# KC's 29g DP Tank



## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Current Tank Specs:

- 29 gallon glass tank
- Handcrafted stand and canopy
- Pool filter stand substrate
- Found driftwood
- Two 26w 6500k CFLs
- Aquaclear 70 filter
- Petco 100w heater
- Petco power head (unsure of details)
- DIY CO2 (two 2-liter bottles, diffused via power head)

Current Flora:

- Java moss
- Windelov java fern
- Amazon frobit
- Crypts (C. wendtii green and red)
- Jungle val
- Water wisteria
- Water sprite
- Pygmy chain sword

Current Fauna:

- 5 otocinclus (Otocinclus vittatus)
- 7 kuhli loaches (Pangio kuhlii)
- 2 dwarf puffers (Carinotetraodon travancoricus)


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

*February 6th, 2012: Introduction to the tank!*


Here's a full shot of the tank. It's nothing too special yet. I apologize for the glare from the window.










The beautiful stand was made by my talented pap out of scraps from his woodworking shop. It's Frankensteined out a few different types of wood. He's not happy about the piece that goes horizontally under the drawers, but it was the only piece of scrap that fit. I don't mind it at all.

The drawers are very nice and hold food and other small supplies. The cabinets beneath them are designed to hold two buckets and larger tools/supplies.











My first project was a lighting upgrade! My dinky light that came with the aquarium hood just wouldn't cut it, so I dug out an incandescent hood from an old 10 gallon tank in my mom's attic. I hacked it up myself to fit (kinda) over my hood and screwed two 26w 6500k CFLs in there. It just kinda lays there for now, but my dad is working on a DIY light to hold 3 bulbs.




















I received my AC 70 filter just last week! I was so excited! I chose this filter because puffers are known to be quite messy, so my filtration will be generous. I hooked it up by myself and chose to leave the carbon out in favor of a chunk of filter floss (rinsed polyester batting from my craft room). I love it!











I also set up a DIY CO2 bottle. I used one to start with. I will add another next week and refresh them on alternating weeks to keep the CO2 steady. Nothing too fancy here. Just a bottle with standard air tubing (and a check valve) that I put right in to the filter intake.




















Also this week, I did my first scape! I purchased a small pack of plants from someone on the puffer forum that I frequent. I'll be able to get more soon! See the first post for the current plant list.










The forest:









The hidden cove (even though it's not hidden yet):









The mountain:









The... I don't have a good name yet:










Are crypts supposed to lay down like this, or is it because I just got them and they aren't feeling at home yet?




















That's all for now. I'm waiting on an order of ferts from RootMedic. They should be here before the weekend, and I couldn't possibly be more excited!

I'm also on the lookout for inexpensive plants from my wishlist. Hornwort, water sprite and wisteria for now.

Thanks for looking. Any and all comments, questions, and critiques are more than welcome. This is my first adventure and I want to make sure that everything is as perfect as I can make it!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I just realized how bad the water looks. It's perfectly clear! It just looks weird from my power head. I have it set to spew bubbles for Mabel. She loves them.

(Plus all of the crap that I need to vacuum up!)


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

looks cool...when are you getting the puffers?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Looks good so far. If you are still looking for more water wisteria (hygrophyla difformis), let me know. I may have some in a week or so.:icon_smil


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thank you both for the feedback! I really appreciate it. I know that I can get better! I'd really like to fill in the back especially with some thick stuff for the puffers to hide in (and maybe to cover up the unsightly plumbing)!

Hedge: Hopefully this spring! It all depends on how soon I can get my hands on some taller plants for the back and have them grow in nicely. The general rule for keeping more than one DP is that if you can see the back of the tank, it's not planted enough! That's partially why there isn't a background yet.

Cableguy: I am still looking! Do you think that a nice bushel of that would look good at the right side of the tank in front of all the plumbing?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Thank you both for the feedback! I really appreciate it. I know that I can get better! I'd really like to fill in the back especially with some thick stuff for the puffers to hide in (and maybe to cover up the unsightly plumbing)!
> 
> Hedge: Hopefully this spring! It all depends on how soon I can get my hands on some taller plants for the back and have them grow in nicely. The general rule for keeping more than one DP is that if you can see the back of the tank, it's not planted enough! That's partially why there isn't a background yet.
> 
> Cableguy: I am still looking! Do you think that a nice bushel of that would look good at the right side of the tank in front of all the plumbing?


It would look good. That stuff will grow like a weed in your tank too. You can also look into some other stem plants as well. Myrio mattagrossens is another good one that will fill in the back nicely. Hygro sp. angustifolia would look good. Pretty much any Hygro you could get your hands on. You can also look into taller crypts and stuff like that. There are a ton of plants you can do. Shop around a bit and keep your eyes open wide. Lol. Start looking at all the taller tanks on here. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Got some Jungle Val from "travisk" and I couldn't be more excited! The plan is to put that at the back of the tank as a background. When that fills in, I'll see experiment with different papers for the back of the tank and see what looks nice.

Cableguy, I wrote all of those down so that I can watch out for them! Tell your wisteria to grow so I can snag some of it!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Got some Jungle Val from "travisk" and I couldn't be more excited! The plan is to put that at the back of the tank as a background. When that fills in, I'll see experiment with different papers for the back of the tank and see what looks nice.
> 
> Cableguy, I wrote all of those down so that I can watch out for them! Tell your wisteria to grow so I can snag some of it!


Lol. For sure.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I got home from dinner this evening and took a seat in front of my tank to feed Mabel and take nightly inventory of the goings-on in there.

Lo and behold, what do I see? A dozen little java fern plantlets staring at me! That's right... the java fern at the far right of my tank, in front of the heater and below the power head, has teeny tiny plantlets sprouting on her fingertips. I am SO excited!

But it doesn't stop there... oh no. Two new leaves poking their little heads out of the sand in the middle of my two crypts! The other leaves are starting to perk up, too.

It has been roughly two weeks since I've had everything planted in the tank, and 4 days with CO2. Everything is greener, growing nicely, and my water is crystal clear. Mabel loves to play in the moss, too.

My ferts and jungle vals should be here this weekend. My next update will be a bunch of pictures with the vals in their new home!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Wait until the java fern plantlets reach about 2 inches. The leaves I mean. Then pull them off gently and tie them to something. Then trim off the mother leaf. If you don't, it will rot away anyway.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Trim off the places where the plantlets were, you mean?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Trim off the places where the plantlets were, you mean?


You should be able to pull them off pretty easily. If the leaf that you take them off of is turning brown, then you should trim the leaf off, if not you can leave the leaf. If you wait long enough, they should come off without a problem.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Do you need any java fern, then? :hihi:


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Do you need any java fern, then? :hihi:


Lol. I just pulled a bunch of plantlets off of a 2 year old plant I have today.:hihi:


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I think I'll do my first RAOK soon, then! Try to help out someone just starting out like me. I know it's a common plant, but someone has to need some!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

My jungle vals came in the mail today and I am SO thrilled! They are amazing! I'm waiting for the water to clear up after all of my digging around before I take pictures and give a full update.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Here we go! Second official entry in my tank journal!

Full shot of the tank, even though I neglected to turn the ceiling fan light on for better lighting. (Also, I finally hung the new painting that my grandma made for me for Christmas, between the ones she did last year. But that's another story.)












As mentioned earlier, this week's changes included planting my new jungle vals! I planted them as a wall along the back of the tank. I really like it!












You may have noticed something different about the tank. Aside from the lovely new wall of vals, of course. I decided that I wasn't happy with the driftwood in the middle of the tank. I found a rock that makes a nice little cave to replace it and moved the ferns and moss to the rock instead. I like it much better! It's also another place for puffs to hide.












I feel like my plants are really enjoying the CO2. Both of my crypts have sprouted new leaves! I only have a picture of one, though.












And the moss on this pot has really taken off!












My ozelot sword is another story, though. It is SO fragile! There was a bit of a siphon-related accident. A leaf got sucked in and did some real damage! I wonder if it will heal. If not, I'll just have to hope that new leaves come in soon!












Anyway, that's all for now!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I am getting so antsy regarding this tank! Itching to get my ferts delivered so I can feel like I've really "started", but I've also been putting a lot of thought into a background.

By the time everything is filled in the way I want it, I don't think too much of a background will be apparent, but I do want something. I don't like black or the standard dark blue, but I did see a light blue that I liked.

I'll get the paints out this week and do a few experiments on paper to hold up at the back of the tank. I'm thinking of some sort of color graduation. Dark bottom to lighter top. We'll see!


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## xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx (Jul 12, 2011)

Nice tank, I'm a HUGE fan of Jungle Val lol.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thank you! I'm not looking to win any aquascaping awards or anything... just want a good home for my puffs and something nice to look at in the living room.

Not to mention that I'm not in a place to afford the beautiful driftwood pieces and high-tech equipment!

And YES to the jungle val! I can't wait to have a big wall back there!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

While I wait for my fertilizers, I've decided to experiment on CO2 recipes! I have yet to come across someone using DIY CO2 with a room temperature as low as mine, so I'm trying a few things out to see how best to utilize a bottle kept at what most would consider to be lower than room temperature. (I keep my house at 63! Oil is so expensive. :icon_cry

The first bottle that I did was 2 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon regular baking yeast. It produced well, and I could tell that my plants were loving it! It was supposed to be a "lower production, but longer lasting" recipe, but I found that the production just wasn't what I had hoped for. I have no qualms about replacing bottles every few days, so it's time to experiment with higher outputs!

I have different brewing yeasts here at home because my kitchen is more or less a brewery for beer, cider, wine, and mead, but I've decided to work out of the big jar of yeast in my fridge that I use for breads.

