Reentry--my 45

[Tacit Blues]

Yeah, I'm probably still a little premature and should have waited for some more plants to grow in, but there's still enough in there for them to hide in if they want to and I think they'll, as you say, liven things up quite a bit since all the other fish are mostly brown of white.

 

[Tacit Blues]

Let it be known that Operation DIY CO2 has officially begun!

(miniature models and terrain included at no extra charge)

Because, why not?

Also, today I ordered a gallon jug of Metricide 14, some seachem potassium in my quest to spend more money on less ferts than if I had just went to GLA, and, oh yeah, a sunsun 302 for some more filtration (along with all the incidentals that go along with that, filter media, bags, and such). There's some dead spots in the water flow and well, it just seemed like the thing to do. Who knows, I might work up to true high tech, yet...

 

[Autumnsky]

Let it be known that Operation DIY CO2 has officially begun!

(miniature models and terrain included at no extra charge)

Because, why not?

Also, today I ordered a gallon jug of Metricide 14, some seachem potassium in my quest to spend more money on less ferts than if I had just went to GLA, and, oh yeah, a sunsun 302 for some more filtration (along with all the incidentals that go along with that, filter media, bags, and such). There's some dead spots in the water flow and well, it just seemed like the thing to do. Who knows, I might work up to true high tech, yet...

Wow! You have been busy. Work is crazy for me right now, so not much.

I keep thinking I should get some Metricide too. Sans the activator... you know that probably already.

Sounds like you are having fun though. I will be back to having more fun with my tanks in a week or two, lol. I also think I might order a half gallon of Prime. It seems I use the stuff like water!

Let me know how you like your new filter. My daughter is using a AC 110 and the tank has a view from the dining room and the living room so she would like to do a canister on the end or the tank instead. Everyone seems to be buying the Sunsuns lately.

 

[Tacit Blues]

I was looking at getting a fluval 06 series but my cabinet is 18" tall so it didn't look like they'd be able to fit after you hooked the hoses up to it, but the sunsun is 15.5" inches tall and the hoses come out the top at an angle, so I think it'll work without having to cut any holes! As you say, everyone seems to like them, cheaper, and seems more suited to my needs, so it turned out to be an easy choice. I guess now it'll be whether or not it can last, but it seems like quality isn't much of an issue...

Oh and my edge finally stabilized so I am trying to transfer the shrimp right now...

 

[Autumnsky]

I was looking at getting a fluval 06 series but my cabinet is 18" tall so it didn't look like they'd be able to fit after you hooked the hoses up to it, but the sunsun is 15.5" inches tall and the hoses come out the top at an angle, so I think it'll work without having to cut any holes! As you say, everyone seems to like them, cheaper, and seems more suited to my needs, so it turned out to be an easy choice. I guess now it'll be whether or not it can last, but it seems like quality isn't much of an issue...

Oh and my edge finally stabilized so I am trying to transfer the shrimp right now...

Ok, sounds logical on the reasoning.

Good luck with the shrimp catching. I like using a white 5G bucket or even a white interior "solo" cup. It makes seeing the shrimp easier.

After I think I have them all...
I swirl the water in a circle and then watch for their erratic darting about, then I can tell where they are and net or use a cup to capture them. Use the Solo type cup for the tiny babies with the same process.

 

[Tacit Blues]

Well, despite ordering it Saturday evening and getting an email this morning saying it was delayed, a box with "sunsun302" stamped on the side showed up on the doorstep today and now there's a new thing whirring away underneath my aquarium. Seems pretty solid. OF course, the extra filter media I ordered isn't here yet, so for now it's got an empty compartment since I didn't want to use the carbon it came with for now.

 

[Autumnsky]

Well, despite ordering it Saturday evening and getting an email this morning saying it was delayed, a box with "sunsun302" stamped on the side showed up on the doorstep today and now there's a new thing whirring away underneath my aquarium. Seems pretty solid. OF course, the extra filter media I ordered isn't here yet, so for now it's got an empty compartment since I didn't want to use the carbon it came with for now.

Under promise and over deliver! Well congrats. What about chunks of bulk filter pad, have any of that? How noisy is it?

 

[Tacit Blues]

I guess since the rest of the order is supposed to come today I'll just practice cleaning it and crack it open again. It's quieter than the C4 HOB filter.

_________
Yelling into the tin can from the far end of the string

 

[Eggheadfish]

Hey tacit, sorry about your cory. I've had to rearrange my decor for them. Because of the way their constructed, they have a lot of difficulty swimming backwards, so once they wedge into somewhere it's hard for them to get out, they need to be able to move forward or turn around. I had one get stuck once and luckily I saw him with enough time to get him loose but it happens.

 

[Tacit Blues]

I spread out my rock pile so there's not as much in the way of crevices for them to cram their little heads into. Hopefully that'll prevent it from happening again. As far as I can tell all the others are still bumbling around (though it's hard to count them all at the same time).

