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nabokovfan87

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Everything posted by nabokovfan87

  1. nabokovfan87
    This is how I setup my 55 / 75G blue lines would be the "dead spots" but having over-filtered the tank essentially makes sure the heaters themselves don't burn themselves out. Non-optimal setup This is why when you get to a certain tank size you end up with canisters with input on one side, output on the other size to balance out the flow. This all goes down the rabbit hole of "heat soak" and spots where the heater is really only functioning on a specific area. Some heaters like the Fluval E series (and some others I'm sure) have flow meters in them so that when you don't have enough movement to cool the device itself, it warns your. I do think it actually turns off the heater itself until you let it cool and reset it, also. It's a nice perk to have on a higher end filter that I find myself using more than I'd like. Even with the "optimal" setup. 😂 Hopefully that Diagram was decent 🙂
  2. nabokovfan87
    Yes..... but it's not really too critical. I'll explain it, but then draw some diagrams and what not. With the filters side by side there is two things that could happen. First, they compound with one another in some capacity. This could be minimal in practice, but in terms of flow you have something pulling water towards the other so they are working in parallel (circuit term). You also might have a loss of filtration on the middle bit, especially if the filters are touching one another. Which brings me to frankenfilters..... Let's say your plan is to use the medium size. Buy the large and try this if you feel like it. I cannot promise any of it will work well at all, but it's a fun test if you wish. (just make sure the bases can actually sit next to one another) And then they combine like Optimus prime and Omega Supreme! That would "help" them maximize efficiency if you wanted to set them right next to one another. ACO doesn't sell the replacement foam pieces, so this is definitely not a reversible mod 😞 OK SO.... fun tangent aside.... here's the slight tweak in flow. There is also the issue of balancing the filters themselves so the flow itself is even. Here's an example of that.
  3. nabokovfan87
    Blackwater tank! Corydoras, barbs, minnows, etc. I would highly recommend the off-gassing test for your situation to get real values. 1. Test the sample out of the tap for everything (ammonia, nitrates, KH, GH, PH) 2. Take that same sample and aerate it for 24 hours with an airstone, retest. 3. Compare those values in 2 to your tank parameters.
  4. nabokovfan87
    Diagrams available on request. LOL. Usually you run into issues where the heater won't actually be able to stay in the tank because it's too big. There's a few things you want to always do with heaters no matter the situation: 1. Put the heater where the actual flow is highest, especially if you have a plastic cage on it. 2. Make sure the tank doesn't have dead spots and if need be use lower power heaters, but x2 of them to even out the heat (reduces hot spots, especially helpful for shrimp tanks) 3. Add an airstone or pumphead if you're having issues with parts of the tank being very hot compared to other spots. SO........ depending on the setup, it'll work. Higher wattage is usually determined by a few factors like your lid, tank size, ambient temperature difference, etc. I have a heck of a time even finding a 50W heater, so for me it's always going to be a 100W+ or I'll end up with one of those 5-25W ones they sell for a betta tank. When I do run heaters I also have the issue of the ambient air being insanely cold compared to where I need the tank at, requiring much higher wattages. In that situation, it's necessary. Hopefully that helps, but I don't know if I really gave you the confidence to say "yep it's fine" or not.
  5. nabokovfan87
    hm.... try that, mix in some krill flake maybe right before it sets! I would have to check the ingredients but it would have the vitamins and stuff that might be helpful for them right now.
  6. nabokovfan87
    Take a piece of AC 75 or AC 110 foam block and cut that to size. Just something like this 🙂
  7. nabokovfan87
    Just sent him one.
  8. nabokovfan87
    I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you have 2-3 females (they are typically just bigger size, but there are other ways to tell) then you'll be fine. Especially in this type of a colony breeding setup, you just provide the fish what they like and watch them do their thing. It's not meant as a race or a speed contest. I never would've imagined mine doing what they did and it just happened because they liked the tank 🙂
  9. nabokovfan87
    There is also the major difference in US vs EU tanks and how the definition is used so differently.
  10. nabokovfan87
    You'll have to show me what your stand looks like now! I would love to have 2-3 20L tanks to play with, but I just can't with the current situation right now. There's so many interesting fish, so many unique species that do so well together in a community or species only setup. Pepper Corys is a big one for me right now. Along with the actual venezuelan corydoras.
  11. nabokovfan87
    There's a few uses for it but let me try to elaborate a bit on some of the uses. We all use salts in the freshwater planted tank whether we like it or not because that's typically how they make all of these fertilizers! Aquarium salt (normal salt, non-iodized): used for treating illness, external parasites, respiration, osmosis help, recovery https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish Epsom salt: Used for some dosing situations on some water parameter issues, used homeopathically for internal damage and a few other reasons as a salt bath https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/plant-nutrient-deficiencies https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/ph-gh-kh One of the other things this leads to is some products like Seachem Equilibrium which advertise as "no sodium, no chloride" to allow buffers for those that want to avoid salt or some of the minerals not desired in some situations from other types of salt/salts.
  12. nabokovfan87
    Based on what I'm seeing you have 2 things working in your favor. I can't tell if/how the light extends out, but I'm assuming the light rests on a surface. I saw this method elsewhere and I think it's a pretty nice way to handle that situation. It just uses any flat material, paint it black if you'd like. I would recommend 1/8" thick lexan or something equivalent as well as using 3M VHB tape. There's a lot of different part numbers, so just make sure you're checking on which works best. If you need any help please feel free to send me a DM. The clamps shown were there just to hold the piece in place while it cured, but can be removed eventually.
