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Post by coco on Jul 7, 2016 8:21:53 GMT -5
I'll check into it thank you. How about a few dozen?? That should be fine, being they are just babies. They may want you to wait until they are more of the "toddler" size. I would contact them first.
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Post by coco on Jul 7, 2016 8:25:23 GMT -5
7/7/16 Tragedy narrowly averted last night! Awoke as usual around 3:00 am (the joys of being in your 60's) and low and behold Bob, the cat, must have gotten on top of the tank and knocked the glass lid and a the work towel I must have left on top. Not too much damage although I do worry about the towel, I try so hared to keep foreign objects,like my hands, out of the tank. Grrr... The tragedy that was avoided it that my nice Finnex light was sooooo close to ending up under water!! Yikes!! I have to tell you that, that light is pretty much what started this all! Once I purchased it on sale and saw what it was doing the rest is history. More plants, filters, driftwood, plants, critters, fish... And now look at me!!! And now a monster is created! That's ok, everyone here understands that.
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Post by Carl on Jul 7, 2016 9:02:38 GMT -5
7/7/16 Tragedy narrowly averted last night! Awoke as usual around 3:00 am (the joys of being in your 60's) and low and behold Bob, the cat, must have gotten on top of the tank and knocked the glass lid and a the work towel I must have left on top. Not too much damage although I do worry about the towel, I try so hared to keep foreign objects,like my hands, out of the tank. Grrr... The tragedy that was avoided it that my nice Finnex light was sooooo close to ending up under water!! Yikes!! I have to tell you that, that light is pretty much what started this all! Once I purchased it on sale and saw what it was doing the rest is history. More plants, filters, driftwood, plants, critters, fish... And now look at me!!! I have seen many a cat make a mess of a client's aquarium. One time I was there servicing a large 200 gallon marine aquarium with all the lids off and the cat jumped up to do his usual mischief, but zing, no lid! The cat seemed to have sort of anti-gravity mechanism and immediately jetted straight up and out of this aquarium. When the time comes to replace your light, I would consider the TMC GroBeam which has a water proof rating of IP67 along with a 5 year warranty versus the 180 day warranty of the Finnex www.americanaquariumproducts.com/LEDLights.htmlFurther Reading: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.htmlCarl
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Post by angelminx on Jul 7, 2016 10:25:16 GMT -5
I haven't had anything to trade in to the LFS that's here now (which deals mostly in saltwater, anyway), but I do, know that (unlike the LFSs that were near me when I lived in San Diego) the chains (Petco and Petsmart) will take fish (etc), but will not give you any credit (or cash, of course) for your "donations". I got a nice adult Corydoras paleatus for $1, from "my" Petco (which someone "donated" to them) that I have had for ~ a year now. I always used to bring THEM my extra plants, because I'm friendly with a couple of their associates.
Angelminx
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Post by billyk on Jul 7, 2016 10:57:21 GMT -5
Hey! Thanks Carl, pesky pets. Next thing you know it will be the chickens got in somehow and ... well you get the picture! And yes I do believe cats have powers of levitation!!
As I have said, it started from a tank I had for a bit over a year, then I bought some plants, just two. So being a gardener, an indoor one at that, lighting became the "next" thing. Spent some time looking around and became enamored of the day/night cycle controller / LED combos which led me to find the Finnex for sale and thought the cost was inline with my budget. I like the looks of the TMC lighting products and will most likely be investing in them as time goes by. I really want to have as natural a light as I can and really like the 24/7 of the Finnex but not the restrictions the simple controller has. I may end up building my own controllers. I think I recall a true Lunar cycle mentioned in one of the controller articles with the TMC products. Also as I said natural, I am intrigued with the LEDs mentioned as well, some of the spectral ranges and specific LEDs used really make me want to use them and in more than just my aquariums! Hopefully the current arrangement will provide me with the experience I need along with the all important spousal approval factor to graduate to a larger installation of a nice aquarium complete with all I have learned and gathered along the way.
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Jul 7, 2016 13:19:35 GMT -5
The TMC will end up paying for themselves as most LEDs are not meant to be used over water and if you just look up the number of issues out there, there's so many. Even just replacing one cheap LED, you've sent more than a quality TMC. The controller will be the next thing to shorten the life of the LED, next to moisture.
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Post by billyk on Jul 7, 2016 16:56:53 GMT -5
Hey! So someone wanted baby pics. Here you go! Please know these are iPhone snaps, cropped and dropped, so not the best! Here's one with his buddy a cherry shrimp. Then we have one just about to bump into manny, one of my Amanos. It's funny there are so many of them, but just try to grab a picture!! Where'd everybody go?
