Max's 20g Rimless

[Fresh2o]

Sorry Max. I have The same experience with fish from Petco & Petsmart. I always bought more grief than pleasure from them on fish. Sadly, I have wrote them off from ever buying fish from them again. OS.

Ditto. So much so that it's been 1.5+ years since I've purchased fish from them.
Hope the rest of them pull through.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

The last two iterations of my 60P I purchased large numbers of neons from two different petsmart locations. At least 90% survived.. the first stock only died due to my apartment fire. The current stock are as healthy as can be.

I do have some precautions I take when buying neons from petsmart. Knowing they are VERY touchy fish, I acclimate them slowly over the course of an hour or two by floating the bag and slowly adding tank water to the bag via a turkey baster. The same can be done with drip acclimating them.

Secondly, I always buy a few more neons knowing that there's a high chance I'll lose some in the process shortly after introduction to the tank. For this reason, I save the receipt to fully utilize the "fish guarantee" if needed. If I can't go to petsmart for a replacement, I'll remove the dead fish and put it in a zip lock for the freezer to preserve the remains. I'll then go for a replacement or refund, depending on my stock level, within the 14 days.

Lastly, which is actually the most important prerequisite to buying "touchy" fish, is to have a fully cycled tank with EXCELLENT water quality.

It's a win win situation to buy cheap neons if you protect your investment. Can't lose with the guarantee either because IME if neons survive that initial 14 days and if you maintain excellent water quality, they'll survive quite a long time.

 

[maxwellag]

Well... I found the culprit. Ich. I'm glad I was quarantining them and didn't ruin my tank with this.

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[maxwellag]

Pic Heavy Update

I thought I might as well post a (fishless, unfortunately) update because it's been a while. Not much has changed, but I have figured out the dosing schedule and it seems to be doing pretty well. My only problem is that it is now infested with pond snails
I will probably get some assassins when I order ember tetras (if I ever save the money )
I planted some R. indica and L. cuba (inclinata) a while ago, and they are growing with what light the single Sat+ gives. The cuba grew super tall and reached the surface, where its leaves turned bright pink and red. I trimmed them to promote lower growth. I also have the color settings on the light on white with red (as much red as possible).
Sorry for the blurry cell phone pics, I will try to find time to take some nicer pics with my real camera.

FTS:

The red lights:

This is my other annoyance... the flaw of nerite snails:

Indica:

Cuba:

Happy parva!:

This is the best focus I could get using my phone. I think it's time to stop being lazy with pic taking

 

[maxwellag]

I had been neglecting this tank for a while now, but I finally cleaned it up today. I had a pair of hi-red endlers in it, and they have since reproduced
Sorry for the bad picture, it's the best I could do. Camera shy fish, and they weren't as colorful as usual because the lights had been off.

I went back to my 10,000K T5HO for now, with the Sat+ still on, but only full red (no white) to encourage red plant growth more. I will probably get more plants soon. No FTS update because it looks the same

 

[Fishperson]

Looks awesome! I love the parva btw!

 

[maxwellag]

I configured my apex so that it the temp and ph are visible online to anyone. It also tells whether my equipment is on or off. Here's the link to view the status:

Apex Status « Reeftronics

I think after a few days it will start to show the temp and ph on a graph. It just needs to collect more data (it just started collecting today).
EDIT: Graphs are working now.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Wow.. so techie, I like! The rumor is that Finnex's new light will be able to be controlled via an app and online through your computer. Sooner or later, Samsung might start making aquarium goods and create a "smart tank." Okay, the last part I was j/k'ing.

 

[maxwellag]

Wow.. so techie, I like! The rumor is that Finnex's new light will be able to be controlled via an app and online through your computer. Sooner or later, Samsung might start making aquarium goods and create a "smart tank." Okay, the last part I was j/k'ing.

