AllFishNoBrakes’ Journal

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/6/2023 at 6:27 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Ironically, this is allegedly exactly what's happened with tiger barbs. The ones in the trade being a lot more feisty towards one another compared to WC or F1 fish.  This is something I've heard from people who breed them as well as a few articles on reputable resources.

I have read about stuff like the Albino Tiger barb being more aggressive than the wild one. Same goes with mossy barbs. 

(Sorry for hijacking for journal @AllFishNoBrakes!)

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@TheSwissAquarist All good! It’s fun to read 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/6/2023 at 4:03 PM, GoofyGarra said:

no, but if you could breed the gene the opposite way to create a community compatible line of bettas, i imagine those would be quite popular.

It would probably be faster to start with WC stock IMO. The agressive genes may have gone to far down the rabbit hole. 

Feel free to swap your platy breeding for this. 🤪

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Got home from work and knocked out a couple things!

My girlfriend noted that the 107 “sounded crazy, like a washing machine or something”. I chalked that up to the pre filter sponge being full, so since the filter was already off for feeding I went ahead and swapped that out. The pack of pre filters I bought was a pack of 6, so I just grabbed a new one. Bagging that bad boy up removed a little water, so I got that topped off, turned back on, and we were back to full power! Maybe too much power as the nozzle was pushing beads of water over the rim of the tank. Slightly adjusted the nozzle to the left and turned it down, and we are A-Okay. 
 

Added fertilizer to the 20 long blackwater tank. 
 

Got the new c02 tank hooked up to the regulator, added the new Fluval c02 diffuser to the 55, and added a new bit of hosing. I love these Fluval diffusers, but I hate that they take like 3 days to diffuse properly. Hate it for 3 days, love it for life. Works out in the end. I’ll be stoked in a couple of days. 
 

Added a drop checker back to the 29 blackwater tank thanks to the 107 keeping the bubbles in suspension longer. Keeping it at 1 bubble per second, but better safe than sorry! Did not add a drop checker to the 55 as it’s been at 3 bubbles per second forever. The new diffuser could potentially dissolve a little more c02, but since there’s not new filtration also keeping the bubbles in suspension longer I’m not worried about it. When the drop checker was in there previously I never noticed a color change, so even if we get a little more it shouldn’t be drastic.

Replaced the Poly Fil in the 20 long blackwater tank. I knew that was going to be a daily thing for the near future, but man is that tank looking slick. I remembered to take a picture before feeding and after 4 days of Poly Fil:

 

Caught the fish mid zoom across the tank, and you can actually see them in there! And the wood! And the Pothos roots! And my hands in the reflection on the glass! Also got a little magnetic glass scrubber for this tank and ran that over the front glass after I fed. Really enjoying how this tank is clearing up. Excited to see it tomorrow when I get home with the glass cleaned and the Poly Fil continuing to take the small particles out of the tank.
 

Hope you’re enjoying your tanks, friends!

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Picked up some botanicals! I’ve been eyeing these packs as they have some of the ones I already know I like as well as some new things to play with. Being the frugal person I am, I left the tabs open on the browser for a hot minute and it paid off. When I checked again there was a $10 off $40 coupon. I wasn’t intending on getting the additional Lotus Pods, but I love those things, and I figured it was worth it to get them for free and essentially save $2 off each pack. 

Excited for these to come in and have some new things to play with!

Also found out that the LFS I have credit with has the Blue Axelrodi Rasboras back in stock! I guess it’s time to hit them up and see if they’re ready for the next batch of Panda Angels and maybe get some new fish this week!

Stay tuned, amigos. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

How many botanicals do you need ?!? 🤯

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 10/10/2023 at 12:41 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

How many botanicals do you need ?!? 🤯

At least 123 pieces!! Lmaooooo. 
 

The price was too good to pass up. I like to buy things in bulk and then have them for a long time. With the remainder of my first box and these new ones coming I’m good for quite some time. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Another Wednesday my friends, another journal post. 
 

