your fish. Maybe the "best" for your situation, given variables in setup, would be taking the community flakes and crunching them up a little bit (or feeding a small amount so it can spread out the floating time). The real goal is that if you're seeing issues, feed less, but add another feeding.
  6. nabokovfan87
    Late night research.... Looks like a similar setup. I need to put the smaller pump on the tank, but they were definitely enjoying the flow today. Hard for them to swim with the bubbles so intense. Very over powered air pump right now. Water Test Results 3/23/2023 Temp: 73 PH: 6.8-7.0 GH: 80 KH: 80 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 10
  7. nabokovfan87
    Pup was definitely not looking at the tank, but very adorable to have a water change buddy. (His name is actually buddy so that helps too)
  8. nabokovfan87
    I suspect your substrate is very much inert and the plants don't have enough nutrients. The plants melt, creates excess phosphates, resulting in repeated issues and plants struggling with algae. Kitty Litter = Inert Eco Complete = Inert but has some CEC (it's lava rock with stuff on it) Black Sand = Likely black gravel = Inert You are using root tabs, but I think your plants are going through similar issues to what I went through, they just need a bit of help to handle what the plants want. In terms of "fixing things" I would...... Remove the fish to reduce stress, push all the current substrate to one side of the tank, add in some active substrate, cap it with what you have currently. If you're struggling to get enough nutrients and want to stick with the setup you have then there might be a way to boost the CEC efficiency? (asking @knee how he'd proceed here, because I've basically thrown in the towel and gone soil again). I did struggle for a very, very long time with algae, ferts, plants, and basic things that should've grown are doing exactly what you are experiencing. Ultimately, I stick to epiphytes, moss, and mostly anubias when I just get frustrated with the tank!
  9. nabokovfan87
    I would like to! I think games like gloomhaven and LOTR: Journeys in middle earth are (or have) done a great job of making that style of game pretty easy to play. Some of my friends did a show with a DM and basically tried to learn how to play the game over a few episodes. Really fun stuff and it was incredibly enjoyable content. http://www.ingamechat.net/2018/03/season-12-episode-09/
  10. nabokovfan87
    That wood is pretty awesome! I'm intrigued at how you care for it. I failed pretty hard with the jar I had tried to setup. I understand why, but it's just a frustration.
  11. nabokovfan87
    This and the Pecktec are the only ChatGBT things I've seen. Enjoy! Pretty interesting result.
  12. nabokovfan87
    What is the stocking in the tank?
  13. nabokovfan87
    Oh yeah. Me too! I enjoyed Emeril a lot as well as Tyler Florence, Mario Batali, and Jamie Oliver. Grew up with Him and Alton after school.
  14. nabokovfan87
    Drained the tank, fixed the position and re-leveled it. Checked things as it filled up and then went ahead and got some things in place for the final setup. The fish rug is back! I might move the food fridge over, not sure. It's a small thing, but I really appreciate that I finally have this thing setup. I can't wait to move CO2, plant it, and have hardscape in there. After lunch (PB&J that was delightful!) I'm going to do maintenance on the QT tank and figure out if/how I can hang the light from the ceiling.
  15. nabokovfan87
    Round 2! Grounds: smells a little bit like fresh whole grain bread. That malty note from those brown dinner rolls and rolled oat bread. Next is a little bit of cocoa powder and then roasted almonds. Nose:. Wow. It's almost like smelling a very fine bottle of something. Syrupy and dark. Sort of reminds me of the inside of a cinnamon roll but not quite chai spices or any cinnamon. It smells like fig syrup! After that initial intense scent I get some notes of warm bread and fresh baked brownies mixed together. First Sip: definitely hot.... Lol. Very malty, which is a flavor I do enjoy. Works really well with cream or milk. Probably perfect beans for a latte or a splash of anything. Slightly heavy mouth feel that's reminiscent of those fruit leather snacks as a kid. Basically I'm getting a lot of malt, fresh bread, and a lot of leather (actual leather) notes. Finish: This one ends with a bit of a warm tone. That fresh baked rye bread without any butter or sweetness. Really interesting one! Definitely a staple if you enjoy a splash of cream. Geeze I can only imagine! I remember bdays at work barely able to get up. Would've been nice to have an espresso in moments like that, but definitely takes a toll. Interesting! I have heard of metal screens for espresso that goes on the top of the basket (helps with evenness and keeping the equipment a little cleaner). Haven't seen anything else, maybe that was the first iteration or something.
  16. nabokovfan87
    Definitely an interesting experience. Reminds me to rewatch this ^^ 🙂
  17. nabokovfan87
    You can use light and shadows to detect how "blind" the fish is. Moving it along the tank or casting a shadow to see how the fish responds. Riddick basically has permanent issues and does respond but not well. Has a little trouble seeing food and likes to graze a lot as a result. Sort of scatters around everywhere nosing everything instead of being able to hunt food. She does respond a lot to vibration.
  18. nabokovfan87
    I always feel like I'll overdose food and waste meds. I often only do bacterial meds in the water. The cory does seem to have cataracts. And needs special care. When she was in the tank she stayed in one spot and I'd target feed her. She's got her own tank now just for her.
