gadgetgirl

Very sorry about your loss.

Funny you should mention this today; I was thinking about doing the same thing. I use a piece of python hose about 3-4 feet long,and a 5g bucket. Choose a plantless place to start. As long as your gravel is small enough, the syphon action from the (Which is it - 1" or 1.25" interior diameter?) hose will pick it up as well as the detritus you stir up. Watch your fish!!! The noise is usually enough to keep them away, but there's one in every crowd. . . Minimal disturbance to the inhabitants. I've done this several times in a few of my tanks and never lost anyone yet. When putting your freshly washed sand in place - I use a soup bowl sized container. Fill it about 3/4, then lower it gently into the top of the tank and allow it to fill with water. Lower it slowly the rest of the way to the bottom and pour out slowly. Repeat. Slowly is key in keeping the sand where you want it, rather than letting it fly all over. Leave your filter off until you're finished and the sand has settled. It's easy to do once you get the hang of it, but don't get too greedy when sucking up the gravel, you'll clog the hose. I advise not doing the entire tank at once. Do a bit with every water change until you're happy. Really, you ARE doing a water change, the gravel is a bonus :thumbs:

I used a glue gun, no trouble. On the second one I made, I made an even smaller hole and used some *elbow grease* and pliers to pull the tubing through. It doesn't leak either.

I've forgotten to plug my heater in after a water change - and not remembered until I was at work. I double check myself now, too.

When I empty a tank or replace gravel with sand, I use a piece of hose about 4-5 feet long with an inner diameter of 1/2". You can syphon out the gravel carefully if it's small enough, and there's no mess because you're sucking that up too. Of course, this means you'll be doing a water change at the same time. :thumbs: I use a small tupperware type container to put sand/gravel exactly where I want it, but it's key to do everything slowly to minimize clouding. I can't remember if I've ever done this with fish in the tank, though.

Lovely snakes! Congrats! :thumbs: But. . . what does one do with 26 wigglers? Keep them for how long?

This is my father's 55G tank. I'm fairly certain that this plant is a Dieffenbachia, but if you know differently, please tell me! When it was in a pot (3-5 years ago) he only remembered to water it enough to keep it alive, but not thriving. When he finally decided to put it in the tank, it was basically just a green stick about a foot long with miserable little leaves. I thought everyone here might get a kick out it! The stem has a circumference of about 3". There is a hanging support in the tank that it rests on, about 4" below the waterline and it's roots extend from there into the substrate. It's a very happy plant. :thumbs: That's a north facing window it's leaning towards.

I use the tank water for the indoor plants and the pond water on the garden (from when I clean the filter) and boy, did my cucumbers ever grow! I planted them so late I thought I wouldn't get anything, but all those goodies from the filter water turned them into a whole Jack and the Beanstalk thing. Not to mention what happened to the strawberries. . . :smokey: Does anyone else think the warmth of the water helps as well? Cold shower vs warm shower?

Full: 55 + 25 Empty: 20 + 10 110 G total My father has a 55 + 65 + 10 plus the outdoor pond which holds 1500+ gallons. The tanks have a total of 3 common plecos and some plants right now, all the goldfish are outside for summer! :thumbs:

My tanks are in the basement so the fish don't know there's been a heat wave. The outdoor pond, on the other hand. . . the goldfish are spawning for the second day in a row. Uprooted plants everywhere What a mess!

Agghh, I've been going through this too. Over the past 7 months: AMAZING algae bloom. All my Honey Gourami fry were eaten by the Tetras when the container they were in got stuck under the filter output and sank. I've lost several Tetras. All my Kuhli Loaches. Out of 38 cory eggs hatching, I've got 6 baby cories left. 3 out of 4 guppies gone. (I didn't want them, they came free with the Tetras. Doesn't mean I wanted them dead, though.) 3 ADF's, 2 from bad netting technique in the LFS. I should never have taken them. 1 Oto, who got his head stuck in the filter output (!!!) when I partially closed it too keep the current down for the Betta. The Betta. 3 male Dwarf Gouramis. 2 Harlequin Rasboras. I feel like a murderer. Can't join the CAS because they'd probably lynch me. But I'm going to keep trying hard. I'm both glad and sorry that I'm in company with many other people. It isn't just me, then! But I feel awful for all my poor little fishes that died because I didn't have the experience to notice or understand the first tiny signs that something wasn't right. I haven't had ich yet, but I think I'm as ready as I can be for when that happens. There's probably some sort of Boy Scout Motto that applies here. Keep trying!

I love my ADF's! Do you have Albino ACF's, or regular? I'm looking forward to hearing more about them. :welcome:

Not very interesting, but I like them: Bronze Cories :thumbs:

Update: I saved 8? or 9? baby gouramies in the trap, they seem to be fine. The ones I didn't save are. . . gone. But I guess that's OK with the parents because this morning I found another fresh batch of (haha) ground pepper! Gak! That's a little quick, isn't it? :shock: Ok, so here's my plan so far, subject to more ideas: Save some more fry to the trap EDIT: Honey gourami fry will fit thru thumbtack holes. Moving on to the margerine (cottage cheese) tub. Leave the algae laden leaves and little ambulia cuttings in the trap with the fry AND Infusoria - technical term for green, smelly lettuce water? Have I done something wrong? OR Wardley's liquifry food Wait for them to grow big enough (How big should that be?) to go into the 10G with the baby cories, who are about 1.5 months old now. Am I right in thinking that the gourami fry will stay mostly to the top and the cories to the bottom? Safe? My thanks to everyone who's helping me! I wanted more Honey Gouramies but I thought I would have to buy them

Oh, balls!!!! I wish I'd posted this yesterday - my husband WAS in Edmonton then *smacks self on head* Just did a bit of reading on vinegar eels and micro worms; culturing either of these sounds fairly easy, do you just keep some 'in stock' for when you need them? It seems to me I have no say in all these extracurricular tank activities and should just be a boy scout about it :thumbs: