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

[John58Ford]

I'm trying to figure out where the market is for this filter. The new FX2 is ~$285, whereas the FX4 is ~$310, so for only $25 more you get a filter with 50% more capacity. The math just doesn't make sense to me, unless you're dealing with some kind of space constraint.

This is true price wise, I'm sure penn-plax, sun-sun, probably aqueon and aqua-top are already making 400-500 GPH units in a far lower price range($100-$200). I can see a use for that flow rate optimization vs the fx-4 but I think they could have been better off to take a little off the "durability"(price) since the head pressures and eddy wear points should be significantly reduced at that output level. Now, if I were keeping an Instagram fish room with matchy matchy lights and stands on several 275+ gallon tanks but had an ugly duckling 100-150 gallon tank with a sun sun while everything bigger had an FX6 in sleek black and red, I would probably be enticed to switch and accomplish perfect fan boy level 11.

 

[DMD123]

Split my weekend water changes on garage tanks, did 3 yesterday and 3 this morning. Still need to do the 300, might wait till Monday after work for that one.

I did a bit of rescaping, added some larger smooth stones to the sand in the 90g Oscar tank. Ive always liked the look of the mix of the larger stones with the sand but never really got it the way I wanted till now.


Moved a few pieces of wood around. to different tanks. I have a piece I love the look of but it barely fits in the 90. Makes it hard for larger fish to pass behind it but Im trying it out for a bit. If I cut one of the limb on it it would be a perfect fit but the limb is part of what gives it its appeal.

 

[John58Ford]

Had a filter failure in a tank I was already a little unhappy with so it's moving day.

When I say I rely on plants and mineralization as part of my husbandry process, this is an example of the madness.

10 gallon standard tank worth of plants:


The little anubias nana has been one of my "production plants" and I have cut it down several times.It's cool to see at this point, never having fully removed it from the tank, how the rhizome has grown out in surges wherever I cut it and took the big half for other projects. The giant one in my 45 was just a trimming of this guy about a year ago, or looking at the rhizome, about halfway back in that bare spot. It had detached itself from the rock and was holding itself down by the roots and sending leaves into the HOB filter outlet.

 

[fishguy1978]

Had a filter failure in a tank I was already a little unhappy with so it's moving day.

When I say I rely on plants and mineralization as part of my husbandry process, this is an example of the madness.

10 gallon standard tank worth of plants:
View attachment 12540

The little anubias nana has been one of my "production plants" and I have cut it down several times.It's cool to see at this point, never having fully removed it from the tank, how the rhizome has grown out in surges wherever I cut it and took the big half for other projects. The giant one in my 45 was just a trimming of this guy about a year ago, or looking at the rhizome, about halfway back in that bare spot. It had detached itself from the rock and was holding itself down by the roots and sending leaves into the HOB filter outlet.
View attachment 12541

Love that purple on the underside of the crypts.

 

[John58Ford]

Love that purple on the underside of the crypts.

I do too, in the Tanganyika tanks this red variant gets a cool purple/deep red, in the softer tanks it's a subdued pink. I don't really know which extra mineral adds the intensity specifically in that plant, it's either the huge ppm increase in potassium, magnesium and calcium, or possibly it's the sodium, as this mixture is the only one I have to use a bit of NaHCO3 to get the KH to stay on target. You saw how stocked that tank was though so we could honestly say it might have been producing significant CO2 relative to the others in my fish room.

Good news though, as I just finished rinsing the sand and moving fish, with the filter being down long enough to dry out I didn't find any dead fish. My son fed last night and said he didn't notice it but he didn't check so we're thinking it was down up to 20 hours.

 

[fishguy1978]

I do too, in the Tanganyika tanks this red variant gets a cool purple/deep red, in the softer tanks it's a subdued pink. I don't really know which extra mineral adds the intensity specifically in that plant, it's either the huge ppm increase in potassium, magnesium and calcium, or possibly it's the sodium, as this mixture is the only one I have to use a bit of NaHCO3 to get the KH to stay on target. You saw how stocked that tank was though so we could honestly say it might have been producing significant CO2 relative to the others in my fish room.

Good news though, as I just finished rinsing the sand and moving fish, with the filter being down long enough to dry out I didn't find any dead fish. My son fed last night and said he didn't notice it but he didn't check so we're thinking it was down up to 20 hours.

I have had filters go dry because of power outages or unknown reasons. I just restart them. There’s enough bacteria in the substrate and tank walls that there’s no cycle crash.
I have lots of pinkish crypts but I don’t think I have any with that deep purple.

 

[DMD123]

Got home from work and worked on the 300. A little gravel vac, glass cleaning and some freshwater and it is looking good. Happy Pearsei, happy tank.

 

[DMD123]

Placed an order at Kens to restock on water conditioner. Bought 2 containers of Seachem Safe, best bang for the buck when dealing with multiple big tanks. Very good price at Kens. Got a couple plastic plants coming too. Still some aqua-scapes in the garage Im working on.

 

[DMD123]

Bit of frustration as Ive watched my monk/red eye tetras grow out with issues. I put two down tonight. One had a huge tumor growing on its side the other had a deformed back. I have yet another with a deformed gill plate. Generally these are not spotted until they start to grow and then the flaws start to show. The two I put down were having issues so it was more humane to put them down than continue on. I guess when they mass breed these cheap fishes you dont really get good genes but high volumes of inbred fish. Not sure if I should get more and cull as they grow or try a different type of schooling fish.

