What did you do with your tank(s) today?

[John58Ford]

BTW, there is no recreation, resupply, or repair in Poulsbo.

The dock at liberty bay park is big enough for overnights for an 87'; we even hosted a retirement/change of command for a retiring "captain"(distinction being that an 87 captain is commonly a warrant officer, not a O-6 "captain/full bird") with "his" 87' in the background there not too many years ago, he was an awesome guy. Despite being home ported literally right around the corner in the hood he much preferred that dock/marina any time he could get away with it.

For a port call/crew swap/or resupply, they may have just deployed the RHIB from the split tail and run the errands, unless you were watching at the exact moment it's an easy thing to miss. The small crews on 87s can usually get all the food they need for the week in one trip. The bigger logistics issue is pumping sewage and making water, two things you cannot do this close to shore so they may have only had access to a real dock for exactly long enough to do that with no liberty allowed. Just guessing though I swear lol.

 

[lloyd378]

I’m having horrible luck with guppies in my classroom tank.
At the start of January I put 3 males and 9 females in my 40g that already housed my adult male BN pleco (5”). The males disappeared first (1 the first weekend, 2 the next weekend) and fast forward to today.

I’m down to two females, though I do have about 12 fry swimming around.

The crazy thing is that I never see a body/ carcass/ skeletal remains. I do regular water changes, have moved all plants and bog wood out of the tank, and even put a sponge over the HOB intake tube.

No idea where they are going, but kind of thinking that maybe my BN is eating them once they die….. but what’s killing them and why is there never any remains?

So crazy

 

[DMD123]

@lloyd378, well I got tired of the wondering if he was still there game. Pulled out the driftwood piece and the eel pops out when I flip it over. After I got the piece out I notice it has a hollow center about 1/2” wide and at least 8” deep. It is the perfect hide away for the eel. I wont be able to put that thing back in the tank until the guy is at least triple the size, otherwise I will never see it.

I wasn’t planning on this eel, was very spur of the moment purchase. If it gets as big as expected it can conceivably get as big as a fire eel. Will definitely end up in the 300.

 

[fishguy1978]

Caught the 4 G brasiliensis females as there is someone interested in two of them. The smaller two are ~4in w/out tail. The largest is ~6in w/out tail but also taller and thicker.
Received one of the Ad Konings books.

 

[DMD123]

Did large volume drain and fills on tank last night and did a light gravel vac this morning so all tanks are clean.

Fed the 90 gallon severum tank some mysis shrimp and saw the tire track eel eat. It wants to hide for sure but doesn’t seemed overly stressed. Im going to leave out the hollow log for a bit so I can keep seeing the eel. Not sure if l can get it eating pellets but will try.

 

[DMD123]

Been having fun with the red wolf fish lately.

He is getting big. Im a horrible guesstimate person but thinking at least 8” now. (I always under guess the size!) Makes the 65B feel small. Activity level is good and he is attacking Massivore pellets with gusto. Starting to feed whole silversides to him.

 

[fishguy1978]

Cleaned all the filters.

 

[sir_keith]

Here's a question for all you algae-scrapers out there.

Now that I have a 24" high tank, getting algae off the front panel is a reach, but getting it off the back seems impossible without some kind extendable tool. Any suggestions? Access to the back of the tank is compromised because the tank sits in an alcove, up against the wall. Also, remember that this is an acrylic tank. Thanks!

 

[fishguy1978]

Here's a question for all you algae-scrapers out there.

Now that I have a 24" high tank, getting algae off the front panel is a reach, but getting it off the back seems impossible without some kind extendable tool. Any suggestions? Access to the back of the tank is compromised because the tank sits in an alcove, up against the wall. Also, remember that this is an acrylic tank. Thanks!

View attachment 12488

I have used something similar to this. Uses a plastic blade. It will scratch if your not careful. The other option is an API scraper. Picks up sand though.

