# 105g Craigslist find! 11-26 Video of baby Guppies, 11-26 updates!!



## devlyyn (Dec 7, 2007)

Awesome find! What are the dimensions? Have you ever had a sump before? I just got one with my latest craigslist find and it's been working great.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

devlyyn said:


> Awesome find! What are the dimensions? Have you ever had a sump before? I just got one with my latest craigslist find and it's been working great.


 Not positive on the dimensions right now, will measure it when I get it out of the van. Got it home last night around midnight, so I will be getting it out today and start cleaning it up.

Never had a sump before, but I do not anticipate any problems. Pretty sure it will be better then the canister filter I was using. I just have to get all the salt and sand out of it.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

devlyyn said:


> Awesome find! What are the dimensions? Have you ever had a sump before? I just got one with my latest craigslist find and it's been working great.


Been busy cleaning this former saltwater tank up, but did finally get the dimensions. They are: 4'L x 2'D x 21"H.


----------



## Sd760 (Apr 25, 2011)

That is awesome. Have fun with that bad boy


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

According to my calculator it's 104.88 gallons, are you sure about the measurement. No matter it's a great deal, are you going to keep the over flow box in the tank or strip it out and go with the no hose drilled bottom look?

Is iy acylic or glass?

I checked out your club, what do you focus on mainly fish, plants, cichlids?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Sd760 said:


> That is awesome. Have fun with that bad boy


Thanks! Unfortunately, the only fun I have been having has been cleaning it and resealing it. I thought I was going to have it planted and filled today, but while cleaning I found some bad spots in the silicone, causing me to want to re-do the silicone. I know it didn't leak but I figured I'd better be safe then sorry down the road.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

150EH said:


> According to my calculator it's 104.88 gallons, are you sure about the measurement. No matter it's a great deal, are you going to keep the over flow box in the tank or strip it out and go with the no hose drilled bottom look?
> 
> Is iy acylic or glass?
> 
> I checked out your club, what do you focus on mainly fish, plants, cichlids?


Yes, I just measured it for the dimensions, thanks for the heads up. Never had a chance to get to the calculator, so you are probably right. I was just told over the phone it was a 130. 105 is still cool and should suit my needs just fine, for now!! 

I am keeping the overflow and sump as I traded my canister with the other system. Not only that, the overflow is built in with a big hole in the back glass of the tank. Yes, it is glass. The sump is acrylic, and I believe, so is the overflow.

ETnAC focuses on freshwater, any and all types in any configuration as long as it's fresh.


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Sorry about the size thing but it's still a great buy, well the sump is great for good bacteria and well oxygenated water so it should be a nice tank and I can't wait to see what you do with it!

That's cool I just recently joined the GWAPA but my first meeting was a lot of fun and I came home with a whole bag of plants for $22, so I really liked it. Plus metting other people with the same interest was also cool, it's kinda like a motorcycle club, cause my wife and kids just walk by and pay no attention.

Well you have to go back and tell the guy he owes you 25 gallons or your going too #$#%%&^!! in his*%&[email protected]!??<>!!

I want to try a dirt tank are you going MTS here or undeceided?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

150EH said:


> Sorry about the size thing but it's still a great buy, well the sump is great for good bacteria and well oxygenated water so it should be a nice tank and I can't wait to see what you do with it!


The water level in the sump surges up and down and is gurgling, so I'm still researching on it alot as I am pretty sure thats not normal. I LOVE the idea of having it, it houses all my equipment and things and I like that. It makes for a much cleaner look in the tank. I even tried to set up the stuff in the bottom really nice too, and I'm quite proud of it. It looks MUCH better than when I got it. 



150EH said:


> That's cool I just recently joined the GWAPA but my first meeting was a lot of fun and I came home with a whole bag of plants for $22, so I really liked it. Plus metting other people with the same interest was also cool, it's kinda like a motorcycle club, cause my wife and kids just walk by and pay no attention.
> 
> Well you have to go back and tell the guy he owes you 25 gallons or your going too #$#%%&^!! in his*%&[email protected]!??<>!!


Haha, I would only he was a she, and she was cute. Like you said, though, it was still a really good deal so I'm pleased. 



150EH said:


> I want to try a dirt tank are you going MTS here or undeceided?


I finally got it all cleaned and set up. Today I put in my dirt and gravel. I just reused the compost I had in the other tank, just mixed some new with it. Then I also reused my gravel from the other tank, just had to add some extra to it. The scape, of course, is done a little differently and I will also be adding some sand to give that a try. Will pick that up tomorrow on my way to the fish store (Like I need a reason to go). I would post some pics of it but the waters really cloudy, so I will wait. It shouldn't be that long, I wouldn't think.


----------



## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Sump surging is caused by your pump running faster than you overflow can work or the over flow not having the correct mix of air and water. You can insert airline down the overflow tube to inject air and even out the flow. It should help with the gurgle also.


----------



## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

Subscribed, pics please....


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Dude, awesome find man. That sump should work out great for it.

I would deep six the metal halides though unless you are going to suspend them above the tank pretty high. I would imagine those will be way too much light. And get rid of the blue bulbs. They will be useless on this tank. Keep the 10,000K and replace the actinic (blue) with a 6500K, then you should be good. An other thing on the lights, you can use the fluorescent bulbs for your main light and have the halides come on as an extra burst of light in the middle of the lighting period for a few hours. That will take some tweeking though. And with that much light, I would suggest CO2 and some type of fert regiment to keep algae at bay. Also, lots of plants to start with.

Looking forward to seeing more of this. You have me subscribed.roud:

P.S. - What happened to the pics?


----------



## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Never had any luck with the airline tube thing although I have one stuck in there at the moment! Try using the lever on the pump return to reduce the flow a little, that worked right away for me. Those surges are something. Adjusting the prefilter sponge helps with gurgles too.

Sumps are amazing, someday I will have them all figured out..............


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Sorry all. I had a reply wrote out to you all but set the keyboard down to keep a dwarf frog from jumping into the overflow, and when I came back all the responses I typed were gone:angryfire Don't worry, will get back on and answer them later on tonight. For now enjoy a couple pics 

Hardscape, minus the sand that will fill in the bare spots in the bottom.








Just to show the slight difference I made in the sub, and the path I put in.









Got some fishies today too  More on that later, when I can remember what all I got. More pics later too, as I have started planting and the water is REALLY cloudy. Will hopefully have the majority of the planting done tonight, and should be able to take some pics tomorrow of them and the fish and stuff.


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Look good but it's going to cloud up again when you add more substrate, but you got your float on and ur ready to go, it cleaned up nice!

The way you have the path with the arch in the back reminded me of this really cool nano tank, see what you think


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Looks good so far man. Keep it up.:icon_smil


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

150EH said:


> Look good but it's going to cloud up again when you add more substrate, but you got your float on and ur ready to go, it cleaned up nice!


Yeah, but with sand it shouldn't be too bad so I can deal with that. Thanks, it had better, after it taking me 3 days to clean it and causing countless blistered fingers! There is a few things in the top that need attention like a little staining and chipping of paint.








Also the inside of the bottom could use some attention, but it will do for now. Besides, it looks better than what it did and it functions.








And here is a very bad and very cloudy FTS cuz you all were as patient to see the pics as I was to take them Got my Gigantae in front of the overflow and the Italian Vals on the left. Then placed my Apogenoton sp' to conceal the top of the "tunnel"








And, a side view from the left.








My Crypts planted. Noticed offshoots, will hopefully fill this in.








All in all, I'm starting to love this tank. I think it'll be great once I get it all planted.



150EH said:


> The way you have the path with the arch in the back reminded me of this really cool nano tank, see what you think


That is an AWESOME tank! Thanks for sharing that. It is pretty close to what I was going for. I already have the rest of my rocks. 








Until then, enjoy some pics of the new inhabitants Went to the fish store in M-town (Fish Fair) and spent $65. I'd say I got an AWESOME deal for what I got, what do you think?
3 Black Skirt Tetras








1 (Kissing?/Kisser?) fish








17 Tiger Barbs, free from a guy who had them with his 2 Kissing fish and they wouldn't leave them alone Didn't know that until I got there to get them, but haven't had a problem with that in my tank. They have claimed the Gigantae's as theirs I think








Also got 3 GloFish from the same person.








2 Blue Metallic Guppy's, really pretty!








15 Guppies, some with Red in their tails. Will get a better pic later.








2 Fiddler Crabs, I love these guys. Well, 1 male and 1 female.








My Beta, still not sure what to think of everything after being released from that tiny cup.








Pleco and Apples doing their thing.








Had to rescue this dwarf frog from the sump.








The other wont come out yet.








And for the piez de resistance. 3 Green Marble Angels! Will probably NEVER get another pic of these guys all together like this. Was quite pleased You can also kinda see the 6 Zebra Danios there as well. 











cableguy69846 said:


> Looks good so far man. Keep it up.:icon_smil


Thank you, should turn out really nice when it's done. 

Thanks for looking. Will get better in time so come back!


----------



## Patriot (Dec 22, 2010)

150EH said:


> Look good but it's going to cloud up again when you add more substrate, but you got your float on and ur ready to go, it cleaned up nice!
> 
> The way you have the path with the arch in the back reminded me of this really cool nano tank, see what you think


What light is that, it seems pretty bright...I need something like that on my tank.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Wow, dude. That tank is really getting filled. Nice fish.


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Tony the tank is comming along and I'd say you gotta good deal on all those fish, it's hard to fill a tank of that size all at one time, it's even hard to figure out what you'll need. Keep up the good work!

No Idea on the light Patriot.


----------



## zenche (Feb 9, 2011)

can i ask how much you got the setup for? curious 

also, not cycling the tank before fish? i've used fish before as part of the cycle process...but not nice fish like some that you got.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

zenche said:


> can i ask how much you got the setup for? curious
> 
> also, not cycling the tank before fish? i've used fish before as part of the cycle process...but not nice fish like some that you got.


I traded my 55g setup for it, girl was selling her ex-husbands stuff and I got lucky

Not cycling, or testing, or any of that. I am reusing my dirt, gravel, and about 25 gallons of water from my other tank. I also used the old dirty water from my established filter and even wrung out the filter media into the sump to jump-start the cycle. I then added my plants and turned the heater and stuff on and let it run for 2 days before adding the fish. I plan on seeding some water and doing a 20 or 30% w.c. every 2-3 days to try to control excessive bio-matter until the "good" stuff can keep up with the "bad" stuff from the stocking of the tank. No deaths yet, and the fish appear really healthy and happy.


----------



## zenche (Feb 9, 2011)

ah, nice. i literally rearranged my living room today, moving 3 72"x33" bookshelves, and now have space for another tank  can fit one 5' long in what used to my be 'library' nook now. hoping to score some good deals so i can make it happen. your tank looks great  makes me jealous.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

zenche said:


> ah, nice. i literally rearranged my living room today, moving 3 72"x33" bookshelves, and now have space for another tank  can fit one 5' long in what used to my be 'library' nook now. hoping to score some good deals so i can make it happen. your tank looks great  makes me jealous.


Nice, I tried to do multiple tanks but the wife wasn't lettin that happen It's ok though, I am more than happy with what I got now. Thanks, I am trying to get it the rest of the way planted to see what it's gonna look like. Should have more pics up later.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Nice, I tried to do multiple tanks but the wife wasn't lettin that happen It's ok though, I am more than happy with what I got now. Thanks, I am trying to get it the rest of the way planted to see what it's gonna look like. Should have more pics up later.


If you arrange the area under you stand, you can fit some small tanks in there. Lol. Just a suggestion. Or you can do like I do. Just put it up and don't tell her till it is half full.:icon_wink:hihi:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> If you arrange the area under you stand, you can fit some small tanks in there. Lol. Just a suggestion. Or you can do like I do. Just put it up and don't tell her till it is half full.:icon_wink:hihi:


Haha, was thinking about incorporating a refugium area into the sump just so I could have another tank:help::tongue: A sheet of acrylic is cheap! 

While planting this, it looked to me like the less tall plants the better, what do you think?








There are tall plants around the perimeter of the hardscape, and some behind as well. When it grows out, it should make the illusion of having a tunnel there. While the "tunnel" itself is not that sightly, I have a quart-sized pickle jar (or bigger) FULL of Java Moss I am sure will cover that up nicely. 

To me, this seemed like enough planting in here for now. Gonna look for another piece of wood, try to find some sort of carpeting plant and some Downoi to line my sandy "beach" area, and then this tank will be done. I want there to be some hiding places, but also wanted LOTS of open area to view my fish from. Any suggestions would be appreciated, and praise is always welcome


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

2in10 said:


> Sump surging is caused by your pump running faster than you overflow can work or the over flow not having the correct mix of air and water. You can insert airline down the overflow tube to inject air and even out the flow. It should help with the gurgle also.


It was the wrong mix of air and water, as you suggested. I inserted a straw in it (pic up above), wrapped one of my kids' hair ties to keep it from falling in, and now it works flawlessly. I wish I had another way to keep critters from falling into the overflow, the window screen I siliconed on it gets clogged 10x's a day. Maybe when the junk from my compost gets filtered out it won't be so bad.


----------



## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

I found out real fast long ago you cannot put window screen directly on the teeth of the overflow. It reduces the flow too much and fast. I have found that making a screen 'slipcover' that stands away from the teeth keeps stuff from clogging the teeth and doesn't reduce the flow. You could either make a band that goes 1" underwater and 1" above water around the teeth about 1" away for plant debris or attach a whole thing somehow with magnets or suction cups or something that stands away from the teeth for critters. I see reef tanks with very coarse scrubby type stuff there which might work but after my scary window screen incident years ago I really don't want anything touching the overflow teeth at all.

I have a HOB overflow so take out the box and put on a cover that is an inch too large all the way around. If the part at the water surface gets clogged water just flows from lower down. Haven't lost any fish since using this thing but snails find their way in. I suspect baby fish will get through too but that is fine as the outflow goes into water now, not into bioballs, scrubbies or other wet dry media.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Kathyy said:


> I found out real fast long ago you cannot put window screen directly on the teeth of the overflow. It reduces the flow too much and fast. I have found that making a screen 'slipcover' that stands away from the teeth keeps stuff from clogging the teeth and doesn't reduce the flow. You could either make a band that goes 1" underwater and 1" above water around the teeth about 1" away for plant debris or attach a whole thing somehow with magnets or suction cups or something that stands away from the teeth for critters. I see reef tanks with very coarse scrubby type stuff there which might work but after my scary window screen incident years ago I really don't want anything touching the overflow teeth at all.
> 
> I have a HOB overflow so take out the box and put on a cover that is an inch too large all the way around. If the part at the water surface gets clogged water just flows from lower down. Haven't lost any fish since using this thing but snails find their way in. I suspect baby fish will get through too but that is fine as the outflow goes into water now, not into bioballs, scrubbies or other wet dry media.


