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 Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 3:09 pm 
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JoanA wrote:
Yes, I did know about the live birth with Guppies, we did have some. It's the same as Sea Horses, they give birth to live young and even more unusual is that it is the male who gives birth.

Technically it is actually the female seahorse that gives birth via laying eggs. She just deposits the eggs in a pouch on the male's belly where they stay until hatched. It DOES seem like they give live birth but, in truth, they do not as it is eggs that are deposited in the male's pouch.

<edit>
YEA! I found 4 sources for rope fish that are in stock. Prices are quite a bit higher but I don't really care. I DO look for discounts but the bottom line is that, if I want something, I want it and will get. I would be paying 150%-200% of the price from the outfits that are out of stock but a lower price doesn't help much if they don't have. ;)

Hey Steve, since you worked for UPS you may be able to answer this. According to tracking the earliest delivery date is May 3rd but the aquarium hit the Sheridan facility on April 29th so it is here. Will UPS hold delivery to match the tracking or will they deliver if early? A day would not make much of a difference but I'm obviously a bit anxious. ;) Tomorrow is Monday, May 2nd. My guess is that they would deliver early just to get it out of their facility.

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 Post Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 9:56 pm 
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jaylach wrote:
Hey Steve, since you worked for UPS you may be able to answer this. According to tracking the earliest delivery date is May 3rd but the aquarium hit the Sheridan facility on April 29th so it is here. Will UPS hold delivery to match the tracking or will they deliver if early? A day would not make much of a difference but I'm obviously a bit anxious. ;) Tomorrow is Monday, May 2nd. My guess is that they would deliver early just to get it out of their facility.


If it is in the facility that your driver is out of, it will most likely be delivered early. I'm surprised that the scheduled delivery date hasn't updated yet based on the arrival at the facility, but perhaps it will first need to be unloaded. The arrival scan means that the trailer is at the facility. If the Sheridan facility has a night sort tonight, it will be unloaded and then ready for the pre-load in the early morning hours.

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 Post Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 1:09 am 
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The last tracking just shows the package being received by the Sheridan facility this past Friday. Not really a big deal anyway but I think we know that I don't wait well. ;)

Once I actually have the tank the next step will be to go hunting for broken chunks of slate to make caves for the rope fish. Sort of funny that slate and shale are basically the same thing in different stages. Shale is a soft, Fine-grained sedimentary rock, that will break down in water, not good. Slate is what shale turns into becoming a hard, Fine-grained metamorphic rock, that will not break down, is good. LOL! There is actually some science involved in setting up a tank properly for the fish population. Last time I did this I went to Home Depot and asked if they had any broken slabs of slate they wanted to get rid of cheap..I got more than needed for a couple bucks.

One thing a lot of people don't think about is what else in in the bottom gravel, rocks and other design items that you really don't want. Before anything goes in my tanks they are boiled to sterilize if they can survive the heat. The main two are the rocks and gravel. You just don't know what dormant parasites and stuff may be on this stuff. I also do plastic fake plants instead of live. Put live plants in a tank with plecos and the critters will just eat them. Another problem with live plants is that they tend to carry snail eggs; the little snails can take over a tank and are hard to get rid of. Sort of hard to get live plants to survive if boiled... :mrgreen: The big snails you may see in some tanks are cool but the real little ones will destroy a tank. Plastic or resin plants and stuff are usually safe as the heat involved in the molding and/or die-casting process will kill anything bad.

Then I'll have to do my best to rope fish proof the tank... sigh. Like I said before the danged things are escape artists. The tank's hood is vented. If the vents are open I'll have to mount screens over the vents. LOL! Rope fish can jump! If an open vent is within reach of half their body length they can get to it to escape. It isn't that they are in distress in the tank or anything; they are just curious and want to explore. Like I said they are a fish that thinks they are a dog. Ever had a dog that would dig under a fence to get out to roam around? They almost seem to have the personality of a young black lab. Last one I had loved to have its chin scratched. I sort of call them water dogs. In salt water there is a fish with similar attitudes called parrot fish. A parrot fish actually looks like a fish but is similar in attitude. For some obscure reason both seem to like interacting with humans if the human will allow. Too bad that us humans are killing them in the wild. Not actively killing but changing their environment.


