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Non fishy fish things - show your inventive side


Flumpweesel
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On 11/11/2021 at 9:14 AM, JettsPapa said:

It doesn't involve using non-fish related stuff, but I have a trick others might find useful.  I'm a big fan of the little USB air pumps to drive sponge filters, and on most of my tanks I've taken a plant weight, bent it into an S-hook, and used it to hang the filter from the back of the tank near the sponge filter.  By doing that you only need a short piece of air line, the pump is out of the way, and it's high enough that you don't need a check valve to stop backflow in case of a power outage.

Hopefully I explained this adequately, but if not I'll try to remember to post a picture this evening when I get home.

I did something similar but I have had airline work loose over time before so I added a check valve

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On 11/11/2021 at 2:03 PM, JettsPapa said:

Work loose where?  At the connection to the filter?  If yes, I'm pretty sure the water still couldn't siphon out with the pump near the top of the tank.

I have had the airline come loose from a pump several times as it gets old the vibrations loosen it. I have the coop nano hanging above the tank on the wall but if the airline came off as I have had happened with other pumps the airline would fall down and drain water. I may be envisioning what you mean incorrectly.  

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For me command hooks are a really good way to store my tweezers, scissors, and net. It saves a lot of space, and just keeps items more organized that strewn around my stand. 590057361_ScreenShot2021-08-15at2_54_08PM.png.6308e3de083434c6ab496e9c48e71bc9.png

I also like using a 1 gallon jug to do top-offs with. At least for me it's easier to use than a 5 gallon bucket, so I'm not kicking up as much substrate, the handle is easy to use, and I can't really lift 5 gallons so the lightness is really nice

Edited by FlyingFishKeeper
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I came up with two ideas, one I've already been using that works very well and one that I'm going to try.

The first is I made a rectangular box out of 1/2 inch PVC - 10 inches long, 3 inches high, and 4 inches wide, don't forget to buy 8 - 3 way connectors for 1/2 inch PVC. I glued all of this together with 100% clear silicone that I bought in the automotive dept. at Wally World and it's perfectly safe for aquariums, I've used this silicone for years with no ill effects, and it's cheaper than the silicone you can buy in the pet dept.

Dry fit everything before gluing anything and mark one of the wide sides to be the top.

When you glue all of this together, place it on a flat surface and push down while the glue is still wet to pretty much square everything up. Set it aside and let it dry overnight.

Next I cut green embroidery mesh to fit each end, each side, and the bottom. My measurements are 5 & 5/16 by 4 & 1/16 for each end piece; 9 & 9/16 by 4 & 1/16 for each side, and 9 & 9/16 by 5 & 1/4 for the bottom, I don't do metric. I sanded each edge of the embroidery I cut smooth with a sanding block just so it looks better. 

When the silicone holding the pieces together is dry, I put a line of silicone on the outside edge of the PVC pipe between the 3 way connectors on one side before adding silicone to the outside edges of the 3 way connector, then I did one end and the bottom. If you need a little more silicone to fill in a gap between the PVC and the mesh, this is the time to add some more. Do the other side and the other end the next day, but wait another day before putting this in your tank.

The beauties of this breeding box are that the mesh is large enough so that water will flow through even with algae on the mesh, the holes are large enough so that baby Guppies can either fall through the bottom or swim through the sides to avoid predation from their parents providing there is nothing else in the tank to eat them.

Another good use for this box is breeding egg scatterers that eat their own eggs such as Zebrafish, Tetras, and Rasboras.

This box floats so you'll need to anchor it so that it doesn't get under the outflow of your filter, but it floats high enough that fish don't jump out.

Another idea I came up with involves buying a permanent(?) coffee filter made of plastic with a fine mesh also made of plastic that if it floats, I can harvest Cory eggs, put them in this filter as it's floating on the surface so they'll hatch in the same water they were laid in.

If it doesn't float, I've got some thin sheets of foam that came with some piece of electronic equipment that I may be able to cut a ring to fit.

Sincerely

Gator

On 11/1/2021 at 8:31 PM, Gator said:

Atitagain, I use the peat pellets in all of my filters. I've used whole oak leaves with the stems removed added directly to my tanks and I've done very well with them, but they rot away fairly quickly or maybe eaten by Oto's and Pleco's. I've also used driftwood with some success, Mopani wood with some success, and Cholla wood with some success. Cholla wood is also good for Oto's and Pleco's to eat while adding a little tannin into the water and the Oto's and Pleco's can't eat Cholla wood very quickly, but they can eat it. 

Though I use RO/DI water in my blackwater community tank, I still use peat pellets in the filter and it doesn't stain the water unless I use too much, but the peat pellets make the water softer and more acidic.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll make a decision that's right for you and your fish, though it may take some trial and error, just don't use too many peat pellets at one time if you choose Peat.

Sincerely

Gator   

 

I came up with two ideas, one I've already been using that works very well and one that I'm going to try.

The first is I made a rectangular box out of 1/2 inch PVC - 10 inches long, 3 inches high, and 4 inches wide, don't forget to buy 8 - 3 way connectors for 1/2 inch PVC. I glued all of this together with 100% clear silicone that I bought in the automotive dept. at Wally World and it's perfectly safe for aquariums, I've used this silicone for years with no ill effects, and it's cheaper than the silicone you can buy in the pet dept.