I hate having to scrub the screens 4 or 5 times a day. Would definitely like to come up with another way to do this, but what I have done is working as long as I can keep my hands out of the tank and I dont disturb the substrate. This has been happening alot since I am just basically getting this tank planted. I hope it lets up now that I'm done, or that I can find an alternative solution to the overflow. Will definitely check out your recommendations and let you know how it goes, thank you.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Patriot100% said:


> What light is that, it seems pretty bright...I need something like that on my tank.


I think it's just one of those desk lamps with the flexible neck, probably (but maybe not) with the bulb changed out. Looks really good in that setup.

Are you stationed in Japan, or did you move over there? I had an Uncle that was stationed there in Okinawa? (I think) while in the Air Force through Wright Patt A.F.B. I always wished I could have found a way to go see them over there, and to discover the different culture and scenery you get to see from tv, but wished you could see in real life. Long gone, but not forgotten, is the money they brought back to me to show how different their culture was from ours. It is definitely one place I want to get to before I die.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Hard to tell in the pics, but this is how this tank is planted:








The light green is Italian Vallisneria, dark green is Vallisneria Gigantae, white is Apogenoton sp', Red is Ludwigia Glandulosa, yellow is Stargrass, black is Rotala Nanjenshan, pinkish/purplish is Sunset Hygro. I've also got some Limnophila Sessiloflora that will grow in behind the Hygro.
Here are some things that are still left to do:








Left; big brown circle for needed wood piece, red and orange circles for alternating Rotala Rotundifolia and Rotala Nanjenshan. Right; green oval for needed Downoi I want to line my "beach area with, tan oval for needed sand.

Just messing around to see how it might look when I get it done and the plants grow in;








You can kinda get the idea, can't you?


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

150EH said:


> The way you have the path with the arch in the back reminded me of this really cool nano tank, see what you think


Whom is it by?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Should have some baby Apple snails soon. Opened the door and seen my Apple laying eggs.









Just had to share this pic of my Fiddler crab. They are my second favorite inhabitant, next to the Angels of course They are so cool to watch and I just LOVE them! This one, though, almost scared the crap out of my wife when she opened the door. I, in turn, almost peed a little laughing at her so hard!!!


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Tony you should check Kathy's journal and the way she has the screen around the overflow you don't have to clean it every day because if the top gets clogged the water can still find it's way under so the overflow continues to function. Even if you do yours differently it may give you a good idea how to do it without clogging up the mix, good luck.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

150EH said:


> Tony you should check Kathy's journal and the way she has the screen around the overflow you don't have to clean it every day because if the top gets clogged the water can still find it's way under so the overflow continues to function. Even if you do yours differently it may give you a good idea how to do it without clogging up the mix, good luck.


Thanks for that, just went and checked it out. Then realised it had been awhile since I looked at that journal, and also that I didn't post about it the first time but made it a point to this time Kathy's got a pretty awesome tank there.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I got my sand in yesturday:








And a side view:








I am probably going to switch out some of the rocks for a couple bigger ones. Then I am going to get down to the lake before it gets too cold to look for me another piece or two of wood. Then, when I get some Downoi, this will be done. I already have some microsword on the way, so I am close to getting there. I am really pleased with it, too. What do you think?


----------



## Bradleyv1714 (Jul 25, 2011)

Love the hermit crabs! I have been looking at getting one but I don't know if they would eat my fish or what they would eat...

pm me if you have any info please.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Not bad man. I like it. Especially the first pic with your kids hand in it, it really puts the tank into perspective and shows how huge it is.


----------



## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

Tank looks awesome!
I love the 2 feet deep and 21 high, perfect dimensions.
How are the fish doing? With all your fish it still looks empty on those pics


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Not bad man. I like it. Especially the first pic with your kids hand in it, it really puts the tank into perspective and shows how huge it is.


Thanks, man. My scape makes the tank look pretty small, doesn't it? I really wanted a long tank but wasn't having any luck, so I took the first one I was offered that was over 100g. I think it will turn out pretty nice though, once I get it done. I wasn't really going for depth, but rather a nice scape to showcase my fish. Maybe one day I'll get a long one and be able to do something else with that one. For now, my boy and I have been having LOTS of fun doing this one.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Thanks, man. My scape makes the tank look pretty small, doesn't it? I really wanted a long tank but wasn't having any luck, so I took the first one I was offered that was over 100g. I think it will turn out pretty nice though, once I get it done. I wasn't really going for depth, but rather a nice scape to showcase my fish. Maybe one day I'll get a long one and be able to do something else with that one. For now, my boy and I have been having LOTS of fun doing this one.


I feel ya on that one. I would love to have a 10 foot tank or something like that. A whole wall. But until then, I have to make do with what I can afford and what fits.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

nalu86 said:


> Tank looks awesome!
> I love the 2 feet deep and 21 high, perfect dimensions.
> How are the fish doing? With all your fish it still looks empty on those pics


This tank is alright, for now. My perfect tank would be like your 125 you have going with your DSM, which should be awesome when done , BTW. I just cannot achieve much depth with this tank to save my life. I am now, between checking TPT:flick:, trying some other things in there to better achieve the look I am going for.

The fish are all doing great, and get along better every day, since realizing they don't have to compete for food with each other. I keep threatening to get a video, but have just been busy lately with kids, my club, getting my scape just right, and Fall yardwork that I just haven't felt like doing it. I was going to get a video of my Fiddler Crab riding the back of my Apple Snail, but couldn't fing the stupid camera I guess I left it out and the kids got ahold of it, no doubt. Either that or the wife hid it to try to teach me a lesson It is, afterall, her camera:hihi:

It does still look really bare, doesn't it? It looks LOTS better in person, but in the pics the fish just disappear. The Angels and the tiger Barbs, I know, will get bigger. Because of that I don't know if I should get more fish or not, so I think I'll just wait and see. I am working on getting some shrimps though!


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> Thanks for that, just went and checked it out. Then realised it had been awhile since I looked at that journal, and also that I didn't post about it the first time but made it a point to this time Kathy's got a pretty awesome tank there.


I wanted you to see the screen she used around the overflow, it's a good way to do it without it getting clogged and after you've seen it the ideas of how to do it so it's less intrusive come pouring in.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Bradleyv1714 said:


> Love the hermit crabs! I have been looking at getting one but I don't know if they would eat my fish or what they would eat...
> 
> pm me if you have any info please.


Will send a pm as well, but figured to benefit my readers, I would post some info here as well.

Like alot of beginners in the hobby, I impulse bought these crabs, loving the way they moved in the tank at the LFS. I just bought them, acclimated them as I did the rest of the fish, and threw them in there. Never, was I thinking about the way these needed to be kept. Stupidly, I thought, "They were in his aquarium and will look awesome in my bigger tank." 

Come to find out, after researching them (unfortunately after I bought them), I learned that they will only survive short-term in an aquarium setting like I have. They need MUCH more than I am currently providing, and willing to provide at this time.

First of all, these guys need SALT! They CAN survive in freshwater for a short time, but prefer brackish to salty water. My tank will be heavily planted and I am not willing to add salt just to be able to keep these guys, and risk losing all my plants. 

Apparently, these guys also like to root in sand, and will actually bury themselves in it for periods of time. The sand in my tank is only around 3/4ths of an inch deep, and I cannot add more without the risk of ruining my scape by having a huge sand pile in it.

Fiddler crabs also like to get out of the water for awhile and just sun themselves. While my wood does stick out of the water, and I have seen them using it quite frequently, I am not so sure it will suffice enough to keep these guys going strong.

The moral of this story? I will either be getting rid of these guys, or buying a little riparium set I seen on Craigslist earlier.

BradleyV, these guys will eat small fish and things. I just got a bunch of Guppies to try to keep them from eating my other fish I want to keep.


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Ok, I made this mock up of a sump screen that you could build as a straight piece and then cut and bend to fit over the sump, let me know what you think.










From the top side, but if it were just a couple inches tall it would work fine and should keep any debris from going into the sump.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

The screen looks awesome and I think it would work out great. What would it be made out of, stainless steel mesh?


----------



## Coursair (Apr 16, 2011)

Your Silver Dollar Tetras are more commonly known as Black Skirt Tetras in my area, Latin name Gymnocorymbus ternetzi. They'd prefer some more of their own kind when you get a chance. 

Keep an eye on your Kissing Gouramis. They get big and can get aggressive. 

I found this info online :
The Kissing Gourami can reach a length of 30 centimetres (12 inches) and will naturally need a big aquarium. Keep in mind that the little Kissing gourami offered by the pet store can quickly outgrow a small aquarium.

Try to mimic the slow-moving, densely grown Kissing Gourami habitat in Asia when you set up the aquarium and include a lot of plants. Always use sturdy and fast growing plants in the Kissing gourami aquarium, since sensitive plants will not tolerate being grazed by the fish. Java fern and Java moss is recommended.

Kissing gouramis can be fond of digging and this is naturally a problem since they should be kept in planted aquariums. You can prevent digging by using gravel and stones with a large diameter as aquarium substrate. This will also provide algae with plenty of surface area to grow on.
>>>>>>
so yours may become an issue for a planted tank. 

Other Gouramis are plant safe. But Gouramis, like their cousin the Betta, may not like each other. Lucky you have such a large tank it will help keep aggression much lower in general.


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> The screen looks awesome and I think it would work out great. What would it be made out of, stainless steel mesh?


I guess you could use anything that doesn't react with water, stainless, aluminum, etc., the hardest part would be getting nice looking bends without a brake (used to bend sheet metal) you could use a stiff straight edge, good luck.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Coursair said:


> Your Silver Dollar Tetras are more commonly known as Black Skirt Tetras in my area, Latin name Gymnocorymbus ternetzi. They'd prefer some more of their own kind when you get a chance.


Yeah, I was made aware of that in a later post, but forgot to go and change it in my original post. Thank you. 



Coursair said:


> Keep an eye on your Kissing Gouramis. They get big and can get aggressive.
> 
> I found this info online :
> The Kissing Gourami can reach a length of 30 centimetres (12 inches) and will naturally need a big aquarium. Keep in mind that the little Kissing gourami offered by the pet store can quickly outgrow a small aquarium.
> ...


Thanks for the info, I tried to accomodate the needs of all my fish when setting up this tank. I guess we will see in the long run how well I did, but I am pretty sure I gave everything I could to them. I also try to feed the tank enough so that they don't get the urge to fight for anything. Like everything else though, only time will tell on how good of a job I've been doing.


----------



## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> Yeah, I was made aware of that in a later post, but forgot to go and change it in my original post. Thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the info, I tried to accomodate the needs of all my fish when setting up this tank. I guess we will see in the long run how well I did, but I am pretty sure I gave everything I could to them. I also try to feed the tank enough so that they don't get the urge to fight for anything. Like everything else though, only time will tell on how good of a job I've been doing.


once the kissers are big enough it won't be a matter of hunger, they'll do it cause your other fish fit in the mouths, is your betta still in there? is he okay with the gouramis?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

shrimpNewbie said:


> once the kissers are big enough it won't be a matter of hunger, they'll do it cause your other fish fit in the mouths, is your betta still in there? is he okay with the gouramis?


Oh yeah, the Bettas great and has even been staying out with all the rest of the other fish until it feels like lying amongst the roots of my floaters and taking a rest. Then it'll just lay there and watch all the rest of the fish do their thing.

I hope the Gouramis dont start eating my fish, they are supposed to be the more peaceful of them. All I can do is hope and watch I guess, but thanks for the advice.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

150, I kind of combined your design and ideas with Kathy's, and this was what I decided on making, mainly because I already had all the stuff I needed to make it:








And here it is installed:








It is a definite improvement over what I was using. As it is, this has my screen about an eigth of an inch off the overflow box. I need to do a little more tweaking, but I hope to have it keep the screen a half inch off. Right now, after having to sew the screen to the hanger and shape it, it works better then it has so I decided I would wait till tomorrow to adjust it more. Thanks for all your help. Without you and Kathy I would still be having to scrape the screen every couple hours.

I did get a video of my tank in action. Too tired right now to post it, but I will get it on tomorrow.


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Looks good from here and if it works better what more can you ask for?


----------



## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Looks nice and clean. Good job.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

150EH said:


> Looks good from here and if it works better what more can you ask for?


It works great, in my opinion. After I bowed the front "poles" out to hold the screen out further, and adjusted the "clips" in the back to secure it as opposed to it just laying on the top, it is a 200% improvement. It was nice to not wake up to the sound of my pump sucking air:icon_lol:



Kathyy said:


> Looks nice and clean. Good job.


Thanks, it would have been nice to have had a black or grey colored frame, but I worked with what I had. I also had yellow and blue-coated, but thought the green would blend in better once the Vals grow up to it and the floaters started resting against it.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I FINALLY uploaded a videoroud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Been doing LOTS to the tank every day, including planting/replanting and switching out some rocks and things, so I figured I would post an updated FTS.








More plants going in, look pretty bad now but should perk up nicely:








My new floaters, with some AWESOME little purple cauliflower-looking things, as well as an exceedingly rarer Asian Watergrass. The reason I did the DIY overflow screen.








They look great inside the tank as well:








I think I'm going to get a bag of black gravel later today. There is just too much tan in this tank, IMO.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

So, I went out and payed $30 for a new bulb to replace the one that blew the second I hooked it up. Put it in, and nothing. So I switched my good working bulb for the new one, and light. Evidently, when the bulb blew, there was more to it then just a weak bulb. It was my ballast, or whatever it is on metal halide fixtures I ended up disconnecting it and put in a temporary CFL, until I go back to Lowes. Probably be tomorrow, so if anyone can give me any suggestions on what I should buy it would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind I still have 1- 175w x 10,000k halide, and the 2 blue actinics. I still have plenty of room to do something on the other side with, just dont know what yet. I have some Microsword on the way for that side of the tank, so I will definitely need a light over there soon. I am just not going to spend the $ to fix the metal halide fixture, especially seeing that I have been told they were too much light for my tank.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I set up a grow-tub for my Apple Snails I needed to grow them larger so my fish wouldn't eat them, so I made a growout-tub out of an old butter bowl. I just put a layer of gravel in the bottom of the bowl, filled half way with tank water, and floated my egg sacs in that. To get them to float, I just made a little boat out of a piece of styrofoam, sat the eggs on that, and sat that into the water. Now the babies have a safe place to go as to avoid being eaten. As long as there are holes in the lid, and you change the water every day, this should work out really well. I know I'm seeing about 20 or 30 babies skating around the bottom of the bowl.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Nice one on the snail grow tub. Did you get your light working yet? I just read that post as well.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Nice one on the snail grow tub.


Thanks, it has worked really well. Now I gotta figure out what to do with all these snails:eek5: 



cableguy69846 said:


> Did you get your light working yet? I just read that post as well.