This is all bringing back some memories. I remember before I left Ohio in 1987 I helped a guy set up a fairly large salt water tank that turned out pristine. Or, at least, it was pristine until he killed the tank. When he needed to add water he was careful to add salt to the proper level for the new water. Sigh, this is what killed the tank... Water evaporates, salt does not. In a salt water tank, when you need to add water, you add fresh water. If you add more salt water it just increases the salinity until, eventually, it kills the tank. The first victim is the bacteria in the gravel. Once the bacteria is killed everything else dies as the bacteria is essential for the tank's ecology. At times you DO need to add salt as fish will metabolize some but not every time you add water.

Dang, this thread reads like I'm some kind of fish guru which I'm not. I'm just speaking from personal experience. Heck, I killed my first salt water tank. Fortunately it was only in the setup stages and I didn't kill anything expensive. The 'starter fish' started looking lethargic and just not right which I learned is a normal stage which is why you start such a tank with only a few specific species that can survive the process. Being used to fresh water tanks the first thing I did when the fish looked ill was to throw in some antibiotics which, of course, killed the good bacteria colonies that were forming in the gravel... DUH! Actually that is a big difference between a fresh and salt water tank. With proper filtration a fresh water can do OK without bacteria colonies in the gravel. With a salt water tank the bacteria colonies are essential.

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 Post Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 4:56 pm 
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YEA! It's here!! :mrgreen:

Tomorrow starts the fun part, gravel and stuff. The tank fits well on the corner table. :) Going to have to chance it as to leaking as it won't sit flat in my bath tub and I don't want to stress the bottom. At least it appears to be well constructed. I'll fill it in stages like 5 gallons a day.

Right now I'm looking for under gravel filter plates. It has decent looking filtration built in but I've always liked under gravel.

One of the wall plugs in that corner is wired to a wall switch. That is where I plugged in the light so I can turn on/off with a flip of the switch.

I'm happy to say that the hood vents are too small for a rope fish to get through. :D

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 Post Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 7:04 pm 
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Nice looking tank. I look forward to seeing it set up. :-)

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 Post Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 7:13 pm 
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sboots wrote:
Nice looking tank. I look forward to seeing it set up. :-)

Would have been nice if they had cleaned the thing before shipping but no big deal. It IS a bit of a pain to clean a dry tank though as you cannot use cleaners with ammonia as it will weaken the adhesive silicone that holds the tank together. You clean with straight water.

It will be a while before I actually start setting up. I found and ordered the under gravel filter plates but they won't be here until Friday and I can't start setup until they get here. Couldn't find plates the actual size but found ones that I can combine to make a close enough fit using two. I like under gravel as it makes the entire gravel bed a biological filter. Also the air bubbles that move the water help to maintain high oxygenation which allows for a higher fish population than the built in filtration which does not increase the oxygen level of the water.

Combined with the built in filtration it will work fine. The built in is three stage with sponge filters to remove particles, ceramic rings for bacteria growth and activated carbon to remove water pollutants. Another aspect that is nice in using both types of filtration is that it will give two separated bacteria colonies. I can't stress enough how important the bacteria colonies are for the tank ecology. The colonies are what neutralize the ammonia from fish urine and other waste products such as uneaten food.

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 Post Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 8:29 pm 
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So far so good. :) I have the tank about 15%-20% filled which is close to what I can do before adding the filter plates and gravel and there is no sign of leakage.. Actually that is not true as I could fully fill but that makes it more messy when adding stuff. It is just easier to 'sculpture' the gravel in shallow water. I don't like a flat gravel surface and make small hills and such. Especially for such as rope fish this gives a bit of a more interesting environment as they like to explore and check things out. One may think that arranging the gravel would mean nothing as adding more water would modify. Simple answer is that you put a dinner plate (eating type) over the gravel an put in the water over the plate.

