Aqua Gillie

Tools: Aquarium CO2 Calculator

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:36:00 +0000

This tool comes from a discussion in Aquaticplantcentral.com forums posted by D9vin: the Aquarium CO2 calculator on the Fishfriend.com website.

If you have instituted a regimen of fertilizing your plants, have sufficient light and are disappointed with growth, this tool may provide an answer to part of the equation. The function of plants in the aquarium aside from being aesthetically pleasing, is to help balance the environment. Plants inhale dissolved CO2 from the water and take C02 up from the roots. They exhale O2 which in turn is used by the livestock and the cycle repeats as long as there is balance.

For those of you who are beyond the pretty-fish-in-the-tank stage, the tools we list in the Toollbox tab give you the ability to get the answers to aquarium issues efficiently, so you can get back to what you really love; enjoying your hard work

Long Overdue

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 20:33:00 +0000

Life outside the front door created a couple of adventures for me the last year. This blog was sadly neglected right along with the aquariums; circumstances beyond and whatnot. It seems Blogger underwent yet another renovation; good time to give Aqua~gillie a facelift. As with most things where creative control is not wide open, there will be tweeks.


10g~Shrimparium; Aponogeton ulvaceus,

Three tanks are running at the moment; two 10g and a 5g. Of the 10g, one is fish and the other shrimp. The 5g is meant to be a grow-out but life's adventures interrupted the plans.

10g Shrimparium:

Flourite Black substrate
Cryptocoryne lutea
Aponogeton ulvaceus
Aponogeton ulvaceus seedlings
Peacock moss wall
Mystery plant
Red Cherry Shrimp

10g~Fish:

80% gravel/20% Flourite black
Mopani driftwood
Anubias
Java Fern
maybe a stray C. lutea
1 adult Sunset Mollie ~ with a herd of babies
1 White Cloud Mountain minnow
2 American Ghost/Grass shrimp
1 Olive nerite snail
Malaysian Trumpet snails

Tiger lotus

5g Grow-out:

Aquarium gravel
Peacock moss coconut husk
Cryptocoryne lutea baby plants
3 Marimo Cladophora aegagropila
Tiger lotus
more Red Cherry shrimp

After doing a moderate clean-up in all three tanks, things are returning to normal. The flourite in the 10g~Shrimparium needs a thorough vacuuming; it will have to wait until the A. ulvaceus seedlings are large enough to transplant into the grow-out and the mother plant dies back in about a month.

In the meantime, check out the
AQ Advisor link in the Tools section. In the short time this aquarium livestock tool has been available, almost a thousand freshwater species have been added as well as a salt water calculator and a new forum. Stop by and show the AQ Advisor some love!

Tank Acclimation Follow Up: Secrets of Benificial Bacteria

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:24:00 +0000

This is a follow up post to Tank Acclimation Phase I.

From the National Science Foundation posted today June 30, 2010 excerpt:

Bonnie Bassler spends her days listening to bacteria talk to one another, and what she has overheard may surprise you.
It turns out that these tiny, single-celled organisms are taking roll call. Each whispered conversation is an attempt to count how many of their own kind are present before they try to mount an attack on their host organism, which might very well be your body.
As Bassler explains it, bacteria "are too small to have an impact on the environment if they simply act as individuals." What they lack in size, though, they make up for in numbers.

And . . . ? Well if you are interested in cultivating beneficial bacteria in your aquarium's filter to balance the nutrients in the water column, this article may be of interest to you. It is the beneficial bacteria cultivated during tank cycling that does the heavy lifting in the balancing of your aquarium's biosphere. Thanks to Ms. Bassler and the National Science Foundation for the additional insight.
[Read the rest of the NSF article]

White Cloud Mountain Minnow - one tough fish!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:14:00 +0000

My intention was to construct a second moss wall to span the whole of the planted tank. As I was reviewing the situation I noticed there were only two fish in the 10g:view, Huh?

Two Neon Tetras and . . . no White Cloud Mountain minnows? What happened to five fish, overnight? Vanished, *poof* - gone. I also noticed an unusual amount of protein on the water column surface. Hmmmm . . .

Should have checked the filter as soon as I noticed missing fish.

Ohhhhhhh, there they are, trapped under the filter basket.

I swapped the Aqua Clear 30 from the Shrimparium to the planted with the intention of making the 10g planted into the shrimparium due to the moss walls. Somehow all five WCMm's got sucked into the filter through the hole in the intake drilled for the DIY CO2. Nice.

All five are missing dorsal fins, most are missing all or part of their soft dorsal, one is missing pectorals. One has half a tail, very streamlined.

I dropped all five into the aquarium fully prepared for the possibility the Neon Tetras would make lunch and dinner out of the injured fish. It appears the Tetras missed their shoaling pals; they seem not to have noticed the fish are injured. All five White Cloud Mountain minnows are swimming around as if nothing unusual has happened.

So on with the plans . . .

Follow Up: Bed Bug Detection, low tech

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:08:00 +0000

For those who are skeptical about DIYCO2 rigs attracting bed bugs, we have a little vid backing our claim in the form of a Bed Bug Detector. This product is designed to attract bed bugs in apartments, houses or rooms suspected of being infested.

It uses the same method as a DIYCO2 rig; however instead of running the air hose to your tanks, you run it to a little tray designed to trap bed bugs for confirmation of infestation. The manufacturers are still testing but we already know it will work. Our leaking CO2 rig was the beacon that put out the welcome mat in our previously clean apartment. It took about six months for our apartment to become infested after beginning to use a DIYCO2 rig, in a building that already had a problem.