 It turned out to be the transformer/ballast, so I replaced that side with a 23 watt 6,500K CFL. Also has some 46" blue Actinics, but switched one for a 46" 28watt T5 Flourescent lamp measuring 3,500K. If you cant tell, I'm a big fan of diversification There are lights in there from all over the spectrum, but my plants look happy and my Gigantae picked up their growth rate from before I moved them. They have already grown 6" or more since replanting them. The Italians are sending shoots, so everything is starting to get real happy. I cannot wait till it grows out some more, I think I have some really cool plants.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

My buddy got a really pretty full-grown Angel to try to add to his stock of a breeding pair in his 55g. This didn't turn out so well and the fish got a little chewed up. Instead of letting his fish kill it, he gave it to me. He appears totally fine and swims and eats and all that. He's just got chewed up sides and a crooked dorsal fin now. I think he's gonna be alright, I just need to let him heal some more. In the meantime, here are a few pics of him:
























Love the blue coloring in him when he hits certain lights. 

While I'm at it, I will go ahead and post a couple updated shots on here as well. I got a new camera, so I've been playing
Male Apple








Female Fiddler, both of which are still going strong.








Blue female Apple, and a possible Madagascar Lace (fingers crossed)








Can you tell what these are? Neons? IDK, but ones neon green and the others neon orange.
















Kissing Gourami








Hygro Sunset and moss-tied wood getting nice and green.








One of my Tiger Barbs








Pleco enjoying a frozen greenbean.








One of my Angels grazing








My Platinum Guppies


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Those are glowlight tetras. At least that is what they are called in the store. They are really zebra danios that are dyed to look that color.

Love the H. polysperma 'sunset' How is it coloring up for you?

Good lookin angel too.roud:

Like the tank as always man.:biggrin:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Those are glowlight tetras. At least that is what they are called in the store. They are really zebra danios that are dyed to look that color.


Are you sure they're not neon tetras? I thought that was what they were called, and I described them as that, but in an earlier post I was told that they didn't look right. I'm pretty sure I was right, but wanted to find out for sure. I think the glowlights are transparent with a vein of color going through them, but not 100% positive. Either way, thanks.



cableguy69846 said:


> Love the H. polysperma 'sunset' How is it coloring up for you?


That Sunset Hygro is my second favorite weed, I just love the color I get out of it. I have heard LOTS of people have problems getting it to color up, but mine always get really nice and pink/red.



cableguy69846 said:


> Good lookin angel too.roud:


Thank you. I am really grateful I got this fish. I posted on the Angelfishforum and found out he is a Black Ghost. He is a really awesome looking fish, and I love to just watch him. He surprisingly, gets along with all the other fish I have too. Maybe partly because he was, himself bullied. Maybe also because he doesn't feel threatened by anything in the tank. Whatever it is, he is doing great and I couldn't be happier.



cableguy69846 said:


> Like the tank as always man.:biggrin:


Thanks buddy, I appreciate that. I'm just ready to get it done. Getting tired of all the inspiration I get every day. Who knows though, maybe there will be a new tank in the works for me soon:help::biggrin:


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I don't think they are either, no doubt that they are not Neons and the shape and color is wrong for Glolights, post a pic in the fish section someone will know.

They have more of a Danio or Barb shape?

How do you like the Fiddler Crab? Do they bother other fish or plants, try to escape, etc.?


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Are you sure they're not neon tetras? I thought that was what they were called, and I described them as that, but in an earlier post I was told that they didn't look right. I'm pretty sure I was right, but wanted to find out for sure. I think the glowlights are transparent with a vein of color going through them, but not 100% positive. Either way, thanks.
> 
> 
> That Sunset Hygro is my second favorite weed, I just love the color I get out of it. I have heard LOTS of people have problems getting it to color up, but mine always get really nice and pink/red.
> ...


No problem man.

My 'sunset' just started coloring up in my 20 gallon tank. I will have to get some pics of it later on. It is getting really bright.

That is pretty cool on the angel fish. I really want an angelfish tank, but don't have the room for it yet.

And you are contracting MTS. Lol. We all get it at some point. Nothing wrong with another tank. You should look into a shrimp tank. They are a lot of fun.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

150EH said:


> I don't think they are either, no doubt that they are not Neons and the shape and color is wrong for Glolights, post a pic in the fish section someone will know.
> 
> They have more of a Danio or Barb shape?


They are exactly like my Zebra Danios, just colored.



150EH said:


> How do you like the Fiddler Crab? Do they bother other fish or plants, try to escape, etc.?


The Fiddlers are great. They are always getting into the overflow, resulting in me having to tie a string around the end of my pipe-brush and dropping it down in there. They've even made the trip down to the sump, once No problems at all with any fish, although, they do uproot some plants and have snipped down some. It is few and far between, even my pleco uproots more plants than they do. That is why I'm giving it away tomorrow. I will likely be getting rid of my newest addition, the big blue ghost Angel. Now that he's healing well, he has found hisself in good enough shape to start running my other fish, especially my Angels and I'm not going to put up with it. He was free and my little greens were not, so he will have to go.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> No problem man.
> 
> My 'sunset' just started coloring up in my 20 gallon tank. I will have to get some pics of it later on. It is getting really bright.
> 
> ...


I have been seriously thinking about doing the 9-tank rack in my shed. It would definitely be a project I could work on this winter, once I can get a proper door, insulation, and electricity in there. The sockets and light switches/fixtures are already in there, I just need to run a wire to it. I could throw my electric heater in there and go to work


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I have been seriously thinking about doing the 9-tank rack in my shed. It would definitely be a project I could work on this winter, once I can get a proper door, insulation, and electricity in there. The sockets and light switches/fixtures are already in there, I just need to run a wire to it. I could throw my electric heater in there and go to work


I have been seriously contemplating that for the garage. It will never function as a garage again unless it gets completely rebuilt. But I may save that for a few years down the road. I would have to run all the electrical and that in the basement too. Nothing wrong with having something to keep you busy in the winter.:thumbsup:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I was just out there eyeing the stuff we have stored in there, wondering if I can sneak from my wife and move this stuff somewhere else:icon_cool Doh!! She just read what I was writing:hihi:


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I was just out there eyeing the stuff we have stored in there, wondering if I can sneak from my wife and move this stuff somewhere else:icon_cool Doh!! She just read what I was writing:hihi:


Lol. Don't sneak, just do it.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I told her what I was talking about, after she read what I was writing, and she didn't say anything. Should I take that as her acceptance of this or just her way of not saying anything until I try to start the job? I do gotta get some more things, but I think I will work on it.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I told her what I was talking about, after she read what I was writing, and she didn't say anything. Should I take that as her acceptance of this or just her way of not saying anything until I try to start the job? I do gotta get some more things, but I think I will work on it.


I would start it and see what she says. No harm in trying.roud:


----------



## matty26 (Feb 25, 2011)

Not sure if your question about the neon fish was answered yet but they are Glo-fish. They're zebra danios that are dyed a color. Not naturally that color.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

matty26 said:


> Not sure if your question about the neon fish was answered yet but they are Glo-fish. They're zebra danios that are dyed a color. Not naturally that color.


That's what they are, thank you. I, for some reason, could not think of that for the life of me. I would LOVE to get a nice-sized school of Neon Tetras. My buddies got some and they look awesome, and would be awesome in my tank with my lighting I think.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I got rid of that Pleco today, along with the Black Ghost Angel that was given to me. The Pleco kept uprooting my plants, and the Angel got well enough to start picking on my smaller Angels, so they had to go. Atleast I'll be able to plant the rest of the plants, without the Pleco to uproot them right after I put them in. My plants are starting to look scraggily! I found them a good home, though, so I'm happy.


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i would get a school of cardinal tetras instead of neon, IMO they are much nice. tank looks nice


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

orchidman said:


> i would get a school of cardinal tetras instead of neon, IMO they are much nice. tank looks nice


 IDK, I'm kinda diggin the Glowlight Tetras. Not really too keen on all the extra color in the Neons or the Cardinals. I think about 15 or 20 Glowlights would look really good in there. I love the way the large school of Tigers look, but think there needs to be 1 more big school.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

*Getting water ready for fish quickly, in a heavily planted tank.*

When I traded my tank for a new one, I started preparing for the fill-up of the new tank to have it ready for fish as quickly as possible. I collected all the unused trash cans, big Rubbermaid containers, and clean buckets I could find. I ended up with a 13 gallon trash can, a 6 gallon and a 5g bucket, 2 big Rubbermaids, and my 2.5g maintenance bucket. 

I filled the 6g bucket with tank water and placed plants and fish in it with an extra filter I had in which I put some filter-floss into from my old filter. I then filled the 13g trashcan with used tank water. As I was filling I was using a gravel-vac and letting all that mulm go right in with the water until full. I then rinsed my filter-floss in there as well. I needed an old corner-filter seeded that I had replaced the media in. This is what I was going to continue to use to be able to seed some water for future wc's, so I needed all this bacteria for this. I then filled the trashcan with snails and the remainder of the plants and turned that corner-filter on to start growing some bacteria.

While that was working I filled the 5g bucket with tap water, and stuck an air tube in it to offgas the chlorine. This usually takes about 24hrs, so let that work. You don't want that chlorine killing off all that needed bacteria.

When I got the tank drained, I removed the rocks and dirt taking care to mostly seperate them. Then I placed them into the other tank. The wood, rocks, and plants from the other tank go in. 

Then it was time to fill the tank. I used a plate on the substrate and added the 13 gallons of old tank water, dumping the mulm through the bio-balls and filter floss. I then added the water from the 5g bucket I had been offgassing over night. I then used tap water to make up the remainder of the 105 gallons I needed to fill the new tank.

After the tank was filled I turned on the heater, lights, and pump and got the system running. This was at night, so by the next morning the tank would be up to temp, and ready for some fish. 

Then I needed to prepare for the wc's to come, that were going to be frequent due to the ammonia spikes from the tanks cycle. I filled up the 6g bucket that housed the fish, then placed an airline in there to offgas the chlorine. In the morning when the chlorine's gone I will put the corner filter I seeded during the switch. This will ensure I have water close to my tanks parameters to do my wc's with to assure my fish are not shocked, or burned by chlorine.

By morning all the chlorine smell was gone from the air around the tank. Actually, there was really no smell at all and the tank was at the temperature needed for my stocking list. You all know I went to the fish store right then:flick: I couldn't wait.

I came home, acclimated the fish as I always do, and netted them into my tank. 1 Kisser went right to the bottom, so I knew he/she wouldn't last that long. Sadly, it was gone the next day All the other 58 fish went in and have been happy and active ever since. 

For my wc's, they usually needed to be done every 3 or 4 days. To determine when they needed done I used my nose. I remembered what the tank smelled like before I stocked it, and knew it was time for a wc when it started smelling..well....:fish: :smile: 

I used my gravel-vac taking care to suck out as much waste from the tank as I could, until my 2.5g bucket was full. I then replaced with the water I seeded a couple days before in my 6g bucket. My tank is open-topped, and when it needed to be topped off (usually every other day), I would use tap water to allow the chlorine to kill off a little bit of the bacteria between wc's.

I would use up the seeded water every week, so more would need to be made. I just fill the 6g up with tap water and put an airline in it for 24hrs. While this is working, I run the corner-filter in the water I take out of the tank with all the wastes in it. When the chlorine is off-gassed, my corner-filter is again ready to seed some more water for me. If I never did this, the bacteria in the filter would get all used up and wouldn't properly seed my water for me.

I have not lost a single fish throughout this whole process, so I have proven that you do not necessarily NEED a properly cycled tank to be able to add fish when you have a heavily planted tank. The plants help take care of the extras that the uncycled filter cannot. It has now been around 4 weeks, and I now just top-off with seeded water or tap water alternatively, and only vac when the tank gets really nasty.


----------



## irishchickadee (Mar 19, 2009)

About the Glo-Fish... They are genetically engineered that color, not dyed (unlike parrot fish and tattoo mollies). Any offspring of these fish will have that bright color passed onto them without any chemical assistance. They were originally created when scientists were trying to learn more about genetics and molecular biology. So don't worry , no fish were harmed. roud:

Tank looks great btw


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

irishchickadee said:


> About the Glo-Fish... They are genetically engineered that color, not dyed (unlike parrot fish and tattoo mollies). Any offspring of these fish will have that bright color passed onto them without any chemical assistance. They were originally created when scientists were trying to learn more about genetics and molecular biology. So don't worry , no fish were harmed. roud:


Yeah, thanks. When I finally had my mind refreshed on what they were, I went and looked them up. I think it's cool that they can breed like-colored babies in captivity, and have noticed that one of them has been getting REALLY fatroud: I wonder if they'll breed with the regular Danios that are in there as well? 



irishchickadee said:


> Tank looks great btw


Thanks, although, if you were to see it now you wouldn't think so. I have plants in pots in there, and loose moss from my other tank that I was trying to turn green again to maybe sell. I've also been slacking on the more intense maintenance while the plants are trying to grow in.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I lost the good fight with my Betta today. I woke up to my Betta's tail all chewed and knotted up, with a big wound on it's head. I guess something got mad through the night, and beat on it pretty good. I'm thinking it was the Gourami, but not exactly sure. It looks so big, dumb, and peaceful while I'm watching the tank throughout the day though so I have found it hard to believe. I can't say I wasn't warned though, so thanks TPT'ers for that. I just figured if it lasted a week it would be fine.

On a more positive note, I managed to get a couple videos for you all, as soon as I get to Ytube to UL them I know I got one of the tank, one of my Apple baby factory, and one of my Fiddlers dancing for his lady I might go UL them tonight, but might wait till tomorrow. I'm starting to get kind of tired. I had some other updates also, but am too tired to even think about them.

'Till tomorrow


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Time for a long overdue update. My Apons are going crazy, but not much noticable in the others, other than the floaters. I've already given TONS of that stuff away. I planted my Limno tonight (around the "tunnel"), as well as some Retrospiralis and LOTS of dwarf sag (right side). 








I've got a couple videos I'm going over to Ytube to upload after I post this.
http://youtu.be/eVb-dorCTC0 Todays video. I have another one of my male Fiddler dancing, but cannot remember where I put it. I'll find it and post it later.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Found an AWESOME piece of wood yesterday. Cannot think of a way to use it in my tank, but would LOVE to see it showcases in some way. I think it would be really neat to use as a planter in some way. Love how the wood somehow naturally formed a bowl. Check it out.








I also found the memory card that had my dancing Fiddler on it. I will post them in a little bit.


----------



## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

very nice very nice.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

green_valley said:


> very nice very nice.


