creekbottom

Yup did that, I haven't been able to get more air out of it. I cleaned the impeller this week, didn't notice anything wrong with it other than the regular brown 'in filter' gunk.

I bought a used eheim off one of the members here a few months ago. It's been running well, the tank looks great and I got rid of the HOB! I put a new impeller cover on it but everything else is original. Inside I have a layer of lava rock, then a layer of mixed up eheim media cause that's how I got it, then another layer of lava rock, with a layer of filter floss on top. The motor started out fine, was very quiet, but now it's a bit noisier. I have changed the filter floss layer this week, and everything looks fine inside. Any ideas what might be happening?

Oh no, this is not molted remains, I know what that looks like. This definitely is real shrimp torn into bits.

I have a 10 gallon tank with red cherry shrimp and ember tetras. These animals are about the same size. Everything has been going well, I have babies, large berried females, I got rid of the dragonfly larvae (Yuck!!!) Several weeks ago, almost all the adults went missing! I could only find one or two males, but plenty of babies swimming around, not hiding. Since, a few larger females have re-appeared. Curiously though, I find shrimp parts floating in the tank every once in a while. I know, I know, it's probably the fish... But the shrimp that has been torn up looks like it was a big one and those Embers are pretty small. If the fish were eating shrimp I would expect shrimp to be hiding, they aren't. Small babies in full view of fish. I'm not sure what is going on, I haven't seen another dragonfly larvae, everything else seems to be going the way it should. Ideas?

And this is why I much prefer this forum over others. Jewels, that info was very helpful. Looking forward to your thread.

It shouldn't be contaminated. I just rinse it out with tap water, then 4dKH water, then add new 4dKH water plus indicator. I went out and bought a red sea indicator thing today, and put that in the tank. It's still changing color. Is the indicator solution that comes with it still bromothymol blue? I'm going to use 4dKH water and that indicator and put it back in the drop checker. See what happens... Thanks everyone for trying.

That is a great idea, so I took the drop checker out of the tank and it has been sitting on the counter for several hours. The color has not returned!!!??? This is very perplexing, I have another drop checker in a different tank, WITH THE SAME SOLUTION AND DROPS and it is not doing this...

I have 2 20" 2 bulb fixtures. I got them in February. Seem to be working fine. I purchased them from eBay, I don't remember from who. They are sleek and can fit a range of tank sizes. The only problem I have is that they said it would fit my 10 gallon but it kinda doesn't. The feet that come with it make it too wide so I ended up just using one of them and the light is lopsided on top of the tank. I'm not sure what they did to the feet in their pic but it is not a configuration that is possible out of the box. If your looking for T5 HO get sunblasters. Way cheaper, probably available locally (in Edmonton for sure) they just take some DIY for mounting.

Lol, it's not anubias but thanks for looking. Actually it's hard to see even on a full size pic. It has since stood up, looks like a nasturtium leaf except underwater 😊 Anyone know a good way to clean the plastic? I'm guessing a mag float is going to be a bad idea.

Well... It's back. Today the drop checker turned clear again. I tested the solution that I am using and it is still at 4. I added 4 drops of indicator solution into the bulb when I changed the solution. Lovely clear bulb today. This is a 20 gallon tall tank, the checker is placed on the side wall a little more than half way down. Would this make a difference if I moved it? It was on the other side of the tank and I moved it because the CO2 was pretty much blowing right on it. Thoughts?