We should note, we have no financial arrangements with the company or Jeff White. We came across his product review in a forum we belong to while researching. Without further adieu, we give you the Bed Bug Detection system {aka a very familiar rig}

Bed Bug Detection.

We also admit to getting a hearty laugh because we have had some skeptics poo-poo the theory of CO2 injection having anything to do with our infestation. We stand vindicated; by the bug-guys and now Jeff, White. Thanks Jeff.

Link to original post: May 16, 2010

CO2 Use in Aquariums and Bed Bugs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 May 2010 23:14:00 +0000

We promised We would document our tank experiences honestly; the good, the bad and now the very ugly.

Standard disclaimer: we are not scientists, we do not pretend to be. We are keen observers of cause and effect, enabling us to draw conclusions. Our conclusions herewith were confirmed by the professional bug-guys.

     By now most everyone who listens to a radio or watches TV is aware that there is a rise in bed bug infestations in the States. Hotels in New York city were the first to be reported upon a few years ago and now apartment buildings and single family homes in both urban and suburban areas have been infested. The major reason cited for the rise in bed bug infestations is the discontinuation of the use of DDT, for sound reasons. However, bed bug infestations are one of the unplanned for consequences.

     So, you might be wondering what that has to do with the aquarium hobby.
     Plenty if you are injecting CO2; both the DIY and the cylinder versions.

     We had found a long-lasting combination recipe using a two 2L bottle rig. We had found a way to eliminate leaks in the form of our brine-shrimp hatchery caps. We were getting great CO2 distribution for a solid three weeks before having to replace a bottle solution. Life was good, plants were pearling even under reduced lighting, fish were not distressed. The couch was moved right next to the fish-rack to allow an up close and personal view of all the hard work, weeks of research and buckets of ducats spent.

     Then the bite marks started showing up.

     It seems our apartment building has had an infestation for some while. Somehow our apartment was never an attractive place for the voracious little beasties to investigate, until we began juicing our aquariums with DIY CO2.

     The first thing the bug-guys said was; "Move the couch away from your tanks." The second thing they could have said, was not necessary. Now we go completely low-tech.
All broad-leaf and moderate to low light plants.
     NO CO2 of any kind.

     Next we get to have a clear-out in preparation for the bug-guys.
Every exposed shelving unit must be cleared, except for the one where the tanks actually sit. The closet shelf must be cleared, the clothes must be washed in 180F water and sealed in plastic bins. All the furniture must be moved away from the walls. Everything that can be put in storage, must be put in storage, sealed. You can be sure I will be throwing a lot of stuff out just to avoid having to deal with it. All the fabric I have collected for rag rugs will go, the yarn is in plastic bags. It will be sealed in more bins with diatomaceous earth on the bottom of the bins. All the bedding has already been thrown out and the bed removed despite the fact that neither showed any signs of being infested. Sleeping on the couch is a habit that I am glad I did not break. I have super easy to clean modular furniture which sits 18" off the floor and has no skirting for the beasties to climb up.

     The bug-guys have to come out and treat the apartment three times before it will be reasonable to presume the beasties are d.e.a.d. So pretty much the whole summer the apartment will be empty, my loom will not be warped for use and I will be living in my work out clothes, sleeping with my pants tucked into socks and hands wrapped to prevent them from getting to my arms..

     Bed bug infestation is not due to poor housekeeping.
It is due to one thing; bed bugs are attracted to CO2, and they eat one thing - blood.
They hide in the walls, carpets, cloth furniture, wall sockets, heating and cooling duct work, cracks, crevices and crannies. You almost never see them because they are nocturnal.

Some people have used diatomaceous earth as a dusting everywhere on the floors to kill the bugs; however inhaling diatomaceous earth is as bad for your lungs as it is for the bugs. So you have been warned.

Reference Links:
BrickUnderground.com NYC Landlords may have to disclose bed bug infestations to potential renters going back five years.

Harvard School of Public Health "Repeated exposures to bed bug bites during a period of several weeks or more causes people to become sensitized to the saliva of these bugs; additional bites may then result in mild to intense allergic responses." However, bed bugs are not known to carry any diseases like mosquitoes do.

Treating the bites: http://www.bedbugsguide.com/bed-bug-bites.htm

And yes, there are forums and message boards:

http://bedbugger.com/forum/

http://thebedbugresource.com/phpBB2/index.php

Please consider the expense of new mattresses, bedding, bed-bug proof mattress bags, exterminators, clothing, shoes, antihistamines and sanity. Proceed with caution.
Link to Follow-Up, May 22, 2010

Mods and Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:55:00 +0000

This post is not a full how-to on DIYCO2 rigs. There are plenty of forums guides and web pages to tell you how to and why. If you want the blow by blow on DIYCO2 we invite you to read the Aquatic Plant Central thread with pictures and explanations, not unlike Alice's Restaurant. We are concerned here with a couple of simple mods and the actual liquid solution we found most efficient to date.

Now that we have our brine shrimp hatchery caps on the DIYCO2 2L bottles, we finally drilled the water intake of the filter and inserted the outflow from our CO2 into the intake. This modification serves two purposes; first it delivers CO2 to the impeller which then breaks up the bubbles, dissolving them before returning the filtered water to the tank. Second, the filter intake serves as a bubble counter. We are able to see the drop off of bubbling and better monitor changing the DIYCO2 solutions. The more completely dissolved the CO2 is in the water, the more available carbon dioxide there is for plant use. The only bubbles you want floating to the surface are the micro-fine oxygen bubbles plants exhale.