Thank you, I really appreciate that. Although, I did go check your tank out and I have to say, WOW!! Yours is awesome. I wanted a long tank like yours to work with, but I got a more square tank and had to squash my plans and start with a new design. It's not turning out too bad I guess, and should look pretty good once the plants fill in a little more.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

That piece of wood is pretty awesome. It would be cool if you could suspend it halfway up the tank somehow, and have the plants in the little pot like you said.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> That piece of wood is pretty awesome. It would be cool if you could suspend it halfway up the tank somehow, and have the plants in the little pot like you said.


Trust me, I have been brainstorming on a way to get that in my tank. I love that piece, and will definitely include it if I can figure out how.

Here is the video of my male Fiddler crab dancing for his lady, too cute. The rest is just a video of my tank in the stage before the last video I posted, before I planted the sag. Didn't know how to cut part of it out, to just show the part of him dancing.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Well. You led me to this journal . That is a NICE looking piece of driftwood. Make sure to update us on how you plan on using it.

Hm... don't fiddlers require air to live as well? Or can they live in either submerged or land environments? I remember seeing a ton near the shores where I used to go camping.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Well. You led me to this journal . That is a NICE looking piece of driftwood. Make sure to update us on how you plan on using it.
> 
> Hm... don't fiddlers require air to live as well? Or can they live in either submerged or land environments? I remember seeing a ton near the shores where I used to go camping.


I will definitely update if I do ever use the piece of wood. I just cannot think of a way to use it. I am open to suggestions on placement, if anyone has any. I would LOVE to use it in there.

The Fiddlers do require air. I'm pretty sure there is a pic or video or something in this journal of the crab on top of the wood. The floaters are so dense that they can now walk across them, all over the top of the tank. Scares the crap out of my wife when she opens the canopy to see a crab looking at her from a piece of the water lettuce in there:hihi: 

I didn't know until I got them (stupid impulse buy), but they also do not live long without saltwater. I have been working on building them something on top of my tank that is saltwater, but would still allow them down into the freshwater side as well. I just hope they live long enough for me to come up with something. So far, though, they seem to be doing rather well. They eat good, they still molt, and are active enough that the male even dances all the time. They have been with me close to 2 months now, so I am working on a new enclosure because I REALLY love these guys.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

So do the crabs walk up your DW on the back and then climb onto the floaters? That's really funny about your wife opening the tank :]! Do they ever try to make a break for it and attempt to leave the tank? Or is the water too low, or just that the cover is closed?

If you do set up some sort of mini-tank for the crabs to dip into salt water would you be worried about them transfering salt back into your main tank? I'm sure the concentration would be insanely low but if a fish happens to swim near at the time there might be ill effects or something?

As for the DW, you seem to have some empty space on the right side of the tank where you have those two pots currently. Since the DW kind of has a "Y" shape (if you ignore the bowl) maybe you can use one of the pots to rest the bottom part of the "Y" and see if the wood can support its own weight with the top part of the "Y"? Or try it diagonal rising from the front to the back of your tank.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> So do the crabs walk up your DW on the back and then climb onto the floaters? That's really funny about your wife opening the tank :]! Do they ever try to make a break for it and attempt to leave the tank? Or is the water too low, or just that the cover is closed?
> 
> If you do set up some sort of mini-tank for the crabs to dip into salt water would you be worried about them transfering salt back into your main tank? I'm sure the concentration would be insanely low but if a fish happens to swim near at the time there might be ill effects or something?


Yeah, they just walk right up and out the top. There is a couple inches above the waterline, where they sit or access the floaters to walk across. These are 2 of my favorite inhabitants in my tank, I just love watching them do their thing, and so do my kids. My wife likes watching them too, but let one be on top when she opens it up, too funny:hihi: 

The back of my canopy is actually open, and they have never tried to get out, with the exception of climbing to the top. I have even seen one walk across the back of my tank, but they stay in there. I think they are just REALLY scared of humans. They run for their burrows when I put my hand in the tank Little do they know, I am probably more scared of getting pinched by one than they should be of me. That male has a HUGE claw

I think all my fish are tolerant to the minute amount of salt that would come from the crabs walking back and forth, so I'm not too worried about that. My biggest problem is designing something for them that will still allow my lights to penetrate to my substrate. I have some ideas, but nothing really good yet to make me want to start construction on anything. Mostly just planning right now and trying to come up with the material. When I start it I will post for all to see though, so no worries about that.



diwu13 said:


> As for the DW, you seem to have some empty space on the right side of the tank where you have those two pots currently. Since the DW kind of has a "Y" shape (if you ignore the bowl) maybe you can use one of the pots to rest the bottom part of the "Y" and see if the wood can support its own weight with the top part of the "Y"? Or try it diagonal rising from the front to the back of your tank.


----------



## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> Thank you, I really appreciate that. Although, I did go check your tank out and I have to say, WOW!! Yours is awesome. I wanted a long tank like yours to work with, but I got a more square tank and had to squash my plans and start with a new design. It's not turning out too bad I guess, and should look pretty good once the plants fill in a little more.


It turns to be great. roud: SPecially when they're filled in.


----------



## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

I'm here. Where are the ramshorns?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> I'm here. Where are the ramshorns?


I haven't really got many pics of the snails here. Most of the pics I have of them are in my sales thread, but for you I will take some pics of my different jars and post in here. I'll do anything to get people to look at my tank:flick: Just give me a little bit to get a few good pics. We got a new camera (well, wife did), and I am still trying to learn how to use it. I tried to take 30 or 40 pics of the orange ones last night, but could never get the focus right. I have done it before, though, so I'm sure I'll have some a little later on.


----------



## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

ramshorn pics are very hard to take to get the coloring right. Prob is if you correct the color then some people say you are being misleading. 

yeah, I know some people do it to mislead, but the serious breeders are more interested in giving accurate details to gain repeat customers. 

Can you tell I get frustrated taking ramshorn pics myself? LOL


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> ramshorn pics are very hard to take to get the coloring right. Prob is if you correct the color then some people say you are being misleading.
> 
> yeah, I know some people do it to mislead, but the serious breeders are more interested in giving accurate details to gain repeat customers.
> 
> Can you tell I get frustrated taking ramshorn pics myself? LOL


I was getting frustraded also, I got 5 good pics out of 116 pics When I was taking them I noticed the one with the lightest foot wasnt out of it's shell, so it might have died:frown: It was a nice orange with an almost pure white foot. You can see it at the bottom of the jar. I have read that the whit-footed ones rarely survive, so right now I'm just glad I had 1, even if it is dead. You never know, though, that sucker might get up later (I hope).

I would never try to alter the color of my pics, and wouldn't even if I knew how. I am spending lots of time and research on getting just the right colors, to just go in and alter the color. That's just wrong, and I'd be p'ed off if I got some that didn't look like the pics I saw.

And now, time for some snail pics:
Reds








Brown leo's. The smaller one in about the middle is a red leo.








Red and a brown leo. One of my experiments to see what I get.








Orange ones. Look almost red in the pic, until you compare them side-by-side. MUCH lighter colored than the red ones I have. I have 3 of them, and the white-footed one is closed at the bottom of the jar. I hope it's not dead, although, I read that these rarely survive.








Will be working on breeding some better snails, and will post my results here so come back for updates.


----------



## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Is that a cuttle bone floating in your brown jar?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> Is that a cuttle bone floating in your brown jar?


Yes, that is cuttlebone. I keep it in all my jars and my maintank as well. They really do help keep their shells looking great. Before I learned about it, I could pick my snails out of my sump when it gets full, and actually feel their shells cracking. Since I added the cuttlebone, I can pick even the smaller ones up and not crack them any more. I have also noticed that the shells don't get little white rings in them from low calcium, but rather grow really smooth. I definitely recommend any snail-lover to put even just a small piece in their tank. You will notice a big difference.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Yes, that is cuttlebone. I keep it in all my jars and my maintank as well. They really do help keep their shells looking great. Before I learned about it, I could pick my snails out of my sump when it gets full, and actually feel their shells cracking. Since I added the cuttlebone, I can pick even the smaller ones up and not crack them any more. I have also noticed that the shells don't get little white rings in them from low calcium, but rather grow really smooth. I definitely recommend any snail-lover to put even just a small piece in their tank. You will notice a big difference.


Where do you get cuttle bone? I have noticed the white rings you were talking about just now. Now I kind of want to try breeding the ranshorn snails I have.:hihi:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Where do you get cuttle bone? I have noticed the white rings you were talking about just now. Now I kind of want to try breeding the ranshorn snails I have.:hihi:


Hah, glad to hear that. If you want to sell them I wouldn't try breeding the brown ones. Then you'd be stuck with hundreds of snails:hihi: People will buy them for feeders though, but only want to pay for shipping without taking into consideration you have to spend $5 in gas to get to the p.o.

The cuttlebone can be found at almost any store that sells things for birds. They are generally used to strengthen and sharpen the beaks of birds, but work excellently for snails as well. I got mine at WalMart for $.98. As fast as the ramshorns grow, you can start noticing a difference within a few days. I know I have.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Hah, glad to hear that. If you want to sell them I wouldn't try breeding the brown ones. Then you'd be stuck with hundreds of snails:hihi: People will buy them for feeders though, but only want to pay for shipping without taking into consideration you have to spend $5 in gas to get to the p.o.
> 
> The cuttlebone can be found at almost any store that sells things for birds. They are generally used to strengthen and sharpen the beaks of birds, but work excellently for snails as well. I got mine at WalMart for $.98. As fast as the ramshorns grow, you can start noticing a difference within a few days. I know I have.


Do you think it will effect shrimp at all? Most of my ramshorns are in my cherry shrimp tank.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Do you think it will effect shrimp at all? Most of my ramshorns are in my cherry shrimp tank.


From what I've read, the cuttlebone is safe to use in tanks being that it's natural. I have also read that shrimp-keepers use these rather than using powdered calcium, again, because it's natural. First and foremost, cuttlebone adds calcium to the aquarium. The shrimp in turn use the calcium to harden their carapace. A harder carapace keeps them better protected and make them more stunning visually. Some claim that calcium actually helps with the color of shrimp as well, maybe due to how it affects the shell. 

Some say they have experienced shrimp becoming more robust after adding cuttlefish to a tank. Also their shrimp become more active, move about more strongly and definitely breed more. I do not know if it is because their entire carapace is stronger so they are somehow more confident, or maybe other enzymes are leaching from the bone that aids in their health or even simply that it makes the water of a quality that more recreates what they are genetically predispositioned for.

Cuttlebone is calcium carbonate, so it acts as a serious ph buffer. This may make your water harder and could cause stress and even death in more ph sensitive fish. For shrimps and snails, though, I say do it. It is only recommended at 1-1"piece per 10 gallons of water, but think you could do less then that if you would like. I just broke up the whole thing, and split it between my snail jars and my main tank.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> From what I've read, the cuttlebone is safe to use in tanks being that it's natural. I have also read that shrimp-keepers use these rather than using powdered calcium, again, because it's natural. First and foremost, cuttlebone adds calcium to the aquarium. The shrimp in turn use the calcium to harden their carapace. A harder carapace keeps them better protected and make them more stunning visually. Some claim that calcium actually helps with the color of shrimp as well, maybe due to how it affects the shell.
> 
> Some say they have experienced shrimp becoming more robust after adding cuttlefish to a tank. Also their shrimp become more active, move about more strongly and definitely breed more. I do not know if it is because their entire carapace is stronger so they are somehow more confident, or maybe other enzymes are leaching from the bone that aids in their health or even simply that it makes the water of a quality that more recreates what they are genetically predispositioned for.
> 
> Cuttlebone is calcium carbonate, so it acts as a serious ph buffer. This may make your water harder and could cause stress and even death in more ph sensitive fish. For shrimps and snails, though, I say do it. It is only recommended at 1-1"piece per 10 gallons of water, but think you could do less then that if you would like. I just broke up the whole thing, and split it between my snail jars and my main tank.


I think I am going to try that. I have a 10 gallon tank devoted to the cherries, so that will work great. I am just gonna have to watch the PH closely for a while. Look in my thread in the next week for all that goodness. And I assumed it would be ok for shrimp as they use the calcium, just wanted to be sure man. Thanks for the info.

Also, what do you have in your snail jars besides snails and cuttle bone?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> I think I am going to try that. I have a 10 gallon tank devoted to the cherries, so that will work great. I am just gonna have to watch the PH closely for a while. Look in my thread in the next week for all that goodness. And I assumed it would be ok for shrimp as they use the calcium, just wanted to be sure man. Thanks for the info.


Not a problem, I hope it works out well for you. You should take before and after pics of your shrimp so as to show whether or not it helps on the color or not.



cableguy69846 said:


> Also, what do you have in your snail jars besides snails and cuttle bone?


Are you talking about the algae? There's plenty of that in there I've also got what looks to be fake moss. It came wrapped around some dwarf sag I traded on over at angelfish.net. Seems like she used it to make the substrate appear more heavily planted then what it was. I just threw it in there so they would have something to climb on other than glass.


----------



## treetom (Feb 11, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> Is that a cuttle bone floating in your brown jar?


Great idea. I have used egg shell, sea shells, and lastly Gypsum which is CaSO4·2H2O. Tony, if you ever see odd puckered areas or contorted leaves on the Gigantea or Jungle Vals, it's a calcium deficiency. But I doubt you have ever seen this since you add the Cuttle bone for the snails.


----------



## treetom (Feb 11, 2011)

http://www.crabhomes.com/

I heard about this on Pet Fish Talk podcast. Very cool! As far as salt water, they only need brackish. Still a no go in the planted world.


----------



## treetom (Feb 11, 2011)

> Do you think it will effect shrimp at all? Most of my ramshorns are in my cherry shrimp tank.


After adding a calcium source to my tank (Gypsum) I noticed my shrimp took on a much deeper red coloration in my community tank (black substrate) but no change in the cherry tank (light sand substrate). The snails have since shown a huge improvement in looks and as Tony had stated have increased in strength. My snails used to crack easy and get areas of shell eaten away by the water and other snails.


----------



## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

I thought that's what I saw. I've used cuttle bone for quite some time now as well, and some things I've discovered is:

-Ingestion- throw the cuttle into a container with water and microwave it for about 2 minutes. Let it cool and now it will sink and stay on the bottom instead of floating. This has helped my apple snails to eat it when wanted because 'tis easier to crawl across bottom, than crawl up glass to get to it. Plus, in a display tank, you can hide it much better if wanted, without any type of weight to hold it down.

-Water- Cuttle is so soft it is easy to pulverize into powder to add directly to the water to raise gh.

Shell rings are also caused by any Ph change in water condition. 1 deg either way can cause some serious ringage.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

OK. I think I am sold on the cuttlebone. Thanks for the info guys. Now just one question.

Is this it?

Thanks a lot you guys.