I am finding that I like the LED hood lighting as it has several options. I'm old school and would prefer florescent full spectrum lighting but it seems that the LED lighting is full spectrum as is the LED lighting on my bird cage. I think that I'll end up really liking the lighting system as I can adjust to my mood. The options are pure white, pure blue, pure red, blue and white, white and red, white and blue and all three. Will have to experiment but my initial thought is to use all three colors during the day and, when in the mood, go to blue since it seems to have some black light aspects and will make some things glow.

I DID find an escape route that I guarantee a rope fish will find. Won't let it get out of the tank but would allow access to the built in filter area. Not a big issue as I'd just put the thing back in the main area. Once the tank warranty is done I'll close that access with wire screen but I'm not really sure what to use between stainless steel or brass.

Anyway, so far, everything is looking good! :bow7:

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 Post Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 11:11 pm 
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jaylach wrote:
I DID find an escape route that I guarantee a rope fish will find. Won't let it get out of the tank but would allow access to the built in filter area. Not a big issue as I'd just put the thing back in the main area. Once the tank warranty is done I'll close that access with wire screen but I'm not really sure what to use between stainless steel or brass.


Do you mean a brass or stainless steel screen or is the gap between those two materials? If the former, I'd go with stainless steel. Why wait for the warranty? How about a nylon mesh screen?

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 Post Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 8:23 am 
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Yes, I'd be adding the screen.

I believe adding a screen would void the warranty although I suppose I could mount the screen in a way where it could be removed without leaving evidence. :mrgreen:

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 Post Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 7:19 pm 
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Hey Steve, I just did a dangerous thing and had a thought. :rofl2:

I could just buy a pair of panty hose and stretch cut out sections across the gap going to the built in filtering. Of course I'd sterilize the panty hose first!

I don't even know it my concern is even valid. A lot depends on the size of the rope fish I get. Any over 8-10 inches probably would not fit through the gap. Even if they did there would be no harm as they would still be in water, just not where I want them. It is a simple matter to remove them from the filter section and throw back into the main tank section. That could even be an advantage as 'fishing them out' of the filter area would let them get to know me better making it easier to train. They don't have good eyesight and hunt mostly by smell. Pulling them out of the filter area could actually help in getting them used to my smell in the water.

One problem I'm finding is food for the rope fish. They LOVE meal worms but all I'm finding as to the worms are 2000-3000 count. Just too many to keep alive and I'd end up throwing away most. During the warmer seasons I can just go out and find crickets as they love them and insects are a normal food source in the wild.

On a funny note ... I've said that they are a fish that thinks it's a dog. Of course that is an exaggeration but they DO tend to like their chin scratched. :rofl2:

<edit>

I knew this would probably happen... :rofl2: The new tank is almost totally filled; mayhaps 1-1.5 gallons from full. No sign of leakage and the corner table does not seem stressed... Didn't hear any creaks or groans as I filled. :mrgreen: All looks good with zero signs of leakage. :) The corner table that I'm using as a base for the tank turns out to be sitting on a good floor as a bubble level shows dead center in all directions.

When I get the under gravel filter plates I'll remove some water to give working space but all looks good so far. :) Oh, all the white dots in the below image are air bubbles. Our local water is VERY oxygen rich.