For those of us who do not want to invest in an injected CO2 rig, this solution works well for a ten gallon aquarium. Our DIYCO2 rig sports two 2L bottles; one with long lasting jello solution and one with the standard mix. The bottles were changed out at week and a half intervals. Now we can monitor the drop off of CO2 in each solution more precisely. We may get a full two weeks out of each bottle using these two modifications.

These are the solutions we use:

Long Lasting Jello Solution

1 2L soda bottle and a funnel
1 pkg unflavored gelatin
1c sugar
1 tsp yeast

Into 2c hot water dissolve 1c sugarand 1pkg unflavored geletin, pour into a shallow pan, refrigerate until set
Slice jello into strips 1/2" or less wide, turn pan slice again, the smaller the cubes the easier they go through the funnel into the bottle, when the cubes get stuck, use a skewer or knitting needle to force them through the neck of the funnel

Pour 1pkg yeast into 2L bottle, then fill with water to where the curve of the bottle starts, do not overfill. Cap, insert air hose, shake a gently to help distribute the yeast. You may see the solution begin reacting right away or it may take 1/2hr to 1hr to begin reacting.

If your solution begins to react vigorously and bubbles into the airline hose you can remove the cap, wait until the reaction slows; some place a check valve on the airline hose to prevent solution from entering the tank and tank water from back washing into the hose.
Using a longer air line hose and making a service loop will also keep the solution from entering the tank and vice versa. Some employ an intermediary bottle of plain water to serve the same purpose. Run the CO2 line from the 2L bottle into a smaller, airtight container of plain water, then run another hose from the smaller container to your tank.
{hose from CO2 must be in the plain water, hose from the water to the aquarium must not be in the plain water}
I find these steps unnecessary; we place our solution above our tanks allowing the downward pressure of the CO2 to do the job of the check valve.

The regular DIYCO2 solution:

2L bottle with airline from cap long enough to enter your tank filter or other diffusion device.
2c hot water, to this add 1c sugar, dissolve
1 tsp yeast

The method is essentially the same; dissolve the sugar in very warm water, let cool to tepid
Pour sugar solution into 2L bottle, add yeast, fill with water to bend in bottle. Never put yeast into hot water, you will kill it. Yeast is most active between 86F and 100F. Do Not Overfill.
Cap and position for use with your aquarium. This solution will produce CO2 for 2-3 weeks. You can pour off some of the solution after a week and replace the water plus a teaspoon of sugar, lowering the alcohol content and supplying fresh food for the yeast. If you do this, add the sugar first, then slowly add the water. It will fizz up like champagne, so do it in the sink.

Our Jello solution was made five days ago, it is still putting out 3-5 bubbles per second.

One last note about getting the CO2 into the aquarium water; the Hagen AquaClear Aquarium Filter
has a little hole next to where the intake pipe attaches to the filter, your airline hose will fit into this hole if you thread the top of the AquaClear onto the airline hose first. Do not force the airline hose, it only needs to go in far enough for the friction to hold it in place. Make sure your filter is primed and running when you insert the hose; if the filter is not running, the impeller will sometimes not start when you turn the filter on. The opening slot in the top of the AquaClear is just wide enough to accommodate both the knob on the top of the intake and airline hose. It will be a snug fit.

This method eliminates the need to drill a hole further down the intake tube, as we did in the shot above. We have one AquaClear filter with the drilled intake above and one with airline hose fed directly into the impeller box. There is no discernible difference in performance between the two methods.

Feel free to leave comments or ask questions. Below is a list of video clips showing various methods of rigging your DIYC02. We have not tried all the rigs, we concentrated on finding the most efficient liquid solution to produce CO2.

Quick Directions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edoUwvaVy-M
The Full Explanation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZFM9ZpaqGM&feature=related part 1 of 2, we love this kid. He did a really good job teaching.
Pt 2, The Diffuser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaVqxwaF8Y0&feature=related have we said we love this kid?
Alternative Bottle w/Better Seal? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1LygSE0ByY

As always thanks for reading. Comments and questions are always welcome.

A Weedy Mess, again

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:11:00 +0000

We are supposed to learn from our mistake; it is said a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

Not having learned from the weedy mess of a failed attempt at cultivating Ludwigia Needle Leaf; we again have a weedy mess in the form of poorly anchored Cabomba and Didiplis diandra, disintegrating at half the rate the Ludwigia had.

The 10g:redux never really was rescaped when the new plant shipment came in; getting that moss wall started in the 10g:view was time sensitive. Sorry about the soft focus on some of these shots.

The planting in this tank does not look all that dense however all the taller plants ended up in the mid-ground.
The Cambomba will be moved to the back of the tank, the Giant Hairgrass is all but gone.

The Cabomba grew tall but did not branch due to lack of
pruning. As a result, it ended up making a canopy across the
top of the aquarium, competing with our patch of floating Riccia.

The moss wall has a start however we reserved quite a bit in case of disaster and hung it in a mesh bag. The moss wall is not growing through, perhaps moving the plants out of the way and laying it down so that the fronds grow toward the light will help speed things along.

In the meantime the silicone holding the airline into the caps of the DIY CO2 bottles tends to work it's way loose after a month or two. So a solution that does not involve stinking up the apartment every other month had to be found.

The cap on the right is a Brine Shrimp breeding cap. For size comparison, the cap on the right is a standard US 2L soda bottle cap. As you might guess; a perfect fit with no leaks. The brine shrimp cap can be purchased on ebay [here].

While cleaning out the bottles, we discovered after two weeks, this DIYCO2 jello based solution still had jello solids in the bottom.

Just for fun, we poured off the excess alcohol/water mixture from two weeks of CO2 production. Before we could finish preparing a new sugar solution, the leftover yeast became active and started processing the newly exposed jello.