----------



## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Bingo! You found it cableguy.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

treetom said:


> Great idea. I have used egg shell, sea shells, and lastly Gypsum which is CaSO4·2H2O. Tony, if you ever see odd puckered areas or contorted leaves on the Gigantea or Jungle Vals, it's a calcium deficiency. But I doubt you have ever seen this since you add the Cuttle bone for the snails.


Dude, you have no idea how well the Gigantae are growing! They are now around 4' tall or maybe more like 5'. I have to do weekly trims on them or they start wrapping around my tank. The Italians are still really short and it's driving me nuts! They still spread, but for the life of me I cannot get them to grow tall.

All your suggestions for calcium are good suggestions, thanks. Some people with sensitive fish would do good with shells rather than a cuttlebone. The shells will slowly provide the calcium wheras the cuttle dissolves rather quickly. No problems out of my stock though.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

treetom said:


> http://www.crabhomes.com/
> 
> I heard about this on Pet Fish Talk podcast. Very cool! As far as salt water, they only need brackish. Still a no go in the planted world.


Them are awesome!! I'm not too worried about them drying out as they can get out of the water whenever they want to. I am worried about them not having the brackish water in order to live full and healthy lives. I want to build them a brackish enclosure on top of my tank, under the canopy, so that they could still get into the maintank if they wanted to but still have the saltwater when they needed it. Still, though, a VERY neat product. Thank you.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> I thought that's what I saw. I've used cuttle bone for quite some time now as well, and some things I've discovered is:
> 
> -Ingestion- throw the cuttle into a container with water and microwave it for about 2 minutes. Let it cool and now it will sink and stay on the bottom instead of floating. This has helped my apple snails to eat it when wanted because 'tis easier to crawl across bottom, than crawl up glass to get to it. Plus, in a display tank, you can hide it much better if wanted, without any type of weight to hold it down.
> 
> ...


I kept my cuttle almost whole. With my floaters in there you never even notice it unless you look hard. To even see it you have to bend down and then look up. I did break a few pieces off, which sank after a couple days. Nice tip on the microwave used to make it sink, thanks.

They can be pulverized into powder, you're right. They are really easy to do this with as well. I read that using it this way, you should dose it at 1tbs per 10 gallons of water. I've NOT done this, so please do not take that to heart. If you are going to do this, you might want to start out with less, and move up a little at a time for people with PH sensitive fish.

You could also put the cuttlebone in your filter as well. This would leach slowly that way.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

soothing shrimp said:


> bingo! You found it cableguy.


+1


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Hmmmm. Lots of good info here. Thanks guys.

One more question. I also keep reptiles and give them a calcium supplement on their food. I get it in a powder form. This is the stuff I use for them. Do you think it would be safe to add this to an aquarium? Would it do the same thing?


----------



## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Don't know about the answer to that. Some calcium supplements mold. Don't know about this brand.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> Don't know about the answer to that. Some calcium supplements mold. Don't know about this brand.


I may have to start a thread about it in the shrimp section. Or I may just not bother with it, and go get a cuttle bone on Thurs.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> I may have to start a thread about it in the shrimp section. Or I may just not bother with it, and go get a cuttle bone on Thurs.


Or, you can just come back to my journal and receive your answer:flick: Cuttlebone can actually be ground up and used in foods as a calcium supplement. Not sure how much this stuff costs, but you could get a substantial amound of powder from 2 cuttlebones. Not real sure about the care of turtles (have kept a couple outside but they went home when they healed), but I do know that people grind it and feed it to their birds if they show no interest in the cuttlebone. I couldn't see why you couldn't substitute the powder for it, or vice-versa.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Or, you can just come back to my journal and receive your answer:flick: Cuttlebone can actually be ground up and used in foods as a calcium supplement. Not sure how much this stuff costs, but you could get a substantial amound of powder from 2 cuttlebones. Not real sure about the care of turtles (have kept a couple outside but they went home when they healed), but I do know that people grind it and feed it to their birds if they show no interest in the cuttlebone. I couldn't see why you couldn't substitute the powder for it, or vice-versa.


I would have to look into the chemical makeup of the cuttlebone to be sure. There are a couple other things in the powder that the reptiles use. I may look into that more deeply though.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> I would have to look into the chemical makeup of the cuttlebone to be sure. There are a couple other things in the powder that the reptiles use. I may look into that more deeply though.


I respect that, but again I have kept turtles before (even though it is illegal here in Tennessee) and have also done some research on them. When I had them they were hurt (either hit by a car or what not), and I did research on how to aid the shells in the healing process. One great answer was cuttlebone. Seems most turtle-keepers feed their turtles the turtle food and supplement the calcium with the cuttlebone. You can keep it in there for them to chew on, grind it and add it to their food, or sprinkle it over live foods before feeding. That is all that alot of members over on turtleforum.com use being that they are a natural product, and also a useful biproduct in the harvest of cuttlefish for human consumption. I encourage you to do research on it, and think the website mentioned earlier would be a good place to start.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I respect that, but again I have kept turtles before (even though it is illegal here in Tennessee) and have also done some research on them. When I had them they were hurt (either hit by a car or what not), and I did research on how to aid the shells in the healing process. One great answer was cuttlebone. Seems most turtle-keepers feed their turtles the turtle food and supplement the calcium with the cuttlebone. You can keep it in there for them to chew on, grind it and add it to their food, or sprinkle it over live foods before feeding. That is all that alot of members over on turtleforum.com use being that they are a natural product, and also a useful biproduct in the harvest of cuttlefish for human consumption. I encourage you to do research on it, and think the website mentioned earlier would be a good place to start.


Thanks man. I am going to look into it. I may stick with the cuttlebone for now, but now I am interested in that. If it works for turtles and that, why not shrimp and snails too?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

FINALLY, a pic of the coveted white-footed Ramshorn. My future breeding bitch, LOL


----------



## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Beautiful snail, man.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> Beautiful snail, man.


Thanks buddy, glad it wasn't dead! I had 2, and 2 yellow-footed orange ones also. I think they're gonna make good breeding snails for all different things.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

OK, been a minute since my last visit. How is the tank lookin?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> OK, been a minute since my last visit. How is the tank lookin?


Nothin's really changed since the pic on pg6. The Gigantae are starting to wrap around my tank and need trimmed, I am starting to see growth on my mosses since I turned the heater down. Not sure yet what kind it is exactly, but I will post a pic of that:
















Really is greener than that, but kids were sleeping and I didn't wanna wake them with the light. Any idea on what kind it is? I'm thinking might be a lettle mixed, but I'm thinking the bigger is weeping, the smallest is java or christmas, and the other might be singapore or something? IDK It's growing though, I can see LOTS of new growth and have noticed the greener color also. 

Other than that the tank is kind of in limbo while I wait for the rest of the plants to grow in. I have been getting new shoots on my sag:biggrin: Stuff never even had to acclimate. I floated them too long, and the tops of a few that were above water melted, but nothing else. I'm really happy, though. Hopefully it will fill in the right side like I want it to. I got a TON of them on trade (around 75), but I still only had enough to do 2/3rds of the way back. With the way they're growing, that side will be covered nicely in a couple months. 

See, I'm sitting here typing, and the whole time I'm thinking "You know, you would rather see the pics than to hear me talk about them." So, I will be back in a few, I'm gonna go take a few pics for you all:hihi:
Right side, Sag and retrospiralis (taller) Crappy pic, but you can see where the new growth is already:








Left side, Apons doing great. Also, look where the tips of the Gigantae are, huge:








Crypt lutea growing great, also some Wendtii on the left:








Yeah, there are some blue gravels in there, compliments of my oldest. It is his tank, anyway
If you look above the Apon leaf that goes from left to right, straight left of the Apple, you can see the lighter lone leaf of a Wendtii. The other leaves melted off, but that single leaf is really strong, and I expect a full recovery.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Nothin's really changed since the pic on pg6. The Gigantae are starting to wrap around my tank and need trimmed, I am starting to see growth on my mosses since I turned the heater down. Not sure yet what kind it is exactly, but I will post a pic of that:
> 
> 
> Really is greener than that, but kids were sleeping and I didn't wanna wake them with the light. Any idea on what kind it is? I'm thinking might be a lettle mixed, but I'm thinking the bigger is weeping, the smallest is java or christmas, and the other might be singapore or something? IDK It's growing though, I can see LOTS of new growth and have noticed the greener color also.
> ...


Sorry I didn't reply last night. I was looking at your thread just as the fiancee wanted to go to bed.

I wouldn't be able to ID any of the mosses unless I had some up close and personal pics. Even then, I am no expert on them. But I would do the best I can.

Man that tank is turning into a big green beast. That is awesome. Looks good man. A lot more filled in now.


----------



## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I am soooo jealous with your sags..............


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Thanks all, glad to have your comments here. I wish my stems would grow, but they are just stunted for some reason Should, hopefully, be getting in more ludwigia and maybe some others. I just REALLY need some red in there. Gonna use it to fill in the remainder of the left side. If I can find me another cool piece of wood, this tank will be done. Cannot find anyone willing to come off some Downoi, and not even sure I could grow it if I got it, so I think I'm just gonna give up on it and leave it the way it is.

Start looking for some information on a fish room I will be working on this winter. Wife gave the ok to use a spare closet to put me a couple racks in, on which I plan on having 9 tanks on each rack along with a couple q-tanks. I got some tanks coming in soon, so the work should start soon:hihi:


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Start looking for some information on a fish room I will be working on this winter. Wife gave the ok to use a spare closet to put me a couple racks in, on which I plan on having 9 tanks on each rack along with a couple q-tanks. I got some tanks coming in soon, so the work should start soon:hihi:


Nice. I can't wait to see that.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Nice. I can't wait to see that.roud:


 I can't wait to start it


----------



## treetom (Feb 11, 2011)

My sag didn't grow until I put Osmocote+ caps around them. They are currently moving into the areas that are seeded with fert caps. I will use this growth training to get them to stay where I want them. May be something to try? 

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

treetom said:


> My sag didn't grow until I put Osmocote+ caps around them. They are currently moving into the areas that are seeded with fert caps. I will use this growth training to get them to stay where I want them. May be something to try?
> 
> Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk


I have self-made compost under my gravel, so there is plenty of fertilizers in there. Especially added to my fish's waste. My sags are growing like CRAZY!! Nothing even melted after I planted it. In a few days I started noticing new shoots already. 

Here is a short video of my pair of Angels. They were doing some heavy kissing, and getting ready to spawn I hope. They started cleaning on the out pipes of the tank, so I put a piece of pvc in there. My hope is that they will use that to lay their eggs on, and I will be able to remove it and move them to a safe tank to hatch.
http://youtu.be/-fz3AdmKYk8


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I have self-made compost under my gravel, so there is plenty of fertilizers in there. Especially added to my fish's waste. My sags are growing like CRAZY!! Nothing even melted after I planted it. In a few days I started noticing new shoots already.
> 
> Here is a short video of my pair of Angels. They were doing some heavy kissing, and getting ready to spawn I hope. They started cleaning on the out pipes of the tank, so I put a piece of pvc in there. My hope is that they will use that to lay their eggs on, and I will be able to remove it and move them to a safe tank to hatch.
> http://youtu.be/-fz3AdmKYk8


That's a pretty cool video man. I have never actually seen them in action like that, but I heard it was a bit violent. I hope they use the PVC for ya.:thumbsup::icon_cool


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Also, what do you have in your snail jars besides snails and cuttle bone?


I already answered this once, but have since convinced myself this stuff was growing. The question is, what is it?








Doesn't have leaves like moss or anything, just stringy and green. I do know there is about 5-10x's more than what I started with.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I already answered this once, but have since convinced myself this stuff was growing. The question is, what is it?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks like hair algae to me. And a lot of it.:thumbsup:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Looks like hair algae to me. And a lot of it.:thumbsup:


Wouldn't it be sticking to the glass, or no? It acts like moss in the way it is closely matted. I can pull it all out together, just like a ball of cotton. IDK, it's crazy stuff and I think I'm gonna just keep it in there with my snails so they have something other than glass to crawl on. Thanks for the quick response. I thought I was crazy until I pulled the stuff out of the jar. I thought it was fake and maybe the lady used it to make her sub appear more heavily planted, but then realized it had been growing. I'll send you some with the snails so you can check it out. I really like the look of it, and it's strong and substantial unlike the algae I'm used to that breaks and wipes away easily.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Wouldn't it be sticking to the glass, or no? It acts like moss in the way it is closely matted. I can pull it all out together, just like a ball of cotton. IDK, it's crazy stuff and I think I'm gonna just keep it in there with my snails so they have something other than glass to crawl on. Thanks for the quick response. I thought I was crazy until I pulled the stuff out of the jar. I thought it was fake and maybe the lady used it to make her sub appear more heavily planted, but then realized it had been growing. I'll send you some with the snails so you can check it out. I really like the look of it, and it's strong and substantial unlike the algae I'm used to that breaks and wipes away easily.


Does it compact a lot when you take it out of the water? If so that is algae, if not, maybe some type of string moss? I am going to have to research this a bit more. I pm'd you back by the way.:thumbsup:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Does it compact a lot when you take it out of the water? If so that is algae, if not, maybe some type of string moss? I am going to have to research this a bit more. I pm'd you back by the way.:thumbsup:


If it tells you anything, I can grab a small piece of it and lift the whole ball out.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> If it tells you anything, I can grab a small piece of it and lift the whole ball out.


I think it is hair algae. 99% sure on that.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> I think it is hair algae. 99% sure on that.roud:


Oh well, I still like it in there for the snails. They don't mind it at all either. Thanks, was kinda hoping it was string moss though.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Oh well, I still like it in there for the snails. They don't mind it at all either. Thanks, was kinda hoping it was string moss though.


As long as it is not taking over your tank, nothing wrong with it.roud:

That would have been cool if it was string moss though.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I sent the lady a message, but not got anything back yet. My first thought was, "If it's algae, wouldn't it be sticking to something?" This stuff dont stick to anything, and wasn't stuck on the plants that I got it on. It was just growing around it. So, does this stuff stick to things, or could I tie it to something and grow something cool-looking in my tank? Preferably without trashing my tank?


----------



## treetom (Feb 11, 2011)

I get that with the stuff in the window as well. The snails love it. Same kind of algae that grows in puddles, in near full sun, if they don't dry up to fast.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

treetom said:


> I get that with the stuff in the window as well. The snails love it. Same kind of algae that grows in puddles, in near full sun, if they don't dry up to fast.