Put in some absolute work today. Started about 11am and finished about 6pm. Granted, I took a lunch break in the middle of it with my girlfriend, but doesn’t change that we did a lot today. 
 

Started out per usual with a water change on the aquaponics tank and a water change on Isshin’s tank. Isshin’s tank had a spot of algae on the glass that I missed last week, so I used the siphon to scrape the glass and got the spot I missed last week. 
 

I really need to trim the Java Moss in the aquaponics tank, but that’s a problem for a different day. 
 

I then moved on to the Krib tank with a normal water change. I noticed that the Java Moss that has been doing well in there is basically dead. I feel like maybe the Pleco I put in there has rasp’d it to death. I haven’t been able to move the Pleco’s, and this Krib tank was filthy, so I put one lonely Pleco juvi in there to see what happened. The glass is sparkling, but the Java Moss is dying. That’s fine, though, I have plenty more to replenish. 
 

I did a 50% water change on the Pleco juvi tank and removed some Ramshorn snails for the puffers. Typical maintenance on this tank. 
 

The empty quarantine tank has started to go green. I think it’s because I’ve only been doing a 10% water change on it for the past 6-8 weeks, so today I did a 50% water change to hopefully get it back on track. I’m itching for some new fish, but being patient until I find what I actually want. 
 

Next, was the 20 long blackwater tank. Typical 10% water change on that and had to swap out the Poly Fil. For the first few days I was having to change the Poly Fil daily. Now I’ve moved on to every other day. I’m hoping that gets less and less and time goes on, but we’ll see. For now, I’m really digging how that tank is looking. 
 

I then topped off my girlfriend’s shrimp tank. When we first set that up I told her I’d only do it if I never had to touch it. Boy was I wrong, lol. I’m sticking to my guns and doing the bare minimum, but I’m the one that feeds the tank and has topped it off a couple of times. She’s currently pulling the water lettuce out of the tank and doing a little maintenance sesh. I don’t like telling her no, but this is her tank and I’ve already broken the rules we set when it came to putting that tank together for her. I care about the shrimp, but at the same time it’s her tank to do with what she wants. 
 

I moved into our bedroom, and here comes the real meat n’ potatoes of todays maintenance session. 
 

I started with the 10 gallon Pygmy Cory tank that had so much mulm. Sooooo much mulm! As beneficial as this can be to fry that are born in the tank I was over it. I busted out the tiny Python and gravel vac’d as much as I could. Definitely made a dent in the tank, but will probably need a follow up next week. 
 

I moved on to the cube, and had the dreaded task of trimming the Pearl Weed forest. I hate trimming so much, lol. Probably as much as catching fish. However, I had put it off too long and it couldn’t wait any longer. I got it all trimmed up, though. Check out these photos:

 

Now that that’s done I don’t have to worry about it for a couple of months. 
 

With all the small tanks (All the, small things…) done it was time to move on to the big boys. 
 

The majority of my time was spent with the 29 gallon Pea Puffer tank. The ball of PSO had just become too much to deal with. The Crinum was growing algae… I just couldn’t take it anymore so I took action. I cleared out ALL the floating plants (duckweed and red root floaters) and scaled back the floating PSO by probably 70-80%. I replanted the pesky Val that has been floating for a week and replanted a piece of PSO. The new internal filter is working well, and I removed a TON of PSO floating leaves to help it out. I really want to transform this tank, and I’m contemplating what I should add to it. For now, it basically got a deep clean of loose plant material, the Poly Fil got changed, and I’m continuing to dial in the internal filter. 
 

I added the worm feeder cone back to the tank and tried that out tonight. It went okay. They were definitely eating worms out of it, but they know the snails are coming next. As soon as I added the snails the Puffers never came back to the cone. I ended up throwing away some worms and I’ll need to adjust my technique moving forward. 
 

