BeamsWork makes a bespoke timer/dimmer module that is a great addition to these units; I have them on all my tanks.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H27JPWK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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What did you do with your tank(s) today?
- Thread starter DMD123
- Start date
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H27JPWK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
fishguy1978
Legendary Member
Merry Christmas FishBoxers!!
2-3" of snow on the ground when I awoke this morning, and snowing like crazy over Liberty Bay. Checked the temps of all my tanks (27° F outside) and all is well. Yesterday I dug up the most tender plants in my succulent garden and put them in pots in my garage; looking like really good timing. Not so good timing is that my winter car- you know, the one with studded snow tires- is in the shop for service at the moment. I'll have to light a fire under them tomorrow a. m. to get it back before Thursday, when we may get even more snow. Speaking of fire, I'll have one going all day today. Stay safe and keep warm!
Beautiful picture!
i just knocked the snow off of my palm tree so that the branches didn’t snap under the weight. We currently have 5.5-6” at my place and Friday I did water changes on all of my tanks to make sure they all looked good prior to the cold weather coming in ( I fill my tanks with cold water from the outside faucet).
I took this pic about 1 hour ago on the top of my Tacoma pick up truck.
Thanks. I wasn't brave enough to go outside like you were, so that pic was taken through my bedroom window, like this.
Still snowing here, but just flurries.
John58Ford
Well-Known Member
We ended up with about 7" here at the tip of the hood. The boys and I built our annual sled track with a turn or two made from the snow off the boats, cars and trucks. I'm about done for the day; they are still sledding. It's so light and powdery this year so it was an easy shovel.
I'm sure that the fact the snow was so light and powdery is why there have been hardly any power outages. It's going to be brutally cold all next week, so being without power will be no joke.
How is everyone holding up with the cold and snow?
We did well with the heat pump keeping up and the house feels fairly warm. Also no pipe freeze on our kitchen which sometimes happens when we hit the teens. But I opened up cabinet under sink, added a heater and did a slow drip on the faucet and it didnt freeze. This has been on my project to do list. I need to pull my siding and then make sure the pex line is insulated and not bowing out and touching outside wall. I think I will make this my spring project for this upcoming year.
Had to go to work this morning and it was not too bad a drive. My wife insisted I take her Mazda CX-9 because it is AWD. It did very well in the mess of streets and freeway today. Was expecting more snow at my work but it wasnt that deep in Tacoma compared to my house in Lakewood.
We did well with the heat pump keeping up and the house feels fairly warm. Also no pipe freeze on our kitchen which sometimes happens when we hit the teens. But I opened up cabinet under sink, added a heater and did a slow drip on the faucet and it didnt freeze. This has been on my project to do list. I need to pull my siding and then make sure the pex line is insulated and not bowing out and touching outside wall. I think I will make this my spring project for this upcoming year.
Had to go to work this morning and it was not too bad a drive. My wife insisted I take her Mazda CX-9 because it is AWD. It did very well in the mess of streets and freeway today. Was expecting more snow at my work but it wasnt that deep in Tacoma compared to my house in Lakewood.
Modest_Man
Well-Known Member
My shop is sitting at 34 degrees. 400 gallon is staying warm but it's not cheap!
John58Ford
Well-Known Member
So, it snowed, a good amount and the boys and I have been having a great time outside; Having lived places like the upper peninsula of Michigan and the Idaho-Washington border this isn't that cold and isn't too much snow so it's just happy around my place. Today was the day to finally cut that lily bloom and get elbow deep etc... Big news and I'm not sure what to do:
Cropped
It's just the plant that keeps on giving.
Anyhow, I'm down to one ish degree of kH, so water changing will happen in here regardless. I am wondering, will this lily cannibalize the old bloom so should I leave it? I was worried already if I cut it at the base that the hollow tuber would let bacteria (and maybe a pesky snail) get inside and wreak havock. Allot of plants cannibalize but I don't know if they will cannibalize a reproductive shoot/tuber. Also, could I manually cross pollinate the remnants of bloom one with bloom two if I preserve it?
Anyhow, more to come in this subject in my lily thread, I need to do more chores so I can get to the water gardens this afternoon.
