Schuyler Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 (edited) Testing out some materials for wicking. I had acrylic yarn for spawning mops and a type of plastic string/twine. I stick them through the holes like some kind of ugly cross stitch: Then I replaced the lid and added a piece of paper to show how much water was being wicked up. This was after 15 mins: It looks like they are both roughly evenly effective so I'm going to stick with the yarn since I'm 100% sure it's safe Edited November 18, 2023 by Schuyler 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted November 18, 2023 Share Posted November 18, 2023 On 11/18/2023 at 12:09 AM, Schuyler said: I had acrylic yarn for spawning mops and a type of plastic string/twine. This has to be one of the coolest ways to add floating plant cover. Hm. Now it's got me thinking.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 On 11/18/2023 at 10:12 AM, nabokovfan87 said: This has to be one of the coolest ways to add floating plant cover. Hm. Now it's got me thinking.... I guess it's a fairly common method that people use for watering their small house plants while out of town. Hopefully it pulls enough up so that the soil doesn't burn roots. I'm thinking I may try adding something so that the strings go all the way to the surface. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 The strings have been added I pulled them up so that the loop was above the edge of the wall. Then after I added the dirt, I pulled the strings until they were just out of view Hopefully that seem is less obvious once all the plants and leaves are in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 21, 2023 Author Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) I switched out the air driven pump for just an electric pump. It was seriously over powered at first so I had to turn it almost all the way down. Then while putting things back together I accidentally dropped one of the riverbank pieces into the water... It was a mess... I ended up just replacing a big chunk of sand. I also created a lid from extra greenhouse paneling. It ended up fitting really snuggly on top with little holes cut out for the wires. The wicking seems to work really well and the leaves look like they may be helping reduce evaporation. So maybe they actually gave a functional purpose after all. I'm planning on adding in the anubias plants tonight so that it can be mostly set up when people come to visit on Thanksgiving. The ferns seem very happy where they are. When I was moving things they had already started sending roots in to attach to the foam. I think I'll leave them where they are. Now the open problems are still: 1) Backgrounds 2) Potential mold 3) The tank gets really humid and the sides fog up 4) Risk of sides falling in... Edited November 21, 2023 by Schuyler 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 Good news, bad news Good news is the plants are all in and things are pretty much finished: Bad news... I left a small gap in the lid and at least three males jumped out. Or at least that's how many I found dried up on the floor behind the shelf. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 My dad visited and I was able to show him the tank all put together. He basically said the same thing @TheSwissAquarist said: "you put all this work into making it look cool only to hide it in the garage" He also brought a 3d printed Czech airlift collar. I was able to replace the mechanical pump and it works much better than the DIY version I made. The water parameters look fine and there are still some micro fauna alive in the so I added the first fish. He seems to be doing well so far. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 (edited) On 11/24/2023 at 5:22 AM, Schuyler said: you put all this work into making it look cool only to hide it in the garage Great minds think alike. 😂 Edited November 24, 2023 by TheSwissAquarist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 Not much of an update, just cool morning lighting: 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 Some of the wood above the water level is starting to seriously mold: But the fish in there seems happy. He's acting hungry and coloring back up which tells me he's at least not stressed out. The water parameters seem good. There's no nitrites or ammonia. I may pull the charcoal out today and monitor to make sure there isn't a crash before I add the rest of the fish. I've also noticed that there are MTS in the sand... I'll have to keep an eye on that to make sure they don't become a problem. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Have you thought about adding semi-aquatic or jungle springtails? They will help keep the upper segment free of mold and clean the leaf litter. Looks great! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 On 11/28/2023 at 12:59 PM, Schuyler said: Some of the wood above the water level is starting to seriously mold: Brush it with hydrogen peroxide. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 On 11/28/2023 at 2:38 PM, Biotope Biologist said: Have you thought about adding semi-aquatic or jungle springtails? They will help keep the upper segment free of mold and clean the leaf litter. Looks great! I have thought about it but that's about it. In some of the Serpadesign videos he mentions adding spring tails to prevent mold. Where can you get them? Would any pet stores have them or is this just something you would order online? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Well depends on your LPS situation if you have any herp specializing shop they will definitely have it. Or if any pet store sells poison dart frogs near you, jungle springtails go hand in hand. You can order them online but it’s not worth shipping costs imo. Sometimes specialty plant shops will have them too, especially those who have expensive exotic plants that are rather fussy about their soil quality 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 Turns out the LFS near me sells springtails in their terrarium section but they are out. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 2, 2023 Author Share Posted December 2, 2023 Interesting coincidence... My white worm culture has springtails. I've moved them all into the tank now. It looks like I only have one female which isn't ideal at least she seems fat and happy 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 Just pre-ordered this new book lots of information on fish from Cameroon should be a good read 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 2, 2023 Author Share Posted December 2, 2023 On 12/2/2023 at 4:31 AM, Colu said: Just pre-ordered this new book lots of information on fish from Cameroon should be a good read I saw that! It was really tempting but it's so expensive and then shipping on top. You'll have to let me know how got it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 (edited) On 12/2/2023 at 8:45 PM, Schuyler said: I saw that! It was really tempting but it's so expensive and then shipping on top. You'll have to let me know how got it is Price for some books seem to be getting ridiculous you can't beat a good book Edited December 22, 2023 by Colu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 8, 2023 Author Share Posted December 8, 2023 The fish all seem happy, active, and voracious eaters. They're also not camera shy. It's to the point that they are harder to photograph because they get too close: It seems like the larger males have claimed the back corner and under the bank area while the smaller ones are around edge. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 Fish are looking incredible! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 Looking good all around! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 (edited) On 12/2/2023 at 11:26 PM, Colu said: Price for some books seem be getting ridiculous you can't beat a good book Just arrived looks great. I had a quick look through lots of stunning pictures of killifish and cichlids characins & catfish. when I have more time I will give it a thorough read Edited December 9, 2023 by Colu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 I did my first real water change and removed the charcoal today. It was a bit tricky to figure out the correct level to fill up to. Initially it was too high and that made the pump push more water through and create a current the fish had to swim against. They all huddle up after the water change: There is some visible be growth on some of the anubias. One of the ferns broke of but it's still completely green. My guess is that it was rubbing against the lid when I open and close for feeding. Hopefully the other does fine. If not I may pick up some bolbitus. The palm is breaking down much faster than I expected. The tank used to have a really nice botanical smell. Like some kind of herbal tea. Now it didn't smell bad but it has the oddly distinct earthy smell of raw potatoes. Still no tropical spring tails at the LFS, hopefully soon... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 30, 2023 Author Share Posted December 30, 2023 The LFS finally had springtails. Although at this point I'm not totally sure how helpful they are. We'll see if the mold on the roots goes down. There is a decent amount of new growth on the plants: The males seem to be fully colored up. The is one that's easily distinguishable from the others because of a large black spot on his dorsal fin. There's another that is larger than all the others. Then the last two are basically indistinguishable. The palm is completely decomposed at this point. That's surprising that it went so fast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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