Was yours as easy to get out as mine is? It's like a ball of knotted string. I kinda like it and am thinking of putting some in the tank, as soon as I get my snail jars filled that is


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I got 4 10g tanks today:hihi: I still gotta go back and get a 20g and a 40g, but am well on my way to a rack in my closet I plan on DIY PVC overflows into the 20g that I'll be using as a sump, and then pumping back into the tanks through an old pool filter (actually 1yr old, but the quick-set pool popped and not using the pump). The 40g is one of the two quarentine tanks I plan on keeping. Gonna be up late tonight cleaning tanks Atleast once it's done I can divide some of the stock from my main tank and get some breeding going. Got LOTS ready to breed now: Guppies, Tiger barbs, Glo-fish, Danios, and also my Angels I could also use the extra space to grow some plants out as well, which I will surely do. Pics after I do some cleaning.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I got 4 10g tanks today:hihi: I still gotta go back and get a 20g and a 40g, but am well on my way to a rack in my closet I plan on DIY PVC overflows into the 20g that I'll be using as a sump, and then pumping back into the tanks through an old pool filter (actually 1yr old, but the quick-set pool popped and not using the pump). The 40g is one of the two quarentine tanks I plan on keeping. Gonna be up late tonight cleaning tanks Atleast once it's done I can divide some of the stock from my main tank and get some breeding going. Got LOTS ready to breed now: Guppies, Tiger barbs, Glo-fish, Danios, and also my Angels I could also use the extra space to grow some plants out as well, which I will surely do. Pics after I do some cleaning.


There are some pretty cool shop lights at HD or any of those big box stores that will work very well for plant growing endeavors. The dome shop lights work well too. I can't wait to see this now.:icon_smil


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Going on 2am and still not even brought a tank in the house I figure I got time, though, so I'm not in a hurry. Still not past my bedtime yet:hihi: Was content with taking pics of my plants, but am done with that now and getting bored. I need to go put my corner filter into my seed bucket and get some water going so that it'll be ready to fill a tank tomorrow morning. Maybe I will just wait to clean the tanks till tomorrow. Give me something to do while I wait for the kids to get out of school. Till tomorrow


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Going on 2am and still not even brought a tank in the house I figure I got time, though, so I'm not in a hurry. Still not past my bedtime yet:hihi: Was content with taking pics of my plants, but am done with that now and getting bored. I need to go put my corner filter into my seed bucket and get some water going so that it'll be ready to fill a tank tomorrow morning. Maybe I will just wait to clean the tanks till tomorrow. Give me something to do while I wait for the kids to get out of school. Till tomorrow


DOH! You got my hopes all up, and now I have to wait. Oh well. I can do that. Need to acclimate some fish and do some water changes anyway.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> DOH! You got my hopes all up, and now I have to wait. Oh well. I can do that. Need to acclimate some fish and do some water changes anyway.roud:


You got some new fish??? Will you have pics????? The audacity of me asking when I'm depriving you of my pics:hihi: I was just busy watching my Guppy that I have in my breeder net. She doesn't move much very often, so I know it won't be long before she has the babies. I can't believe I'm actually selling guppies 

I gotta go pick the kids up here in a half hour, but after that I am going to be washing tanks. All of them were outside, and all of them had water in them. Now they are all filled with dirt and algae:icon_mad: Should be fun, but will be worth it in the end. I know the bottoms broken out of 2 of the tanks, so I'm gonna be fixing tanks today as well:angryfire Atleast they were free, and after I spend a couple bucks to cut some glass, they will be cheap tanks so that's always nice. Don't worry, I will be taking pics today also.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> You got some new fish??? Will you have pics????? The audacity of me asking when I'm depriving you of my pics:hihi: I was just busy watching my Guppy that I have in my breeder net. She doesn't move much very often, so I know it won't be long before she has the babies. I can't believe I'm actually selling guppies
> 
> I gotta go pick the kids up here in a half hour, but after that I am going to be washing tanks. All of them were outside, and all of them had water in them. Now they are all filled with dirt and algae:icon_mad: Should be fun, but will be worth it in the end. I know the bottoms broken out of 2 of the tanks, so I'm gonna be fixing tanks today as well:angryfire Atleast they were free, and after I spend a couple bucks to cut some glass, they will be cheap tanks so that's always nice. Don't worry, I will be taking pics today also.


I will be getting some pics up a little later today. I have all the fish drip acclimating right now. They spent 3 days all boxed up, so I am doing it very slowly, but I will have some pics up.

So, how long until these new tanks see water?:biggrin:


:hihi:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> I will be getting some pics up a little later today. I have all the fish drip acclimating right now. They spent 3 days all boxed up, so I am doing it very slowly, but I will have some pics up.
> 
> So, how long until these new tanks see water?:biggrin:
> 
> ...


Well, I talked my wife into going to get the kids, but I still have 1 with me right now. When she gets back I will start on them. I got a Tiger Barb that appears ready to pop, so I'm excited to get her into a tank. I also know the momma Guppy is bigger than last time as well, so I want to get them into their own tank. Then I REALLY need to get some Apples out of my main tank. I probably have 200 of them in there in various sizes I need to go gather up some more stuff, so I might do that as well.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Well, I talked my wife into going to get the kids, but I still have 1 with me right now. When she gets back I will start on them. I got a Tiger Barb that appears ready to pop, so I'm excited to get her into a tank. I also know the momma Guppy is bigger than last time as well, so I want to get them into their own tank. Then I REALLY need to get some Apples out of my main tank. I probably have 200 of them in there in various sizes I need to go gather up some more stuff, so I might do that as well.


Seems like you are moving right a long here. Going to be waiting to see what you get done today.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Gonna have to wait on the clean-up for a little while Wife is President of something or the other at the school and got elected to go down and wrap presents the school got for the kids for when Santa comes to visit. Someone donated $ to the school, and they got all the kids these Vtech learning things for Christmas. Shouldn't be too long, she's only got 20 some to wrap. I WILL have some pics up later though, I promise.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Ok, it's not much, but I did get one tank cleaned and set up. I have moved a bunch of snails over to it, as well as the 2 Angels that should spawn soon. My pvc is laying in front of the intake tube, as I didn't want them to lay eggs on that. Would this be good in this location? I know to try to keep an eye on them and to shut the filter off during spawning, so I will try to watch for that. Here's the pic, I just set this one up under my main tank for now until I get the other stuff going. I just needed to seperate these two as I felt they may kill the other Angel in the tank.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Ok, it's not much, but I did get one tank cleaned and set up. I have moved a bunch of snails over to it, as well as the 2 Angels that should spawn soon. My pvc is laying in front of the intake tube, as I didn't want them to lay eggs on that. Would this be good in this location? I know to try to keep an eye on them and to shut the filter off during spawning, so I will try to watch for that. Here's the pic, I just set this one up under my main tank for now until I get the other stuff going. I just needed to seperate these two as I felt they may kill the other Angel in the tank.


Should be good. Do you have any stem plants you can float in there for some cover for them?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Should be good. Do you have any stem plants you can float in there for some cover for them?


I do have some Limno I can float in there, but won't it die in the almost no light conditions I will have under there? The light was only on to be able to take some pics.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I do have some Limno I can float in there, but won't it die in the almost no light conditions I will have under there? The light was only on to be able to take some pics.


You may have a point. Do you have a shop light or something you can throw under there? Even a desk lamp would work.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I threw some in there anyway. I figured I could afford to lose a few stems for the comfort of my future breeders. I can go get the lids to these tanks, so I might just do that tomorrow. I feel so bad putting them in there, with such a small space and hardly no plants or anything. I did add some Apple snails to keep them company though I am going to have to get a heater really soon though. I stuck my hand in there to rinse the floaters off that stuck when I got the Limno, and it was noticably colder than the main tank and I just got it filled up. All in due time though. Until then I will probably just do lots of wc's every day using the main tank as the replacement. This way there will be some heat getting in there until then.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I threw some in there anyway. I figured I could afford to lose a few stems for the comfort of my future breeders. I can go get the lids to these tanks, so I might just do that tomorrow. I feel so bad putting them in there, with such a small space and hardly no plants or anything. I did add some Apple snails to keep them company though I am going to have to get a heater really soon though. I stuck my hand in there to rinse the floaters off that stuck when I got the Limno, and it was noticably colder than the main tank and I just got it filled up. All in due time though. Until then I will probably just do lots of wc's every day using the main tank as the replacement. This way there will be some heat getting in there until then.


Do you have a thermo in there at all? Or one sitting around the house you can use to get a temp? It will probably surprise you how different the temp is. What size tank is that BTW? The limno should be fine. That stuff is a weed of the worst kind. Lol.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Do you have a thermo in there at all? Or one sitting around the house you can use to get a temp? It will probably surprise you how different the temp is. What size tank is that BTW? The limno should be fine. That stuff is a weed of the worst kind. Lol.


Unfortunately I do not have a thermo at all, not even one to put in there temporarily. I can probably get one tomorrow, but am pretty much stuck for tonight. They should be ok for tonight, right? That is a 10g, btw.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Unfortunately I do not have a thermo at all, not even one to put in there temporarily. I can probably get one tomorrow, but am pretty much stuck for tonight. They should be ok for tonight, right?


they should be ok for one night. I would get the heater and thermo tomorrow though. For lights you can get some cheap clamp lamps at lowes that work well for plants. Throw a couple 6500K spiral CFL bulbs in them and you are good to go.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> they should be ok for one night. I would get the heater and thermo tomorrow though. For lights you can get some cheap clamp lamps at lowes that work well for plants. Throw a couple 6500K spiral CFL bulbs in them and you are good to go.roud:


Good to know they should be fine. I do have one of those bulbs, but I would need to find an old lamp to get a socket from to be able to use it. Don't really have any extra $ due to having 4 kids to buy Christmas for, so won't be buying anything till after the Holiday. That is why I planned on doing like, 2 wc's a day using the heated water out of the main tank. I figured I could do one in the morning and another at night and I would be ok until I can get another heater and thermo. The light I will probably just DIY it.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Good to know they should be fine. I do have one of those bulbs, but I would need to find an old lamp to get a socket from to be able to use it. Don't really have any extra $ due to having 4 kids to buy Christmas for, so won't be buying anything till after the Holiday. That is why I planned on doing like, 2 wc's a day using the heated water out of the main tank. I figured I could do one in the morning and another at night and I would be ok until I can get another heater and thermo. The light I will probably just DIY it.


If you have a desk lamp sitting around with a screw type socket, you can use that for a little bit of light. That may work. I think the fluctuations will be too drastic though. You may be better off letting them chill in the cooler water until after the holidays.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> If you have a desk lamp sitting around with a screw type socket, you can use that for a little bit of light. That may work. I think the fluctuations will be too drastic though. You may be better off letting them chill in the cooler water until after the holidays.


For now I am just using the light under the tank. It is pretty cool, with 2 light settings and puts off quite a bit of heat. I will probably get the hood for this and put a couple CFL's in it for now. I need a hood anyway, cuz my cats can, and do, get under there. Alot of the time they sleep under there Afraid they would get an awfully expensive treat. For now I just have styrofoam over it.

You really think there would be that much of a difference in the temps of the water? With the light left on it reaches near 90 under there, I bet. Maybe it'll stay warm enough that I won't have to worry about it? I need a friggin thermo:icon_mad: Maybe tomorrow. There is one of them stick-on's on one of the other tanks I haven't picked up yet. Them never last long around here though, the kids love their stickers:hihi:


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> For now I am just using the light under the tank. It is pretty cool, with 2 light settings and puts off quite a bit of heat. I will probably get the hood for this and put a couple CFL's in it for now. I need a hood anyway, cuz my cats can, and do, get under there. Alot of the time they sleep under there Afraid they would get an awfully expensive treat. For now I just have styrofoam over it.
> 
> You really think there would be that much of a difference in the temps of the water? With the light left on it reaches near 90 under there, I bet. Maybe it'll stay warm enough that I won't have to worry about it? I need a friggin thermo:icon_mad: Maybe tomorrow. There is one of them stick-on's on one of the other tanks I haven't picked up yet. Them never last long around here though, the kids love their stickers:hihi:


Lol. Cats. Why does everyone who has fish also have cats? Seems like an epidemic. That is why I have all my tanks securely covered now. Stupid cats like to drink from the tanks.

Now that you tell me it is usually warm under there, I am doubting you will need a heater. When I had the 20 gallon on the floor, it was usually 68 - 70 degrees while the shrimp tank on the shelf above it was 75 degrees. I am sure you will know more once you get the thermo thought.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Lol. Cats. Why does everyone who has fish also have cats? Seems like an epidemic. That is why I have all my tanks securely covered now. Stupid cats like to drink from the tanks.


I've noticed that also. I was going to take a pic of the two for you, but haven't gotten the camera back out yet. I might do that tonight, I have 2 really pretty cats, IMO.



cableguy69846 said:


> Now that you tell me it is usually warm under there, I am doubting you will need a heater. When I had the 20 gallon on the floor, it was usually 68 - 70 degrees while the shrimp tank on the shelf above it was 75 degrees. I am sure you will know more once you get the thermo thought.


Yeah, not sure what kind of light that is under the cabinet, but it does get pretty hot and is nice because it has a bright setting and a dim setting. I have just been keeping it on dim for the majority of the time, but switch it to bright for feeding and things. 

Which brings me to my next question. Since I moved the two Angels they seem as though they are not eating much, if anything at all. They appear healthy and swim around and stuff, I just have not seen them eat since they've been in there. I know they say not to feed your fish for 24-48hrs after you put them in your tank, and they probably wouldn't eat if you affered it, but could this be true with moving them as well? I put food in there today, just incase they do eat when I'm not looking, but just haven't seen them eating. If this is often the case, how long might it last? I have heard they can go weeks or something without eating, so I'm not concerned about them starving to death yet. Just wanted to check on it and see what others had to say.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I got another blue cray yesterday. I thought they were electric blues, but found out yesterday that is not the case. They are actually the self-cloning crays. The person I got it from on a trade was the same person I got the last one from, and was the only one they had left which takes away the electric blue title. Those need a mate to breed, and there was none in that tank, just the one. Well, while I was there I was looking at the cray, and the daggone thing had eggs under the tail! The girl wasn't happy that she was getting rid of it, but I assured her I would raise them and give her some of them. Can't believe she loaded that thing up and didn't realize there were eggs under there:hihi: It was a very good deal for me, indeed.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hm... if they're self cloning they need to breed? I thought those produce by themselves. But they are a nice blue color? Any pictures ?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Hm... if they're self cloning they need to breed? I thought those produce by themselves. But they are a nice blue color? Any pictures ?


Yes, they are self-cloning and do not need to breed. I got 1 off of her before under the impression that it was an electric blue cray, but turns out it's a self-cloning cray due to the fact that it was in a tank by herself with NO possibility of breeding with anything else.

I did not get any pics, but wish I had before I put her into the tank. She has dug a VERY large hole in my substrate between a rock and my wood, and will rarely be seen until the babies are mostly on their own. Yes, they are a nice blue color, and will likely blue up even more than she is now with age. The good thing is that the offspring will be exactly like mom and will be a nice blue color as well. I will get some pics the first chance I get.

