Miscellaneous Questions/Rambling: Dec 16

[BenB]

Ever wanted to ask a question but not start a whole thread for it? Do it here with me. Let's chat. I'll start.

1. I'm waffling on getting a new surface skimmer. I have the Eheim 600. It works great. The filters are so expensive. I've been DIY'ing my own, but I'm getting tired of it. I have to change it out every week because it clogs with algae and gunk. I now have some filter mesh with a larger pore size like the Chihiros skimmers. I've realized that they don't actually filter anything. They just push the gunk down and keep the surface clean. I was thinking if the new stuff with the big pore size works better, I'll keep it, but it also has too strong an output and pushes my plants sideways. The Chihiros has an adjustable output, I believe, and it comes out the bottom. Thoughts?

2. My macros have contaminated. I put in K Sorbate and ascorbic acid. Am I right in remembering that they are still OK with a little mold growing in them? My plants seem fine.

3. Some of my Blood Vomits lost their roots. Kinda weird because they are growing OK. Anyone have any suggestions on how to weigh/tie down such small plants?

4. What is the plural of Vomit anyway? Vomits Vomiti

 

[*Ci*]

Ever wanted to ask a question but not start a whole thread for it? Do it here with me. Let's chat. I'll start.

1. I'm waffling on getting a new surface skimmer. I have the Eheim 600. It works great. The filters are so expensive. I've been DIY'ing my own, but I'm getting tired of it. I have to change it out every week because it clogs with algae and gunk. I now have some filter mesh with a larger pore size like the Chihiros skimmers. I've realized that they don't actually filter anything. They just push the gunk down and keep the surface clean. I was thinking if the new stuff with the big pore size works better, I'll keep it, but it also has too strong an output and pushes my plants sideways. The Chihiros has an adjustable output, I believe, and it comes out the bottom. Thoughts?

2. My macros have contaminated. I put in K Sorbate and ascorbic acid. Am I right in remembering that they are still OK with a little mold growing in them? My plants seem fine.

3. Some of my Blood Vomits lost their roots. Kinda weird because they are growing OK. Anyone have any suggestions on how to weigh/tie down such small plants?

4. What is the plural of Vomit anyway? Vomits Vomiti

1. I have both an eheim and an oase skimmer - both have a small piece of foam (the ehiem a little denser), both seem easy to rinse (once a week) and I’ve only replaced one, diy. I only run mine at night to cut the noise (fairly quiet, though they may be). If yours are getting so clogged they can’t be rinsed out easily then I would wonder why so much debris is floating around the tank, and address that.
I don’t think any brand would be better or worse, they all depend on some kind of foam filter.

2. I was getting mold in multiple of my solutions when I first started premixing in bulk, using a standard of .4gr potassium sorbate and 10 ml household vinegar to 1000ml water. Macros, micros, calcium chloride, magnesium … a bunch were affected. So I increased to 1.5 gr p-sorbate and 20 ml. vinegar and now have no problem.
Also, I filtered the moldy solutions through a paper coffee filter and used them anyway. Seems to have been fine.

3. Once, when I was trying to get tiny bunches of hairgrass to root. I cut some of those lead strips you get with bunched plants into extremely thin long strips, bent them into u -shapes and used them to “pin” the plants down into the substrate - worked good for my purposes. The cut easily with a scissor.


4. I vote for “vomits” but there’s this:

 

[*Ci*]

My question is:

Is there a “guaranteed “ way to clean snails/snail eggs off of plants before they go into your tank?

My upcoming new tank will be drilled with a sump and I do not want any snails in the system! I have some plants from snail ridden tanks that I would like to move over, but only if I could be sure …

We could keep this thread going long & strong if everyone who gives a response must then ask a question of their own (question tax, lol) … just an idea.

 

[HarryL]

I have mold growing in the micros solution, but I'm even more lazy and just dose them into the tank anyways...

 

[techman81]

My question is:

Is there a “guaranteed “ way to clean snails/snail eggs off of plants before they go into your tank?

My upcoming new tank will be drilled with a sump and I do not want any snails in the system! I have some plants from snail ridden tanks that I would like to move over, but only if I could be sure …

We could keep this thread going long & strong if everyone who gives a response must then ask a question of their own (question tax, lol) … just an idea.

Sorry, but I think the only 100% guarantee is to use only tissue culture plants.

So I have to now ask a question? Ok.