Alright, so! For the bottle that I've just prepared today, I doubled the yeast and (nearly) doubled the sugar. 3 cups of sugar and 1 full teaspoon of yeast, to be exact. I left the teaspoon of baking soda as it was, because I don't want to mess with too many different variables at a time.

We'll see if the output is any higher (No, I don't have leaks!) and how long it lasts!

Experimenting is fun! I'm excited!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> While I wait for my fertilizers, I've decided to experiment on CO2 recipes! I have yet to come across someone using DIY CO2 with a room temperature as low as mine, so I'm trying a few things out to see how best to utilize a bottle kept at what most would consider to be lower than room temperature. (I keep my house at 63! Oil is so expensive. :icon_cry
> 
> The first bottle that I did was 2 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon regular baking yeast. It produced well, and I could tell that my plants were loving it! It was supposed to be a "lower production, but longer lasting" recipe, but I found that the production just wasn't what I had hoped for. I have no qualms about replacing bottles every few days, so it's time to experiment with higher outputs!
> 
> ...


You can do it very simply. 2 2liter bottles and a smaller bottle to act as a bubble counter. You tie both the 2 liter bottles in to the smaller bottle with a "T" connecter. The tube into the bubble counter bottle goes all the way down to the bottom of the bottle. The output line just barely goes in the lid. Fill 2/3rds with water. For the mixture, I use one cup sugar and one teaspoon bakers yeast (like you said) and that is all. I replace each bottle once a week, but a few days apart. So every 3 or 4 days, one of the bottles is getting refreshed. Works great on my 20 high. You could also up the yeast and sugar to 2 and 2 for more output.

It should look like this.









If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I have more pics of the setup if you need it.:thumbsup:


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Now, why didn't I think of that? Double up the bottles! And it will give me an excuse to rig up one of those bubble counters!

This is one of the reasons why I love having this journal. It's a lot easier to have folks pop in and suggest ways I can do things better rather than me running around asking a hundred different questions.

Thank you so much! I'm going to work on that this week!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Diatoms! Yup, I've got 'em! :icon_smil

I'm reading that these are normal for a new planted tank. I hope so, because I don't have any current plans for a clean-up crew.

Well... I would like to get a handful of cherry shrimp to watch and maybe breed, keeping in mind that the puffers will pick off babies. (And perhaps the others, depending on their personalities. Which, coincidentally, is why I wasn't planning on assembling any cleaning crews until I have my puffers and see how aggressive my colony turns out to be. :icon_twis)

Anyway! I keep hoping to see my ferts show up, but no luck yet! If they aren't here tomorrow, I'll shoot an email to the seller.

On the CO2 front, I'm still looking for a T-valve! I live in a very small town (Our Walmart doesn't even have any!) and I'll likely need to head into the city to snag one. Though, I had an interesting conversation with my husband during our Valentine's dinner date...

He hasn't shown much interest in the tank, really. He knows that it's a hobby that makes me happy, and he does enjoy watching Mabel swim around, but that's been about it. He says he thinks I'm in a "nesting phase". But, tonight, he brought up my CO2 out of the blue!

As I mentioned before, we are a home-brewing family. We've got all sorts of air locks bubbling all throughout the kitchen. Can you see where this is headed? Yup... he asked me if he could hook up one of his mead batches to the tank! You should have seen the look I gave him! :icon_roll


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## mommabear1007 (Nov 8, 2011)

Your tank is looking good! I'm excited to see how it progresses


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Now, why didn't I think of that? Double up the bottles! And it will give me an excuse to rig up one of those bubble counters!
> 
> This is one of the reasons why I love having this journal. It's a lot easier to have folks pop in and suggest ways I can do things better rather than me running around asking a hundred different questions.
> 
> Thank you so much! I'm going to work on that this week!


No problem. The bubble counter also keeps the yeast mixture out of the tank as well. Just make sure when you drill the holes in the lids, that they are a bit smaller than the line. Then you won't need any type of sealant. It will seal on its own.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Diatoms! Yup, I've got 'em! :icon_smil
> 
> I'm reading that these are normal for a new planted tank. I hope so, because I don't have any current plans for a clean-up crew.
> 
> ...


You can hook up one of the batches to the tank. There are plenty of people that do it. Just make sure not to blow the top on some wine. I have seen it happen. And keep the bubble counter on the setup too. You may want to figure out a way to adjust the amount of CO2 going into the tank though. I am not sure how much one of those mixtures will put out and you don't want to nuke the tank with it.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thanks, Momma! That means a lot to me, especially since I'm so new at this.

Cableguy... you may have started a monster. I did tell my husband that it depended on the BPS/BPM as to if I'd let him hook it up or not. I'll start looking at our batches and seeing what they produce and have him ask his online brewing buddies to see if certain things give off more than others.

If not, though... he has this crazy idea that he wants to use whatever alcohol I end up making in my exhausted mixtures to conjure up some kind of fuel. The man is nuts. I told him fine, but he can't do it in the house. Unless we can write that off on our insurance.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Thanks, Momma! That means a lot to me, especially since I'm so new at this.
> 
> Cableguy... you may have started a monster. I did tell my husband that it depended on the BPS/BPM as to if I'd let him hook it up or not. I'll start looking at our batches and seeing what they produce and have him ask his online brewing buddies to see if certain things give off more than others.
> 
> If not, though... he has this crazy idea that he wants to use whatever alcohol I end up making in my exhausted mixtures to conjure up some kind of fuel. The man is nuts. I told him fine, but he can't do it in the house. Unless we can write that off on our insurance.


There are ways to control the bps as well. Look into some of the valves like for the air pumps and maybe have a secondary vent for the CO2 that you can control the flow of.

Lol. Fuel. Never thought of that. Might have to take a page out of his book and try that.:hihi:


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## limeslide (Jan 27, 2010)

That sand is BRIIIGHHT! 
I love how you used the Vallisneria as a background, it will look great!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Cableguy: Yeah, something about mixing ethanol gasoline.

Limeslide: The pictures wash the sand out quite a bit. I'm too lazy right now to edit them to be true-to-color. It's a bit more natural in appearance when you're here in front of the tank! And thank you! I'm hoping that they will fill in nicely.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

A bit of an update for this week!

My ferts are now scheduled to arrive on Monday. I am SO antsy for them! 

A nice vacuum and water change is on the list for this weekend, as always. I do 50% because that's what my puffers will require weekly, and the ferts as well, if I'm understanding correctly. Plus, Mabel is such a messy girl. Need to suck all that junk out!

I've been bad and haven't gotten around to working on painting a background or getting into town to find a t-valve. Soon, though!

Also, as I mentioned, I'm experiencing my expected brown diatom accumulation. Should I just leave it, or can I wipe it off of my glass and crypt leaves? I don't want them to have their light blocked.

And speaking of light, the tallest tips of my vals are experiencing just a touch of hair algae, as well as some... what I guess to be melting? The tips on some are a bit ragged, a few of the older leaves are a bit transparent, and there's a touch of browning on other leaves. Should I trim the tall leaves that are receiving too much light? How about cutting off those older, melting leaves? And perhaps cleaning up the ragged edges? Will all of this grow back in if I get in there with some scissors to do some snipping?

Sorry for all of the questions! I'll hopefully be able to get a few pictures this weekend of the tank to show what I mean.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Cableguy: Yeah, something about mixing ethanol gasoline.
> 
> Limeslide: The pictures wash the sand out quite a bit. I'm too lazy right now to edit them to be true-to-color. It's a bit more natural in appearance when you're here in front of the tank! And thank you! I'm hoping that they will fill in nicely.


Lol. Dukes Of Hazard comes to mind.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

cableguy69846 said:


> Lol. Dukes Of Hazard comes to mind.


You have no idea. :icon_roll


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Maintenance day! (Usually Saturday, but I wasn't feeling great yesterday.)

50% water change and sand vaccuum, plus wiping a bit of brown diatoms from the glass and the leaves of my crypts. I'm also planning to cut off the few melted jungle val leaves and probably the ragged tips on some of the older ones.

Then I'll take some pictures (Probably just one, honestly.) to document the week's growth and wait impatiently for my fertilizers that are supposed to come tomorrow! I'm trying to not get my hopes up.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Actually... I'm planning on getting my otos soon, so I think I'll just let the diatoms be so that they have a tasty treat to come home to.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Just went to get some water ready and found my water conditioner nearly empty! I don't have enough to do maintenance today. :icon_cry:

I was planning on heading to town anyway, so I'll pick up some of that fancy Prime stuff and get the liquid test kits that I've been coveting! :icon_smil


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Surprise again! Used my noggin and called ahead to check the price on the test kit in town. They're all out, plus it's 15 dollars more expensive than online! I'm just going to pick up some basic water conditioner so that I can do my water change, and then go ahead and order online, I think.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Alright! I made it into town this week and got a big bottle of Prime, plus a nice t-valve at the recommendation of cableguy! I'm also eagerly awaiting a package of water wisteria from AquaticFan!

I did my weekly 50% water change, which was exciting because I've only used cheap, generic water conditioners up until my Prime purchase now. It also marked my very first day of fertilizers. Yup, they finally came! I spilled a little bit of the Prime because the bottle was so full and I'm used to the squirt bottles... wow, that stuff stinks! I'm under the impression that it's the best, though, so I'm all for it!

I also carved some filter foam inserts to cover the intakes on my filter and power head. It's already working wonderfully to protect my hardware from my lovely java moss! I keep peeling it off and finding other places in the tank to stick it, though I've started a little nano that I'm using to hold all of my excess moss for now.