 

[DMD123]

Im not sure if you can even get this product anymore but I use the Tom's Aquatics multi tool

You have to make sure the one head is the soft one. But it swivels and I can get the lower areas of my back glass okay from just the front. If I want to get the upper area I just need to remove the tank lids to get to it. When I say 'soft', I mean it is the fuzzy material, they have another type that is more the 'hook' that you find on velcro and you dont want that one. I believe the tool came as a 28" and 34". If you look on Amazon there are some pretty nice knock offs of this.

 

[John58Ford]

When I started I wanted to use one like the one @DMD123 posted, mine came with a pond net attachment too. Unfortunately the lack of clearance above my tanks and heavy planting habit has made it all but useless. The backs of my tanks have never actually been cleaned.

What I have read from some of the planted tank gurus on my other forums (the white background, perfect layout, do it for the Instagram types) is that the trick is a round or traditional(depending on tank size) magnet scraper , then on the part that stays outside the tank you attach a rod and drive it from the side or top of the tank. This supposedly gives you better pressure than those long handled tools and it's easier to hit more spots in the case of floaters, lilies, hardscape etc.

I don't do it but after reading about it, it's something I would try on a tank like yours where I had good top access, assuming the pieces fit between tank and wall.

 

[DMD123]

Or you can get the Robo-snail... http://robosnail.com/


Its only $139... lol

 

[fishguy1978]

Or you can get the Robo-snail... http://robosnail.com/

View attachment 12492
Its only $139... lol

It eats fingers if you’re not careful. Forget the foam separator and it won’t be coming apart.

 

[fishguy1978]

Divided the striped Raphael’s between the 260g and the 220g and moved the G pyrosephalus pair to the 220g. Need to remove the wood and plants from the 140g so it can become L Tanganyika.

 

[DMD123]

@fishguy1978, that is an expensive magnetic cleaner! I wish I had that one for the 300. Its only 5/8" glass but finding a good magnetic cleaner to handle that is a bit of a challange. My largest is the Mag-Flaot 400 which retails for $139 But I had found it on Amazon as a 'Used', damaged package and only paid $50 which is till pretty high for what it is.

 

[fishguy1978]

@fishguy1978, that is an expensive magnetic cleaner! I wish I had that one for the 300. Its only 5/8" glass but finding a good magnetic cleaner to handle that is a bit of a challange. My largest is the Mag-Flaot 400 which retails for $139 But I had found it on Amazon as a 'Used', damaged package and only paid $50 which is till pretty high for what it is.

I never used the Great White but I did have the Hammer Head and the Tiger Shark. Even those had super strong magnets.

 

[DMD123]

I never used the Great White but I did have the Hammer Head and the Tiger Shark. Even those had super strong magnets.

The Mag float 400 says up to 3/4" glass but just does not seem like its that strong on the 5/8" glass. I also put a algae pad on it because the hooks on it dont clean that well on their own. It does not fall off but just feels weak. I think the 500 model might be what I need or in the Algae Free it would likely be the Tiger Shark. I just have a very difficult time dropping over $100 on a magnet!

 

[Modest_Man]

I picked up a great white used off Ebay for $40 a while ago, it was worth it. Would have probably paid up to $100 or so. Super strong.

 

[DMD123]

@fishguy1978, @Modest_Man, Have to ask you guys, how did the outer wood portion hold up? With all the water contact did the finish hold up? Was it a easy to grip thing or did you find it slippery? I am considering a upgrade at some point just want to make sure its what I want.

 

[fishguy1978]

@fishguy1978, @Modest_Man, Have to ask you guys, how did the outer wood portion hold up? With all the water contact did the finish hold up? Was it a easy to grip thing or did you find it slippery? I am considering a upgrade at some point just want to make sure its what I want.

Held up very well. Mine was always kicking around in a bucket with my water change equipment between clients. The Great White doesn’t float but the other ones do.
Iirc they’re a bit larger than a 3x5 card. Easy to hold.