Since I put her in she has been building a den and hiding, so I have not got any pics of her in my tank yet, but I have some from where she came from taken the day before I got her.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I had to perform an emergency c-section on my very pregnant Guppy last night. She looked like she was herniated from being so big. I waited until she wasn't wiggling anymore, and tried to save the babies she had in her. Sadly, none of the babies survived, they weren't even formed all the way for some reason. Maybe she just had too many in there, IDK. It sucked cuz that was the last female I had that was ready to breed. I do have some of the babies left, but they wont be having any babies soon.

On a lighter note, my spawning Angels are seperated in their own tank, and I have some Zebra Danios seperated, so will hopefully be getting some babies from them soon. I got to clean out another tank, but soon I'll be able to seperate some Tiger Barbs and hopefully start breeding them too.

Also have some Apons that is sending off shoots of baby plants. Soon, my tank will be overrun with them, so it's about time to start getting rid of some of them. I already see some more that are getting ready to start sending shoots.

I am finally starting to filter out my abundance of Apple's, I had WAY too many I had around 250 or more, and I think I'm down to about 100. Most of what I have I am keeping to breed, especially the purple and pink ones which are my favorite. I am keeping all whites in my main tank, but the others will go into other tanks to breed as I get the tanks ready. Other than that, not much else is happening right now. Still haven't seen the cray for a few days, but I figured I wouldn't. Hopefully I start seeing babies soon.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh jesus. Emergency C-section on a guppy? Did you just take a knife to her? I wouldn't even know where to cut into her without damaging the babies.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Oh jesus. Emergency C-section on a guppy? Did you just take a knife to her? I wouldn't even know where to cut into her without damaging the babies.


I know, it wasn't something I preferred to do, but it had to be done. It just sucked that I didn't even get the chance to save one of them I just used a razor blade. I flipped her upside down, then I started at her anus and cut straight up her belly until the sac came out. Then I grabbed a piece of the sac and rolled it between my fingers, which helped to release the babies.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Sorry to hear about the guppy man. You will be surprised at how quickly the others will reach sexual maturity.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Sorry to hear about the guppy man. You will be surprised at how quickly the others will reach sexual maturity.


Thanks, buddy, I appreciate that. I hope they reach maturity soon, there are people that want them. I think I will have about 5 males and 4 or 5 females when they do, so they hopefully will start upping my population of Guppies in the tank.

I finally seen my cray last night. It made a huge den in the gravel under a rock, and with babies, she hasn't come out where I could see her since she went in. Well, my lights went out last night, but the bottom light isn't on a timer so it stayed on. When I walked by the tank I noticed a spot of light could be seen through the tank. I got to looking down there, and I could see the cray down there with babies attached to her tail:biggrin: Definitely made me happy.


----------



## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Watch out in your angel breeder.

Eggs=Meals for snails.

Just a thought,

-Gordon


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

gordonrichards said:


> Watch out in your angel breeder.
> 
> Eggs=Meals for snails.
> 
> ...


You know, I never thought of that, thanks Gordon. That's why I love this site and will be working on the gold membership after the first of the year This site is the best of it's kind that I've found, so I have to do it. I guess I need to set up another tank. I just put a Tiger Barb in the breeder net, so will need one anyway.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Thanks, buddy, I appreciate that. I hope they reach maturity soon, there are people that want them. I think I will have about 5 males and 4 or 5 females when they do, so they hopefully will start upping my population of Guppies in the tank.
> 
> I finally seen my cray last night. It made a huge den in the gravel under a rock, and with babies, she hasn't come out where I could see her since she went in. Well, my lights went out last night, but the bottom light isn't on a timer so it stayed on. When I walked by the tank I noticed a spot of light could be seen through the tank. I got to looking down there, and I could see the cray down there with babies attached to her tail:biggrin: Definitely made me happy.


Do you know what kind of guppies they are? Once you see the gravid spot on the females they are ready to go. Usually only a couple of months.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Do you know what kind of guppies they are? Once you see the gravid spot on the females they are ready to go. Usually only a couple of months.roud:


Not real sure what kind of Guppies they are, but they are the prettier ones I've seen with long flowing tails and fins. These came from a breeder and not a LFS. They have blue in them that reacts with the lights, just like neon tetras. Heres a bad pic after I just stirred up dirt in the tank:








Didn't know what a gravid spot was, but looked it up and now I know, thanks. These fish are about 5wks, and still pretty small. Some are smaller than others, so I know thay are the males.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Not real sure what kind of Guppies they are, but they are the prettier ones I've seen with long flowing tails and fins. These came from a breeder and not a LFS. They have blue in them that reacts with the lights, just like neon tetras. Heres a bad pic after I just stirred up dirt in the tank:
> 
> Didn't know what a gravid spot was, but looked it up and now I know, thanks. These fish are about 5wks, and still pretty small. Some are smaller than others, so I know thay are the males.


Not sure what kind that is either honestly. I will see if I can do some digging for you though. And those are show quality guppies. Very nice fish. Males will be a bit smaller, and I think they will reach maturity before the females. Maybe another couple of weeks. As soon as you see the gonopodium(sp?) moving around on the male they are good to go.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Not sure what kind that is either honestly. I will see if I can do some digging for you though. And those are show quality guppies. Very nice fish. Males will be a bit smaller, and I think they will reach maturity before the females. Maybe another couple of weeks. As soon as you see the gonopodium(sp?) moving around on the male they are good to go.


Thanks, the only thing I found was a site for prize-winning Guppies. These look alot like some of the ones there, but not exactly. To me, they actually look better than alot of them there. I will keep looking, but I do think I got some REALLY nice Guppies. I need to get a better pic. My tank has cleared up now so I should be able to get some good ones now.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Thanks, the only thing I found was a site for prize-winning Guppies. These look alot like some of the ones there, but not exactly. To me, they actually look better than alot of them there. I will keep looking, but I do think I got some REALLY nice Guppies. I need to get a better pic. My tank has cleared up now so I should be able to get some good ones now.


Sounds good. I will see what I can dig up a little bit later on tonight or tomorrow for you.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

I got some test strips today. Here are my results:
Main tank
No2 0
gh 150
kh 35
ph 7.8
no3 80

Angel breeder
No2 5.0
gh 150
kh 35
ph-pink but the colors ran from orange to red, so not sure how I got a pink result. Faulty strip maybe?
No3 40

Tap
No2 0
gh 75
kh 35
ph-Again, pink. Has to be in the neutral range somewhere, as with the other.
No3 0
I hate the stupid strips, the results are too varied with them cuz I know some of the reading were in between the listed results. Some results show a couple problems that I need to address slightly, so that is a plus.


----------



## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I use the Mardel 5 in 1 strips and like them, the only thing I have a problem with is pH, but the directions tell you to wait 30 seconds before taking a reading but I find if you do it between 5 to 10 seconds they are very accurate or accurate enough for what I need.

I mostly like to see how hard the water is, ppm on C02 via pH & kH, and my nitrates. I limit the use to 1 per week unless there is a problem and get them on Amazon, a 100 ct bottle for $27 makes them fairly cheap when reading 5 parameters for $0.27.


----------



## Salmon McCloud (Aug 13, 2011)

I strongly recommend liquid test kits, they may be expensive, but they last awhile and produce really accurate results. I bought a freshwater kit and then a water hardness kit separate, and it ran me maybe around $40 bucks, but its lasted a year so far, with bi-weekly sometimes just monthly testing and I'm sure there is still plenty left. Its never stirred me wrong.

First time I posted on here I think, I've been following for quite awhile though.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Salmon McCloud said:


> I strongly recommend liquid test kits, they may be expensive, but they last awhile and produce really accurate results. I bought a freshwater kit and then a water hardness kit separate, and it ran me maybe around $40 bucks, but its lasted a year so far, with bi-weekly sometimes just monthly testing and I'm sure there is still plenty left. Its never stirred me wrong.
> 
> First time I posted on here I think, I've been following for quite awhile though.


Yea Tony, unless you don't require super accurate results you should always go liquid test kits or you're always eyeballing the number. The sad part is, everyone on this forum tells you to get the liquid test kit. But then you go into like Petco and they recommend the test strips for ease of use and how they are "just as accurate".


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Well, I never test my water. I occasionally test ph, but that's about it. I have the liquid ph test, so I will probably break that out tomorrow and test that since these test strips resulted in colors that weren't even on the chart. The only reason I tested now is due to mdixon giving me some Jungle 5-in-1 salt/fresh test strips. I usually just watch my tanks closely, and smell them for funk frequently. If I notice fish acting funny, or the tank smelling really bad, I just do a partial wc. It's seemed to be working for me for many years, and I've never lost fish due to water quality. Maybe one day when I get to selling fish and stuff good, I will be able to buy me a nice test kit.

Been looking at alot of different Guppy pics, and I'm thinking I have half-black reds. They are the closest to what mine look like, and I have looked at hundreds of pics. The majority of the sites I have found them on they are listed as show-quality fancy, so I'm happy about that. I cannot wait to see what the babies turn out to be. They are finally starting to get some color in them now, so I should know relatively soon what they are going to be.

Cable, if you think you got a zoo, tell me what you think of my kids' early Christmas present.... a potbelly pig:hihi: She is black, has her nose pierced, and is cool as s*#t. Plus my kids just LOVE the idea that they have a pig that lives with them in the house. This is in addition to my tank inhabitants, 4 dogs, and also 2 cats. My kids are animal lovers, and so is the wife, so we rescue alot of animals and find them homes, so it's hard telling what we'll have next I want a big bird, a hedge hog, a couple kinds of lizards, and whatever else I might think of later. I'm gonna have to get some pics of them all soon. 

Welcome to my pet habitat Salmon Nice to have you, thanks for reading and replying, and thanks for following along. I am originally from Ohio, Sidney to be exact Born and raised and I hate the place. I made a good decision to move out of there. I do go visit on occasion, but it looks so bare there after coming from Tn and will likely never move back. My kids are hillbilly's now, and I'm happy with that.

Well, starting to fall asleep writing, so I'm off here. Till tomorrow, nite all.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Well, I never test my water. I occasionally test ph, but that's about it. I have the liquid ph test, so I will probably break that out tomorrow and test that since these test strips resulted in colors that weren't even on the chart. The only reason I tested now is due to mdixon giving me some Jungle 5-in-1 salt/fresh test strips. I usually just watch my tanks closely, and smell them for funk frequently. If I notice fish acting funny, or the tank smelling really bad, I just do a partial wc. It's seemed to be working for me for many years, and I've never lost fish due to water quality. Maybe one day when I get to selling fish and stuff good, I will be able to buy me a nice test kit.
> 
> Been looking at alot of different Guppy pics, and I'm thinking I have half-black reds. They are the closest to what mine look like, and I have looked at hundreds of pics. The majority of the sites I have found them on they are listed as show-quality fancy, so I'm happy about that. I cannot wait to see what the babies turn out to be. They are finally starting to get some color in them now, so I should know relatively soon what they are going to be.
> 
> ...


Lol. The fiancee wants a pig and a dog, but the father-in-law won't let that happen. So we will have to wait till we move or until we inherit the house. What kind of lizards are you looking at? If you need a couple places for good info on that, let me know. I am on, like, 7 reptile forums.:hihi: As for a zoo, I think we may be about even. 5 lizards, 3 snakes, 6 fish tanks, 2 cats, a rat, I have a 5 year old and the fiancee and I have one on the way. It is going to get really interesting around here soon. Lol. That pig is an awesome Christmas present though.


----------



## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> Cable, if you think you got a zoo, tell me what you think of my kids' early Christmas present.... a potbelly pig:hihi: She is black, has her nose pierced, and is cool as s*#t. Plus my kids just LOVE the idea that they have a pig that lives with them in the house. This is in addition to my tank inhabitants, 4 dogs, and also 2 cats. My kids are animal lovers, and so is the wife, so we rescue alot of animals and find them homes, so it's hard telling what we'll have next I want a big bird, a hedge hog, a couple kinds of lizards, and whatever else I might think of later. I'm gonna have to get some pics of them all soon.



I am jealous! I am actually looking into getting a 125 for my two Oscars.

Also, Potbellies are so cute! You should get a Crested Gecko, they are very easy to care for and don't even eat bugs. Unless you want to give them bugs.

P.S. You should try my zoo. My signature doesn't even list the ones in my whole household. ;D


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Lol. The fiancee wants a pig and a dog, but the father-in-law won't let that happen. So we will have to wait till we move or until we inherit the house. What kind of lizards are you looking at? If you need a couple places for good info on that, let me know. I am on, like, 7 reptile forums.:hihi: As for a zoo, I think we may be about even. 5 lizards, 3 snakes, 6 fish tanks, 2 cats, a rat, I have a 5 year old and the fiancee and I have one on the way. It is going to get really interesting around here soon. Lol. That pig is an awesome Christmas present though.


The pig is so cool, and I am really happy we got her. The kids couldn't get over having a pig live in their house with them. She sleeps with them at night, and has recently taken up with our 11yr old boxer. They have been layin side-by-side for the last 2 days. Pretty cool, cuz the boxer is old and is in really bad shape, and we're not sure how much longer we're gonna have her.

I did notice you had lizards, and will definitely be asking about them at such time that I get the opportunity to get one. If I could I'd have a real zoo in my house:hihi: I want a few lizards: a beardie, Geckos are really cool, would LOVE a water monitor and could get one from CL right now for $150 with cage and all that is 4'L. I would LOVE to have some kind of big exotic cat (not a lion or tiger or anything), but a Bobcat or something cool like that. I also want some turtles, but they are illegal to have in captivity in Tn. Can't even buy captive turtles from another state and keep them here. I also want an oddities tank, and put a Medusa Pleco in with some Axolots and some freshwater Flounders like 150 has, and some other things I can't think of now. Oh, freshwater rays, REALLY want some of them Can you all see a pattern here?:help::icon_lol: 



TheJadeShrimp said:


> I am jealous! I am actually looking into getting a 125 for my two Oscars.
> 
> Also, Potbellies are so cute! You should get a Crested Gecko, they are very easy to care for and don't even eat bugs. Unless you want to give them bugs.
> 
> P.S. You should try my zoo. My signature doesn't even list the ones in my whole household. ;D


Well hi jadeshrimp, honor to have you here. I did look at your sig, and wow! I'd love to have some horses, heck, I want a farm:biggrin: A buddy of mine had a horse and tried to get me to ride her, but I was too scared. I don't know why, it was just one of those things that you want to do, but when you finally get the chance to do it, it makes you so intimidated that you're scared to try it. I have wanted a farm since I was a little kid. We do plan on getting some chickens soon, maybe next spring or something. 

Yeah, you'll want to get a bigger tank for them Oscars, they would love the extra swimming room. Then, when you get the bigger tank, you can get more fish

I would like a crested gecko, and wouldn't mind feeding bugs. I feed my fish live foods, and keep a mealworm culture as well.