After feeding, I noticed what I believe is a male and a female potentially breeding! The bright colored (presumed Male) was dancing and following the dull colored (presumed Female), and then once they were under the internal filter the bright colored Puffer grabbed the belly of the dull one and twisted and shook for maybe 2 seconds before they both darted out from under the filter. I assume this is breeding behavior, but man was that kinda brutal to watch. Still exciting, though! Raising some Pea Puffers would be awesome, but they retail for like $6, so $2 at best seems like a lot of work when I could just raise some Panda Angels with ease for $4/each. 

I water changed and reset the air stones on the 55 grow out tank. 
 

I cleaned out the 107 and switched out the pre filter sponge on the 29 blackwater tank. 
 

I cleaned the HOB on the 55 Angel tank. 
 

I cleaned out the HOB on the 20 tall. 
 

I got everything refilled, including overfilling the 29 Pea Puffer tank. I was literally 10 second too late because I was cleaning the HOB for the Ange tank and was super annoyed with myself. Got that cleaned up and moved on, and then I almost overfilled the 20 high! Literally saved it by about 5 seconds. So annoying. 
 

I got everything cleaned up, fertilized the tanks, and took a much needed shower. 
 

I fed the dog, fed the tanks, and now it’s time to sit back and enjoy. 
 

Tomorrow I’m going to take another 15 Panda Angels to the LFS and see if anything catches my eye. Still looking for some Blue Axelrodi’s for the cube (sold out) and some Black Neons for the 29 blackwater tank (haven’t come back in stock yet). 
 

I want to continue to improve the 29 Pea Puffer tank.  I plan to harvest some swords and see if those take root. Might also throw some more Anubius in there and see what happens. I don’t know exactly what I want, but I know I need more plants. 
 

Cheers, friends. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it. 

[nabokovfan87]

ORD but you deserve an award for sure.  Nice work!

Rules for the shrimp tank you say? 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 10/11/2023 at 10:16 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

ORD but you deserve an award for sure.  Nice work!

Don’t give me too much credit! Today was a marathon, but I honestly really like doing this work. It was a long day, but still way shorter than any actual work day for me, and in the end I can’t step back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I enjoy throwing my air pods in, listening to a podcast (Nine Club, Hawk vs. Wolf, Steve-O’s Wild Ride, or ACO when available) and then just listening to music after that while making the tanks just a little bit better. My feet hurt (cuz I’m getting old) but I always enjoy doing this work. 
 

On 10/11/2023 at 10:16 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Rules for the shrimp tank you say?

I’m just being dramatic, but this tank is my girls tank. I bought that tank, filter, light, bubble wall, hardscape, shrimp, etc and originally it was “I literally can’t take on any more, so if you want this tank and your blue shrimp it’s all on you. I need you to feed the tank, maintain the tank, do everything for this tank as I literally can’t do anything more”. That has turned into me topping it off a couple of times since its inception and feeding it every other day, but I’m holding strong to not “doing the maintenance”. I love my girl to death, but I’m not pulling plants, pulling snails, and managing the hardscape as I already have 13 other tanks to maintain lol. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/11/2023 at 9:32 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I love my girl to death, but I’m not pulling plants, pulling snails, and managing the hardscape as I already have 13 other tanks to maintain lol. 

😂  Step 1, replace the snails with a clown pleco! 

Hopefully she enjoys it.  She's still recovering!!!!

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 10/11/2023 at 10:36 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

😂  Step 1, replace the snails with a clown pleco! 

Hopefully she enjoys it.  She's still recovering!!!!

Today is the first time she’s really maintained the tank since we set it up. That being said, it lets me know that she’s feeling okay and is willing to do that work 🙂. We can only go up from here! I can’t wait until that tank is overrun with Blue Diamond shrimp. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Another day a couple more fish things done. 
 

Bagged up 15 Panda Angels and took those to the LFS. Another $60 bucks in credit, I’ll take it. I have $200 in credit burning a hole in my pocket; now I just need them to have what I want in stock. 
 

Also took a moment to ask the manager if I should keep going with the Pandas. He didn’t tell me to stop, and it ended up being perfect timing as they spawned again tonight. 
 

I scrubbed some algae on the Pea Puffer tank and unfortunately didn’t find more plants for the tank. At least not yet. I’m determined for them to get used to this worm cone! It’s going to take time, but I’m determined this time. 
 