Using my new valve, I got my second CO2 bottle set up. Instead of feeding it directly to the intake on my power head, I hooked the tubing up to the venturi (?) thing. I still need to find a suitable bottle for a bubble counter to hook up, but the new system is working well for now! I've got nice, tiny bubbles floating through the tank. I'm trying to get used to them, but they make taking pictures so difficult.

Speaking of pictures... none this week! The front glass is covered in brown diatoms! I've decided to leave them as I plan to get a few zebra otos in 2-3 weeks, pending the arrival of my water testing kit.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Alright! I made it into town this week and got a big bottle of Prime, plus a nice t-valve at the recommendation of cableguy! I'm also eagerly awaiting a package of water wisteria from AquaticFan!
> 
> I did my weekly 50% water change, which was exciting because I've only used cheap, generic water conditioners up until my Prime purchase now. It also marked my very first day of fertilizers. Yup, they finally came! I spilled a little bit of the Prime because the bottle was so full and I'm used to the squirt bottles... wow, that stuff stinks! I'm under the impression that it's the best, though, so I'm all for it!
> 
> ...


Nice. Did you get a check valve for the CO2 setup as well? And as for a bubble counter bottle, a small Gatorade bottle works amazingly.

P.S. If you need more wisteria, let me know. I have a few stems I need to part with as the plants I have in my 10 gallon are getting huge now.:icon_bigg


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I've had a check valve on their since the first single bottle, on the line that heads to the tank. Do I need more now that I have two bottles?

I'll have to ask my brother to see if he has such a bottle. We don't buy anything like that. The only reason I had the two soda bottles was because of a stomach flu that required copious amounts of ginger ale!

I'll definitely let you know if I need more wisteria!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> I've had a check valve on their since the first single bottle, on the line that heads to the tank. Do I need more now that I have two bottles?
> 
> I'll have to ask my brother to see if he has such a bottle. We don't buy anything like that. The only reason I had the two soda bottles was because of a stomach flu that required copious amounts of ginger ale!
> 
> I'll definitely let you know if I need more wisteria!


Not that I am aware. I use one like you are. From the bubble counter to the tank.

You can use a vitamin water bottle. Pretty much any plastic bottle with a semi large opening.

Sounds good on the wisteria. Let me know in the next week or so as I won't be able to wait much longer than that to trim it.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

My water wisteria came today, and I am definitely not going to need any more! I was sent way more than I was expecting, plus bonus plants! Waiting on the seller to confirm their IDs, but I managed to cram most of them in there!

I'm pretty sure that several of my bonus stems are water sprite, which thrills me because it was on my wish list for the tank! I moved my ozelot sword (Which was a bonus from the first plant pack I ever bought.) to make room for it near the driftwood forest. 

I stuck the sword, still battered from that run-in with the siphon, in my little nano holding tank to heal up and grow a bit until I figure out what to do with it. I may try to find it a new home. It's my understanding that it will be a big plant, and I'm not sure how it will fit with my tank. We'll see!

My "master" test kit is on its way to my house (I use the term "master" loosely, because I had to buy the GH/KH tests separately! What gives?!) and I'll be ripping it out of the box as soon as it hits the porch so that I can be certain of my water quality before I make an appointment to go get my otos! Kuhli loaches will likely follow shortly after.

As far as a timeline goes, I think I'm right on track! The weather is warming up nicely, and I think I'll be comfortable having Mabel settle in with my grandmother sometime in April. She isn't used to chilly water, so I want to be sure that it's nice and warm for her. She was always sluggish when I left the tank at room temperature before I got plants (63!), so the water is around 76 at the moment.

I'm just rambling now, so I'll wrap it up!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> My water wisteria came today, and I am definitely not going to need any more! I was sent way more than I was expecting, plus bonus plants! Waiting on the seller to confirm their IDs, but I managed to cram most of them in there!
> 
> I'm pretty sure that several of my bonus stems are water sprite, which thrills me because it was on my wish list for the tank! I moved my ozelot sword (Which was a bonus from the first plant pack I ever bought.) to make room for it near the driftwood forest.
> 
> ...


Glad to hear it is going your way.:icon_smil

What type of fish is Mabel?


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Mabel is a shubunkin goldfish. I love her dearly! As much as I hate to admit it, I saw her at Walmart and I just couldn't leave her there. My tank was empty at the time, because I've been planning for puffers for years, but she was just so friendly and gorgeous. 

I brought her home to save her from dying in a bowl, but the overall plan was always to give her a temporary home with me to let her grow a bit and then take her to one of my grandma's water garden ponds. She has great coloring from above, so she'll be a joy to watch!

She loves having the (relatively) huge 29 gallon to herself, and she adores the plants. The only thing I won't miss about her is the huge poop that I have to siphon up constantly!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Mabel is a shubunkin goldfish. I love her dearly! As much as I hate to admit it, I saw her at Walmart and I just couldn't leave her there. My tank was empty at the time, because I've been planning for puffers for years, but she was just so friendly and gorgeous.
> 
> I brought her home to save her from dying in a bowl, but the overall plan was always to give her a temporary home with me to let her grow a bit and then take her to one of my grandma's water garden ponds. She has great coloring from above, so she'll be a joy to watch!
> 
> She loves having the (relatively) huge 29 gallon to herself, and she adores the plants. The only thing I won't miss about her is the huge poop that I have to siphon up constantly!


Lol. I am sure she will love the pond though. Do the fish overwinter in it as well?


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Yes, all of her koi and goldfish stay the winter in their ponds. She's never had any losses except for a huge tragedy a few years back. We had a week or two in early spring where it got unseasonably warm (Hot!) and then a snap freeze for another few weeks after that. She lost nearly 50 koi.

I want to be very sure that the water will stay nice and warm before I let her go!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Yes, all of her koi and goldfish stay the winter in their ponds. She's never had any losses except for a huge tragedy a few years back. We had a week or two in early spring where it got unseasonably warm (Hot!) and then a snap freeze for another few weeks after that. She lost nearly 50 koi.
> 
> I want to be very sure that the water will stay nice and warm before I let her go!


You could look into one of those large heaters they use for stock tanks for cattle and such. It may not keep it ideal, but it would keep it from getting insanely cold.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

That's true! I'm hoping to stop by TSC today to get a big length of hose cut. I am so sick of hauling little ice cream buckets of water through the house to do my water changes. I'll do a price check for them over there.

My master test kit came this afternoon. The GH/KH kit wasn't in the box, even though it was supposed to ship from the same seller. I was too excited to really mind, though. I went on a testing rampage. The results were... not what I had hoped for! I thought for sure that the tank was cycled. It's been running for 8 weeks, so I'm hoping that it's nearly done.

For the life of me, I could not get any water source in this house to read 0 ppm for ammonia. Both the tank water and tap water read at .25 ppm. I'm hoping that this won't be a long-term problem. I do use the Prime now when I add water. Mabel seems perfectly happy, but I'm worried.

Nitrite also reads .25 ppm from the tank. I'm fairly certain that I'm feeding Mabel too much. I'm doing a water change now to try to get rid of the nitrites. Hopefully they won't show up again. I'll take another reading tonight.

My tank pH is reading a very clear 6.4, but I had much more trouble reading the level from the tap. I finally settled on 7.2, but I think it could easily be 7 or so. I'm going to test it again when my husband gets home to see where he thinks it matches on the chart. The drop in tank water pH is caused by the CO2, correct? I suppose I won't know much more on that front until the GH/KH kit gets here.

Grr! I was really hoping for perfect levels!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Some small updates!

Couldn't find what I needed here in town (Big surprise!) in the way of hoses and whatnot, so I'll be heading into the city tomorrow to hit up the home improvement stores. While I'm there, I'll be swinging by msjinkzd to pick up a few otos! I'm so excited for them. I hope they enjoy the diatoms I've kept on the glass for them!

I also ordered some kuhli loaches that will be ready for me to pick up late next week. The cave in the center of the tank should be perfect for them. I hope they like it!

The idea with adding the tank mates this early is to let them settle in and find their places in the tank before I get the puffers. The puffs wouldn't take kindly to me giving them new "friends" after their territories are already established. This should also allow me to spot aggressors immediately and separate them out to be returned. Dwarf puffers are kept with otos very successfully on a wide scale, but other tank mates are completely dependent on the individual personalities. We'll see! Fingers crossed for some passive puffs.

About the testing kit woes that I was expressing earlier... I got some bottled water to test, and apparently my eyes just do not read the ammonia test very well. Tap and tank readings are zero. I also cut Mabel's portions down considerably, and the nitrites disappeared. Big surprise, huh?

My plants are doing wonderfully! My jungle vals are sending out runners like there's no tomorrow, and my crypts are spitting out new leaves every day! It seems like the ferns are growing, but the little plantlets are soooo slow! Anyway... I'm hoping that my wisteria, water sprite, and pygmy chain swords take root before my kuhlis come along. I know that for a few days there, if Mabel would so much as look at a sprig of wisteria, up to the top of the tank it floated!

That's all for now!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Alright, time for an overdue update! _With pictures!_

Lots to talk about! No full tank shot tonight, but I'll be taking one in the morning when my lighting is better.

I got my otos, as well as a few nerite snails, from msjinkzed and I can't tell you how much I love them all! I had two deaths at first due to what I believe to be improper acclimation, but I fixed the issue with some advice on the matter! They're just munching away on the diatom explosion in my tank, though I think the three nerite snails might have them beat in the race to clean the glass. The otos seem to like hanging out on the driftwood and the jungle vals more than working on the glass!