I will probably look for a variable resister unit (dimmer light control) to cut down the water flow caused by the built in filtration. The rope fish I want like still to slow moving water. The built in water pump is doing like 250 gallons per hour which would cause a fairly quick current. We shall see what we see. :) The current caused by the built in pump just MAY work out well as the resulting currents would be toward the top of the tank and rope fish tend to spend most of their time in the lower half of the tank. The higher water flow in the top half would fit well with other fish I want. Like I said; we shall see what we shall see. :)

I WILL say that the tank seems well designed and built. With being just short of full it shows zero signs of any bowing or distortion as to shape. For some reason I thought the tank was acrylic but it is actually low iron tempered glass. As far as I can figure out the lower the iron content in tempered glass means a higher stress level. Also, compared to other tanks I searched, the glass thickness is ~25% thicker giving more strength.

When everything is done I have a feeling that I'll be giving 5 stars as to a review. So far I'm totally thrilled. :) Smaller than I would want being only 20 gallons but I live in a 1-bedroom apartment and the 20 gallon size just seems to fit well in my living room.

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 Post Posted: Thu May 05, 2022 7:35 pm 
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Well I guess I don't need to worry about voiding my warranty by adding screening. I just picked up an inline dimmer switch for the built in filtration pump. Since the dimmer will be modifying the cord the warranty will be voided anyway. I could have gotten a wall mount dimmer but I don't want bare wires around the tank as that just doesn't seem safe. I'm not all that concerned about voiding the warranty as I've had it full for a couple of days with no leakage. High odds are that, if a tank is going to leak, it will do so right away.

I picked everything I need to setup the final tank today also... well, except that I forgot to get a splitter for the air lines for the under gravel plates. Not an issue as Petco is less than 5 minutes away if I catch a green light. I MAY need more gravel as I just got a 20 pound bag. For under gravel filtration you want 3-4 inches of gravel and it will be close. No big deal again as I'll be going to Petco to get the air line splitter anyway.

I only got tall plants to start but will probably be adding shorter ones later. I just want to see with the basics first and then decide what to add. I was going to get some broken slate to make caves for the rope fish but bought a 'pre-made' cave system instead as it will give more openings for sticking their heads out. It has like 6-7 openings which will give the rope fish plenty of 'peek out holes. :)

Looks like I'll be coming in under my initial budget which is always a good thing. :mrgreen:

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 Post Posted: Thu May 05, 2022 9:49 pm 
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LOL! Sometimes info comes from unexpected sources. As I said I was going to void my tank warranty by modifying the power cord for the built in pump with a dimmer switch. My apartment friend just said that I should use an extension cord and put the in-line dimmer in the extension cord. DUH! :rofl2: I felt a bit dumb. :)

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 Post Posted: Fri May 06, 2022 1:26 am 
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OK, so I'm hyper but there is a bit of madness to my reason! :rofl2:

Not what will totally be the end result but I put all the fake plants and cave system in the tank to 'stew' overnight. The activated carbon in the built in filtration will mostly kill hard metals left over from the molding or casting process to make the danged things. I know it looks VERY crowded but isn't. Some of what is shown may be removed and some others cut to make floating foliage. Basic idea is the same as to giving a good and friendly environment for the critters. Positions of stuff will change in the end but the below image is the basic concept.The dark weird looking thing is a replication of a fallen tree trunk that has been eaten out. This would be a common situation in the Congo River where a rope fish is native. Once I patch in the dimmer switch to lower the water flow this type of setup should make a rope quite happy.

LOL! It dawned on me that the pic I'm posting makes it look like there is a dead person involved... What looks like a head and upper torso is really just white flower blossoms. Things will change but this will be the basics.


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 Post Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 10:38 am 
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Looking good Jay, I'm sure once it's finished and you have your fish in there it will be a thing of beauty. I'm looking forward to seeing it finished. :D

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 Post Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 2:11 pm 
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Just finished setting it up Joan. :) Still has to run for a while to clear the water though. It just isn't really possible to clean the gravel enough to not cloud the water some. It will probably take 3-4 hours before it clears up.

It is pretty much like the last picture minus some plants. I MAY end up adding a few more plants but they will be smaller although I MAY add one more tall plant. Of course adding the gravel makes a big difference.