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Post by billyk on Jul 8, 2016 5:07:56 GMT -5
7/8/16 devonjohnsgard Ya, most likely. Always a fan of buying the right thing once. As Carl pointed out the warranty is weak as well. It is a nice light, but is not really even water resistant, it has a "splash guard". Hardley protection from a spill or a dunking. I guess a controller may have an effect on longevity, but paired with the appropriate driver the controller itself should have negligible affect. The TMC products interest me immensely and will definitely be a part of future installations. Which brings me to today's Ah Hah moment. As much as I like the light the 24/7 on my 10 gal is to much light! There is a slight haze to the tank in the evenings that I now believe is algae bloom. The CUV-109 will help I am sure, but I need to address the root cause. I am going to manually adjust the light and keep it moderate and then I will use the 24/7 function a few days a week. This is where a truly programmable controller would come into play. I could set the intensity levels and timings as needed to work with this kind of thing. Time for Raspberry pi and arduinos, hopefully no PIC stuff. I'll poke about and see what I can find. I smell a DIY in the air!
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Post by childofiam on Jul 8, 2016 12:36:16 GMT -5
I almost bought the Finnex but decided to get the TMC GorBeam because of Four reasons. 1) The 5 year warranty. 2) That the TMC is sealed so humidly wont effect it, I went through two LED's before I invested in the GroBeam's. 3) Because I could suspend them from the ceiling and this makes it easy to clean my 75 because I can easily lift the lights above the tank and still have light to see what I am doing while their out of the way. 4)You can slide then up and down the cable to find the right place above the tank water for best performance.
Richard
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Post by coco on Jul 8, 2016 19:08:09 GMT -5
Hey! So someone wanted baby pics. Here you go! Please know these are iPhone snaps, cropped and dropped, so not the best! Here's one with his buddy a cherry shrimp. Then we have one just about to bump into manny, one of my Amanos. It's funny there are so many of them, but just try to grab a picture!! Where'd everybody go? OMG! They are so cute! They are the same size as the gravel. In that last pic it looks like the shrimp wants to eat him!
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Post by billyk on Jul 8, 2016 20:14:32 GMT -5
Hey! coco aren't they just! No worries, Manny just moved along nd baby shot away. childofiam , it was the price. $ 50 something shipped. Heck I pay more than that for a bulb for my HID light in the garden. I could not resist. If I stick with this hobby, quality lighting is in my future. The Finnex just opened the door. I found a controller that I could input my location and it would mimic the lighting according to current conditions as reported by NOAA . I mean just how cool is that! I am especially attracted to the daylight diodes used in the gro series of these. I would like to know if they were comparable with the controller. I'll see what I can find out. Turning off the lights helped. Not nearly as hazy. Can't wait till the UV arrives.
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Post by billyk on Jul 9, 2016 5:45:03 GMT -5
7/9/16 Turning the light off has made a difference. A lot less cloudy and on the way to the wicked clear I am looking for.
Think I am at a bit of a crossroads. I have the two small tanks in the living room. One is having a bit of a population explosion, not only animals, plants too. I am really enjoying the 10 gal. Nano and the challenges it has brought me. So I am thinking of building a small tank rack in the basement. Prolly three 20 gal. I think I can do that for not too much $$$. I can keep my excess animals and plants, breed, etc. This would allow me to keep the best in my display tanks. This would take a considerable commitment from me and i am on the fence about that. Being ADHD with a bit of an IQ tends to have me go all out on things only to loose interest after I have "Learned it". Ah well, that is what it's about anyways...
Question; hands in the tank. What do you do to prepare your hands and arms before you work in your tanks? With my tiny tanks I worry about contamination. Thanks.
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Post by coco on Jul 9, 2016 8:06:03 GMT -5
7/9/16 Turning the light off has made a difference. A lot less cloudy and on the way to the wicked clear I am looking for. Think I am at a bit of a crossroads. I have the two small tanks in the living room. One is having a bit of a population explosion, not only animals, plants too. I am really enjoying the 10 gal. Nano and the challenges it has brought me. So I am thinking of building a small tank rack in the basement. Prolly three 20 gal. I think I can do that for not too much $$$. I can keep my excess animals and plants, breed, etc. This would allow me to keep the best in my display tanks. This would take a considerable commitment from me and i am on the fence about that. Being ADHD with a bit of an IQ tends to have me go all out on things only to loose interest after I have "Learned it". Ah well, that is what it's about anyways... Question; hands in the tank. What do you do to prepare your hands and arms before you work in your tanks? With my tiny tanks I worry about contamination. Thanks. Billy, you definitely need to shut the lights off at night, or you will have a algae explosion. I leave mine on for 12 hours. That is plenty for your plants. As far as my arms in my tank, I wash them before hand with unscented soap and water, then rinse real well. I wear scented vanilla lotion, I don't want that in my fish tank.
