Journal MrJG - UNS 90L

[MrJG]

All stock from CMACs Charlotte location, I think the Cories had just come in so not surprising I lost one.
Forgot to note that there was a deceased green tetra in the filter too so somehow he got in as well.

The amanos are big! I’m not really sure but wondering if they swam into the lily pipe output? I’ve seen a cory give it a try already.

 

[BranchScape]

Wow, I’ve never seen big Amanos show up there.

As for shrimp and fish getting in the filter, are they getting past the prefilter? If so, it could definitely be them coming in through the outflow. I’ve had fish swim into the mouth of a lily pipe before, but none ever make it very far—usually the flow pushes them right back out. Oase filters have extremely low flow (often around half of the listed rating, and the listed rating already feels low), so I guess it’s possible.

When it comes to larger filters I am firmly on team Aquael after trying most of the major brands. The flow is easily double the equivalent Oase, they’re cheaper, and they’re consistently quiet. My Biomaster Thermo 2 250 has been a nightmare—it stays loud even after a fresh impeller clean and after shaking out every bit of air. The flow is about enough for the 60U and no more.

As for CMAC, I’ve had about 50/50 luck with them. My best pickups from there were my Keyholes and Von Rio tetras. The Von Rios were in a back tank for over a month, so they were essentially quarantined before I bought them. But most of the time they turn over fish so quickly that it’s a gamble whether you get healthy ones. Unfortunately, I’ve lost 3 out of 4 SAEs and 2 out of 4 Panda Garras I bought from them. They were probably already weak, and I should have moved them into a dedicated tank to baby them early on.

 

[MrJG]

Amanos were in one of the smaller planted nano tanks around the counter, had a nice stand of hygro pinna in there.

Lol pre-filter, yeah that would be nice! I went with the smartfilter thermo 200 for the slim profile and integrated heater.
I just pulled the intake off and rubber banded a cut up media bag around the bottom slots, looks real nice.
At least it’s halfway hidden by a stone.

I’ll deal with the ugly to not have to pull and disturb the canister again for a while.

I saw your post about nu aqua, might have to consider them for another addition since I don’t really have a quarantine tank.

 

[BranchScape]

Huge fan of Nu Aqua. I have gotten 20 Amano's from them which even with shipping is less than CMACs. 6 C123 Cories, 4 Red breast Acara, 9 Cardinals, 1 reticulated SAE and plan to use them for the 20gal. Shipping is very reasonable. compared to other vendors I priced. Only negative is they sell out fast and don't have the inventory of a Dan's Fish.

 

[BranchScape]

How is it going and how are the fish?

 

[MrJG]

Tank looks great from a distance. ;0
Closer in it’s a bit ugly, getting some spots of black looking algae on edges of leaves in spots. Looks more stringy than bba so not sure what it is.
Upon adding the fish in I decided to lower the co2 concentration a bit so it fluctuated for a few days. It hasn’t been the picture of stability since planting so I guess I’m happy it looks ok as it does.

Stock wise I’m pretty sure I lost all of the green tetras except the ones I had already. They were tiny/skinny and honestly I’m not the best with fishes, usually if they don’t take pellet or dry micro flakes they aren’t for me.
Still have 5 Pygmy Cories doing ok although they do tend to disappear completely sometimes.
Thinking maybe now to add more Cories and some rummy nose maybe… at some point. Although the few times I did see the greens school back and forth it looked super cool. ;(

Start a 2 week vacay tomorrow at the lake so hopefully it’s not too bad, me not having my hands in there constantly might be a good thing lol. I’ll return home for normal water change and will either front load or have my sitter dose m/w/f. Been floating around 10ppm nitrates so scared it will bottom out if left alone.