Searched, but still have questions.

[beerguy9]

I think I omitted some details in my plans, yeah, the Corys would be for the 29 gal tank that will be FW only, also the pleco will remain in the 29 which has some salt in it now, but isn't brackish. I will lower the salinity after I move the Silver Tips with PWC's over a couple of weeks, then get some Corys. I think the 29 gals SG is at about 1.004 - 1.005, so salty, but not brackish, everyone seems to be happy now and look very healthy.


Thanks for the info on Brackish coral/sponges and plants. I think it's good for people to read posts like that to make sure it's appreciated that; there are areas that have been exploited and/or are in danger, and it's irresponsible to 'throw away' living creatures from our tanks. We all hate it when a snakehead or piranha are caught in an inland lake, it gives everyone in the hobby a bad name and sets the stage for increased and unnecessary legislation. (well, necessary due to ignorant individuals, unnecessary overall)I think it also highlights that legislation oftentimes misdirects efforts and distorts issues.

Thanks!

[TCTFish]

Cool. California is one of the more restrictive states when it comes to Fish and Game. Things illegal that shouldn't be and those that aren't should be. The protection only goes so far. I am not a fan of Fish and Game. I believe they are just as much of a threat to wildlife as the people they're out to catch and prosecute.

The store I work for have gotten visits from Fish and Game. I had an interesting conversation once with an officer who was there on formal business and in uniform (I'm not scared of these guys). After he got to see our permits for a species that's only available under permit (someone tried to squeal on us), I asked him what we should do with the native catfish people bring in or come in with feeder fish. We're suppose to kill them by law. He did explain as an example of how extreme these laws go...that if he were to pull someone over a block away from a lake they just caught a bucket of catfish in, the person would be cited and the catfish killed. They are not allowed back in the lake they came out of by law. That ticks me off and I told him flat out that I would not kill an animal without medical reason to do so and will continue finding private homes for these fish. The intentions to protect the environment are the plus side of Fish and Game, but their methods sometimes can prove just as disasterous, IMO.

An incident that's been going on in the South (in the Gulf) are what they call a 'plague' of frogs coming from Cuba or some island near there. Hurricanes have brought them over instead of people in this case, but they're still trying to erradicate these frogs. I can understand controlling non native species populations when people are the ones who introduce these animals into the environment, but not when it's nature's decision to do so. There's certainly need for reform within Fish and Game.

California division of EPA on a more happier note has just recently activated a new branch of their agency specifically to breed marine fish for wild release. This is something I had predicted quite a few years ago after spending the time to really learn about what's up in marine conservation and what the problems are. What I got out of it, if LFS are going to have a future in business selling marine animals, it may be a good idea to hook up with a research center to donate time, space, and/or money for such programs so these animals can remain available for the private tank in their stores. Breeding programs can supply not just wild stock, but aquarium stock too...and it's those in the aquarium industry that know how to keep these animals alive in order for them to breed. For more serious aquarists and future marine biologists, this may be a good direction to head in. This is just the beginning of something that has been stated by officials will become high priority within EPA and other federal agencies. We've already lost two thirds of our marine resources and mostly due to large scale commercial fishing (food fish). The threat of pollution is there, but doesn't seem to be as great as the depletion of fish populations from overfishing.

With this said, treating a fish (or any live animal at that) as a throw away commodity is just absolutely wrong even when done within the demands of written law.

Thanks for letting me 'vent' on your thread

[beerguy9]

With this said, treating a fish (or any live animal at that) as a throw away commodity is just absolutely wrong even when done within the demands of written law.

Thanks for letting me 'vent' on your thread

No problem hopefully people will read it and think about it. I think there are a lot of people out there who don't want to be bothered with responsibility, aquarium keeping or otherwise.

Ok, back to the questions.

What are recommendations for the quietest air pump.

Can I put my air pump on a timer to run only from, say, 4 am until 8-9 pm? I have the 29g tank in my room and want to minimize the noise if possible. A quiet pump may do the trick but if I could turn it off on this schedule that would be nice. I want to make sure that the inhabitants don't need it on all of the time, hoping the Penguin Biowheel will create enough oxygen? I will leave it on if necessary, just looking for options.