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Post by billyk on Jul 9, 2016 16:04:47 GMT -5
Testing, tried to get some done but was interrupted; I had to do a brake job on the youngest's car. Argh... what a mess. At least I know he has good brakes. Replaced everything! Cost me a bit but what the hey. SO. I got high but ok GH at dGH 11 but KH was at dKH 2. Need to get that up a bit. I think it's time to work with the Alkaline buffer. That shouldn't mess with the GH too bad, eh?
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Post by childofiam on Jul 9, 2016 17:05:46 GMT -5
Testing, tried to get some done but was interrupted; I had to do a brake job on the youngest's car. Argh... what a mess. At least I know he has good brakes. Replaced everything! Cost me a bit but what the hey. SO. I got high but ok GH at dGH 11 but KH was at dKH 2. Need to get that up a bit. I think it's time to work with the Alkaline buffer. That shouldn't mess with the GH too bad, eh? The buffers will not increase the GH. If you are going to maintain a GH of 11 (196.9 ppm) then I recommend you raising the KH up to at least 6 (107.4) I use Seachem Alkaline Buffer and Seachem Acid Buffer together. If you use just the Alkaline buffer the PH will go higher. I use both together and have no problems with increased PH or GH. Richard
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Post by billyk on Jul 9, 2016 17:42:38 GMT -5
Hey! Thanks man. That was my hope. I'll mix in the buffers to what I want for a boost in KH. I'll be sure to use both to maintain pH. Not trying to maintain that GH. That is what I currently have. Will bring it down a bit with steady small water changes. My tap water is surprisingly low, like 3 or 4 dGH. I must have something leeching. Mixing the buffers. I envision something like the addition of alkaline to close to desired reading and using acid to adjust pH to proper range. Yes? I also have almond leaves. A bit at a time. Want to figure out a routine or at least a framework that I can work from. Do the baseline, observe, tweak procedures. That kind of thing.
Reached a decision. Responded to some local adverts. Could have two maybe three 20g. Two highs and a long. Under $50 for the two and I have one already. Oh and an iron stand. That should hold me for a bit. I hope.
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Post by angelminx on Jul 9, 2016 20:28:57 GMT -5
Question: if my pH jumps way up again on my source water when I have to breakdown/setup the 55G on Tuesday, should I just use my Seachem Acid Buffer, or should I add a bit of the Alkaline Buffer as well (I don't use RO water, just plain old tap water)? Originally, a few years ago, when I had ordered some Alkaline Buffer (I think it was still Pet Wearhouse at the time) they accidentally sent a bottle of Acid Buffer instead; Is there an expiration date on the Seachem buffers?
Angelminx
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Post by billyk on Jul 10, 2016 7:55:41 GMT -5
7/10/16 angelminx , I really don't know. I am about to find out though, or hope to start to figure it out. It is my assumption as above. I am going to go for a specific KH number and balance between the two buffers to obtain the pH. But it is still an assumption to be born out by trial. I will be sure to let you know and will document here. I use these journal/blogs to track my gardens and now my aquaria so I try to keep good notes!! Going to pick up one of the 20H tanks this evening. Brand new from the looks of it. $20.00 is a decent price. Have not heard about the other one with a stand. OK, going to pick up where I left off yesterday. Test everything. Water changes, some plant management, and sit back and enjoy! It's the water changes that have me thinking today. I am going to do a 5 gal. batch. Mixing in buffers and Prime. 5 gal will do both tanks with some left over. If my plan goes as it should I will have about 60 gal to deal with! How do you folks with the large set-ups manage this chore? Large mixing vessels? Incremental small changes? I was thinking of getting a 35 gal trash bin or even a pickle barrel. Then I could mix up a large amount, it would certainly make measuring the additives easier, ml VS drops and all. Edit: Seems like I am on the right track. Seachem has a chart just for this purpose. Amount of acid buffer to combine with alkaline buffer for a specific pH value. Seachem's Alkaline buffer
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Post by Carl on Jul 10, 2016 11:06:06 GMT -5
I generally do not concern myself with GH as much as KH, but it too low or too depending upon fish kept it can be an indicator of problems. I more tend to look at GH as a carrier of mineral Cations. If you GH is creeping up too much, cutting your water with RO water can help (assuming you are not already doing this). Using smaller fractions of Wonder Shells can help, while again still keeping these on for the mineral Cations) AAPs Chemistry article also has this chart for mixing Acid and Alkaline Buffers: Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html#khbuffersDitto this article from our Aquarium answers website about RO water use: www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2016/01/use-of-ro-di-softwater-in-aquariums.htmlCarl
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Post by billyk on Jul 10, 2016 14:26:37 GMT -5
Thanks Carl, that is along the lines that I was thinking. From reading what you said here and there and the articles you cited I think my reaction to the numbers I am getting is the right one. KH is the thing that I am on now. Going to work on the stability.
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