I saw the Pandas spawning and it was time to hatch some more so I got the 5 Pygmy Cory’s out of that tank, drained it, sprayed it out, and reset it for hatching. 
 

Also had to change the new Poly Fil in the 20 long. I just switched to a new Poly Fol and it must be more dense than the one I had previously. Water was splashing up to the little hanger for the internal filter and I’m SHOCKED we didn’t have a flood. Got that switched out, and the new Poly Fil is REALLY tucked in there to hopefully avoid the same error tomorrow. 
 

Also went and picked up a new Fluval c02 diffuser and got that added to the 29 blackwater tank. Tomorrow we’ll be stoked when that diffuser is working properly. 
 

Excited for what the future holds. Hope you’re enjoying your tanks!

Pea Puffer tank. Still needs some plants. 

Panda Angel eggs. First hatch in a hot minute!

Edited October 13, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Yooooooo,

Here’s where I’m at the night before maintenance day:

The annular eclipse was pretty cool this week! According to an interactive map, I was at about 77% totality. I didn’t get to witness the Ring Of Fire, but I did get to witness the sun going away for a bit. It was ~10:30am at peak eclipse, but it felt like 7:30-8:00am due to the sun being shaded. Felt weird, but was cool to witness:

I simply hold-punched a piece of paper a few times and was going outside about every 10 minutes to watch the moon cross in front of the sun. Pretty cool. Definitely enjoyed nature for a bit in the morning that day. 
 

Panda Angels are wigglers/baaarely free swimming. Will do a 50% water change on the tank in the next day or two when they’re actually free swimming. I’ll siphon out all the fungused eggs, drop in the seasoned sponge, add some Java moss, and begin to slowly feed when the yolk sac is gone. I’m excited to grow out some fry, but I also hope the LFS doesn’t get the fish in that I’ve been waiting for as that could pose a bit of a problem. Fingers crossed my timing is good! We’ll see. 
 

Also boiled up some botanicals, “harvested” the tea, and added the botanicals to the blackwater tanks:

This is 7 medium to large Indian Almond Leaves, and some new pods/seeds mid boil  

The concentrated blackwater extract after a 15 minute boil and 45 minute steep. 

The entirety of the extract I’ve collected over the past few boils. It’s daaaaark and I like it. 
 

I think I’m gonna switch up the internal HOB in the 20 long. I had a bit of a flood this week due to the new/more dense Poly Fil I used… Not fun, but the more I think about it I’ve come to the following conclusions:

1. I know for a fact that the tank doesn’t require the additional media/flow to be functional. The small sponge filter handles the load of the tank. That’s been proven, and all I want this filter for is polishing the water 

2. I can stuff Poly Fil on the bottom, and should be able to use the ceramic media over the top to “hold it in place”/keep the filter from flooding again. Even as the Poly swells/fills up, if it’s in the bottom and the ceramic bio-rings are holding it down, I shouldn’t have the same problem that I did. Might cut a new piece of sponge for the top that is tighter to discourage shrimp from going down into the filter. We’ll see what tomorrow brings for us!
 

The only real downside is that the filter will require being removed from the tank to swap out the Poly, but if that’s the price I need to pay to avoid another flood I’m all about it. I just hate lifting filters from tanks. It’s so awkward, I can never move slow enough, and I hate the inevitable mulm fluff that is bound to happen. Regardless, it’s better than a flood so it is what it is. 
 

I used half the amount of layers of Poly Fil tonight (2 layers instead of 4) to clear up the water going into maintenance tomorrow. That should allow me to clear up some of the fine debris, lift the filter out of the tank using a catch cup to not allow water to flow down/out releasing all the debris back into the tank, reset the filter, and test over the coming days. I’m pretty confident the plan will work, but you never know until you actually try. 
 