The three fish I inherited may end up in the tank this evening. If they do well I'll probably order my rope fish in about a week. I still haven't decided what other fish will go in but will probably add another black skirt tetra. A black skirt is one of the three I inherited and I figure I'll give it a friend.

Only thing left is to wait for the dimmer switch for the built in pump to get here. I'll unplug it and go with just the under gravel filters until the dimmer arrives. Amazes me that neither our local Ace Hardware or Home Depot had one. :dunno:

<edit>
BTW, this is a black skirt tetra. LOL! The tetra is beating its head against a wall. I'm moving the three fish to the new tank and I think the critter wants out in the deep end of the pool. Always float fish in a container to more gradually acclimate to possible temperature differences to avoid shock. Only takes like twenty minutes.

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 Post Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 7:56 pm 
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Here it is... Still a little cloudiness but this is not harmful to the fish. I'm sure that I'll make other adjustments but it is basically done. The pleco is attached to the lower portion of the tree trunk. The black skirt tetra is about mid-depth on the right side. I have no idea where the little Cory catfish is in the following shot as it is going haywire eating all the food I put in. All three seem to be eating so I believe that all should be cool and the little fishes are not stressed or shocked. If they were they would not likely be eating right away.

Obviously the gravel layer is nowhere near to being flat and that is by design as I stated in an earlier post. There are actually two reasons for this. As I mentioned before a flat layer of gravel is boring to me and, mayhaps, to the fish. As important it makes it easier to clean the tank if needed as sediment will settle to the lower areas of gravel making it easier to siphon with as little water loss as possible.

I'm getting a kick out of the tetra. Ever seen the movie 'Finding Nemo'? If so you will remember one of the fish in the dentist's office always talking to her reflection in the glass. The tetra seems to be doing the same as can be seen in the below picture. Most tetras are a community fish which is why I'll get another so they can be friends. They just tend to do better if they have a friend.

The pleco seems to like the fake tree trunk and is weaving in an out of the several, holes in the thing.

Who knows what tomorrow might bring... they could all be dead as a new tank is never a sure thing. Still everything looks REALLY good so far. :)

Also the bird from hell seems quite interested. He spent quite a while with his face pressed against the tank.

You MAY notice that the fake plants are set back a bit from the front of the tank. Fish that I like tend to like open swimming areas. By setting the plants back a bit makes it so to open swimming area is where I can see. The tree trunk and the density of plants in areas gives good hiding places. The lesser density of plants in the front makes the fish more visible when they want to swim.

At 7:15 local time the water is almost totally clear and the fish are active and seem happy. :)

You can click on the following image to get one a bit larger but probably not necessary and you would need to click your browser's back button to return to the forums.

As much as I've wiped with just water I'm still seeing some crud on the outside of the tank. This could probably be taken care of with white vinegar. But I'll be going to the local Petco Sunday and will see if they have an aquatic safe glass cleaner. You just can't use an ammonia based cleaner on a tank. Also need to see if they have algae tablets for the pleco. They will eat normal fish food but algae is their natural food. Will also take a look at their fish supply to see if they have the tetra I want to match with one already in the tank.

All in all I'm VERY happy at this point. :)

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 Post Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 9:53 pm 
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Nice! :-)

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 Post Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 10:17 pm 
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sboots wrote:
Nice! :-)

Thanks! :mrgreen: After a bit more time the tank water is almost totally clear. Also, even though I got the tree trunk thing mainly for the future rope fish, the pleco REALLY seems to like the danged thing. :)

I could make a more natural environment for cichlids by adding raw or drift wood to make the water more murky as it breaks down. Let's face it, the Congo, main source of rope fish, isn't the clearest water. While this would be more natural for the family of fish there is a reason why such fish have a longer life span when bred in captivity. The natural murkiness of their natural wild environment is a bit toxic. Putting them in a clear and proper water increases their expected lifespan by a factor of around 50%. Since I'll be spending ~$70.00 for a pair of rope fish I'll appreciate the captive live expectancy of 15-20 years over the natural expectancy of less than ten.