  13. nabokovfan87
    That 2nd link I have in my signature is of an article showing two different fish. I was so confused about what I was buying when I purchased them, but the easiest way to tell is which part is orange. They are a very nice dark grey in person. The orange is sort of like a bolivian ram where it's subtle on some days and other days it's as bright as can be. The behavior has been really subdued for what I'm used to, but I'm trying to fix that now. They are monumentally beautiful and I always find myself sitting there wishing I had fry popping up all over the place. There's a lot of fine details, fine lines and their plate structures that's pretty hard to appreciate without having a nice camera or having the right lighting and what not. I really do love corydoras and it's awesome when they get comfortable how much they brighten up or show off. Even my pandas, I really appreciate all those fine details I'm seeing that you'd never see at just a glance. LOL, he's looking at me "whatchu doing bro?" This is of my large female:
  14. nabokovfan87
    Only a 75, but it worked fine whenever I was having a heck of a time getting a crazy difficult fish. drain the tank to 50%, find the pleco you want, and use the Cory method: Previously someone had mentioned using a specimen container underwater instead of a net so they don't get trapped in the mesh. That's a great tip as well. I would recommend not doing that if the fish is darting all over the place. Plecos in general are very timid when it comes to light and having pleco caves and moving the caves themselves is a great way to handle it. If you don't have a cave, you might have one literally just for this method, but I imagine the fish will get smart. The most difficult fish I would have to catch is the borneo loaches (similar to a hillstream loach) and they will straight up climb up the wall without water to keep from you being able to get them. Cory's tip of waiting for the fish to move into the net is a big one. As long as the fish can't get away, eventually they will get there. That's the summary and the main way I think you transfer corys, otos, or plecos when you're trying to use a net with mesh where they can get trapped. The easier the time they have getting into the net, the easier the time they have getting out of the net safely.
  15. nabokovfan87
    Yeah, I saw someone else asking too. Those are 100% amano shrimp. I saw the pics of the "these are not amano shrimp" and they don't look anything like it from what I could tell. The telltale sign for me is the pattern on the shells and just their general shape. Very distinct. One of these things is not like the other 😂
  16. nabokovfan87
    hehe.... @Guppysnailcan correct me if I'm wrong, but I'll poke a little fun at snails. I think they would be too slow to get them all or to get a majority of them in time. I haven't had any of the pygmy corydoras yet, but in stuff I've seen with orange lasers, my black corys, pandas, julii's, etc. They usually lay a massive amount of eggs or they lay pockets all over the tank in small clumps of 3-10 eggs. You'll see them in a few spots and the snails might get a few, if any, but generally I don't think they'd take all the eggs down overnight. Last spawn I had, the actual water flow, algae, and the plecos went to town on the eggs. If you check every night for behavior, check each morning when you feed... If you're trying really hard to get a good spawn, that would be sufficient.
  17. nabokovfan87
    Not gonna lie. I was expecting a giant tube of snails from somewhere 😂
  18. nabokovfan87
    What do you think of it!?
  19. nabokovfan87
    It looks good enough to me! Fixing whatever is causing the algae to form like that is going to be a step in the process. If it's the light or something causing it, waiting for plants to grow in, overdosing, etc. Whatever the reason is, fixing that will help. What I see on your plant is the "new growth" on the leaf that doesn't have algae. As long as you keep seeing new leaves, pull the dead ones off, try to leave 3-4 on at any one time, and then it'll keep doing well. Be careful with this too. Looks like it's too fine and is choking out your filter pump.
  20. nabokovfan87
    All good. works fine 🙂 I did my last one using the gap between the wall and the tank. It's a pain, but it's the easiest thing you can imagine.
  21. nabokovfan87
    Yeah, I need to get more 😞 I lost too many when I first got them.
  22. nabokovfan87
    I can link you to what I use. It's super easy to use and work with. I think it just works well and it's super clean when you see the end result.
  23. nabokovfan87
    To the first question, yes. Second question..... Silvertip tetras: Emperor Tetras: I also see aquahuna has "blue emperor tetra" Rio Flame tetra (red/yellow) Ember Tetra (red) Glowlight Tetra (very cool looking iridescent bronze fish) Penguin Tetra Lemon Tetra Rummynose Tetra ^^ I would look into all of these. If not available locally, aquahuna is a great place to look at and ACO has a discount code. Chili rasbora, neon green rasbora, etc. are all some similar fish that would do well in that tank as long as temps are verified to be acceptable. For both of these it shouldn't be an issue. There's a lot of interesting fish out there and the nice thing is, you're at the most fun part of the hobby for a lot of people. Trying to decide what goes in the tank and looking forward to the result! Take your time. As far as "how many" I will point you towards AqAdvisor. It's very easy to use, if you have any questions about it please feel free to ask.
  24. nabokovfan87
    Yeah, I think it's a different type than the OP, shell looked slightly different. Just means that I have to keep an eye out again, which is never fun! First a snail, now worms, now another snail. LOL. I just want moss and plants to grow!
  25. nabokovfan87
    Minor update Meds are still going, Probably 2-3 weeks remaining I think. I found a stinking snail today so those are in there likely with some friends. I added the CO2 last night, was slightly annoying to setup, but I think I have it dialed in. I tweaked around with settings slightly and it looks to be doing fine. Drop checker isn't showing me too much, but the plants are doing their thing. That's what I wanted to see and I'm excited to keep track on things over the next couple of weeks. New moss is growing, plants have new growth. I do see some algae on the bacopa and the DHG is slightly struggling. The Hygro is doing well, it's very difficult to keep planted and the corys freak out and move it around more often than I'd like. Here's the plants when I checked on everything this afternoon. Part of this is just dead leaves releasing some gasses, but this is nice to see!
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