I mean, seriously. Just a few swipes in the diatoms? Come on!











The zebra nerite is going to show the otos how it's done. Going to TOWN within minutes of being introduced to the tank!











The red spot nerite decided to chill on the driftwood.











The batik nerite booked it to the other side of the tank to lay some eggs!











Oh, and one of Rachel's daughters gave me two lovely daffodils from their garden! She has the most wonderful family!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

In other news, I finally got my hands on ONE kuhli loach.

The only place carrying kuhli loaches within reasonable driving distance is a Petco, and I found this out by accident when I drove into the city to look for a valve.

There was only one in the tank, but the guy in aquatics took my name and ordered another batch of kuhli loaches to come in the following week. For whatever reason, they didn't come. I asked if the little guy on his own was still there, but they couldn't find him, so I had to try to be patient and wait until this coming Thursday to see if the new ones come in.

Tonight, though, I got a call saying that they found my kuhli in the sump. I can't say that I'm surprised! Anyway, I had my husband pick him up on the way home from work. I feel bad that he's by himself, but I figure that there's no difference between him being my himself at my tank or Petco. Plus, my tank has lots of fun places to explore and hide!


Here he is, chilling in the water wisteria.











I bought some frozen blood worms to offer him tomorrow after he's had a chance to settle in, though I'm hoping he finds the block of Repashy overnight to nibble on.

Oh, and I made a video of him!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVwIfw0-m1Y


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## FlyingGiraffes (Jan 30, 2011)

Reading through all your updates was real fun! Hope you can get some buddies for the lone loach.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed them!

The buddies are _supposed_ to come in tomorrow. I'm going to go nuts if they are delayed another week!


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

kuhlis are great! such little characters  i had 4 in my 55, 2 of them buried themselves and even when i had the tank 100% cleared and was digging in the substrate, i still have yet to find them....lol his pals are in my 125 now, and your thread just reminded me to pick them up some friends this weekend.

love the tank so far! if you ever find yourself in the philly area, or i find myself at rachel's, i'll give you as many cherry shrimp as your heart desires. they are breeding like roaches in my 55 now that all the predators are gone.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Not a bad looking fish.:icon_smil


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I've got a lot of updates this week!

First off, the rest of my kuhli loaches finally came in yesterday! Since they knew I was coming to take all of them home, they didn't want to take them out of their shipping bag, acclimate them to their tanks, and then fish them out for me to take and acclimate them to my tank. So, I just drove to the city to pick the bag up and got them home as fast as I could to get them out of there.

I knew that one of them just didn't look quite right. He was swimming differently than the others and kept flipping over. After I got them acclimated, I placed all of the loaches directly into the tank except for the one. I put him in a breeder box on the tank so that I could keep an eye on him. I was prepared to get the clove oil out to put the poor thing down, but he eventually stopped flipping over and seemed to be acting normally. I didn't want to euthanize him if he had a chance, so I released him into the tank so that he could find a place to hide and hopefully recover.

I should have known better. I have been preparing for deaths because I know that kuhli loaches do not ship well at all. I just hope the poor thing didn't suffer too badly. I found him dead this morning, clinging to the sponge that I have covering the filter intake. :icon_frow

I took the opportunity to do my weekly tank maintenance a day early. 50% water change as well as digging around to remove some dead plant matter and other accumulated junk on the sand. I finally had enough of the micro bubbles spewing out of the power head. So, I thought... why not? Took the power head out of the tank and put it in the new tank that I got a week or so back. (I thought that I mentioned that here, but I can't find anything about it!) The sponge on the power head has a good bit of BB on it, but I also seeded the new tank's filter with some bio media from the main tank.

I didn't have to go and do that, but I figured that it was about time for Mabel to move. The new tank doesn't have a heater, but our room temperature is rising steadily as it warms up outside. I acclimated her to it and she seems to be doing well. There is only sand in there so far, but I plan to plant it with my excess plants very soon.

Now that everyone was settled back in with clean water, some of the kuhli loaches began their ritual dancing. I had read that a lot of them dance after water changes, but I wasn't expecting them to be so playful a mere 24 hours after being introduced to the tank!

I caught it on video. The first video is just me talking about it. The second video is me shutting up and filming one of my cats, Madeline, watching "her fishies."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPiDBF8ihOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c05mAhzkeFM

While I'm on the loach topic, I think that I ended up with a different "batch". The new guys are almost adults and look a bit different than my first little guy. I suspect that they may be a different species, but I'll have more on that later when I'm certain. But anyway.

Before I get into some tank shots, I'd like to share what I found on my glass last night after introducing the new loaches. You'll need to click on the picture to enlarge it, as the surprise is quite tiny!










Yep... oto fry! There should be plenty of food in the tank, so we'll see if any of the fry make it. I have no idea which of the otos mated or where they may have laid eggs, but there must be love in the air!


Now, as promised... the first full tank shots in quite some time!

Here's a shot standing back a bit.












Closer.












You can really see how this crypt has come along!












This is my water wisteria corner. It is filling in nicely and I really love it!












So do the loaches.











You can see how different this kuhli looks. I'll get to the bottom of that soon and report back.

That's all for now!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Not bad. Those videos are pretty cool. Cats + Fish tanks = hilarity.:hihi: The tank is filling in really nicely. And, when are we going to see the new tank?


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

the tank looks great. the vals really took off and so did your crypt, which, btw, appears to be a c. wendtii 'green'. the other looks like a c. wendtii 'red' or 'mi oya' (same thing). if the difference in the kuhlis you are talkinf about is the striping, that is normal. juveniles "grow" the striping. i have gotten juveniles that were almost light colored with small dark blotches, and others that were dark with little light blotches. they all turned out the same in the end with full vertical stripes.

just out of curiosity, was there any guarantee on the loaches, or did they not offer one due to you taking them directly in the shipping bag?


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thank you, cableguy! Madeline LOVES the fish tank, but my other cat, Milo, doesn't see the appeal. We'll see the new tank when it doesn't look like a box of water and sand!

Fishies in Philly: Thank you so much, for the compliment and for identifying my crypts! It makes me happier to know their names. The only difference that I was talking about (Aside from being noticeably a bit older and larger.) is the striping/bars. The thought of them changing as they age hadn't occurred to me. That makes so much sense now! I will definitely be watching the baby to see those bands grow!

And yes, I do have a full 30-day guarantee on all of the kuhlis. Honestly, with everything I've heard about them not taking to shipping well, I fully expected losses and wouldn't have made the purchase without some sort of guarantee. The receipt is tucked into my tank log and the little guy that passed away is in the freezer. I just have to make it back into the city.


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

that's great that they gave you the guarantee. i normally ask how long the fish have been in the tank, what they are being fed, ect. personally, i would never take fish without them being acclimated in their tanks first. let them deal with losses and such. and just so they didn't have to dig them out of their tank? hmmm....that sounds to me that either someone is lazy, or they just did not want to have to put a hold sticker on a display tank full of fish they could otherwise sell. isn't that why we pay retail, when we could pay less elsewhere? but, on the flipside, i know we can all be impatient, especially when we have been waiting a while for something, so i definitely don't blame you for taking them that way  they sure do look like they love their new home!! hopefully the rest will all stay healthy for you. speaking of waiting patiently for something, when do the puffers arrive?? oh, and what other plants are on your wish list, since you seem to have gotten most of what you wanted?

-Bill


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Totally agree with everything you said!

I didn't know that they hadn't been acclimated, even though a day wouldn't have made a difference. (Though I wouldn't have had to deal with that one death right out of the bag.) The guy that ordered them for me said that they come in first thing in the morning and that they wanted me to come in sometime before closing so that they could get acclimated. When I got there, they were still in their shipping bag. Honestly, I was really flustered. This Petco is ~45 minutes from where I live and is the absolute closest place that has true (Pangio kuhlii) loaches.

I was eager to take that first one because I knew he had been with them for at least a week and that he was definitely a keeper. But, with the 30 day guarantee and the fact that I was just stumped out of my mind when I walked in there to see a bag and the sales guy staring at me, I just paid for them. I think there may have been a subconscious, illogical part of me that felt cruel to just let them there so that the weak can die off before I take the good ones. Bah.

But, here I am. One death out of the bag, and one that is acting a bit strange, though I don't know if it is the general kuhli loach brand of strange, or if something is wrong. Time will tell.

I have an even number of loaches now, and i HATE even numbers. So, the new plan is to hope that they get more kuhli loaches in this next week since I bought them all out, and then wait another week before I return my deaths so that I can exchange them. 

If all goes well and according to plan, I'll have an odd number of kuhli loaches that will have scouted out the tank and become comfortable in their new environment and all of it's hiding spots before the big sale at the fish store in Lancaster. I'm told that it's sometime in the middle of April.

There is a store in Harrisburg that has dwarf puffers, but they are selling them for 7 dollars each while the store in Lancaster has them for 3 dollars, minus whatever sale price. So, I'll be calling them soon to make sure that they have them in stock for the sale so that hopefully I'll be a puffer parent in April!

Regarding the plants, I think this tank is pretty well full, though now I have a new tank to think about! Once I get a heater in there from the sale, I'll start putting a list together.

Thanks for all of the comments and concerns. It really means a lot!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Welp. All 6 of the second batch of kuhli loaches have passed.

I keep a log of the tank that includes water readings and everything that is done, and there's just nothing out of place.

The baby kuhli is fine, as are the otos. And, as mentioned earlier, the otos are even breeding.

I'm going to call tomorrow to see if more kuhlis come in, and then I'll wait a week and return my deaths and pick up any survivors.

Ugh.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I can't believe I just lost my entire post. Here we go again.