LOL! After a few hours the danged tetra is still trying to 'talk' to it's reflection. Have to get it a 'real' friend! :shock: :mrgreen:

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 Post Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 11:16 am 
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It looks really good Jay, I agree with having the gravel uneven, it looks so much more natural that way.

When we got new fish to put into our tank we'd leave the fish in the plastic bag they tended to come in and just leave it floating on top of the water in the tank for a good while so the temperature was equal before letting them out.

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 Post Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 11:33 am 
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JoanA wrote:
It looks really good Jay, I agree with having the gravel uneven, it looks so much more natural that way.

When we got new fish to put into our tank we'd leave the fish in the plastic bag they tended to come in and just leave it floating on top of the water in the tank for a good while so the temperature was equal before letting them out.

Thanks Joan. :)

Yes, it is always best to let the water equalize to match temps.

Petco opens in about half an hour and I'm going to go pick up another Black Skirt Tetra and mayhaps another Cory Cat.

<edit>

Tetras seem happy. :) They have been pretty much side by side since I released the new one. Petco was out of Cory Cats but I already have one anyway. Picked up some algae tablets for the Pleco and he is totally pigging out.

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 Post Posted: Sun May 08, 2022 9:50 pm 
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I am finding something to be REALLY frustrating! I need to control the air flow involved with the under gravel filtration so the air flow is right. It is sort of a fine balance and the air valves I'm finding just don't do a good job. The things are made of cheap plastic and the seals are garbage. I have it somewhat under control but not totally.

The problem is that you want the air to oxygenate the water but if the air flow is too high it will make the tank look cloudy even though it really isn't. The cloudy look is actually too high of an oxygen level on a minute level.

It is just driving me nuts that I can't seem to find a good brass or stainless air valve. The plastic ones I've been trying are garbage.

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 Post Posted: Mon May 09, 2022 12:36 am 
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What do you think? Seems to me that the Tetras rather like each other. The smaller, lower one, is the new fish. The big fat dark blob of a critter is the pleco after pigging out on the algae wafers. Actually I need to remove some of the algae. The disks are different than I'm used to in the past. I put in two and that was WAY too much. I'll siphon them back out or just reach in and scoop. In the future I'll break them and just put in smaller chunks. Sort of funny watching as the pleco has claimed the algae as personal property. The tetras also like the stuff but the pleco will chase them away protecting his claim. Since the algae is in two locations he can only protect one at a time so the other fish can still get their share. I put in two wafers but will need to cut that down to quarters of a wafer.

I can't say for fact but it seems that the new, smaller, tetra always stays under the larger. I think it may be an 'alpha thing' where the smaller new tetra is subordinate.

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 Post Posted: Tue May 10, 2022 5:28 pm 
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Well I tried the dimmer switch to control the built in pump but it didn't work. Instead of lowering the flow it causes it to pulse. I figure the pump motor must be pulling off of a capacitor and lowering the dimmer setting just makes the capacitor not able to keep up with the demand. Not a big deal as I just won't use the built in pump. With the under gravel filtration the built in pump really isn't needed anyway.

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 Post Posted: Tue May 10, 2022 10:52 pm 
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DANG!!! I THOUGHT I had four sources for my rope fish on-line and decided to buy. Once I got to checkout all four were out of stock. WAH!! :twisted:

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 Post Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 8:10 am 
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Hmmm, I just joined a fish forum and have been informed that my tank cloudiness is natural. I've just never before setup a tank small enough to really notice. It is called a 'bacteria burst' where bacteria finds a new home and goes haywire clouding the tank with a light white/grey tint. It should go away after two to three weeks. The tank has been 'live' well under that time frame :) I haven't experienced this before now but have previously had larger tanks.

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