 

[DMD123]

One of my cleaning days. Cleaned/water changed 4 garage tanks. Likely the other 2 to be done tomorrow. Then the 300 either tomorrow or Monday. Keeping a routine of set days helps me make sure the cleaning always gets done.

 

[DMD123]

Finished my weekend garage tank cleanings this morning and cleaned one Aquaclear 110. Again its the tank you wouldn’t think to be the dirty one, the 46g bowfront with the small community fishes, and a massive aquaclear 110 on it! The combo with live plants and a lot of natural light hitting the tank, always makes this one the fastest to grow algae and have dead plant matter everywhere. Well its clean for now. Just have the 300 left to do for the week.

 

[John58Ford]

I suppose, today I finally need to cut down some of these lilies. When I stopped pulling plants from this tank I set a timer I didn't expect to actually go off but it's getting very close. I intended to grow enough plants to fully plant a 55 from a blank slate while also moving the entire stock of fish, minus females, soiled sand and filter material. At this point I have exceeded this goal, but have been put into a position where it is now "all or nothing". As rich as the soil has grown, and as intermingled as the roots are, I can't pull any plants out without a target for the whole system, which I do not have ready yet. When harvesting plants for re-planting the whole root must be pulled, upsetting and fouling the water. Usually you can chase the fouling with a siphon and keep the stock in the tank somewhat happy, but in this plant density that is not going to be possible without shocking the nitrogen parameters excessively. Running fresh water in at the same rate the siphon system pulls it out would leave any "remaining" plants with no fertilizer in the water, and significant reduction at the roots. This is why I had to fully reset that 10 gallon last week, there was no "just pull a couple plants out and you can see the fish again" option.

I digress, and here is one of the craziest photos I have shot of a 29 gallon tank. The lighting is quite challenging as there are enough pads in there to cover the surface 3-5 times over. To keep a healthy oxygen/nitrogen/CO gas mix I have had to steadily increase the bias from my racks single air pump. It's no longer sustainable unless I trim and move back to surface agitation.

I suppose I will also be carving foam cores for my cement backgrounds again for the 55s and may have to be less picky this time if I don't like it.

 

[DMD123]

@John58Ford, that is a jungle! I wish I had that much success with plants

 

[John58Ford]

It's a nature thing, but a balance as well.
Here's the nitty gritty top view:

I had never had Ludwigia go vertical before:

And here's the surface area (spread)the lilies wanted to have:


I grow with nothing but "dirty" sand, and tailor the fish diet or overfeeding of filter feeders and bottom dwellers to hit the parameters to support plant life. Finding the balance there, and using sand that "drains well" let's the roots do what they do.

@John58Ford, that is a jungle! I wish I had that much success with plants

You spend enough time with your fish that you could do the testing/math and run a "dirty tank" as an experiment I'm sure; but it is hard to avoid not reaching in there and scrubbing everything. This 29 hasn't had the sand tumbled in 2-3 years. Not even vacuumed in 1+ year, just drawn from the middle of the water column with my siphon rig.

 

[sir_keith]

...You spend enough time with your fish that you could do the testing/math and run a "dirty tank" as an experiment I'm sure; but it is hard to avoid not reaching in there and scrubbing everything. This 29 hasn't had the sand tumbled in 2-3 years. Not even vacuumed in 1+ year, just drawn from the middle of the water column with my siphon rig....

@DMD123 and "dirty tank" in the same sentence? Surely you jest!

 

[lloyd378]

I ran to aquarium paradise to pick up some food for my fahaka puffer and purchased the last of these ( see pic below)for my planted tank…. He is a male and should continue to gain even more color as he grows!

They also had a large green phantom pleco that I thought about for a split second, but then realized I was probably good on plecos at the moment so I passed on it.

I may go back next week and buy it as I do enjoy the look of the one that dmd showed me in his tank!

 

[lloyd378]

While there, I spoke with Nat as they had 7 or 8 XXL Oscar’s in the shop. She said that someone stopped by and told them to either take them or they would be released in a lake…. She then told me how someone came in and left a bad review as they had to put 2 Oscar’s in each of the 75g tanks they had.

It sure makes my blood boil when people try to ruin the reputations of local mom and pop style aquarium stores without gaining the full perspective of the situation!

They are one of the last around the south sound area and I will continue to support them as best I can.

 

[lloyd378]

They did have one large tropheus that someone had dropped off too. I didn’t know which species it was, but worth a call, @fishguy1978 , as maybe it’s the same as what you currently have!

 

[sir_keith]

They did have one large tropheus that someone had dropped off too. I didn’t know which species it was, but worth a call, foshguy1978, as maybe it’s the same as what you currently have!

It's worth a shot; there are not many of the 150+ different populations that show up in shops. That said, adding a single specimen to an established colony can be very tricky.

 

[fishguy1978]

They did have one large tropheus that someone had dropped off too. I didn’t know which species it was, but worth a call, @fishguy1978 , as maybe it’s the same as what you currently have!

Do you remember what colors? They had a tank of tropheus a week or so ago. Might have been ikola.