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

 

[techman81]

I was thinking if the new stuff with the big pore size works better, I'll keep it, but it also has too strong an output and pushes my plants sideways. The Chihiros has an adjustable output, I believe, and it comes out the bottom. Thoughts?

You might be able to get one of us with 3D printers to print you an output diffuser for your Eheim. Pretty sure there are a number of CAD files out there for that already. Just say pretty please and pay shipping.

 

[*Ci*]

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

What do you mean? An African or European swallow?

Edit - We could keep this thread going long & strong if everyone who gives a response must then ask an aquarium related question of their own (question tax, lol) … just an idea.

 

[BigWave]

Is there a “guaranteed “ way to clean snails/snail eggs off of plants before they go into your tank?

Only true way is like said buy Tissue Culture plants or dip your plants in alum Aluminum Sulfate but the problem of doing that is the contact time. The longer the dip the better it penitrates and drys out the snail eggs but the downside is the plant matter takes that much more of a hit. Bleach, Excel etc will kill the adult and larva starges but wont kill the eggs.

2. My macros have contaminated. I put in K Sorbate and ascorbic acid. Am I right in remembering that they are still OK with a little mold growing in them? My plants seem fine.

Potassium sorbate is a common food preservitive. Its in everything. It inhibits the growth of mold, yeast, bacteria etc by breaking the cell membrains. You likely did not add enought. Typically it is 0.25 grams per 500 mL. Ascorbic Acid lowers the pH of the solution. Its normally added at 0.50 grams per 500mL.

My question: Is it an over indulgance to buy the Chihiros Magnetic Stirrer to go along with your fancy Chihiros Dosing Pump?

Chihiros Dosing Pump System - Chihiros Aquatic Studio

The world's first professional freshwater aquascape dosing system, also suitable for marine saltwater tank. - Chihiros Aquatic Studio

www.chihirosaquaticstudio.com

Chihiros Magnetic Stirrer - Dosing System | Glass Aqua

Ensure even nutrient distribution for your planted aquarium or reef tank with the Chihiros Magnetic Stirrer, designed for use with the Chihiros Dosing System.

shop.glassaqua.com

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I use the stirrer for my @Burr740 micros, which settle over time. It's a great stirrer device!

 

[Pepere]

I'm waffling on getting a new surface skimmer.

Ever thought of getting a glass lily intake with skimmer? Deliver all of the crud right into the filter…

 

[BenB]

1. I only run mine at night to cut the noise (fairly quiet, though they may be). If yours are getting so clogged they can’t be rinsed out easily then I would wonder why so much debris is floating around the tank, and address that.
I don’t think any brand would be better or worse, they all depend on some kind of foam filter.

Yeah, mine is pretty quiet, but every now and then you can hear it gurgling. I think the foam gets clogged because it eventually grows too much algae. The pore size of what I have now is huge, so we'll see how that goes. The Oase is only like $29, so I'm not sure what the big deal is except that I don't want to buy another, just to run into the same issue.

2. I was getting mold in multiple of my solutions when I first started premixing in bulk, using a standard of .4gr potassium sorbate and 10 ml household vinegar to 1000ml water. Macros, micros, calcium chloride, magnesium … a bunch were affected. So I increased to 1.5 gr p-sorbate and 20 ml. vinegar and now have no problem.
Also, I filtered the moldy solutions through a paper coffee filter and used them anyway. Seems to have been fine.

OK, yeah, I was using the same concentration. I didn't have any trouble until I added Fe to my macro mix. I'm almost due to make another round of macros. I'll use your amounts and see how that goes. Might double the ascorbic acid instead since i already have it.

3. some of those lead strips you get with bunched plants into extremely thin long strips, bent them into u -shapes and used them to “pin” the plants down into the substrate - worked good for my purposes. The cut easily with a scissor.

I have some of those. I have this big Eriocaulon that doesn't like to stay down, so I bought some. My Vomits are smaller than what you're cutting there, but it's still worth some sort of try.

4. I vote for “vomits” but there’s this:

Screw AI. Let's stick with vomits.

 

[BenB]

Is there a “guaranteed “ way to clean snails/snail eggs off of plants before they go into your tank?

Did you ever try that method I've seen discussed here that uses carbonated water? I think that's what it was.