Back in the 10g:redux, we can see around the tank again. The Aponogeton is still alive and sending up leaves; we had given it up for dormant. There is one strand of Giant Hairgrass and the Dwarf Hairgrass has been removed from the pots, as much rockwool as possible was removed and it was planted in the right front corner and the left front corner.

There is quite a bit of Cobomba left in the champagne bucket to be replanted on the back wall. It grew roots from the center of the stems down into the substrate so, it will be topped and ~~shoved~~ gently placed into the substrate.

The strange, dark looking thing on the left is a DIY filter sock. It was fabricated of a thin layer of filter fiber between two layers of net tulle. It serves as a pre-filter, should we ever have livestock offspring again, they will not end up sucked into the filter. Cleaning this little sock is pretty simple, pull it off the intake, run it under water from the tap, replace it. If we catch it every time it looks dirty, as it does in this shot, it keeps a lot of gunk out of our filter and acts to breed some beneficial bacteria as well.

That is it for today. When the second tank refills, we will post some night shots, without the annoying glare on the glass.

Mail Order Shrimp, Snails & Heat Packs; A cautionary tale.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:46:00 +0000

As mentioned previously, there was another Olive
and another Tiger on their way along with some
plant and Amanos.

I tried a new supplier because I wanted to see
if I could consolidate shipping cost by finding a
supplier who had all the items I wanted for this
shipment. I am unhappy.

I ordered 5 Amanos and two Tiger Nerites from the
new supplier. I received a notice after purchase that
the supplier was moving to a new location but by then
I had already put in a second order for another Tiger
and another Olive nerite plus a plant order. Due to the
suppliers notice that shipping would be delayed, I
immediately requested the orders be combined
and set a specific date before which I could not take
delivery. Any time after was fine. They got that
part half right, the delivery date.

They did not combine my orders, had they my Amanos
could have ridden along with my Riccia or another plant.
The Amanos arrived D.O.A. within 36-48 hrs of leaving
the facility. Whomever their supplier is for heat packs,
the supplier puts out a good product. Maybe too good.
The interior of the box was warm, maybe 80-85 and I
could smell fishy-ness before removing the insulating
newspaper. I did not think anything of it, could have
been spilled tank water.

The Amanos were in dirty water, with duckweed, no plant
of any kind. They were already salmon colored and
deteriorating. Had they survived, all were adults,
not a single juvenile. I took pictures and sent
an email notification immediately. No response.

The two Tiger nerites as noted previously arrived live,
were in clean bags both times and are
munching their way around the tank.

The next day the plants, second Olive and third Tiger arrived.
Tiger was D.O.A., Olive was pond snail size but alive.
The Riccia portion was in a little cup, all the water
having spilled into the package. Doubtful this will
survive either.

I will never order from this supplier again. Not solely because
I am out for shipping on two orders, the cost of five Amanos
and a Tiger nerite but because to date, the supplier has
not acknowledged either email. I am conflicted as to
whether I should name this supplier at this point.
The "vengeance is mine" part of me has no problem outing
a bad business practice. However, I do not know what
sort of issues the human being on the other end of this
transaction has. Would this other human being make good
in some other way, this transaction if he knew it has gone
sour in my book? And how long do I wait patiently for
an email acknowledging my dissatisfaction?

Pondering ethics, lack of shrimp and world peace . . .

Editor's Note: I just checked the date of the announcement
for the supplier's shipment of Amanos; seems I ordered
on the day of the announcement. In this case I must ask
myself and the supplier; "Did you quarantine these Amano
Shrimp before offering them for sale?"

Seems not.

The Algae Crew

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:15:00 +0000

In the ongoing effort to battle algae, we noted
we moved the fish-rack and reduced the photo-period.
Now we are adding Nerite snails in the 10g:view;
the tank with the worst problems.

This is our Olive Nerite, or rather our 'eggplant' nerite as you can see. He/She has
been in the tank for about ten days and has been busy munching his/her way through the algae on the glass and banana plant. Not in an orderly way we note but
the job is getting done.

Yesterday two Tiger Nerites arrived to assist. They slid out of the fish bag, piggyback. Safety in numbers. Once out of the bag they went their separate ways to avoid the hunter b. splendens who could care less for a change. Both found something interesting to do in short order as you will see.

One made it's way to the back of the tank, post haste. This one found the Radican Marble Queen to be a comfortable place to rest and then was off on it's own journey. Both have been seen sampling on the glass in the last ten or so hours.

One more Olive and a Tiger are on their way to join their mates, shortly.

There are new plants in the shrimparium, received a week or so ago. However, due to an out of town convention, no shots are available at this time. Updates to come when the new livestock arrives in the next two or three days.

Fish Village Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:44:00 +0000

The recent algae outbreak forced a decision to move the whole fish rack again. The rack is now no longer in front of the windows. The flooding of direct sunlight and the shop light T8 tubes, even with a reduced photo period to seven hours per day, was just too much light. The photo period has been raised again to nine hours per day. There is still some residual algae on the lower part of the aquarium glass near the substrate. This can be easily managed by the addition of some Olive and Tiger nerite snails.

The move caused a significant White Cloud Mountain minnow fry die-off. This was totally our fault. There was not enough water left in the tanks as we moved them. Sad about the loss of fry and will be more careful in the future. So the remaining population are all at least 1/4" to 3/4" long and there are four in the 10g:redux Shrimparium, four in the 10g:view planted tank, plus the three original parents in the 10g:view. Not bad for our first fry, especially since they were totally unplanned for. We also lost one of the three neon tetras. Not sure why, it died two days after the move.