I usually do my tank maintenance on the weekend, but I did mine yesterday for a few reasons. First, I wanted to vacuum the sand really well in case the "bad" kuhlis left behind any nasties. I should have had the new 20G set up as a QT, but hindsight is 20/20.

Speaking of QT, though, my mom is coming to visit this weekend and she's bringing a 10 gallon from her attic for me to use as QT. Oh, no... this is how it starts, isn't it? Pretty, modest-sized tank with awesome plants. Better get another tank to hold all of these extra plants that the main tank is producing! Need new inhabitants? Better get a QT tank! Pretty soon, you're too far gone. Oh well.

Anyway, the other reason I wanted to bump the maintenance up a day was because I've been noticing my pH dropping quite steadily. Just two weeks ago, it was 6.4 in the tank. The tap comes out at 7.2. No biggie, right? Well, I tested again on Thursday night and it was only barely 6.0. I hesitate to call it 6.0 because I had a hard time determining if the liquid was yellow or not! It was almost clear!

So, I had a bit of a panic. I know that pH stability is better than tinkering, but I do 50% water changes. What if I changed the water and the sudden hike in pH shocks the tank? I freaked a bit, and had my husband pick up some crushed coral on his way home from work. I put about a 1/4 cup into a media bag and stuck it in the back of my filter. I didn't want to mess with baking soda or anything, so I decided to use the coral that dissolves nice and slowly.

I could use some advice and hand-holding on the matter. I know that driftwood and CO2 can drive pH down, and I have both. I ordered a drop checker that will hopefully come in next week so that I can monitor my CO2, but I really want a stable pH. I don't want it swinging around so rapidly with water changes! Up, down, up down!

In spite of my pH panics, everyone is doing really well. My plants are healthy, and the baby kuhli is happy. He is so active, and he absolutely has to be wherever I am sitting at the tank. I try to take pictures of plants and other fish? Nope! There he is, dancing in front of the camera. "Look at me, look at me!" He is such a character and I love him.

Speaking of love, I finally caught my otos in the act. I was taking pictures of them chasing each other around.











And then, all of the sudden... BAM! The male wrapped himself around the female's nose as tightly as he could while she wiggled.











I switched to video mode as soon as I snapped that picture. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMrE8xAoghA


It only felt a little weird to film them. I didn't feel bad for invading their privacy for long, though, as you can see that the baby kuhli came barreling in as soon as he realized I was at the other end of the tank. Way to ruin the mood, little guy.


Anyway! This left me with the perfect chance to spot the eggs this time around so that I can watch them! You can just barely see two eggs from an earlier spawn here, on the val that is hanging horizontally. (You can see them in the spawning pictures as well, if you look carefully.) They're laid individually or in pairs, so there's almost no way for me to know where other eggs are unless I see them spawn there.











Oh, and I had the opportunity to take another picture of the first generation of fry. He was between the tank glass and the thermometer, which allowed me to have something behind him to focus on as well as give a size reference. So cute and tiny! Their yolk sacs are gone now, but I'm sure they're finding plenty to eat.










I think that's all for now!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I forgot that I took a picture of the female after their spawn. She isn't very fat, but you can see her ovipositor clearly. It's pretty cool!











Also, for fun, I took pictures of what a water change looks like for me. When I'm done vacuuming, I stick a sponge on the end of the hose that my husband rigged up and clamp it so that it stays at the spot where I don't want any more water to drain. This lets me walk away, because since I don't have a fancy water changing thingy, my suction is very slow.




















Also, you can see that my thermostat is set for 63 and it's 72 in here. It's sweltering! We finally put the A/C in the bedroom because I can't sleep if it's a degree over 65. But that's another story.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Glad to see you are having some success. Keep it up. Any news on the loaches that died?


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thanks!

Well, the 6 loaches are sitting in the freezer for now. It hurts a little bit every time I have to go in there for food for the other fish.

I called the guy at Petco and he said that he's sorry to hear about what happened and he doesn't believe it to be my fault at all, though I still have to bring in a water sample when I exchange them as per company rules.

He ordered another batch of kuhlis that should come in on the 29th, and I'm going to let them hang out there as long as I can stand it. I'll definitely leave them there over the weekend, but if my mom gets up here with the QT and I can get that set up nicely, I might bring them home the next week. I don't want anyone else to snatch them up, and it would give me an opportunity to maybe try to treat them for internal parasites or whatever. As quick as they all died, though, I have to believe that it was just a really rough ship for them and possibly the cyanide I heard that they use to capture them in the wild?

I really should let them there longer, but it takes forever to get them in and I'd be so ticked if someone else buys them when I'm the one that has been asking for them to be ordered in for the past month!

Bah. We'll see. I want them to have at least a few days, but hopefully a week, to get comfortable in the tank before I bring the puffers home. Plus, that would free up the QT to make it easy for me to treat the puffers for IP, as that's standard procedure for any new puffers.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Well, the 6 loaches are sitting in the freezer for now. It hurts a little bit every time I have to go in there for food for the other fish.
> 
> ...


You may be better off picking them up as soon as they hit the store. That way they don't have to be bagged and moved twice. You can leave them in the bag and get them that way. But, if you don't have the QT tank going, that may not work.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Interesting that you suggested that, because I figured that's where I had gone wrong.

I got the call that they had come in at... 12:30pm. I had a 1-2pm appointment and it takes me around 45 minutes to get down to the city, so I got there at 3pm, expecting that he'd have to bag them back up, but they were floating in a tank in their original shipping bag. I got them home at 4pm and took Rachel's (msjinkzed) advice for acclimation, which worked well for the otos. Opened the bag, immediately put a drop of Prime in the bag, floated to temperature, and then netted them in. That's how she told me she acclimates when she gets her shipments in.

Anyway, I do believe I'll have the QT going, and I'll be free all day on Thursday when they're "supposed" to come in. Maybe I should just go down there in the morning and hang around that shopping plaza so that I can get them as soon as they hit the store?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Interesting that you suggested that, because I figured that's where I had gone wrong.
> 
> I got the call that they had come in at... 12:30pm. I had a 1-2pm appointment and it takes me around 45 minutes to get down to the city, so I got there at 3pm, expecting that he'd have to bag them back up, but they were floating in a tank in their original shipping bag. I got them home at 4pm and took Rachel's (msjinkzed) advice for acclimation, which worked well for the otos. Opened the bag, immediately put a drop of Prime in the bag, floated to temperature, and then netted them in. That's how she told me she acclimates when she gets her shipments in.
> 
> Anyway, I do believe I'll have the QT going, and I'll be free all day on Thursday when they're "supposed" to come in. Maybe I should just go down there in the morning and hang around that shopping plaza so that I can get them as soon as they hit the store?


That may be your best bet.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

What an adventure!

So, another week has gone by that Petco hasn't received a kuhli shipment. I was bummed, but alas, it was meant to be!

I was expressing my woes on another forum when someone replied that they were waiting on a shipment of kuhlis from PA. I immediately asked where they were getting these kuhlis from in my state, and it turns out that it was only an hour away! So, instead of driving 45 minutes south to Petco, I drove an hour north to some little pet store that I'd never heard of.

Their tanks were immaculate, their prices were lower, and their stock was infinitely healthier. They had hundreds of kuhlis that have been in their tanks for over a week now with zero deaths. I bought 6 and they made the ride home just fine and acclimated wonderfully, or at least as far as I could tell.

The quarantine tank fell through for now, so I introduced them right into the main tank after acclimation. (Don't hurt me!) They look so much better than the ones I'd bought from Petco, but I'll treat their food with some parasite meds just to be on the safer side of things.

So excited! These are definitely becoming one of my favorite fish!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

I can understand you lack of a QT tank. Just make sure you watch them like a hawk for a while. If you see something pull it out right away. Otherwise, you should be ok. Congrats on the fish too.:icon_smil


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Oh, trust me... I woke up in the middle of the night because I was worried about them, so I came downstairs to sit in front of the tank for a while. I'm so paranoid after that Petco loach event. Honestly, it was quite traumatic. I broke down several times. How is someone that is dealing with their first honest-to-goodness adult go at aquariums that has done everything right so far supposed to deal with such a massive loss? I know, deep down, that it wasn't my fault, but watching that batch die one by one when I did everything in my power to make my tank a perfect home was just terrible. The last thing I want to do is to go through that again.

About the quarantine tank, my mother came up short! She thought for sure that she had an extra tank in her attic, but now thinks that she may have sold it last year's yard sale and forgot about it.

I was going to go out and buy a new one, but then I had a heater incident in the main tank. All of the sudden, I guess it was 2 or 3 days ago now, I noticed that the inside of my heater was getting condensation. I looked it up online and the majority consensus was to get it out of there.

I wanted to get a nice one, so I asked my husband to pick up an Aqueon Pro on his way home from work. They weren't that expensive online, so I stupidly figured that they couldn't be that much more at the store. WRONG! Over twice the price! So there went the aquarium budget for the rest of March in the blink of an eye.

I'll be either ordering one off of Amazon here shortly or waiting until the big sale in two weeks at the not-so-local-fish-store and will return the one that must have golden conductors inside. Sheesh. It does work well, though, and looks so much nicer in the tank than that old tube of blue glass!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

All of the loaches are out exploring, foraging for food, and otherwise acting normally, which is much more than I can say about that last Petco batch.