We could keep this thread going long & strong

In the Suggestions section, I suggested we make a new "What did you do with your tank this week" thread every week. It didn't get any traction. This could be the answer. I just have random thoughts/questions every now and then and don't want to start a new thread. Also, I think it's fun to sort of chat. We hijacked @Gwad 's journal a bit much one time, but it was fun. Maybe others feel the same.

You might be able to get one of us with 3D printers to print you an output diffuser for your Eheim. Pretty sure there are a number of CAD files out there for that already. Just say pretty please and pay shipping.

I saw that people had printed outlets for their Oase. Are there one for the Eheim? Where do I go to look? I actually have a coworker who would love something to do with his printer. I appreciate the offer though.

Potassium sorbate is a common food preservitive. Its in everything. It inhibits the growth of mold, yeast, bacteria etc by breaking the cell membrains. You likely did not add enought. Typically it is 0.25 grams per 500 mL. Ascorbic Acid lowers the pH of the solution. Its normally added at 0.50 grams per 500mL.

I put in 0.4gm per 500ml K sorbate and 0.5gm ascorbic acid per 500ml per Burr's recommendations. See above @*Ci* 's recommendations. I'm going to try that next.

My question: Is it an over indulgance to buy the Chihiros Magnetic Stirrer to go along with your fancy Chihiros Dosing Pump?

I was going to say the same thing @Naturescapes_Rocco said. My Burr Ferts have a bit of powder squirt out if I don't shake first. I will enable your indulgence to say, you definitely need it and should get it.

Ever thought of getting a glass lily intake with skimmer? Deliver all of the crud right into the filter…

I just have a small HOB filter since it's only a 60p.

 

[techman81]

I saw that people had printed outlets for their Oase. Are there one for the Eheim? Where do I go to look? I actually have a coworker who would love something to do with his printer. I appreciate the offer though.

The files are shared online but this seems to be a popular option from an Etsy seller.

I just have a small HOB filter since it's only a 60p.

Seachem Tidal HOBs have a built in skimmer. Might be worth an upgrade. I used one on my short lived 20G farm tank and it was a good filter, what I would stick with if I didn't prefer canisters.

 

[BenB]

The files are shared online but this seems to be a popular option from an Etsy seller.

This looks like the gun on a Dalek!
Thanks for the idea. Kind of expensive, but might be just what I wanted.

Seachem Tidal HOBs have a built in skimmer. Might be worth an upgrade. I used one on my short lived 20G farm tank and it was a good filter, what I would stick with if I didn't prefer canisters.

I was looking at diagrams. I put my heater and CO2 difuser in the back of my current HOB. Would there be space in this one?

 

[techman81]

This looks like the gun on a Dalek!
Thanks for the idea. Kind of expensive, but might be just what I wanted.

View attachment 12395

I was looking at diagrams. I put my heater and CO2 difuser in the back of my current HOB. Would there be space in this one?

I meant to say the Eheim parts "aren't " shared online so the only way would be to purchase or create a similar CAD version of it if your friend can do that.
No room for anything in the Tidals except the foam and biomedia unfortunately.

 

[Kwyet]

Here’s a question—Is there a formula to convert a Photone reading taken in air to one taken underwater so we don’t have to submerge our phones in plastic bags? The only thing I found in posts was that the refractive index of air is 1.00 and the refractive index of water is 1.33. Does that mean we can measure it in air and then decrease it by 1/3 to get the underwater par?

 

[techman81]

Here’s a question—Is there a formula to convert a Photone reading taken in air to one taken underwater so we don’t have to submerge our phones in plastic bags? The only thing I found in posts was that the refractive index of air is 1.00 and the refractive index of water is 1.33. Does that mean we can measure it in air and then decrease it by 1/3 to get the underwater par?

That's the main reason I bought THIS. It's worked well so far.

 

[Kwyet]

That's the main reason I bought THIS. It's worked well so far.

Thanks! I’m also asking because someone asked me about it. I also already have the photone app and the diffuser, so it would be good to know.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Thanks! I’m also asking because someone asked me about it. I also already have the photone app and the diffuser, so it would be good to know.

I want to know, too!

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Here’s a question—Is there a formula to convert a Photone reading taken in air to one taken underwater so we don’t have to submerge our phones in plastic bags? The only thing I found in posts was that the refractive index of air is 1.00 and the refractive index of water is 1.33. Does that mean we can measure it in air and then decrease it by 1/3 to get the underwater par?

No, unfortunately 'refractive index' has to do with a different concept/subject. There's no way to do what you're thinking, unfortunately.