The nice surprise just after the new year was two berried American glass shrimp as we posted earlier. They have been moved to a five gallon aquarium with one male. They survived the move, seem not to have dropped any eggs, having been in the five gallon aquarium for a week now. They are due to hatch shrimplets anywhere in the next week or two as best as we can figure. This is very exciting as these are the babies we actually wanted.

A new camera is wending its way to us but it may be as much as two weeks before it arrives therefore; no pictures at this time.

Tank Logs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Tank logging is the practice of keeping statistics on your aquariums. It can be as simple as a blank book with hand written notes to as sophisticated as pie charts and photos.

In order to properly cycle a new tank, one very important task is to document your water chemistry readings every day. These statistics, water parameters or 'chems' as we have nicknamed them, tell you how much ammonia you will need to dose your aquarium with every day during the cycle as well as giving you a good indicator of when your tank is stable enough to add fish. For a very thorough explanation of the nitrogen cycle use this [link]

What types of information do we need, when and what do they tell us?

The water test kit you purchased when you purchased your aquarium set up hardware should include the following tests, ph, ammonia {NH(3)}, nitrIte {NO(2)}, nitrAte {NO(3)} and most master kits include a test for ph2 or high ph. Additionally, you should have purchased GH {general hardness} and kH {carbonate hardness} solutions and a thermometer.

So, to set up the simplest log for this information, create a daily entry system that looks like this in your blank book. You can put your dose of ammonia in the notes space as well as any other observations. The ______ day in cycle field was very useful for tracking how long our tanks had been cycling as well as the named day of the week. Once in a while you will notice something and think it not important enough to note. Having the day of the week recorded is useful in reconstructing events. This simple notation structure was what we first used, usually two entries per page in a 5x7 book. Occasionally there was only one entry per page as we had extra notes such as a plant list or equipment list.

We then transferred our readings to very nice, free tank log on Badman's Tropical Fish website. Their tank log system is more extensive than this simple format. It gives you a place to record multiple tanks, equipment and livestock as well as some other nice features. This was extremely helpful for research purposes and comparing hardware specifications. Our tank chem readings and records were the first thing we did every morning while the coffee was brewing. Truth be told, our tank logs have fallen into disarray as we have not kept up the dual logging system we started with. Nevertheless, these logs are very important; you can see our 10g:view log here.

The reason the dual logging system fell into disarray is that we were recording the same information twice, every morning. Not such a big deal, except that class schedule got in the way and something had to go. We looked online for free tank log software; sadly there are not many choices and "free download" does not mean "free software". Our requirements for the software we chose to test are as follows:

Free: this is nothing more than a simple database so paying an arm and a leg was out of the question for a student. We were willing to go as high as $20.oo, as we believe a workman is worth his wages. Programmers have to eat, too.
Specifically for or customizable to fresh water flora and fauna. Seems the reef keepers need to test and document many more parameters than fresh water aqua-culturists. All that extra recording space is bound to be confusing to someone brand new to the aquarium hobby.
Printable: the ability to print out whatever information one chooses. Hardware specifications, water chems, fish statistics; any and all information one might need to take on a road trip to a fish store an hour away or more.

In addition to Badman's Tropical Fish tank log monitoring online, we also tried another site today. Tankkeeper.com has many of the same features as does the system at Badman's. In addition there is a sub module that allows tank keepers to document where they bought hardware and at what price-point. Very useful when making sure you get the price matching discounts advertised.
For our purposes, if we continue to use an online record keeping system, we will stick with our account at Badman's Tropical Fish.

To the software choices; we chose to test Aqua Log and Aquarium Lab. Aquarium Lab by SeaApple software is a very nice looking, feature rich program. However, it is designed with reef aquarists in mind. There are many things in this program that do not pertain to fresh water aquarists therefore; it would be somewhat confusing for the novice aquarist. However, the experienced aquarist might find it useful. At $24.95 it was just over budget.

Aqua Log on the other hand does just what we wanted a piece of software to do, record our data. It will post reminders when the program is opened based on your predefined schedule. However, that schedule is based upon the first entry of a particular item and the number of days you specify before the next action is due. For example, if we entered water change data for December 24, 2009 and set the interval for a water change to 7 days, we would get a reminder for a seven day interval. If we were monitoring something like medication in the tank, we would have to set up a different reminder evem if it were related to water changes.

The price is right, free. It does output to either a text file for importing into Excel or Calculator in Open Office or you can view it as a web page. This is where for us, it falls down. The formatting for viewing as an HTML document is so old, it does not have even a basic style sheet. As a result the table created for each entry has those thick, raised lines, we do not like those. Anyone with a bit of HTML/CSS style sheet knowledge could easily clean up the output by copying it from the html page source and slapping it into another page with a properly formatted CSS style sheet in the header. Piece of cake but not for a novice.

This program also gives you the ability to print a blank data form for notes or to take with you on that road trip. However; if you want to print your actual data log, better do it from an Excel or Calculator spreadsheet. You will have much more control over the final print.

That wraps up this combined article on tank logging, what you need to know during tank cycling as well as a super-quick review of some tools to help you out. We hope you found this information useful.
The image of the tank data sheet up there at the beginning of this article was created as a 3x5" image to demonstrate how little space and effort daily logging takes. It has been downsized to fit the article. The benefits of tank logging can save your foggy memory and some cash on occasion.

In this series:

Holiday Aquarium Purchasing

Newly Purchased Tanks

New Tank Cycling & Acclimation Phase I

Tank Logs - this article

Newly Purchased Tanks ~

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:06:00 +0000

So, some caved in and bought the tank or received one for Christmas; welcome to the aquarium hobby!