----------



## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> Well hi jadeshrimp, honor to have you here. I did look at your sig, and wow! I'd love to have some horses, heck, I want a farm:biggrin: A buddy of mine had a horse and tried to get me to ride her, but I was too scared. I don't know why, it was just one of those things that you want to do, but when you finally get the chance to do it, it makes you so intimidated that you're scared to try it. I have wanted a farm since I was a little kid. We do plan on getting some chickens soon, maybe next spring or something.
> 
> Yeah, you'll want to get a bigger tank for them Oscars, they would love the extra swimming room. Then, when you get the bigger tank, you can get more fish
> 
> I would like a crested gecko, and wouldn't mind feeding bugs. I feed my fish live foods, and keep a mealworm culture as well.


We actually have three here, a miniature, but it is my niece's horse. She loves her little Peanut. I don't ride horses much. My horse, she is my baby and I have had her since she was 4 months old, isn't trained to ride and probably will never be.

I planned on looking for a tank for a little while. I am hoping for about a minimum of a 125 gallon. But bigger would be better.

Okay, most people do. A friend of mine is terrified of bugs. Crested Geckos make a great first lizard, if you have never kept lizard. I also have a mealworm culture. I haven't opened the containers in a while. :hihi:

P.S. I wish I could find a nice tank like yours. But everyone on CL here has saltwater tanks for sale.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

TheJadeShrimp said:


> We actually have three here, a miniature, but it is my niece's horse. She loves her little Peanut. I don't ride horses much. My horse, she is my baby and I have had her since she was 4 months old, isn't trained to ride and probably will never be.
> 
> I planned on looking for a tank for a little while. I am hoping for about a minimum of a 125 gallon. But bigger would be better.
> 
> ...


My tank was a saltwater tank. It took me 3 days to clean all the salt out of it. By the end of it I had blisters on my fingers, and a pretty awesome tank that I was turning into freshwater. I've even used all the equipment, minus the powerheads and things. They had way too much circulation than what I needed, and would actually make pits in the gravel and blow the dirt all over my tank. Took me a couple days to figure out what it was. First I thought it was just an overabundance of detritus, but got to looking in the back of the tank behind my wood piece, and that's when I noticed the crater behind there.


----------



## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> My tank was a saltwater tank. It took me 3 days to clean all the salt out of it. By the end of it I had blisters on my fingers, and a pretty awesome tank that I was turning into freshwater. I've even used all the equipment, minus the powerheads and things. They had way too much circulation than what I needed, and would actually make pits in the gravel and blow the dirt all over my tank. Took me a couple days to figure out what it was. First I thought it was just an overabundance of detritus, but got to looking in the back of the tank behind my wood piece, and that's when I noticed the crater behind there.


Was it an old saltwater tank that was empty for a while? Here they are selling fully set up Saltwater with corals with fish.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> The pig is so cool, and I am really happy we got her. The kids couldn't get over having a pig live in their house with them. She sleeps with them at night, and has recently taken up with our 11yr old boxer. They have been layin side-by-side for the last 2 days. Pretty cool, cuz the boxer is old and is in really bad shape, and we're not sure how much longer we're gonna have her.
> 
> I did notice you had lizards, and will definitely be asking about them at such time that I get the opportunity to get one. If I could I'd have a real zoo in my house:hihi: I want a few lizards: a beardie, Geckos are really cool, would LOVE a water monitor and could get one from CL right now for $150 with cage and all that is 4'L. I would LOVE to have some kind of big exotic cat (not a lion or tiger or anything), but a Bobcat or something cool like that. I also want some turtles, but they are illegal to have in captivity in Tn. Can't even buy captive turtles from another state and keep them here. I also want an oddities tank, and put a Medusa Pleco in with some Axolots and some freshwater Flounders like 150 has, and some other things I can't think of now. Oh, freshwater rays, REALLY want some of them Can you all see a pattern here?:help::icon_lol:
> 
> ...


Lol. I do see a pattern. All the crazy stuff no one else wants. Lol. The biggest thing I want right now is a reef tank. I want at least a 125 and the only fish I want if I had to choose one is a Volitans Lionfish. That tank is number 1 on my bucket list.

Horse back riding is amazing. Until you get thrown off. Ouch. But you heal, and get back on. Horses are amazing and powerful animals, but most are big sweethearts. If you treat them right, they will return the favor. The only reason I got thrown is cuz it got spooked by something outside the barn. It happens. Try it next time man. It is worth it.



TheJadeShrimp said:


> We actually have three here, a miniature, but it is my niece's horse. She loves her little Peanut. I don't ride horses much. My horse, she is my baby and I have had her since she was 4 months old, isn't trained to ride and probably will never be.
> 
> I planned on looking for a tank for a little while. I am hoping for about a minimum of a 125 gallon. But bigger would be better.
> 
> ...


+1 on cresties. That is going to be the next reptile we get.



[email protected] said:


> My tank was a saltwater tank. It took me 3 days to clean all the salt out of it. By the end of it I had blisters on my fingers, and a pretty awesome tank that I was turning into freshwater. I've even used all the equipment, minus the powerheads and things. They had way too much circulation than what I needed, and would actually make pits in the gravel and blow the dirt all over my tank. Took me a couple days to figure out what it was. First I thought it was just an overabundance of detritus, but got to looking in the back of the tank behind my wood piece, and that's when I noticed the crater behind there.


Distilled white vinegar. Works wonders for salt creep. And miner deposits from fresh water too.



TheJadeShrimp said:


> Was it an old saltwater tank that was empty for a while? Here they are selling fully set up Saltwater with corals with fish.


Find a good shop and dump all the corals and fish off with them. They may give you credit that you can use on dry goods, or freshwater goods if they carry both.


----------



## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Find a good shop and dump all the corals and fish off with them. They may give you credit that you can use on dry goods, or freshwater goods if they carry both.


Well, the best LFS here won't take customer fish, shrimps, or anything a live. The other LFS has very rude owners. And I am not sure if the local pet store will take anything.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

TheJadeShrimp said:


> Well, the best LFS here won't take customer fish, shrimps, or anything a live. The other LFS has very rude owners. And I am not sure if the local pet store will take anything.


Hmmm. You may have to find an empty one. Or see if they will sell off the livestock and sell you the system separately.


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Lol. I do see a pattern. All the crazy stuff no one else wants. Lol. The biggest thing I want right now is a reef tank. I want at least a 125 and the only fish I want if I had to choose one is a Volitans Lionfish. That tank is number 1 on my bucket list.


Yeah, I'm kind of an oddball myself, so I like oddball stuff I also want to get a reef tank. Sorry TPT'ers, I will have a bunch more freshwater tanks than that, but I would like atleast one reeftank. To me, they are like on a totally different spectrum than a freshwater planted tank. Where the freshwater is relaxing in a serene way, the reeftank will be relaxing but in a whole different way with the brightness and the lighter colored inhabitants and things.



cableguy69846 said:


> Horse back riding is amazing. Until you get thrown off. Ouch. But you heal, and get back on. Horses are amazing and powerful animals, but most are big sweethearts. If you treat them right, they will return the favor. The only reason I got thrown is cuz it got spooked by something outside the barn. It happens. Try it next time man. It is worth it.


I rode a horse as a kid, and have been around them alot in life, but I realise how big and powerful they are, and it just intimidated me a little bit. I will ride one some day, and would LOVE to have one. I think the kids would like them as well. They're little ******* babies:hihi: We had a chance to get one at one time, from Craigslist. A person on there was trading one for a Yorkie, but we just wasn't prepared for one at the time. Some day, though.




cableguy69846 said:


> Hmmm. You may have to find an empty one. Or see if they will sell off the livestock and sell you the system separately.


Or you can just set a reeftank up, and keep the freshwater one you already have. You might even be able to switch them and have a big freshwater and make a small salt tank.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Yeah, I'm kind of an oddball myself, so I like oddball stuff I also want to get a reef tank. Sorry TPT'ers, I will have a bunch more freshwater tanks than that, but I would like atleast one reeftank. To me, they are like on a totally different spectrum than a freshwater planted tank. Where the freshwater is relaxing in a serene way, the reeftank will be relaxing but in a whole different way with the brightness and the lighter colored inhabitants and things.
> 
> 
> I rode a horse as a kid, and have been around them alot in life, but I realise how big and powerful they are, and it just intimidated me a little bit. I will ride one some day, and would LOVE to have one. I think the kids would like them as well. They're little ******* babies:hihi: We had a chance to get one at one time, from Craigslist. A person on there was trading one for a Yorkie, but we just wasn't prepared for one at the time. Some day, though.
> ...


I think reeftank is the next tank I am going to flood this spring. I hope.

I didn't think of the switcharoo you suggested. That is a good idea.roud:


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> I think reeftank is the next tank I am going to flood this spring. I hope.
> 
> I didn't think of the switcharoo you suggested. That is a good idea.roud:


I'm currently trying to get a 75g, that I'm thinking about making into a reeftank, but only if I can get it cheap Just a tank and stand with no accessories, but the tank needs resealed and the stand is in really bad shape and would need LOTS of work, so cheap is a MUST:hihi: I don't think he wants to sell it so cheap, but we'll see. He's going and getting a 75g with overflow and trickle filter with 2 pumps and the whole bit for $150 from CL, and is going to be wanting the room for that, so I'm hoping he takes my offer of $70 for the other 75. I have the things I need to redo it, so I'm hoping I get it.

I was just posting a pic of some plants for sale on CL, and realized how many pics I had that I needed to post in here, along with LOTS of updates. It's just been a really crappy month, and I haven't felt like doing it. I will get in here and post them, maybe tonight, and post some updates. 

One update: I didn't get the tanks I was supposed to for starting my fish closet, still have just the 3 tanks from before, but it is still in the plans. I just had to place it on the back burner for now, but VERY soon. I do have baby crays crawling all over two of my tanks though, which is WAY cool I got Momma seperated now, so I'm hoping she has more babies really soon. Then I will be able to put her back in the main tank again and give her the space she needs. The rest will have to wait till tonight after the kids go to sleep. I have 3 kids here by myself since wife had to go back to Ohio for her fathers funeral, and there's no way I'll be able to sit long enough to allow me the time I'll need to get the updates done.

One more thing before I go, I added DIY Co2 to my tank, and use it to make homemade wine:icon_bigg So, come back for some updates, later.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I'm currently trying to get a 75g, that I'm thinking about making into a reeftank, but only if I can get it cheap Just a tank and stand with no accessories, but the tank needs resealed and the stand is in really bad shape and would need LOTS of work, so cheap is a MUST:hihi: I don't think he wants to sell it so cheap, but we'll see. He's going and getting a 75g with overflow and trickle filter with 2 pumps and the whole bit for $150 from CL, and is going to be wanting the room for that, so I'm hoping he takes my offer of $70 for the other 75. I have the things I need to redo it, so I'm hoping I get it.
> 
> I was just posting a pic of some plants for sale on CL, and realized how many pics I had that I needed to post in here, along with LOTS of updates. It's just been a really crappy month, and I haven't felt like doing it. I will get in here and post them, maybe tonight, and post some updates.
> 
> ...


Glad to see you are still around man. Hope to see some updates later.:icon_smil


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Sorry I didn't get to the updates last night, I forgot to edit the pics so I've been busy doing that to get them ready. I'm here now though, so on to the updates:

I'll start with a FTS on 1-19 after we got back. This is after having DIY Co2 for a couple weeks, but more on that later After doing some cleaning:








Left side:








Right:








Crypt Walkeri 'lutea with lots of new growth and red outlines:








Sunset Hygro in suspended animation since moving it to this new tank. Not sure on the other:








Queen Marble Sword. Would probably be pretty sweet if I could keep it planted:








Crypt Wendtii Red growing good, and an Apon at the top:








For some reason, rosette plants are growing really well, but NONE of my stems will grow. They are either stunted, or they rot right out of the sub, so not real sure what's going on there. Any ideas?
Now for The DIY Co2/wine generator. Yes, I do make wine in there:hihi: You can almost see my reactor I built and put in the sump. I did have a pic of it, but couldn't find it right now. I just used a 20oz pop bottle, drilled a hole in the bottom and ran my powerhead in there, ran my Co2 into the lid through airline, and packed LOTS of filter-floss in it. I drilled little holes in the bottom for the outlet, which makes the water and Co2 mix before passing through the filter-floss and back out the bottom.








Here are some pretty cool pics of the cray, as well as some of her babies. Momma:








Babies:
























And finally, my pair of Green marble Angels:








Surprise!! Male doin EXACTLY what he's supposed to be doin:








Nothing survived this time, but it was only their first time and I didn't expect anything to. Atleast I know I will eventually be stocked to the gills with Angels in the near future

I will be taking pictures pretty regularly to judge the growth I will hopefully be getting from the added Co2, so stay tuned and thanks for looking.


----------



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Nice pics man. The tank is really coming along nicely. Keep it up man.:icon_smil


----------



## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

Cool stuff Tony. You got shrimps? or just crayfish?


----------



## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> Nice pics man. The tank is really coming along nicely. Keep it up man.:icon_smil


Thanks, buddy. Don't worry, I have no plans to give up on anything. If anything, I want to push forward and grow, not stop



green_valley said:


> Cool stuff Tony. You got shrimps? or just crayfish?


 Thanks, though I'm still not done. I still lack some Java fern for around the entrance to my tunnel, and would love to get some more colorful plants in there as well. I've also been on the lookout for a couple more pieces of wood to put with the one in there. It will hopefully look ok when I'm done roud:

No, no shrimp. I had plans on getting some Bee shrimp, and have thought about some cherries from Treetom, but things just didn't turn out the way I wanted them to this month. Right now, just the crays. It's cool for now though, since I didn't get the tanks I planned on having. The lady set up a place to meet so I could get some tanks, and then she ended up driving around after she realized the place she set wasn't actually there:angryfire Emailed me later and said, "Oh, we probably passed each other on the highway (after I drove all that way with 3 kids by myself, about 30m 1-way), but could we set something else up to meet again?" Well, no, not after all that bs! Can you tell it's a sore subject? And you only know half of it 

I do have a couple more pics of some baby crays, but I think they're still on the camera. I'll get them on here after I get the cam back out. The ones I'm missing were the best ones I got, and showed the little ladies really good.


I do have an empty 10g I could set up, and probably will so I can start breeding some of them Tiger Barbs. Did you all see some of the fat ones in the pics? I also need a place to keep some snails, as I found out the Apples will eat fish eggs. I'm pretty sure that's where the majority of the Angel eggs got off to, cuz I'm relatively sure the crays didn't eat them and they were totally gone one day. I thought about making a DIY in-tank breeder from a big jar and sponge filter, but feek it might be too hard to feed the babies like that. IDK, I'll get it figured out.


----------