I also want to switch up the pre filter sponge on the 107. I read somewhere on here, maybe from Guppysnail (not tagging on purpose, but thanks for all you do for everyone!) that a medium ACO pre filter sponge fits well over the strainer basket. The next time I make an ACO order I’ll throw one of those in there and see how it goes. Right now, the sponges I’m using are simply too small and a little too fine to where they clog up and I have to change it twice per week. Once on maintenance day, and another time midway between the week. I don’t even want to maintenance that pre filter every week on maintenance day, but right now that’s better than what I’m currently doing. I don’t need to order supplies for a bit, so the order will wait until it’s needed. It’ll be a big one, so I’m not necessarily looking forward to it, lol. I’ll need most if not all foods I use (shrimpee pellets, Krill flake, Spirulina flake, nano pellets, and brine shrimp eggs), the pre filter sponge, a back up bottle of Easy Green, and a back up bottle of Complete. Much like the botanicals I just bought, I prefer to buy in bulk to get the best possible price. My wallet needs to recover a bit from the Tool tickets I bought for the lady and I today before I place that order 😅.
 

Enjoy your tanks my friends and don’t be afraid to try new things (within reason, obviously). Catch you guys tomorrow post maintenance!

Edited October 18, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/17/2023 at 10:28 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I think I’m gonna switch up the internal HOB in the 20 long. I had a bit of a flood this week due to the new/more dense Poly Fil I used… Not fun, but the more I think about it I’ve come to the following conclusions:

1. I know for a fact that the tank doesn’t require the additional media/flow to be functional. The small sponge filter handles the load of the tank. That’s been proven, and all I want this filter for is polishing the water 

2. I can stuff Poly Fil on the bottom, and should be able to use the ceramic media over the top to “hold it in place”/keep the filter from flooding again. Even as the Poly swells/fills up, if it’s in the bottom and the ceramic bio-rings are holding it down, I shouldn’t have the same problem that I did. Might cut a new piece of sponge for the top that is tighter to discourage shrimp from going down into the filter. We’ll see what tomorrow brings for us!

Aqueon quietflow or marineland penguin pro would be my go to for that application. Tidal would be, but the intake is definitely a concern. Tidal 35 if you cut a prefilters. Easily a great application for it.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 10/18/2023 at 12:57 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Aqueon quietflow or marineland penguin pro would be my go to for that application.

For sure. I literally just finished taking the filter out, putting Poly on the bottom, ceramic media on top of that, and then cut a new piece of sponge that’s decently bigger than the top and shoved that down in there. Topped off the tank, and stepped outside for a little break before I move onto the bigger tanks. 
 

Definitely going with the “if you already have it you might as well use it!” mindset instead of buying something new. We’ll see how it goes over the night and into tomorrow. I have tomorrow off as well so I’ll be home to keep an eye on it. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Howdy, pardners! 
 

Cranked out another round of maintenance today. I’ve been really putting in some work on these tanks the past couple of weeks and it’s paying off. I’ve never been one to keep my tanks absolutely spotless, but it feels good sprucing them up. 
 

Took quite a few pics today, and I feel like I got a couple good ones!

The 29 blackwater tank just keeps getting better and better. I put in a healthy serving of botanicals yesterday, and woke up to the tank finally getting dark. It’s taken weeks and weeks, but we’re getting there! The new packs of botanicals I bought each came with a bag of acorn caps. The summary sheet said they release a TON of tannins, and the tea was super dark so I believe it. Both caps went into this tank to help darken it up, along with a couple other new pods and 4 giant Catappa Leaves. I’m really, really enjoying this tank. 
 

I also took the time to clear out a good chunk of the Hydra today. Going to keep at it over the coming weeks until I have it all. 
 

The 20 long continues to impress as well. Removed the internal HOB and rearranged the filtration to avoid any further floods. Poly Fil on the bottom, ceramic bio rings on top of the Poly to help keep it pushed down, and I cut a new (bigger) piece of sponge and shoved that on top. So far, so good. I’m going to keep an eye on it tomorrow to ensure the medias aren’t rising up the filter, but I’m pretty confident this could be the winning formula.