They were fed flakes in their old home, but I'm hoping that the transition to Repashy gel and frozen bloodworms won't be too bad. I'll also be getting live blackworms in two weeks, so surely they should like to have a taste of them.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

If you still need a QT tank, hit up Craigslist. I have found many a good tanks on there and sold some too. You can usually find awesome deals on full 10 or 20 gallon setups. Or you can hit up Wal-Mart, and get one of their ready to go kits. The 10 gallon ones are only about 50 bucks if I remember correctly. And I am glad to hear that all the loaches are doing well so far.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Craigslist has been pretty dry since I found that 20g that I mentioned back a few pages, actually. The 10 gallon kit from Walmart, or maybe at the sale I'm going to, sounds like a good option when the aquarium budget resets. I'm spent for the next two weeks!

Everyone is doing really well here, though, I think! I have trouble doing headcounts because they are all generally pretty spread out and some of them prefer a hiding hole that can only be viewed from the back of the tank.

They are starting to become more secure and comfortable enough to explore. I sit in front of the tank often and I try to slowly walk by it as much as possible to get them used to me. At least half of them have already discovered the corner that I place their food in, so hopefully they'll be trained to that spot soon.

The only concern so far is that last night, I saw that one loach had a piece of bloodworm stuck in its mouth. I'm guessing that he bit off more than he could chew? Once every few minutes, he'd do a quick trash in an attempt to get it out (I assume?), but I watched him closely and he didn't seem to have any trouble breathing. Poor thing, though, I had to laugh... two of the other kuhlis saw that he had yummies, and were trying to get at it! Hopefully he managed to get it either down or out overnight. I'll try to check all of their mouths later during my water change.

Speaking of the water change, I'm going to take the opportunity to move a few things around. Now that the right two-thirds of the tank has grown in beautifully, the left third, specifically behind those pieces of driftwood, looks a little bare. I'm going to cut the jungle val runners that are moving toward the front of the tank and relocate them behind the driftwood so that I'll have a solid wall of them. If you look at the last picture I posted, you'll notice that there are no plants behind those branches. Hopefully I will get that fixed, and then I'll take some more pictures once everything settles!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Done with maintenance!

I moved three jungle val runners behind the driftwood. You can only really see one, because the other ones are still tiny. They should pop up this week. I also moved a few sprigs of water wisteria in among those branches. Then, the red crypt looked too close to the water sprite, so I moved that to the right a few inches.

You can also see the new heater! A bit of an upgrade from that blue tube of glass, I'd say. Oh, and my new drop checker is visible to the right of it! I love that little thing!

It all looks pretty good for now, so we'll see how it looks next week after a bit more growth.

(Sorry for the bad quality. I couldn't get the lighting right and I didn't really wait for the water to settle.)


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

love the loaches! big improvement on the heater too, almost didn't see it


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Great looking scape


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

looks great!! i love a nice, clean scape  when do you get your puffers?


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thanks so much, guys! I feel like my skills are improving and that I'm doing the best I can with what I have. I'd like to get a nice piece of driftwood to replace the branches, but that will come much later, I think.

I also LOVE my kuhli loaches. They are such characters and are a real joy to sit at the tank and watch!

The heater is a giant step up. Now the sponge that I have over the filter intake sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't know what to do about it.

I'm going to get the puffers on April 14th at the That Fish Place sale. I called last week and they said that they have tons, but I'm supposed to call this week and make sure that they still have them. Fingers are crossed!


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

the puffers are going to love that tank!! as far as that sponge, here is an option. black contact paper on the back of the tank. should cost about $6 at home depot/lowes/walmart. then get a fluval edge prefilter. it's black and costs about $2 at petsmart. that pet place also has them. i saw them there a few weeks ago.

i wish i could make the sale on the 14th, but i have to work  might end up heading out on the 15th. not sure yet, the last thing i need right now is more fish....lol


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## MangyMoose77 (Feb 19, 2012)

kcart, I was at That Fish Place today (spent $100 :icon_redf oops!) and I can tell you there are tons of puffers there. I'm not sure what kind you are looking to get but there are even some larger species there as well.

Your tank looks immaculate by the way! Great job!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I'm getting the dwarf puffers. I hope that they are still there by the time the sale comes around! I'll call soon to be sure.

$100?! Why didn't you wait for the sale?!

Also, I was looking at those black Fluval prefilters, but I have an AC70 and it didn't look like it would fit! The opening is so tiny. I guess it couldn't hurt to try. I'd bring the spare intake tube to try it out, but I'm afraid I'd tear it!


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## MangyMoose77 (Feb 19, 2012)

kcartwright856 said:


> $100?! Why didn't you wait for the sale?!


 
Well.....that wasn't the plan. It just kinda happened. I wanted to get the substrate, heater, and a filter. I just didn't expect it to cost that much. But it's fine, I'm hoping that they will have large selection of plants. That's what I'm looking forward to!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Tsk, tsk!

I think I'll have some extra water wistera and maybe a few jungle val runners that I could bring, but I'm not sure yet. Depends on how much growth I get the next two weeks! You can also mention specific things you are looking for in the thread for the sale on the PA board, and someone might peep up and be able to bring stuff.


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## indigo (Aug 1, 2011)

i'd love to get dwarf puffers, they are so cute. saw them at the pet shop today and they were reallly expensive


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

They're adorable! The LFS closest to me has them priced over twice as much as the not-so-local-fish-store a bit further from me!

If you're serious about them, call around. You may have to drive a little, but some places just massively overprice them for some reason. They should be around $3 each.


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## CrazyCatPeekin (Aug 15, 2011)

Tank is looking really good!


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

kcartwright856 said:


> Also, I was looking at those black Fluval prefilters, but I have an AC70 and it didn't look like it would fit! The opening is so tiny. I guess it couldn't hurt to try. I'd bring the spare intake tube to try it out, but I'm afraid I'd tear it!


i had one of those covering a fluval 305 intake had to stretch it a bit, but it fit. 
Last time i was that pet place i spent close to $200. Since i drove 90 miles to get there, i figured i might as well make it worth it lol


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## indigo (Aug 1, 2011)

kcartwright856 said:


> They're adorable! The LFS closest to me has them priced over twice as much as the not-so-local-fish-store a bit further from me!
> 
> If you're serious about them, call around. You may have to drive a little, but some places just massively overprice them for some reason. They should be around $3 each.


pricing is probably a little different in New Zealand. I can't remember how much they were but it was something crazy. haha.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Philly: I will get one of those then and try it! They aren't so expensive that I'd feel bad if it didn't work out!

Indigo: You should totally set your little nano back up and get one! Doooo ittt!


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## indigo (Aug 1, 2011)

kcartwright856 said:


> Philly: I will get one of those then and try it! They aren't so expensive that I'd feel bad if it didn't work out!
> 
> Indigo: You should totally set your little nano back up and get one! Doooo ittt!


haha ok..if you say I must  ...in that case i shall research ideas for my lil tank


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I really need to stop making kuhli loach videos.

Someone help me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03A9knJAtQU


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Saturday is puffer day! I'm so excited that I could just vomit!

Anyway... ever seen a kuhli loach yawn?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnZyNafBfwk


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

It's puffer day! I could barely sleep last night!

I'm headed to That Fish Place in Lancaster for the first time. So excited!

Get ready for lots of updates!


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## davidwes (Jul 27, 2011)

No updates after that promise of a ton of updates?


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

yeah?? where are the puffers?!?!?!?!?!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

You caught me! No updates! Well... I have updates, but they aren't up here yet!

Truth be told, I've spent the last few days sitting in front of the tank with my camera and very little luck. I knew that the dwarf puffers would be difficult to photograph, but I didn't know that it would be _this_ hard.

I am fiddling with everything. Just when I think I have the shutter speed and ISO right, I lose the perfect shot because it came out way too dark!

I'll be doubling up my efforts tomorrow in hopes of some good shots to put up here along with my adventures so far!

P.S. Thanks for the comments. It's nice to know that people care!


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## Chaoslord (Feb 12, 2011)

I'll be waiting patiently to see your DP picks. Maybe I missed it put how many are you planning on getting. I have 5 in my 56g.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Chaoslord said:


> I'll be waiting patiently to see your DP picks. Maybe I missed it put how many are you planning on getting. I have 5 in my 56g.


I have 5 girls. Or, rather, I'm 99% sure that they are girls. I was able to sex the males that were in the tank at the store because they were old enough to display their eye wrinkles, and the females were the same size, so I just picked the ones with the darkest spots, lightest bellies, and roundest body shapes. They _should_ all be females.

I got 5 because I already had 5 otocinclus in the tank and got 7 kuhli loaches upon hearing that there has been success in keeping them with the puffers for the same reasons that otos are successful. No long fins to be nipped at, very peaceful, keeping to themselves...

Though, my kuhlis are quite active at all hours and can be rather... boisterous. I've been keeping a close eye on everyone because I'm ready to do some separation should aggression occur. I had heart palpitations when my kuhlis started barreling into my DPs while they were hunting. To my surprise, the DPs don't really even seem to notice them. I hope that this will continue.

So, by my calculations, I'm running at full capacity as far as stocking goes. (Though a huge part of me _really_ wants more kuhlis!)


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

Get more kuhlis! and keep the kuhli videos coming  loved the yawning loach.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Alright, here we go!

Before pictures, I'll start with a bit of a prologue here.

About 5 years ago, I saw my first dwarf puffers. They were so tiny and adorable! The way they moved their eyes independently while hunting down prey and exploring their surroundings just captured my heart.

I began to research them. Research, research, and more research. I didn't have the space or funds for a tank at the time, but I knew that someday I'd have my puffer tank. And boy, would I ever be prepared for it!

By the time I inherited the 29 gallon that my uncle was no longer using, I knew everything about dwarf puffers that the internet could offer. Everything short of the experience that came with owning them.