  19. nabokovfan87
    NO!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh. That's tragic. Yes fish do get cataracts, I've never seen any of the pandas with that before, but I did see it on one of my black corydoras fry (not on any of the others). I was able to clear up a bunch of it with salt + kanaplex. If you can isolate that guy, try that and see if you see any improvement after 2 full treatments. I think Colu had mentioned in my thread it could be the result of a physical trauma as well. Maybe the shipping caused an issue or something? 😞 They were in a tank with CO2 for a portion of their life. The newer/smaller pandas never were. It would've only been the adults and full grown ones. Black corydoras and the pandas were never in the same tank and never had the same equipment used so I don't think it's any sort of contamination, but for the sake of clarity this is what I went through. Little Riddick as she's been dubbed is doing perfectly fine, but just has some eye injury of some kind.
  20. nabokovfan87
    ORD 😞 I was trying to 🏆 this one! I use a yoga mat on my rimmed tanks just to protect the stand from splashes and drips. It's not thick enough to cause any issues (3mm thick or so) and it does help the tank to "stick" so to speak. Given the waves I experienced when the ground started shaking on us a few years back.... It's just part of my process now for most setups. The issue / concern of using a pad on rimmed tanks is just making certain nothing is thick enough to compress and then add pressure to that bottom glass panel. The analogy I would use is taking a 10G tank and setting it up on a hand towel to protect the table surface.
  21. nabokovfan87
    This is how I setup my tanks, especially bigger ones with more load. A. Level the stand itself and put the tank on the stand. It'll move on you, but you should be able to use something on the stand itself that is true to verify level. (Ex. bottom face of the top of the stand if there is any overhang as well as the vertical supports) B. Once you get the pad on the stand and the tank on the stand check the outer edges of the tank. If you're confident the stand is level and there isn't any twisting, then proceed. C. Fill the tank 25% with water and verify everything. this gives the tank enough weight to settle and you can get an idea of how the floor and stand is receiving the load. If you need to drain the tank, make adjustments. D. Fill is to 50% and verify everything again. If you need to drain the tank, make adjustments. ------------------- I just got my 75 filled and running. Substrate is in there because I wanted to see if I needed more (dry) and then I filled it with water. I didn't notice until I had it full with water that I had an equipment issue with one of the HoBs. Then I noticed the stand wasn't straight to the wall and I needed slightly more clearance on the left side. Today my goal is to move the substrate, drain it completely, and then proceed with final fixes. I've got a lot of shims on the legs (6 legs on the stand) and just doing any final verification on the tank setup before I proceed to cycle everything. ------------------ Because of the concern you have with the tank itself, I would opt to contact the store and exchange it (huge bummer about the paint, but just remove it in that case) or contact aqueon and verify with them if there is any issue. They do have a pretty easy to reach support phone line and pretty helpful techs on hand. Can you provide some photos of what you're seeing?
  22. nabokovfan87
    Welcome to the Forums! Regarding your plan to change focus in your career, that's awesome. Cory has definitely inspired some inner confidence and strength in myself to push for a better career and hopefully get there one day. I have had ideas and thoughts right along the line of yours. There's nothing around here with the type of quality and care the hobby really deserves. There is a market for it, but just not a business setup for those things. Ironically saltwater tanks in the desert seem to be the push for tank maintenance and for the one LFS available. $$$$ I imagine, of course. Such a great scene, fantastic movie, and what a wonderfully made bit of cinema. (speaks to me about the journey I'm on too!) Probably the most star wars scene of all time (for me) and one of those things I'll always pause my breathing for a second when it comes up...
  23. nabokovfan87
    I vote one of them, I'll let you decide which, looks like a Splinter. 🙂 😂 Perfect!
  24. nabokovfan87
    I totally agree. Some do! (Looking at you pogo). A lot of plants do love to take their time, but that reward is special, unique, and it's really nice to go for that journey..... as long as the result is what you can appreciate. When it comes to mine, I have had some anubias that went from being in a 75G tank, blooming, flowering, and I had a stump with a fern that I could not get to take off for years! It just stayed stagnant for such a long time. I moved house, moved everything to tubs and had the light on far too long without a rigid maintenance plan in place to care for the tubs. That led to algae creeping in, which led to plants rotting and a lot of death. Since then it's been almost 2 full years trying to get them to regrow. I've gotten them to "improve" by having a little bit of rhizome growth and then having the algae laden leaves and chunks of rhizome removed. I moved a majority of those plants to a new tank with a very low light so I could basically block out the algae. The goal was simply that I wanted to use ambient light for these low demand plants and let the algae die off. It didn't work and the plants started to recede again. Phase 3 of the project.... I now have no fish in the tank, algae all over the wood in spots, all over the equipment, but the bioload on the tank is much less. I have improved the light and looking to improve dosing schedule. Anubias has finally grabbed a hold of the wood, the roots finally look healthy and I am seeing all of the plants do extremely well now. I bought a new fern from the big box store and it's doing extremely well compared to the one I had previously. It's been a journey, sometimes plans work out in the end. That's literally been the appreciation I had looking at my little anubias nana and nana petite this morning. Looking at the new growth and how healthy they are compared to what they've been through.
  25. nabokovfan87
    First time using the feeding dish proper and first time using this food. I think they like it. Easy for them to pick up and run off with too but they like their buddies. 😍
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