Dry fit everything before gluing anything and mark one of the wide sides to be the top.

When you glue all of this together, place it on a flat surface and push down while the glue is still wet to pretty much square everything up. Set it aside and let it dry overnight.

Next I cut green embroidery mesh to fit each end, each side, and the bottom. My measurements are 5 & 5/16 by 4 & 1/16 for each end piece; 9 & 9/16 by 4 & 1/16 for each side, and 9 & 9/16 by 5 & 1/4 for the bottom, I don't do metric. I sanded each edge of the embroidery I cut smooth with a sanding block just so it looks better. 

When the silicone holding the pieces together is dry, I put a line of silicone on the outside edge of the PVC pipe between the 3 way connectors on one side before adding silicone to the outside edges of the 3 way connector, then I did one end and the bottom. If you need a little more silicone to fill in a gap between the PVC and the mesh, this is the time to add some more. Do the other side and the other end the next day, but wait another day before putting this in your tank.

The beauties of this breeding box are that the mesh is large enough so that water will flow through even with algae on the mesh, the holes are large enough so that baby Guppies can either fall through the bottom or swim through the sides to avoid predation from their parents providing there is nothing else in the tank to eat them.

Another good use for this box is breeding egg scatterers that eat their own eggs such as Zebrafish, Tetras, and Rasboras.

This box floats so you'll need to anchor it so that it doesn't get under the outflow of your filter, but it floats high enough that fish don't jump out.

Another idea I came up with involves buying a permanent(?) coffee filter made of plastic with a fine mesh also made of plastic that if it floats, I can harvest Cory eggs, put them in this filter as it's floating on the surface so they'll hatch in the same water they were laid in.

If it doesn't float, I've got some thin sheets of foam that came with some piece of electronic equipment that I may be able to cut a ring to fit.

Sincerely

Gator

On 11/1/2021 at 8:31 PM, Gator said:

Atitagain, I use the peat pellets in all of my filters. I've used whole oak leaves with the stems removed added directly to my tanks and I've done very well with them, but they rot away fairly quickly or maybe eaten by Oto's and Pleco's. I've also used driftwood with some success, Mopani wood with some success, and Cholla wood with some success. Cholla wood is also good for Oto's and Pleco's to eat while adding a little tannin into the water and the Oto's and Pleco's can't eat Cholla wood very quickly, but they can eat it. 

Though I use RO/DI water in my blackwater community tank, I still use peat pellets in the filter and it doesn't stain the water unless I use too much, but the peat pellets make the water softer and more acidic.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll make a decision that's right for you and your fish, though it may take some trial and error, just don't use too many peat pellets at one time if you choose Peat.

Sincerely

Gator   

 

I came up with two ideas, one I've already been using that works very well and one that I'm going to try.

The first is I made a rectangular box out of 1/2 inch PVC - 10 inches long, 3 inches high, and 4 inches wide, don't forget to buy 8 - 3 way connectors for 1/2 inch PVC. I glued all of this together with 100% clear silicone that I bought in the automotive dept. at Wally World and it's perfectly safe for aquariums, I've used this silicone for years with no ill effects, and it's cheaper than the silicone you can buy in the pet dept.

Dry fit everything before gluing anything and mark one of the wide sides to be the top.

When you glue all of this together, place it on a flat surface and push down while the glue is still wet to pretty much square everything up. Set it aside and let it dry overnight.

Next I cut green embroidery mesh to fit each end, each side, and the bottom. My measurements are 5 & 5/16 by 4 & 1/16 for each end piece; 9 & 9/16 by 4 & 1/16 for each side, and 9 & 9/16 by 5 & 1/4 for the bottom, I don't do metric. I sanded each edge of the embroidery I cut smooth with a sanding block just so it looks better. 

When the silicone holding the pieces together is dry, I put a line of silicone on the outside edge of the PVC pipe between the 3 way connectors on one side before adding silicone to the outside edges of the 3 way connector, then I did one end and the bottom. If you need a little more silicone to fill in a gap between the PVC and the mesh, this is the time to add some more. Do the other side and the other end the next day, but wait another day before putting this in your tank.

The beauties of this breeding box are that the mesh is large enough so that water will flow through even with algae on the mesh, the holes are large enough so that baby Guppies can either fall through the bottom or swim through the sides to avoid predation from their parents providing there is nothing else in the tank to eat them.

Another good use for this box is breeding egg scatterers that eat their own eggs such as Zebrafish, Tetras, and Rasboras.

This box floats so you'll need to anchor it so that it doesn't get under the outflow of your filter, but it floats high enough that fish don't jump out.

Another idea I came up with involves buying a permanent(?) coffee filter made of plastic with a fine mesh also made of plastic that if it floats, I can harvest Cory eggs, put them in this filter as it's floating on the surface so they'll hatch in the same water they were laid in.

If it doesn't float, I've got some thin sheets of foam that came with some piece of electronic equipment that I may be able to cut a ring to fit.

Sincerely

Gator

On 11/1/2021 at 8:31 PM, Gator said:

 

 

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