Sweetgum Pods! Super spiky, super fun. I’m going to only put them in the 20 long as I don’t want the Cory’s in the 29 injuring themselves flying into them.

My girlfriend is from the South and these grow naturally there. She’s going to see if her brother will grab me some and ship them over! Would be super cool if he’s able to do that.

Another new type of pod with a CPO crawling on it. Got super lucky with the timing on this photo. Love the Lotus Pod in the background, too.

Chili Rasboras looking great! These guys are super hard catch a decent photograph of. Definitely the best one I’ve gotten yet. Green Neons present in the background with the ever tangling and winding Pothos roots. I dig it. 
 

Pea Puffer tank! Really digging the internal filter. I scraped the algae on the back glass today and the filter did a great job catching the debris. Still playing with the angles (both up and down and left to right) on the spraybar attachment to dial it in. Tank still needs more plants, but I haven’t found them yet. I need to harvest the Swords in the other tanks and 2 of those bad boys will probably go in here, in the back, and we’ll see what happens.

Got a pretty good shot of the Murder Beans! I love the eyes on the one towards the back, locking onto the target and ready to strike!

My girl’s shrimp tank is doing well. Originally, I thought only 1 of 10 of the original group was a female but I believe I was wrong. I’ve seen a couple berried females at the same time and being the same size tells me they’re the original group. Last time I counted at feeding time, I counted at least 42 shrimp. We’re moving in the right direction with the colony!

I like these guys. They’re not LRB’s super straight Blue Dream line, but we still really dig em. My girl was well aware that she’ll need to cull them to keep them looking nice, but she actually wanted to do that. We’re letting the colony establish before we start to remove shrimp, though. 
 

Coming up last, but definitely not least, my male Bristlenose was out and looking rad. He’s gotten pretty big and his Bristles are continuing to grow!

Enjoy your tanks, my friends. The possibilities are endless. If you’re feeling not as stoked as you used to be, don’t be afraid to switch some things up and see what you like!

Edited October 19, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 10/18/2023 at 8:12 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

this could be the winning formula.

Narrator: “This was in fact, not the winning formula”

I don’t know if I put too much Poly in the bottom or what, but the tank is cloudy and there’s like no flow coming from the filter. 
 

I decided I was tired of messing with this thing, so I bought an internal Nicrew filter with a little spray bar. I’m gonna stuff that thing with Poly and be done with it once and for all! 
 

Filter should be here tomorrow. I’m excited to get it in the tank and hopefully have everything I want and need, and a tank I’ll love even more. 

[GoofyGarra]

On 10/19/2023 at 12:32 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I don’t know if I put too much Poly in the bottom or what, but the tank is cloudy and there’s like no flow coming from the filter. 

ive tried poly fill in HOBs before, it clogs very fast in that use case. Im also using it in a box filter that is working well, probably because water flow is slower so it doesnt clog as fast.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 10/19/2023 at 11:44 AM, GoofyGarra said:

ive tried poly fill in HOBs before, it clogs very fast in that use case. Im also using it in a box filter that is working well, probably because water flow is slower so it doesnt clog as fast.

For sure. I told @nabokovfan87 that I was trying to remain in the “if you already have it, just use that” mindset instead of buying something new. However, I’m tired of messing with it, and after using my cash back on my credit card I only paid $5 for this new internal filter that should provide everything I’m looking for. We’ll know over the next few days!

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/19/2023 at 10:44 AM, GoofyGarra said:

ive tried poly fill in HOBs before, it clogs very fast in that use case. Im also using it in a box filter that is working well, probably because water flow is slower so it doesnt clog as fast.

Definitely a weird issue. Traditional pumps, I don't think I've ever seen or had issues with using polyfil. I've never tried it in an internal, but my first bet would be to go ahead and verify the pump is working exactly as it should.

If there's not enough force (i.e. pressure) then something like very fine foam would be advised. But, polyfil is actually less dense than some foams I've seen. A lot of this breaks down into strength of magnets and impeller designs. Meaning, impellers being designs very cheaply and the blades not being very robust to push water as opposed to move it.

