nabokovfan87

I think it's a pretty big question. I would expect it to take some time to answer. Honestly. I totally understand though and I think, based on information I'm finding out recently, it's a problem without a verifiable solution. Definitely not comforting when I see the words "white fish" now, as well as a few others. I really appreciate the time finding that. My initial assumption was that the ingredients in shrimpee might be something where it's a mix of all the leftovers of all the foods used to make their normal foods. Definitely an interesting topic to try to understand the full scope of!

Potentially another one to look into. Posted this in the other thread too! But I meant to post this here. I also found this tool: http://cfb.unh.edu/phycokey/phycokey.htm

Might be relevant. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigeoclonium

48 hours later and the bypass is pretty bad. My next test I am going to run I will run with the original sponge and the standard media bag nothing different in terms of media. I'll break down the details when the time is pertinent, but I wanted to record this for posterity. And let's be clear.... A filter telling me to "maintain your filter" right after cleaning and best case 36-48 hours after cleaning isn't acceptable. Filter bypass as setup, before adjusting angle. Filter bypass after adjustment of angle, maximum angle of deflection leaning downward back to front (into the tank, rear of filter is the highest point): You can see the 5 points of bypass evenly distributed on the back of the basket. This correlates to ribs on the basket itself that can be seen through the plastic. Bypass on the handle as shown in the video, now it's free flowing. Bypass on the input side as well, there is also a pool of water on the chute region where the water inputs the media chamber. This is typically a sign of extremely bad bypass. (Black section shown below should be dry, especially no water movement) I will end up removing the chute piece and verifying that the internal cavity of the chute is clear of obstructions. To do this, you remove the blue clip that locks the basket into place and then you lift upwards on the black plastic piece. There is a small shaft that leads from the adjustment knob down to the input chute opening. My hypothesis here is that by adding the unmodified pump cover, this caused an easier time for the water to enter the pump chamber. This also means that the flow may have been increased just enough to cause too strong of flow into the basket itself. The resistance of the foam, porosity itself is causing the water to flow elsewhere. Either modifying the sponge porosity itself to reduce resistance or diffusing the flow in the chamber of the HoB might be the method to diffuse the flow just enough to keep the water level low enough.

Currently watching one that was suggest on the forums here. I would like to mention / add: FIN (discovery plus for streaming): This is one specifically about sharks, newest one I think that is out on the subject, and it's made by Eli Roth. Seaspiracy (Netflix streaming): This one discusses a variety of topics, the biggest one being plastics and sustainable fishing. The Sharkwater: Extinction mentioned in the OP is directly related to the aquarium hobby. I want to keep things focused on that topic and just wanted to briefly mention those 2 as a means to say "these exist" for anyone who may not have heard of them. Secondly, I did email Xtreme about 7 days ago. I sent them a link to this thread as well. I don't know if I will get a reply back, but I simply asked them if they have heard of the issue and if they have looked into it for their products. I really think being able to verify something as "shark free", like I said before be it a sponge or an actual food product, is something that isn't easy to do but it's a good way to share information about the issue and try to support practices that benefit our fish as well as the world we live in. Part of this issue of verifying this is something discussed pretty heavily in the seaspiracy documentary. Lastly, I found this today. Very beautiful photo.

Maybe some mod similar to this for the output works too? This one says it's adjustable, but I think diffusing the output like this might be enough and also keep from back pressure on the pump. If you want the link itself just send me a DM. I'm not sure if I can sent links for this particular thing here.

Pecktec's advice is to stick a rock in front of it or some hardscape! The one I've seen a lot for bettas is using plastic bottles (not the best looking and works a lot better for HoBs), but they cut a cylinder or block a section off with black foam. For the intake itself, the grid at the top, I would suggest taking a piece of foam, rectangular, cutting a slice in it 75% of the way through the foam and then slipping that over the top if the suction on that specific intake is too strong. For the bottom one, cover it up so he can't get pulled in.

Yeah.... I had one try to walk the house to tell me she fell out of the tank. Was not expecting that. Tank, with lid, with basically no way for them to get out.