Now that I had a tank and my husband and I bought a home, I was ready to start! Despite telling myself that I was going to do a fishless cycle, I came home with a shubunkin goldfish named Mabel. I saw her at Walmart and her coloring was just too pretty to leave her there! I decided that, with plenty of water changes and the fact that she was so small, she would help me cycle the tank without fear of harm to her. I planned to raise her while I set everything up and have her go to live with my grandmother's goldfish and koi in her water gardens.

Through all of my research, one thing was a constant. Dwarf puffers needed lots of decor and plants (live or otherwise) to be comfortable and, if you keep more than one, to help break up lines of sight for territorial disputes.

Plastic/silk plants really didn't appeal to me at all. I wanted live plants! So, I came here to learn about keeping plants in my tank. My primary goal has always been to plant the tank in order to keep my fish happy, and not necessarily because plants were a passion of mine.

Obviously, this quickly changed. I started to collect bunches of plants, spaced out over a few weeks due to funds, and am still in the process of learning everything I can about keeping them healthy. It's very fun for me, and it benefits the fish. Win-win.

The rest of the story up until now can be found in the pages prior to this. I've made a ton of progress, and the tank is now "complete". Complete as in, I don't anticipate adding any other fauna or flora. At this point, it will be all about maintaining what I have.

So, here I am! I finally have the tank that I've been wanting for half of a decade. I really couldn't be happier. The dwarf puffers are everything I hoped they would be, the otos are spawning like crazy, and the kuhlis have really become so dear to me.

If you're still with me, I'll be putting pictures up in the next post within a few minutes so that folks just looking for photos can skip over my little novel here.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Just look at this tummy, and her face!













Another fabulous tummy pic. Odd colors because I had the camera pointed up toward the light, but it really makes her look interesting!












We love our java moss!












These next two are rather terrible, dark, and grainy because I was messing with shutter speed and ISO to keep from pulling my hair out as every picture was turning out blurry.





















I'll just kinda dump the rest here, as they aren't anything special.

























































I hope to get some better pictures of them as soon as I figure out the magic "dwarf puffer" camera settings. I'll be looking to take some videos as well!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

dasob85 said:


> Get more kuhlis! and keep the kuhli videos coming  loved the yawning loach.


You have no idea how tempted I am to pick up a few more kuhlis, but I'm worried that I'm at full stocking at the moment. They have such small bio loads, though...

I also very purposefully got the kuhlis before the puffers so that they could get comfortable in the tank and that they didn't get added after the puffers were in and established in their chosen territories.

I wonder _if_ I were to get a few more, if the puffers be able to tell them apart from the existing kuhlis.

Thanks for watching the videos! I really love making them, because no amount of pictures can ever capture the kuhli personality!


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

They are such cute little darlin's! If you ever want more kuhli's, i have 6 that will be looking for a good home soon. As soon as i build up the courage to break down my 125. I got a kick out of you saying you don't anticipate adding anymore flora. I think we have all said that at one time or another. I say it almost daily and end up ordering more plants or making trades.......lol the tank looks great and he fishies look very happy. They are lucky to have a loving mommy such as yourself!!


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

I'm bad with judging stocking too. I know its probably enough for a given tank but it just looks like there is so much empty swimming space I end up adding more :/ Kuhli's are pretty small though so I think you could get away with a few more. Mine used to hide alot so I got more so I'd be able to see at least one at any given time.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Bill: There isn't any more room for more plants!!! And I'm not sure if I can take 6 more kuhlis. I already have 7! If I do get more, it will probably only be two or three.

Dasob85: According to aqadvisor, I'm sitting at 100%. However... I do two 50% water changes every week, so I wonder if that gives me more wiggle room.

I definitely have one of those tanks where, across the room, it usually looks like nothing is happening. No mid-level fish swimming around, no nothing. It's really a tank that you need to sit in front of to watch and appreciate. Though the plants are nice to view from across the room!

My kuhlis have never hidden. Even when I just started with one. They are always out scrounging around the bottom, and at least some of them are always dancing up the sides of the tank and across the back. They're crazy little guys! I love them so much!

Maybe I could fit two or three more... maybe...


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

mine must have been scared of being eaten by a discus then... they were so cute with their heads pointing out of the java fern though. With such a serious water change routine, perhaps 2 or 3 more kuhlies would be okay


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## Chaoslord (Feb 12, 2011)

Nice looking DP's you have their. 
Any reason you went with all females.
I went with one male rest female and he seems to keep them in a herd.


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

My friend fill your FISH tank with as many as you want. Just keep up on your water changes. 2 x 50% changes a week is a lot compated to most of us. not to mention you have plants that eat ammonia and what not. I had 50+ fish around an inch each in a 20 gallon tank with plants and 1 50% per week. Plants grew like mad and all my fish were healthy as can be. Stocking guide lines are just that. If you have the experience, the filtration, the diligence to do maintenance, and plants, you can get away with quite a bit over the "suggested" level. Especially with a nutrient sponge like water sprite. 
"Many an overstocked tank hath been saved by watersprite." Confuscius said that.


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

kwheeler91 said:


> "Many an overstocked tank hath been saved by watersprite." Confuscius said that.


lol


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Chaoslord said:


> Nice looking DP's you have their.
> Any reason you went with all females.
> I went with one male rest female and he seems to keep them in a herd.


I chose all females for a few reasons. First, I prefer the aesthetics of the females. (That's what she said. :icon_cool) Second, I have a bit of a breeding thumb and don't want to deal with DP fry. And third, my tank mates would not appreciate a territorial male. All puffers are individuals, but it just wasn't a chance I was willing to take with my precious kuhlis!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

kwheeler91 said:


> My friend fill your FISH tank with as many as you want. Just keep up on your water changes. 2 x 50% changes a week is a lot compated to most of us. not to mention you have plants that eat ammonia and what not. I had 50+ fish around an inch each in a 20 gallon tank with plants and 1 50% per week. Plants grew like mad and all my fish were healthy as can be. Stocking guide lines are just that. If you have the experience, the filtration, the diligence to do maintenance, and plants, you can get away with quite a bit over the "suggested" level. Especially with a nutrient sponge like water sprite.
> "Many an overstocked tank hath been saved by watersprite." Confuscius said that.


Wise man!

Yes, 50% 2 x week makes most people groan, but puffers are messy, messy eaters. Half-eaten snails laying around in the sand can take their toll pretty quickly! Plus, I am just so anal about the tank being visually clean.

Since I don't have Multiple Tank Syndrome (Yet...), I'm happy to devote all this time to my tank.


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

Im not sure about kuhli loaches, but most loaches LOVE snails, maybe more loaches is exactly what you need to keep the bottom cleaned up.

And you would be wise to not develope mts. Its hard to break back down once they have fish and plants in them. Your one tank will greatly benefit from all your attention, too many tanks and eventually you wont want to gice any of then attention.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I have lots of pond snails in the tank, as it's a pretty good chunk of the puffer diet. I've seen one kuhli actually nose at one of the smaller snails that could have easily fit in its mouth, but it didn't seem interested. If they do become interested, though, I wouldn't take issue with it! There are plenty of snails for everyone to munch on.

As for the MTS... I only have one other tank at the moment, and that'll be it. Just a little bare-bones setup to hold plant cuttings and such until they're big enough to give away or sell, as well as a home to more pond snails so that they get a chance to reproduce without having the puffers gobble them all up too quickly. I'm also planning on moving my oto fry over there to grow out if I can ever catch the buggers. I do water changes on that tank as well, but all of my love goes into my 29 gallon.

Also, there is simply not enough room in the house for another tank! Our home is rather small and pretty stuffed with... well, stuff.

I also have somewhat of an obsessive personality. I'm far too busy with my main tank. I keep an exhaustive log in the drawer of the tank stand that includes everything you could know about the tank at pretty much any day since it's been set up. I just love it. When I first got my test kit, I was testing the water twice a day. No joke. I had so much fun testing the water and making sure that it was okay! Thankfully, I eased up on that and don't waste so much testing solution anymore! _(Side note: Does anyone know what nitrate level is good for a heavily planted tank? I sit at 20 ppm. Just wondering if that's too low, too high, good enough...?)_

Of course, then, there's the money issue! I don't really have the funds to pour into multiple tanks, plus I want to save the money that I do have to spoil everyone! I'd like to stock up on some more variety of foods, firstly. A few bucks here and there until the loaches can have something different each night!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Speaking of the snails, here is a fun picture of them gut-loading on some Repashy Soilent Green! I bet it'll make some of you cringe!


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

dear god, not more snails!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Yes! More snails! They are going through them like crazy, but I have a lot of eggs in my other holding tank, so hopefully those will hatch soon! I might toss a heater in there to speed things along.


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## Chaoslord (Feb 12, 2011)

That's awesome I have to replenish my snails every month.
If I wait any longer I'll start noticing some of my DP's getting skinny.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Chaoslord said:


> That's awesome I have to replenish my snails every month.
> If I wait any longer I'll start noticing some of my DP's getting skinny.


Do you feed them worms in addition?

I like to raise my own snails rather than getting new ones from other sources, just in case they come in with nasties. Being able to QT them yourself is rather valuable!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Cableguy may be interested to know that I finally got around to buying a bottle of Gatorade! My dad helped me drill the holes in the lid when he and my mom came to visit this weekend. The 3/16th drill bit makes for a nice and snug fit, but I put silicone around the holes just in case.