For those of you who have not set up your tank yet, we thought we would insert some embarrassing shots of mistakes at this point in the series, in hopes of steering you clear of some pitfalls. For those of you who did not go to Grandma's and have already started filling your tank, we hope this article answers some questions as well. Fishless Cycling was covered on December 20, 2009 in an article entitled "New Tank Acclimation, Phase I" Fishless Cycling comes after these set-up tips.

If you have dry driftwood, start soaking it in a bucket of water. It will take about two weeks for it to become saturated. Yes really, sorry. However, you are doing a fish-less cycle, right? Not a big deal, by the time your cycle is complete, your driftwood will be saturated.

The first thing you should do with a new tank is check for leaks by filling it. Pretty simple, right? New tanks have been known to leak on rare occasion; the 10g:view leaked after three weeks. We never did find out what caused the leak, the silicone sealing was fine, there were no cracks in the glass, it is a mystery.
A 24 hour test should be sufficient, yes really.

Next we clean the inside glass with plain old vinegar and newspaper or paper towel. Do not use glass cleaner. {period} If there is no vinegar in the house, use the plain, pure ammonia you bought for your fish-less cycle. {It was on the list in the article on Holiday Aquarium Purchasing}

You will be surprised at how quickly the glass gets dirty and smudged. Now we are ready for the substrate; whatever you use for substrate, wash it thoroughly. The substrate has been tossed around, rubbed against itself and a fine dust will cover everything. Do not expect your filter to clean that stuff up, see stupidity here --->

This is what happens when we do not read the distructions, we end up with an embarrassing, frustrating mess. The substrate can be washed in a strainer or colander, if the holes are small enough to prevent the substrate particles from falling through. A hair strainer for your drain will help keep that stuff out of the drain, or a piece of cheese cloth will work as well.

Despite best efforts, the water will be cloudy but not as bad as this. There may be some silt dust on the glass but it is not serious, as we have already cleaned the inside glass of anything greasy or oily that would trap silt particles, leading to potential scratching. The best way to keep the remaining silt to a minimum is to partially fill the aquarium by 1/3, then siphon out that water. Then start your refilling with conditioned water. Water conditioner is super important in your fresh, out-of-the-tap water. It removes chlorides and chlorine. Do not skip the purchase of this stuff. Chlorides in your water will kill your beneficial bacteria crop and your fish. If you are using a bucket or gallon jug, place a soup bowl or dinner plate into the aquarium and gently pour the water onto that surface. The bowl or plate will diffuse the water current and keep everything from rising into the water column.

A second option, which we use, is the "gentle-fill" method.
In our fish-village, we have a nice metro-style, fish rack. Our shop light {not seen here} is suspended from a shelf above the two ten gallon tanks. We lucked out and acquired two five gallon carboys for $5. One is used for gentle fill, the other is used for waste water drain. We take silly pride in our carboys. The same can be achieved with a bucket or tub. A piece of air hose cut to length, one end weighted in the bottom of the carboy or bucket, the other end dropped into the tank. The benefits of this method are; little if any disturbance of the substrate, condition all the water needed for a refill or water change all at once and less work while doing tank maintenance. We can actually sit down and write while the gentle fill is taking place. Great solution if you do not have access to a full-fledged fish room, or your water source is too far away to be practical. Cheap and efficient, we love that!

That is more like it. The cloudiness is minor, our filter can certainly handle it within an hour or two. We filled the tank for demonstration purposes, you should fill your tank one half to two thirds full if you have long arms. Planting and arranging is best done in a tank with less water, not more.

Should you be adding hard-scape such as driftwood, rocks or shelving to create layers, it should be done before your final half to two thirds fill. It is much easier to work with a half filled tank than to frustrate yourself sloshing water all over the place. Driftwood should have been soaked for two weeks or so prior to starting this part of your aquarium project. Dry driftwood floats, hence the name. If you did not soak your driftwood, you can weigh it down with something. Plants go in next, pay attention to two things; your eye travels naturally from bottom left to top right. Place your plants according to the natural way the eye travels. Second, you eye will target the upper, right corner of dead center, that is where you want your focal point to be. Specimen plants or optical focus should be in that area. Attach your hardware before getting to the fussy part of small plant placement. When you are satisfied, top off the tank and start your hardware up.

Sit where you would normally to watch the tank. Watch it during daylight and with all the lights off except the tank light. This will give you a good idea of what your final project will look like. Something not quite right? Now is the time to fix it by moving things around, before your livestock moves to into the tank.

Now you wait. You can re-read New Tank Acclimation, Phase I, research livestock or join an online community of experienced aquarists. We suggest all three. Our experience is that aquarists are vey friendly and helpful. No question is too lame, they are happy to help.

We reviewed the AqAdvisor, Aquarium Advisor on our old site a month or so ago. It is a great stocking tool, designed to help you make choices about which fish and shrimp will work well in your tank. It will give you warnings if you are planning to stock fish that are not compatible or too many fish for your tank size and filtration. Give it a try, questions and feedback are welcomed by the developer. They help him as much as they help you.

That is about it for this article. Next article we will be covering tank logging. As always, your comments and feedback on our experiences are welcome.

In this series:

Holiday Aquarium Purchasing

Newly Purchased Tanks ~ this article

New Tank Cycling & Acclimation Phase I

Tanked Cam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:15:00 +0000

We are taking the lazy post way today as it is Sunday and we are moving fry and cleaning the nursery tank. We are preparing the nursery tank for two for two American glass shrimp we think are berried. American glass shrimp are not the easiest shrimp to breed in captivity, nor are they the most difficult.