Cropped
It's just the plant that keeps on giving.
Anyhow, I'm down to one ish degree of kH, so water changing will happen in here regardless. I am wondering, will this lily cannibalize the old bloom so should I leave it? I was worried already if I cut it at the base that the hollow tuber would let bacteria (and maybe a pesky snail) get inside and wreak havock. Allot of plants cannibalize but I don't know if they will cannibalize a reproductive shoot/tuber. Also, could I manually cross pollinate the remnants of bloom one with bloom two if I preserve it?
Anyhow, more to come in this subject in my lily thread, I need to do more chores so I can get to the water gardens this afternoon.
Though only a couple of you knew Shawn and his amazing RTM, I figured I would share this for a fellow hobbyist who is attempting to help his son ( a proud service member).
anyways, just an FYI for those of you that knew of his legendary fish collection.
gofund.me
anyways, just an FYI for those of you that knew of his legendary fish collection.
Donate to Funeral and burial expense for Shawn Hyden, organized by Conway Stevens
Shawn Hyden was a well known person in the aquarium hobby and with his bulld… Conway Stevens needs your support for Funeral and burial expense for Shawn Hyden
fishguy1978
Legendary Member
The rainbow cichlids spawned so I stole the fry and fed them to my apex predators, the guppies. 
40GallonsOfDoom
Well-Known Member
We have had at least 18 inches here in Morton. Lol
I actually went to cabelas and got some boots for the snow because my work boots were too short for it.
I actually went to cabelas and got some boots for the snow because my work boots were too short for it.
40GallonsOfDoom
Well-Known Member
This was the first couple days, the back of the truck was from driving back from Puyallup Christmas night. The other was the next morning. Last night and today it's gotten much more.
Not much happening in the fish room, though it is chilling at a toasty 81 degrees inside. Brain farted and left the fill hose coiled up outside so no using that for some water changing. Heck, i needed a new one anyway haha. But i did get some sweet pictures which will be posted on my other thread. Hope all is enjoying this wonderful snow we have.
fishguy1978
Legendary Member
Did the hose burst?
No it's just frozen in a coil hanging on the side of the fish room. 100' of frozen hose not worth trying to thaw it out so i can use it. Plus you can never have to many hoses lol
Saturday water change morning with the 5 bigger garage tanks getting cleaned and fresh water added. I hate doing the shellie tank, the aragonite is pretty light and can get sucked up the gravel vac pretty easily. Plus no matter how much I cut down the lighting I seem to get algae growth in this tank.
John58Ford
Well-Known Member
I get some in mine too, the Shelly tank, in my case, is the only nutrient/mineral rich tank on the wall. All the other tanks, left soft, have enough plant competition to choke out any filamentous algae and the lack of calcium prevents the spot algae that occasionally occurs from getting hard so it's eaten. The Shelly tank is the only one that makes crunchy noise if I use the algae scraper, and it seems to harbor a decent amount of hair algae if I allow it. Even with my Shelly tank being moderately planted (75%+plant cover) with moderately high lighting and enough (over)stocking to provide adequate CO2 naturally my plants cannot out perform the pesky green stuff. I don't recall, do you also have soft tap water (in your other tanks)? That really does help keep the algae down, I've come to realize I have been spoiled in that regard.
Updated: Today I cleaned the glass my Shelly tank and cut a leaf from the anubias to analyze. The lower leaves black spotting is under the skin of the leaf, they still feel waxy and full. I do believe it's burning from when I switched to hard water, and increased the brightness in the tank close to simultaneously. All the upper clean growth is new since the changes and it's pretty healthy. The growth rate of this anubias (3 years old in soft water) increased by several hundred percent upon hardening the water and increasing lighting, the rhizomes doubled in length in 6 months.
The only ones looking forward to me finishing the 55s more than me are these little guys lol.
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To each his own, but why would you gravel-vac a shellie tank? The bioload is minimal, and every time you gravel-vac you destroy all their excavations and territories. And as for the algae, I find making friends with it to be far easier than fighting it; I mean, the lake is full of algae. 