If all else fails @AllFishNoBrakes I have a tidal that you can mod or there is the sicce internals that definitely have a quality pump.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@nabokovfan87 Appreciate you my dude. I’m pretty confident this new internal filter will be everything I need it to be. I literally want it to just polish water, and it being internal it can’t flood! Should be easier to clean as well. Should solve all my problems for a whopping $5.

 

You’ll be one of the first to know as we’re always choppin’ it up in here, which is very much appreciated!

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Little $5 internal filter showed up today! Ripped the carbon out, replaced that with Poly Fil, modified the little spray bar set up, and got it in the tank. I really dig it! I hope the Chili’s and Green Neons like it, too. I have the flow pointed up and across the tank so as to not disturb the leaf litter and all the botanicals. They’ve basically never had any flow, and the little filter packs a bigger punch than I was anticipating, but I think it’ll be all good. 
 

Still playing with the one in the Pea Puffer tank to get it dialed in. Slowly but surely we’re getting there. 
 

I’m tempted to put a spray bar on the 107 in the 29 blackwater tank, but I’d have to modify the spray bar as I’d want it on the right side. I know, I know, it wouldn’t be across the back like it’s “supposed” to be and how everyone else does it, but that’s the beauty of this hobby. 
 

I also found some Buce on Etsy that I think I’m gonna buy. 15 plants for $50 bucks is hard to pass up. I’ve been wanting to try some Buce for a hot minute, but it’s always felt “next level” or “elite”, if that makes sense. But the more I look into it, it’s just another epiphyte, and a lot of them actually come from blackwater environments. At $20/each it seemed like a waste if it didn’t work, but at $3.50/each that really takes the sting out and makes me want to try it. 
 

I never thought I’d be upgrading this filtration and playing with these “next level” things, but I’m having a lot of fun with it. I hope you’re having fun with your tanks, too!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/21/2023 at 4:56 AM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

15 plants for $50 bucks is hard to pass up.

Get me some too while you’re at it. 😜

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Just wanted to share some pics from today. 
 

Haven’t purchased any plants yet… still have my eye on them… doing my normal thing of “leave the tab open and when I get tired of looking at it I’ll actually buy them”. Buying the concert tickets is still on my mind, too. I can afford it, that’s not the problem, I just spent too much of my life scrounging change to make ends meet to ever do it again. I guess that’s better than the alternative, which is a pending money I don’t have. 
 

Anyways, here’s what’s up with the tanks the past few days:

50% water change on the Angel fry tonight. 

Filled her back up, added a seasoned sponge filter, and some Java moss. The filter and the moss should feed these guys over the coming days. Will probably start tapping in some First Bites on Tuesday morning. With the seasoned sponge I’m really not worried about over-feeding them. 

Internal filter on the 20 long blackwater tank doing its job. You can see all the way to the back with the Pothos roots! So far so good. Worth the $5 I spent on the filter. 

Shrimp in the 29 blackwater tank crushing. I had just swapped out the sponge and turned the filter back on hence the oxygen/c02/muck in the water column. The shrimp were just chillin on the plants and it was too good to pass up. 

Pea Puffer tank. You can see them circling the worm cone. I’m forcing them to eat the bloodworms in the cone before I drop in some snails. They’re coming around… kind of.

The LFS that I have credit at still doesn’t have the Black Neons or the Axelrodi Roasboras I’m after… hoping I didn’t screw myself by hatching the Angels. Right now I only have 1 QT tank available, which will become a grow out tank for the Angels… I basically have a couple options:

1. Wait for the LFS I have credit at to get either of them in. Saves me actual money

2. The other LFS has the “blue green Axelrodi Rasboras” in stock. Are they blue? Or are they green? Idk, but I’m really after the blue 

3. See if LFS #2 that has the “blue green” in stock will take some Panda Angels in trade toward the Rasboras. The problem is that LFS #1 consistently gives me $4/per, where as LFS #2 gave me $2.50/per… Obviously I need to figure out if they’re blue or green, but if they’re blue, what would you do?

Cheers, Nerms.