I have planted!!! I couldn't take it any longer and decided to put plants in, they have been sitting here anyway. The moss has had over 2 weeks to put itself onto the rocks so if it wasn't ready by now, oh well. The Liliaepsis, I think, has rooted well enough, some of it died during the dry start. I think I let the water level get a little low though, the humidity was always good. The Sagittaria is a nice little plant, I've never used it before and it was super easy to work with. I'm not crazy about those crypts, I might replace them. I'll give them some time to melt and regrow but I think a smaller version would be better. I have some in other tanks and I really like the look, ugh, more waiting. The anubias I think is going to do alright where it is, I was worried it would get blown off when I started the filter but I left enough roots on it to anchor it well enough. and there it is!!! I don't know what that flat topped little plant is, it came in with the crypts. I really like it and that was all I had so in it went. Depending on the crypts I may need to fill this tank out a little more, I'll have to wait, dammit!!! I think I should have gone with glass... I'm actually not sure how I can clean this without scratching it. Any advice? OH!!! the moss! It all stayed put! Every last little bit stayed on the rocks where I put it. I filled EXTREMELY slowly, this sand is pretty fine and moves easily so it took a long time to fill, and it's only 5.5 gallons. I left a divot in the Lilieaopsis that I need to fix but that was the only damage. I am very excited to see how this will turn out. In regards to the filter - It works! I spilled quite a bit of water getting it installed and running though. How do you break the siphon when you open up the canister? I'm hoping to put yellow shrimp in here, if I can find any locally. I've been thinking of ordering some but it's difficult to justify giving away an arm AND a leg for shrimp. ENJOY!

Still color this morning. It was a homemade solution, just distilled and tap water. I haven't tested it in a while so maybe it isn't even 4 anymore. Do you think it would change?

I only replaced the fluid today as it's been a busy week. I checked it under regular light, with a white background, still no detectable color. I changed the fluid, added the drops and put it back in, nice dark blue. That was this afternoon, this evening it is a lovely shade of green. I'll see what it looks like in the morning. ps. I should have noted this in the original revival: The solution that turned clear wasn't that old either, maybe a week to 10 days.

Reviving an old thread... I have a 4dKH solution in my drop checker, running DIY CO2. Everything has been fine, have a lovely green color, usually. When the lights came on today I noticed there was NO color. What does that mean?

I figured I would finally show one of my tanks. This is the one I'm happy with, although it needs a trim right now. 10 gallon HOB filter with modified inserts DIY CO2 through an airstone in the bottom of an internal filter - works really well. 2 x T5HO bulbs fertilizing with PPS pro. Cherry shrimp ember tetras corkscrew valls Mayaca fluviatilis java fern anubias nana cryptocoryne ? water wisteria Bacopa caroliniana Ludwigia repens hairgrass HC hornwort pheonix moss mini fiss - temporary wow there is ALOT in there. That algae right in the front is on the way out too!

I think that's premier pro mix. Comes in a couple different varieties so make sure it's all peat. Good stuff, used to use it all the time in the greenhouse.

He was sitting in a plant really close to the top of the tank, in full light. Looked like it was getting ready for an ambush. I picked him out with a pair of tweezers, it was like Mr. Myagi and the chopstick fly catching! Needless to say I'm not feeding him anything cause I mangled it pretty bad. Still makes me shiver, that thing was seriously UGLY!

I got the little bugger!!!!! And I am officially CREEPED OUT!!!!!

I was spot treating with excel for algae in a 10g and 20g. Not really paying attention to the dose, so most likely overdoing it. The crypt melted, the vals were fine, and the hornwort TOOK OFF!

What can I do to get rid of it? It is a heavily planted tank with Ember tetras and cherry shrimp, I am unlikely going to be able to catch it.

Just wondering if you figured out what that thing was in your tank? The creepy crawler thing, I think I got one in my shrimp tank!!! Freaked me out when I saw it... I don't like creepy crawly things... yuck!

Wondering what other forums some of the members are a part of? I like this place because it deals with local issues, something you wouldn't get with the bigger forums. Sometimes the search can be a bit limited here, and you have to be a member to search alot of the larger forums. What do you suggest?

This is a great idea! Question though: If I'm only feeding small tetras and they aren't used to live food, will some of this get away in my tank and cause a problem? I'm thinking having a Daphnia explosion or river shrimp taking over, maybe even hatching my own mosquitoes? Thoughts?

I had some time on my hands today so I decided to plant the Lileaopsis. I also want to get rid of some of the plants I've been holding onto, so into the tank they've gone! I put some F. fontanus on the rocks today too, I'm kinda skeptical of the F. splachnobryoides and if it will attach/survive. So in 2 weeks I'll at least have something living on the rocks.

If you're up near Barrhead you should be able to find some driftwood up there somewhere. It might take some hunting and then prep work but probably not much worse than hunting it down in Edmonton. Just take a walk down to the creek or lake. I'm going to give it a try this spring and see what I can come up with.