Hopefully it will not run TouchWiz

Hmmm, interesting. I hope it will be CAT5 compatible. That's how Apex controls LEDs. Sadly, I would have to buy the virtual dimming module to even be able to dim anything, and that costs another $100. So the total cost right now for my to have dimmable LEDs would be about $350 . I'm interested in the new Finnex light... I wonder what its pricing will be. Hopefully not $250 like the Build My LEDs.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Holy cow... that apex system is pricey. For $350, you can have an E-Series for less with dimming and fx baked in. Have you seen the "sneak peak 2" thread on Finnex's sponsor forum in TPT? It sounds interesting.

 

[maxwellag]

Holy cow... that apex system is pricey. For $350, you can have an E-Series for less with dimming and fx baked in. Have you seen the "sneak peak 2" thread on Finnex's sponsor forum in TPT? It sounds interesting.

Yeah, but it is only controllable via the E series remote. That's pretty much what my Sat+ was (just less bright).

 

[Jkeating8]

To me, a controller is worth it in a reef tank if you're gone for long periods of time, or If you want to really lessen your maintenance, but in a freshwater tank I don't see much use in it other than a Ph controller. A full apex gold system is around $1,000, I think. Other modules will need to be added for other features, too. It adds up quick.

Edit- just checked. They're $800.

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[maxwellag]

To me, a controller is worth it in a reef tank if you're gone for long periods of time, or If you want to really lessen your maintenance, but in a freshwater tank I don't see much use in it other than a Ph controller. A full apex gold system is around $1,000, I think. Other modules will need to be added for other features, too. It adds up quick.

Edit- just checked. They're $800.

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Yeah, the Apex Gold system is crazy expensive, but it comes with a lot of stuff. The one I have (Apex Jr.) costs around $220, but it just comes with the temp probe. If you want to control pH, you have to buy the ORP module ($100) and the pH probe ($30). So the total cost for my system is at about $350 right now. In my opinion, if you're gonna get a reef controller for a freshwater tank, don't go much beyond entry level - and that's what I did (though I am looking into more modules so I can use it to dim lights).

Although it isn't necessary, it adds peace of mind that I can check on the tank and see what's going on at any time of day. It is also a safeguard in case the heater decides to try to cook my fish.

 

[Jkeating8]

Yeah, the Apex Gold system is crazy expensive, but it comes with a lot of stuff. The one I have (Apex Jr.) costs around $220, but it just comes with the temp probe. If you want to control pH, you have to buy the ORP module ($100) and the pH probe ($30). So the total cost for my system is at about $350 right now. In my opinion, if you're gonna get a reef controller for a freshwater tank, don't go much beyond entry level - and that's what I did (though I am looking into more modules so I can use it to dim lights).



Although it isn't necessary, it adds peace of mind that I can check on the tank and see what's going on at any time of day. It is also a safeguard in case the heater decides to try to cook my fish.

I certainly agree. I'm going to get a Reefkeeper light with the ORP for Ph. It will go on my reef. It's a little cheaper and just what I need.


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[maxwellag]

I think I just thought of a cheap solution:
I have an arduino, which is a programmable microcontroller board. It would be possible to make an entire tank controller out of it, but it would be difficult. Something easier would be to make an IR transmitter that automatically tells the lights to dim (and any other effects I want) at specific times. Basically, it would be a remote with a timer built in. I think I will try it.

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[bcarl_10gal]

Ive done this with my tank! Theres a whole thread in TPT about how to do it. Good luck!


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[Brookster123]

Ive done this with my tank! Theres a whole thread in TPT about how to do it. Good luck!


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What did you use? Arduino?

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[bcarl_10gal]

Yes I only control my Sat + to simulate a "day" but there are other threads on that forum that controls the tank.


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[Brian_Nano12g]

There you go Brook! The Arduino + Sat+... maybe bcarl can help you set one up.

 

[bcarl_10gal]

PM me if you decide to go that route. I was able to figure it out with out too much difficulty.