YEP. That's 5 star breeding rock right there! Would be so nice to have some pieces of slate or such like this to drop into tanks.

🤔 What is that ball of plant on the right on the substrate? Suss? I wanted to ask about your experience with alder cones too! I am considering getting some here shortly.

which output are you using?

Yes it has been done! Which filter are you planning to use? Generally when I do my "lots of foam" filtration I run 2x coarse sponges (with the dimples preferred for this use), 1-2x of the medium sponges based on load, 1x fine foam. If the fine gets all clogged you lose too much flow, so I prefer to stack multiples of the other foams in question.

LOL..... Why the circled Corydoras! It's always so frustrating when they try to find a spot to lay eggs and don't seem to find one they like. I'm sitting there watch this happen thinking to myself "yep, that's fine" and they totally just ignore it. 😞

All good! My mind was thinking about what would entice this specific kind of Algae to grow, where it likes to grow, and the conditions that support it. (excess nutrients/light, Iron. Etc.) Some algaes show up based on geographic location and I am just trying to understand if it's a hard water vs. Softwater type of thing to try to narrow my search in some way. I forget who the conversation I was having with someone, but the idea being that algae is always introduced was playing on my mind. I did find one picture of the algae I have seen that's similar but it was just starting to form and not useful to share.

found this one today

Looks similar to what I would see on Scarlet Temple in some cases. Was this ever found on "narrow" leaves or only wider leaves like bacopa or something that size / larger? Good question! 🤔 It might not be relevant, but what are the water parameters where you've seen this algae? I'll check my tanks and see if I have anything lingering still that looks like it, or maybe some old photos.

I wonder if they'll stick to the dish. I see what you mean.

There's definitely some sponges I've had that can be pretty sharp / plastic type of material. Some vendors have a very low porosity sponge, but the material itself is soft. I have others that are a bit more robust and have the plastic type of feeling to them (not really dependent on PPI). I would suggest soaking the sponge in a bucket, typically for 2-3 days and every day just "work" the sponge so it's not so stiff. This should soften the material and get it used to being underwater. If you can, please feel free to share photos of the setup / injuries.

Not sure. I would think the fish would do much better if there wasn't stress, but I understand the concern for how this has impacted their immune system. Perhaps the best way is to slowly cut back over time? Instead of every change, start doing it half as much, half doses, etc. I would also suggest maybe having carbon running on this tank for a while just to help remove meds (once you are done slowly cutting back) and this may also help with some sensitivity issues you might see as a result of this whole ordeal. Welcome to the forums. I'm very sorry for the struggle you've had so far.

Absolutely awesome scape and environment for the shrimps. Nice work! ORD but I'll be back tomorrow. 🙂

My favorite photo, nice photography work! ORD, but I'll add it tomorrow. 🙂 There is a thread we had where people were taking their photos and running them through a watercolor filter. Would love to see this one over there! Such a cool shape to the tank, especially for this scape.

Do these actually sink at all? I thought the ones that stick to glass were frozen for some reason. My local stores literally only have giant brine shrimp, mysis (fish don't seem to eat it) and jumbo size bloodworms. I have been trying to find something worm-like that is smaller for the corys.

One of the older videos, Cory mentioned using repashy powder as fry food works well.

I have had good and bad times with scarlet temple. 1. It is very, very easy to get excess algae on the leaves, so lean dosing and lower light might be a method to keep it going. 2. It doesn't not like CO2. Again, this goes back to algae sort of, but I think this plant has two modes. It either likes to grow quickly or it's the low and slow method. 3. I would hold off on dosing iron for the sake of dosing iron. This goes back to algae issues as well. I have not had a lot of success with the plant, but it's one I definitely want to get it to thrive. Eventually I will. I had PSO, Bacopa, Val, all of those do well but the ST didn't. (water at the time was high hardness, Stable KH, 6.8-7.0 PH) <--- With and without CO2.

yes. I only have one nano pump. nano pump ---> one sponge filter d-cell pump ---> gang valve ---> ziss bubble bio + sponge filter You can easily run the D-cell into two sponges or one sponge and an airstone. Nano ones I try to limit one stone / sponge per.