 

[Tacit Blues]

Whoop whoop, filter media came today and the sunsun proves to be pretty easy to crack open when need be. I guess we'll see in the morning if I resealed it wrong and the tank water is all over the floor, but I'm pretty confident that's not a problem. Put in some matrix and some 200 micron polishing pad stuff in the last tray. While I was at it I picked up some more Neons, so I"m up to 14 of them. The ones I got last week have been so great (especially compared to my insane Head and Tail Light Tetras, who are still befuddling me by their unrelenting aggression towards each other). Also got some flourish potassium since I've been seeing some holes develop on the some of the anubias leaves. My quest to spend more money for less ferts instead of going to GLA is in fine form!

 

[Autumnsky]

Whoop whoop, filter media came today and the sunsun proves to be pretty easy to crack open when need be. I guess we'll see in the morning if I resealed it wrong and the tank water is all over the floor, but I'm pretty confident that's not a problem. Put in some matrix and some 200 micron polishing pad stuff in the last tray. While I was at it I picked up some more Neons, so I"m up to 14 of them. The ones I got last week have been so great (especially compared to my insane Head and Tail Light Tetras, who are still befuddling me by their unrelenting aggression towards each other). Also got some flourish potassium since I've been seeing some holes develop on the some of the anubias leaves. My quest to spend more money for less ferts instead of going to GLA is in fine form!

Hooray! lol

I forgot my o-ring seal in my monster FX-5 and wow can a lot of water blow out of one of those things in a few seconds (seemed like minutes).

As for the Head and Tail lights, I can't stand them in a friendly community tank. They harass each other for no apparent reason, but since I am not in their fish circle, I don't know what the problem was. Perhaps the wrong combination of M to F ratio, or they needed a larger school, but no matter, they are not on my "favorite" fish list.

Von Rio Tetras are very nice together. I had 4 Diamond Tetras and they had fun together but lost 3 of them in my pH crash. What I am trying to say is maybe a different kind of fish would be more enjoyable.

 

[Tacit Blues]

Yeah, I'm definitely not getting more of them. Two have already died from injuries and a third one has a big bite on its tail. The neons are way more peaceful, less picky, and just more fun to have.

_________
Yelling into the tin can from the far end of the string

 

[Tacit Blues]

Current state of the underside:

I managed to start up the DIY CO2 this morning in and amongst the Christmas cooking. Already bubbling well. For my future reference, It was about 4 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar in a 1 liter bottle.

 

[tiger terror]

Did you forget to mention yeast possibly?

Getcha sleeves wet fish tank people!

 

[Tacit Blues]

A spoonful. From my homebrewing experience the yeast amount doesn't matter so much, it reaches a threshold amount and just chugs away there.

_________
Yelling into the tin can from the far end of the string

 

[Tacit Blues]

AAAARRGH! Apparently the H&TL Tetras have decided that they are now in the Thunderdome. Out of 7, only three aren't injured (from fighting amongst themselves) in some way or another. So frustrating.

In other news, the Sunsun is still working like a charm. Quiet as a churchmouse. And I just finished off another bottle of tonic water so it got added to the CO2 system. When I first started it up I had a nice steady stream of bubbles, but strangely as the bubble count increased in the counter the amount coming out in the tank went down, so I'm hoping that more pressure from another bottle will get it going again.

 

[Autumnsky]

Sorry to hear of the mayhem continuing.

Interesting to see more of the co2 experiment, keep the updates coming.

 

[Tacit Blues]

A nice shot of some of the neons. You can also see that I switched out the wood airstone in the CO2 system for a regular one, in the hopes that the larger pore size would need less pressure. Not any difference so far. I think my next step is to spray down the connections with soapy water to check for leaks. Bah and etc.

In H&TL news, man, I don't think I have ever had such raggedy fish. It's almost to the point of trying to fish them out and put them out of their misery. Two with big bites out of their tail right before the fin, one looks to be missing it's entire lower jaw, another is just bit up around it's mouth, and then one other has injured pectoral fins. I don't have any idea what changed to make them go into gladiatorial combat, but it's not affecting the neons, corys, otos, or water test kit, and it's very frustrating to me.

 

[Autumnsky]

Nice pic.

Good luck on the co2 project and trouble shooting.

I would get some clove oil. Though if you haven't decided how, you can read the sticky in the unhealthy fish section and possibly make it easier to decide how to end their suffering.

If you get the clove oil, make sure it is not artificially flavored clove oil. Mine cost about 8 something for a tiny bottle, but as an added bonus it helps a toothache. I ordered it from the pharmacy at Safeway and they had it the next day. Some older types of/ or independent pharmacies may carry it, as do some bakery/cake decorating supply stores.