I also got two Ocean Spray bottles (And some rum to make emptying said bottles a bit easier...) to use to, in theory, get better pressure to push my CO2 through a diffuser that I ordered. I'm hoping that this will be more effective than running it through my filter, but it will also allow me to shove one of those Fluval prefilter sponges onto my filter's huge intake pipe so that my current unsightly sponge can have a new home in the trash.

I'm going to try out one of the Jell-o recipes! It will be exciting to see if it makes any difference. Oh, and I mentioned a few pages back about my room temperature in the winter, and I read that using champagne yeast works really well for cooler rooms. I'll definitely be stealing some of that from my husband's brew kit next winter!

Also, it looks like it's time to take all of my wisteria out for a trim and rearrangement. It's getting a bit too thick for all of the leaves to get light, plus a lot of the stems are growing roots absolutely everywhere. I'd like to trim them off a bit for aesthetics.

And speaking of the wisteria... I overslept by quite a bit (*cough* 3pm *cough*) this weekend and my husband didn't turn on the tank lights, so yesterday's wisteria leaves are those ugly broad ones instead of the nice lacy ones! Argh! I might trim them off.

Wow, this is getting long, but still more to say. I started using Excel. I'm wondering if it's a good idea to dose daily, because my tank is getting really packed with plants, and I know that DIY CO2 doesn't deliver as much as a proper system! I don't have any inverts in the tank (Aside from the feeder snails.) to worry about, so hopefully 1/2 cap daily and 3 caps after water changes will be alright.

Whew! I think that's it for now.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

kcartwright856 said:


> Cableguy may be interested to know that I finally got around to buying a bottle of Gatorade! My dad helped me drill the holes in the lid when he and my mom came to visit this weekend. The 3/16th drill bit makes for a nice and snug fit, but I put silicone around the holes just in case.
> 
> I also got two Ocean Spray bottles (And some rum to make emptying said bottles a bit easier...) to use to, in theory, get better pressure to push my CO2 through a diffuser that I ordered. I'm hoping that this will be more effective than running it through my filter, but it will also allow me to shove one of those Fluval prefilter sponges onto my filter's huge intake pipe so that my current unsightly sponge can have a new home in the trash.
> 
> ...


Glad to hear about the bottles. It will make things easier. And with the rum, it should be fun too.:hihi:

As for your lights. I have all of mine on cheap timers from wal-mart and Target. 4 or 5 bucks a pop and you don't have to worry about lights anymore.:wink:


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

cableguy69846 said:


> Glad to hear about the bottles. It will make things easier. And with the rum, it should be fun too.:hihi:
> 
> As for your lights. I have all of mine on cheap timers from wal-mart and Target. 4 or 5 bucks a pop and you don't have to worry about lights anymore.:wink:


Yes! Timers are absolutely next on the list!


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

i highly recommend a GE timer/power strip from home depot. they cost $20 and you get 4 timed outlets and 4 constant power outlets. i have a couple of them, and they are awesome. and i love the fact that they are digital. no more approximation of times.

you can dose excel with diy co2 just dose a bit less than recommended. i have diy in 2 of my tanks and dose excel in them daily as a supplement, and to keep bba away. a dose a day keeps my bba away!!


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## Chaoslord (Feb 12, 2011)

kcartwright856 said:


> Do you feed them worms in addition?
> 
> I like to raise my own snails rather than getting new ones from other sources, just in case they come in with nasties. Being able to QT them yourself is rather valuable!


They just ignore the blood worms which I put in live.
Once a week.
I get my snails from a friend who has an over abundance. I either trade or give him a 6 pack. 
I did just pick up a couple of dozen at a swap. Red rams.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Chaoslord said:


> They just ignore the blood worms which I put in live.
> Once a week.
> I get my snails from a friend who has an over abundance. I either trade or give him a 6 pack.
> I did just pick up a couple of dozen at a swap. Red rams.


You feed live bloodworms? Not blackworms?

I'd be interested to know where you get live bloodworms and how you keep them from entering their next life cycle.

Also, do you use a cone feeder? They're invaluable when feeding live worms!


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## Chaoslord (Feb 12, 2011)

kcartwright856 said:


> You feed live bloodworms? Not blackworms?
> 
> I'd be interested to know where you get live bloodworms and how you keep them from entering their next life cycle.
> 
> Also, do you use a cone feeder? They're invaluable when feeding live worms!


Nothing survives,that I know of,to make the next life cycle. This is all I put in the tanks besides an algea wafer 2 times a week.
I throughly wash with tank water than squirt at gravel bed with turkey baster.
The DP's did eat them when I first got them.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Chaoslord said:


> Nothing survives,that I know of,to make the next life cycle. This is all I put in the tanks besides an algea wafer 2 times a week.
> I throughly wash with tank water than squirt at gravel bed with turkey baster.
> The DP's did eat them when I first got them.


How do you store them? You're sure they are bloodworms and not blackworms? I've never heard of feeding live bloodworms. Where do you get them?


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## Chaoslord (Feb 12, 2011)

I don't store them I put the whole portion in 3 tanks after I throughly wash. 
I get them from the lfs.
Yes they are blood worms.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Interesting and odd! Never heard of live bloodworms being offered.

I'm sure that they'd love a treat of blackworms now and again, though. Variety is key!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

I should apologize for the lack of updates. I've been very busy with my aquatic failures.

I lost one dwarf puffer last week to some sort of fungus that attacked, covered, and killed her literally overnight. I treated the entire tank to avoid another loss, and everything was doing well, aside from the other dwarf puffer in quarantine for internal parasites.

She was the only one to reject the medicated food, and thus the only one that was still infected. I lost her this morning.

But the losses don't stop there. I was too busy with the puffers to notice that Mabel, who had been living in my plant cuttings tank until the weather was nice enough for her to go live in my grandmother's pond, wasn't right. I finally diagnosed her with lockjaw. She is too far gone and cannot eat, so I euthanized her.

I feel like a failure, even though I try my hardest to keep in mind that my otocinclus are spawning like crazy and my kuhli loaches couldn't possibly be happier. Two of them have shown to be females and are currently developing eggs.

I've researched for years. I'm beyond the beginner level. I shouldn't be having these problems, and yet, I am.

I am so distraught.


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that! Hopefully the rest of them recover quickly!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Thank you for your condolences. I'm really torn up about it. I'm confident that the rest will be alright. They took their medicated food just fine and have nice, round tummies and normal feces.

I've never been so close to giving up before. I can't figure out what's going wrong. I keep trying to tell myself that it's just bad luck, because these all seem to be simple flukes that I couldn't have really prevented, but why so many, so close together?


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## davidwes (Jul 27, 2011)

kcartwright856 said:


> Thank you for your condolences. I'm really torn up about it. I'm confident that the rest will be alright. They took their medicated food just fine and have nice, round tummies and normal feces.
> 
> I've never been so close to giving up before. I can't figure out what's going wrong. I keep trying to tell myself that it's just bad luck, because these all seem to be simple flukes that I couldn't have really prevented, but why so many, so close together?


I am a beginner, but was not able to keep DP's alive either. I believe both of mine (at different times) died of IP.


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

Kc, i just saw this. So sorry to hear about your puffers. I know you waited for them for quite some time. But don't give up, they were things that were out of your control. At least you didn't dump a half gallon of bleach dip into a shrimp breeding tank like i did  things happen beyond our control every day, all we can do is learn from it and progress further. You'll get it, we all have faith in you


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Yes, dwarf puffers come in with IPs more or less 100% of the time, and I should have steeled myself for initial losses instead of having faith that I would come home with a group of hardy, disease-free girls.

I'm left with two girls, and I will be going back to get one more to put in QT for a while so that I can have a group of three in the tank, which will leave me just a bit understocked.

I definitely cooled off and am not in any danger of rage-quitting the hobby. In fact, I've already developed a goal for next year and a goal for 5-10 years.

I mentioned a few pages back that I obtained a 20 gallon tank, which I'm currently using to house plant clippings. This will actually be turning into a brackish tank for a Figure 8 puffer. I'm going to plant this tank with a 1.005 SG. In addition to java ferns and moss, there seem to be quite a few plants that can do well in low-end brackish conditions given ample acclimation. This will be done gradually, over several months, until I end up with something that I'm happy with. That should put me at being prepared for a Figure 8 puffer late this year or early next year.

As for the 5-10 year tank goal... one step at a time!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Lots of trimming/rearranging to do today. Time to put on some J.S. Bach and get to work!


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

So, I can't believe that it's been so long since I updated. Well, I actually can believe it. I've been so busy with other things in my life and haven't been giving the tank as much attention as it deserves.

This is the latest picture I have from a few weeks ago, but I definitely need to get it cleaned up and take a new picture!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Very nice. 

Sent from my phone via my job's wifi, most likely.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Holy moley! Has it been a year already?

I've gotten caught up in life, but I have not fallen out of the hobby! Sadly, this thread has now come to an end because I am currently in the process of downgrading to a 10 gallon tank and very nearly starting over, in a sense.

My last puffer girl just passed away, I suspect of natural causes as I procured her as an adult and their lifespans aren't particularly long, but it was still very hard on me. I was so attached to her. I am not yet ready to get another, but I am leaving my plans open enough to allow for it in the future.

The new, smaller tank will be going in the kitchen where it will be easier for me to maintain. Don't tell the kuhli loaches, but the move is also because our new snake, Maya, will be moving into her vivarium that is to be placed on the old tank stand. I don't want them to be jealous! I love my little kuhli-o's!

My new tank build won't include my jungle val, so I am selling that off. I will be using that money to buy some water sprite and water wisteria unless I'm able to find someone with an excess that can cut me a great deal.

Anyway! And so here ends an era. It's been real, 29 gallon. I'll miss you.


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