When we cleaned out the 10g:view of all the algae mess, we found a blue tinged American glass we had not seen since it {she?} and four of her tank mates had been tasked with feasting in the algae crops. Upon observing it, we noticed it had gotten bigger and fatter? We looked and looked, finally hauling out "shrimp-view" but it was difficult to tell.

While futzing around with moving fry, we decided the alpha-fry must go into the parent's planted tank, the 10g:view, to learn to be a good citizen of fish-village. So off to school alpha-fry went. We have been holding our breath all morning. So far, so good, nobody cares about the lone small-fry in the tank. We think the Neon Tetra shoal provided caviar yesterday for a snack today anyway. We did a fast count of the fry we and came up with 11. That is a pretty consistent count over the last two weeks or so. The 10g:redux /shrimparium/plant grow-out is home now to some as yet, unidentified fry. We are going out on a limb and returning to our original guess; White Cloud Mountain minnows. Moving along to today's featured site . . .

TankedCam.com

We are generating a Listorious list for aqua-culture; while working on that list this morning we ran across a cool idea for anyone who spends more time away from their aquariums than they would like. It is not a new idea to the Internet; in fact the idea has been around for ten years or so. TheBlowfish who promotes the idea, updated "remote control over the net" to include an iPhone app, very clever. He can feed his fish, turn on or off, the O2 bubbler, lights and a few more things.

You an control some of the features of his TankedCam either via iPhone or on your PC @ www.Tankedcam.com. But wait, it gets better . . . control your own tank via www.WaveJam.com!

Yeah, if there is any cash Santa Claus did not have time to drop off, we may just investigate further. However; do not wait on us, get your own tank cam.

Merry Christmas from Fish Village

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:00:00 +0000

My Christmas present to myself was restoring a view through the 10g:view. We have had algae, lots and lots of algae. Miserable amounts of three types
at last count. The worst by far was the hair-algae. I tried an Oto a month ago but the poor little guy did not survive transportation shock despite my
best transportation and acclimation scheme.
{read more . . . }

Tank Cycling & Acclimation Phase I

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:02:00 +0000

This is a follow-up to "Holiday Aquarium Purchasing" published on December 9, 2009 @ giypsy.wordpress.com; this is the second article in the series "New Aquarium".

For those of you who wish to know what tank cycling method was used on our aquariums, this [link] will take you to the forum post by rdd1952, a forum moderator at Tropical Fish Forums. Here are our experiences with cycling two 10g and one 5g tank.

Our setup for the 10:view tank included an Aqua Clear 20 filter, a Stealth 100 heater and 2.5" of Fluorite Black substrate. We also bought a Master Water Test kit; our kit is the API Master Kit. It was a crucial part of the cycling process as we needed to know the baseline ph of our tap water as well as some chemical levels present in the water on a daily basis. In addition to the master test kit, we purchased GH - general water hardness test solution and kH - carbonate hardness test solution. For a technical explanation of the nitrogen cycle, see this [link], and for an explanation of GH & kH, see this [link].

The plants included Japanese Marimo algae balls, an Anubis Petite nana, a Barclaya longifolia, a Java Fern, Lace and a small Banana Plant. We did not put any fish or shrimp into this tank, as we were doing a fish-less cycle. Our tap water ph is 7.6 therefore; our base ph was 7.6.
The initial dose of ammonia was 3ml which gave us a base read after an hour of 5ppm NH(3) - ammonia. Tank temperature was kept between 80 & 84f. A slightly higher temperature encourages bacteria growth.

Our calculation for a 10 gallon tank was a daily dose of 2ml to achieve 4ppm ammonia level on a daily basis. On day six of this regimen we recorded our first NO(2) - nitrIte level at 0.5ppm and our first NO(3) - nitrAte level at 7ppm. What that told us was that there were beneficial bacteria, in high enough numbers to begin processing the NH(3) we were dosing every morning. Our NH(3) - ammonia level that morning was still at 2ppm, we did not dose that morning.

The next three weeks were long and boring. We measured chem levels, we dosed, we did water changes, we started reading forums, doing plant research, bought more plants and tore up the living room to make room for a "fish-rack" for our "fish-village". We also shot quite a few photos of every tank re-scape we thought was the final aqua-scaping plan.

At the end of three weeks our ammonia NH(3) levels were reading 0ppm, our nitrIte NO(2) and our nitrAte NO(3) levels were also 0ppm. We decided to do a final test; dose 1ml ammonia to bring our reading to 2ppm and then test after 12 hours and 24 hours. Our tests indicated the 2ppm amount of ammonia could be processed by the beneficial bacteria in less than 24 hours; we were ready to acclimate the fish in the tank. We used the very cautious and conservative drip method to acclimate our fish over a three hour period with no problems. Drip acclimation will be covered in a future post.

Our 5 gallon and second 10 gallon cycle was speeded up somewhat, at least enough to move established plants, fish and shrimp around between the three tanks. We achieved this by taking 1/2" of the Fluorlite substrate, including the mulm, the organic wastes and bacteria present in the substrate, out of the cycled 10g:view tank for each of the two other tanks. We upgraded the 10g;view filter and used the extra filter with it's current bacteria in the filter media, to filter each new tank. In other words, we took the filter, washed the media in old tank water to prevent clogging, and placed it on the next tank to be cycled. In doing this, we did not have to wait to add fish or shrimp. We did have to test the water every morning but did not have to dose with ammonia - NH(3) as the livestock provided the ammonia in the form of their waste. This method is not the same as a "fish cycle".

