What did you do with your tank(s) today?

[DMD123]

Remind me, what does the fluval look like? I thought that was a tank you really liked….

Shaped like this, like the idea of of it but real world use is very limiting. Great as a community tank set up for smaller fish or in my case the solo puffer.

Interior of tank has filter set up in it and it wont hold any fish of any real size if I needed it for a future hospital tank. At least a 40 B would hold my larger fish for a short period if necessary for any sort of treatments.

Again the idea is a downsizing of running tanks with an empty available for emergency. I want to be able to pull an Aquaclear off another tank and basically be ready for anything.

 

[DMD123]

Looking forward to watching it, specifically, your fishroom segment. I always enjoyed seeing your specialty fish…. The closest I get to Tanganyikan are the west African five spot jewels. Haha

I haven’t had a chance to watch the video yet but I spent a bunch of time looking at the pictures. There are some really cool set ups out there!

 

[DMD123]

Felt like I accomplished a lot this weekend with catch up on a bunch of tanks. Finally got the goldfish tank that had the Ich to a point where it looks like it is almost back to normal. Had to clean both Aquaclear filters due to all the slime and sludge build up from salting the tank and medicating it. I had to pull the glass tops to clean up all the salt creep on those too. Water is looking much clearer now and the fish are almost all the way healed with just the one oranda showing just a little bit of wear on the fins.

Was able to get all the algae cleaned off the fake universal rocks in the 300 and give it a good gravel vac and glass cleaning so it really is looking clean.

Got to break down and clean up the 20H qt tank. Now I need to pull everything I have that goes with it like filter cartridges, substrate, background and what other stuff I have and take pics and sell the tank off.

Besides all that I did get all the other tanks gravel vac'd and water changes done. Just an overall good feeling of accomplishment on the tanks this weekend.

 

[sir_keith]

Felt like I accomplished a lot this weekend with catch up on a bunch of tanks. Finally got the goldfish tank that had the Ich to a point where it looks like it is almost back to normal. Had to clean both Aquaclear filters due to all the slime and sludge build up from salting the tank and medicating it. I had to pull the glass tops to clean up all the salt creep on those too. Water is looking much clearer now and the fish are almost all the way healed with just the one oranda showing just a little bit of wear on the fins.

Was able to get all the algae cleaned off the fake universal rocks in the 300 and give it a good gravel vac and glass cleaning so it really is looking clean.

Got to break down and clean up the 20H qt tank. Now I need to pull everything I have that goes with it like filter cartridges, substrate, background and what other stuff I have and take pics and sell the tank off.

Besides all that I did get all the other tanks gravel vac'd and water changes done. Just an overall good feeling of accomplishment on the tanks this weekend.

I get tired just reading about all this housekeeping...

 

[DMD123]

I get tired just reading about all this housekeeping...

lol, I know! I need to sit back and enjoy the tanks more, but every time I do I see something I want to work on.

 

[DMD123]

Getting ready to redo my 46g bowfront for the hairy puffer. I am getting rid of the sand in favor of a larger gravel and trying to figure out what I want to do with the decor. Still am considering a planted anubias set up. A work in progress... In the meantime, I need to move out the resident pleco. The chubby pleco lives in his little pleco cave and I never see him. I will put him in the 90g but am concerned that there may be some issues with the little bn pleco that already lives in there. I guess if I put the pleco cave on the opposite side of the tank then maybe they wont have territorial disputes? Will see how that goes.

 

[fishguy1978]

Moved 12 Banjo cats, 7 C eques, 6 C brevirostrus, 6 bumble bee cats and a wasp cat into the 125g. Also, moved over some of the wood from the 29g tanks that had plants attached.

 

[clownie]

It was interesting to be in the audience when the Home Show video was played to the GSAS audience, most of whom are into heavily planted, soft-water tanks (which are way cool, by the way). There was an audible gasp when I mentioned that all of my tanks are above pH9.

Just watched the gsas home show with your tanks @sir_keith ......just want to say...amaaazing!!!

 

[sir_keith]

Just watched the gsas home show with your tanks @sir_keith ......just want to say...amaaazing!!!

Thanks. I decided to enter the show this year in order to meet some new fish friends in the GSAS, not to compete for awards, because as is pretty obvious from the video, the GSAS is heavily into the aquascaping aspect of the hobby, which is way cool, but not what I do. My primary focus has always been on the fishes themselves- their growth and development, their interactions within a social hierarchy, the different strategies they employ to ensure the survival of their species. It's fascinating, and no other fishes do all of those things quite so well in captivity as Tanganyikan cichlids.

So you can imagine my surprise when I took home not one, but two of the four GSAS Home Show awards this year. The judges decide three of those awards (first, second, and third place), and the GSAS membership also votes for their top choice. So at the end of the day, I received the judges' second place award as well as the members' top choice award. Pretty cool, really, and definitely a big surprise.