Thanks for all of the info so far

[TCTFish]

Rena air pumps are perhaps the quietest pumps I've ever come across. They are a bit more costly, but well worth it when you want silence. They are also fairly strong pumps. Well made. You wouldn't need to put this on a timer, but you can plug it into a timer if you still choose. Seriously, whenever I plug these in, I have to put my finger to the piston to see if it is on. They are THAT quiet. No more rolling sock after sock after sock to try to get some sleep!!...LOL.

http://www.aquariumpharm.com/airpumps.html

[beerguy9]

Ok, went and bought one of the Rena pumps, should be here early next week.

It appears that my Silver Tips have quite the appetite for Platies and Danios, they've eaten 6 Danios and 2 Platies so far. I know that eventually they will outgrow the 47 g tank, maybe I should start looking for a home for them now. For people that have sold fish, how did you go about doing it? I can take them to the LFS, but there is only one in the area that I would trust, and it would depend on their need for these cats. Has anyone sold them on Ebay, or through the paper with any luck?

fwiw, my albino cories are pretty entertaining (29g), they are all over the place darting around and up to the surface. They also have no problem coming to the surface to feed, I'm sure this is common but do others have cories eating from the surface? I can see why people like them so much.

Thanks!

[TCTFish]

The silver tips will eat anything they can grab and swallow, so if it can fit in its mouth, it'll eventually become lunch. Silver tip cats are generally always welcomed as trades at an LFS. To sell them elsewhere such as online would mean you would need the proper shipping materials to mail them. Several large fish bags lined within each other (about three of four to prevent them from poking holes through all of them and lose water). They must be filled with oxygen instead of just air and should be shipped in a styro box. It'd be less stressing on the fish if it were just traded at your LFS.

There are people who do trade and sell fish here at AA. Check it out under the barter/trade threads.

[Macrosill]

The UGJ idea looks pretty cool. It is nothing like an UGF. Two very different things. I would be a little hesitant about the visibly jets. I guess they could be disquised in some manner. Go for it and let us know how it works for you. If you find you dont like it you can just pull it off the bottom, if it is constructed like the example in your link.

Good Luck,
Brian

[beerguy9]

Ok, I'm back and have made a couple of changes.

After the Silver Tips ate the Zebra Danios and all but one of the MM Platies, it was time so they have found a new home at the LFS, looks to be a good one, not the Petsmart or anything. The 46 g tank is now FW.

I replaced them with 8 Lamp Eye Tetras, 5 Blue Platies, and still have the one MM Platy and Chinese Algae Eater. I am planning on adding the following over the next month or so; 4 more MM Platies since she needs some friends, and possibly 4-5 Kuhli Loaches and 2 Dwarf Blue Gouramis. Any thoughts on these additions?

Also, I swapped out the 170 pump I had for a Rio 1700 because when I made the jets, I didn't crimp them down enough so they are pretty big. I have much better flow now, but it is louder and has raised the temp in the tank by 3 degrees and is constant now. If you look at the article for the UGJ, you can see he really crimped the jets down, maybe at some point I will take it out and redo it, but that is a while down the road.

I have attached a very bad drawing of the 4 jets I put in, and it seems to create good flow now, but I would have done some things different if I were to do it over. First thing is to crimp the jets like I said above, the second is to redesign it so the first jet isn’t the strongest. If you look at the picture you can see it’s a straight shot to the first jet, while the other 3 get indirect, and therefore less powerful, flow. The 1700 pump’s sponge filter thing fits right inside the 170’s, making it easy to get on and off and works perfectly.

As far as the jets go, they are almost entirely covered up but you can see them from above, putting a plant or lava rock in front of them will hide them perfectly. As an aside, I could not find the 30 degree pvc bends, so I used 45 degree instead. I used no glue and just pressure fit the whole thing together, assuming that there would be ‘opportunities’ and I would redo it at some point.

Also as an update on the 29 gal, the Rena pump should be here today, to hopefully quiet it down, and I have the following in it seemingly content as can be; 6 Albino Cory Cats, 5 Blue Platies, 5 Sunburst Platies, 3 Black Skirt Tetras, and a Pleco. Water is rock solid and looks great.

Thanks and looking forward to comments.

[beerguy9]

xx

[TCTFish]

Sounds pretty good on the selection of fish. Careful with the platies though. They can be just as prolific as any other livebearer. If you have a mix of male and female well...expect many more...LOL. You'll still want to oust out the chinese algae eater too before it starts to go after the fish.