The term "tank cycling" is somewhat misleading in that your tank may take anywhere from three to six weeks to achieve the beneficial bacteria level we have just described. Your tank is not really finished cycling yet. Once you begin adding fish, shrimp, more plants, you change the dynamic in the tank. Upon completing your tank cycling, you add your fish a few at a time over a few weeks; your tank water is crystal clear, everyone is happy. Then you notice a filmy, oily, scummy substance on the surface. Maybe your water turned cloudy or milky overnight. Or you see an algae farm growing on your glass, plants, decorations and substrate. Perhaps there is "snot" growing on the air-stone you use for CO2, or your bubble infuser. "Snot" is a descriptive term some of us hobbyists use to describe what can look like a white or creamy-yellowish growth on the above mentioned equipment. So we are repackaging the "new tank syndrome" into two phases we will call "tank acclimation phase I & II.

Tank Acclimation, Phase I

The scummy, oily surface cover was explained in "Aqueon vs Aqua Clear Filter". So let us break it down, problem by problem; keeping in mind the "one problem at a time" rule.

Cloudy Water overnight or within a few hours: the most likely cause is "bacterial bloom". Something caused a rapid increase in bacterial growth enough to make your water cloudy. Nothing really serious about this phenomena. It happens after a large water change, especially if you have vacuumed your substrate pretty well or you have added too many fish at once. It should clear on it's own within 24 hours.

The Algae Farm: has been covered at the old blog site; we recommend either Jame's Planted Tank or Algae ID as useful resources to both identify the types of algae you have and find remedies. Currently, our 10g: view planted tank has outstanding crops of three types of algae we will show embarrassing photos of in another post. Three things should be investigated first; 1) is your filter clean and free of obstructions? Yep, we will probably always nag you about keeping your filter clean. 2) If you are using high light; for example a shop light or the very expensive T5 fixture, is your timer set to no more than 10 hours per day? 3) If you are dosing fertilizers to get fast plant growth, are you under-dosing? If you are, you might want to make adjustments. Dusko Bojicof Algae ID has some great information to help you correct the problem. You may need to add CO(2) - carbon dioxide to your water or you may need an air-stone or slightly larger filter to increase water circulation.
The "Snot" issue. We did not come up with the term, but it is descriptive. It is a creamy yellowish or white growth on your air-stone or infuser. It is a growth related to the injection of CO(2). Just clean the equipment when you notice it.

Tank Acclimation Phase I can last a few months during which time you may look back to the boring days of tank cycling with fond nostalgia. However, this too shall pass. Remember these things:

Keep the filter and media cleaned and well maintained, free of obstructions, changing your media sachets successively, not all at the same time. This method insures your beneficial bacteria colonies will regenerate without your tank crashing.
Add livestock at spaced intervals, one or two fish per week, in the case of shoaling fish such as neon tetras and white cloud mountain minnows, add the shoal (5 fish group) and nothing else for a couple of weeks.
Do not miss your regular water changes, if your circumstances prevent it on the regular day, do it the next day. Clean water = healthy tank, flora and fauna.

We hope you have found this information helpful. As always, we welcome your feedback.

Editor's Update:
The National Science Foundation published an interesting article regarding the behavior of bacteria. While not specifically targeting the behavior of aquarium beneficial bacteria, the article gives some interesting insights into the general behavior; interesting and useful to aquarists.
[link to: Tank Acclimation Follow Up: Secrets of Bacteria]

The Planted Tank Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:18:00 +0000

giypsy ~ December 16, 2009

During the process of re-learning good fish-keeping habits, I ran across a tank that brought back memories of the first serious tank I kept as an adolescent. Jason Baliban's Second Place winner in the 2008 AGA [Aquatic-Gardeners.org] contest: "Meander". Jason's tank had all the elements that inspired me; large enough to accommodate a full scene, rimless and endless view, simple balanced design. I was enchanted and inspired.

The 10g tank-with-a-view is a direct result of that inspiration.
The tank is placed in front of a narrow window, allowing me the same endless view through the tank. The 10g:view tank's planting scheme has not come together yet. The end result will be different than "Meander". However; I just had to know if I could achieve something similar on a scale one tenth of the size Jason used.

Time and patience will tell.

Flora

Radican Marble Queen, mother plant & daughter plant
Cryptocoryne Lutea
Banana Plant
Anubis Petit nana

Fauna

Betta Splendens, female
3 Neon Tetra, fry in a nursery tank
3 White Cloud Mountain minnows
12 Malaysian Trumpet snails

New Content Home for Giypsy: aqua gillie

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Greetings;
Yes we are moving our content, in order to facilitate
easier content aggregation.
Upon logging in to the blog we have worked on for two months, we found uberVu had visited us and reposted our content. We appreciate anyone who thinks our content is useful therefore;
we visited uberVu website and found a nifty little feedback widget we liked very much. You can see it at the bottom of our posts. Sadly, we could not use it on the host we have been working with.
So, we moved the publishing to blogger by Google.

We will continue to publish our content, in modified format, at our former address: giypsy.wordpress.com.

Additionally, we have created a Posterus.com account to try to get a handle on our twitter update feed by brute force. In the past we have logged into our twitter account only to find we have annoyed our followers with multiple re-posts of the same thing, today was no exception.
We do not like it when those we follow practice that sort of shot-gun tweet-spam, we choose to try not to annoy our followers either.
Trying is the operative term.

You will notice our layout is different, we have post pages but we have not decided if we will continue the individual tank logs we were fooling around with at our previous address. Our site and product reviews will continue, the link lists will be reconstructed here shortly, as will the articles we started writing on new tanks for those new to the fish-keeping and aquatic plant hobby.

It is our sincere desire to write well and provide useful content. We acknowledge the changes may not appear all that earthshaking but on the back end, for the purpose of management and prompt responses to user comments, believe us it makes a world of difference.
Thank you for continuing to read.