I am hoping to be more active in the GSAS going forward, and perhaps to give a talk on Tanganyikan cichlids later this year. We'll see.

​

 

[fishguy1978]

Thanks. I decided to enter the show this year in order to meet some new fish friends in the GSAS, not to compete for awards, because as is pretty obvious from the video, the GSAS is heavily into the aquascaping aspect of the hobby, which is way cool, but not what I do. My primary focus has always been on the fishes themselves- their growth and development, their interactions within a social hierarchy, the different strategies they employ to ensure the survival of their species. It's fascinating, and no other fishes do all of those things quite so well in captivity as Tanganyikan cichlids.

So you can imagine my surprise when I took home not one, but two of the four GSAS Home Show awards this year. The judges decide three of those awards (first, second, and third place), and the GSAS membership also votes for their top choice. So at the end of the day, I received the judges' second place award as well as the members' top choice award. Pretty cool, really, and definitely a big surprise.

I am hoping to be more active in the GSAS going forward, and perhaps to give a talk on Tanganyikan cichlids later this year. We'll see.

View attachment 15050​

Congratulations, that is awesome. Iove when low tech wins over high tech.

 

[MegaraSai]

I screwed up badly while doing a water change and adding root tabs, grabbed a wrong bottle that I should have thrown away months ago. Posted about it in the water chemistry area.

Just waiting to see if my fish survive.

--MS

 

[sir_keith]

I f***ed up badly while doing a water change and adding root tabs, grabbed a wrong bottle that I should have thrown away months ago. Posted about it in the water chemistry area.

Just waiting to see if my fish survive.

--MS

This isn't FaceBook; watch your language.

 

[MegaraSai]

This isn't FaceBook; watch your language.

Apologies.

 

[DMD123]

Early morning start, coffee in one hand, gravel vac in the other. All 7 tanks done this morning! Moved the chubby pleco into the 90 and now the bowfront has no fish in it. I still need to pull all the substrate out and swap to gravel but I was trying not to crash the biological system so that I can move the puffer in soon. Still unsure as to how I want to scape the tank but getting close to the change.

Goal is still to sell off the 20H setup and the Fluval Flex so that I can downsize a little an replace both with an empty 40B to have as an empty, ready to go hospital/qt tank. Goal is for it to use an Aquaclear 110 which I could just pull a fully cycled one off another tank and put on it to use.

Will need to buy a sheet of plywood and some paint for the 40B change out but that will come a bit later on. Feels good getting closer to simplifying the set up. Having too many tanks has been making the hobby a bit of a chore rather than fun and relaxing.

 

[sir_keith]

By 'empty 40B' do you mean no fishes or no water?

 

[fishguy1978]

Bought a small black ghost knife yesterday for endler/guppy population control.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Looked for fish in the vernal pond today. Still no fish lol Did get more live food and a nice stick for the terrarium.

Really happy with how the bowfront is working out in the tank. Once it grows in it should look like it's the edge of a pond.

Happy day as well. The yellow violets I collected last year are sprouting in their container. Once I verify and get runners I'll move some in here. That leaves only the white ones to collect and unlike the yellow ones I can get nearby. Yellow is more highlands whereas white are marshy.

 

[DMD123]

By 'empty 40B' do you mean no fishes or no water?

Yep. I would likely end up using it bare bottom as a hospital or qt for new fish as needed. I would pull a fully cycled Aquaclear off a 90 gallon and could use some of the water off that tank too so as not to crash the biological in that filter. That way Im not filling the tank with 100% tap water and safe/prime it would only be around 25% or less of new water.

 

[sir_keith]

I do it the other way around- my extra tanks are full of water, and formerly contained fishes, but they are currently unoccupied. The water is at 80° and has all the Tanganyika-typical water parameters, so everything is ready to go. There are large sponge filters with powerheads in each tank, but in the absence of a bioload to provide nitrate, the biological filtration capacity of those filters is low, so when I need to put a tank into service, I move the media container from an established AC110 on one of my other tanks into place and everything is ready to go in a matter of minutes. This is one reason that I don't mess with different kinds of filters: everything is interchangeable.

I don't understand why you are concerned about crashing a filter with new water, as large water changes (even 100%) have no effect on the microflora in your filters as long as all the chlorine/chloramine has been removed.

 

[DMD123]

I could easily keep it up and running and keep some guppy (feeders for the red wolf and puffer?) in it to keep the tank ready to go...

As to crashing the filter, in the past Ive had bacterial blooms if I did too heavy of water changes so I try not to exceed 50% so my tank doesnt turn white. Just past experience with my tanks.

I would hope that a 40B would cover most of my needs if I had to put one of the larger fish in the hospital. I know a 12" Oscar would not be happy there long term but for short term medication reasons it would work, my preference would be a 50B but a bit harder to find.