Guys, I have an emergency...

FINWIN

Potamotrygon
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Overhead shots. I have the large air disks running. Brick likes dragging them around and cracks them against the wall of the tub. I cover the jaeger heater with the bio bags and he pulls it loose and drags that too. Crazy O.

Brick in Tub 2.jpg

Brick in Tub 3.jpg
 

FINWIN

Potamotrygon
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Dec 21, 2018
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Brick's net. It's for trout but it works...anything else is a waste of time. I love the short wide handle, gives you great control. It's deep too, about 16" so Brick can flap all he wants. You have to use both hands though.

Net.jpg
 
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FINWIN

Potamotrygon
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As promised, details about my custom corner filters. You may have noticed them in my other tank pics but this is how they were made. I've cleaned them up so they're ready to go when the new stand arrives.

What you will need:

plastic bread boxes

plasti-dip (color of your choice)

Drill

PVC pipe cutter to 1 1/2 " - 2"

1 1/2" PVC Pipe

1 "T" Joint 1 1/2" PVC

Bio Media of your choice (I use Bio-Bale)

I ordered plastic breadboxes from Amazon. A center hole is drilled into the lid, 1 1/2". Smaller holes drilled around the perimeter of the lids, about 5/8" each. Drill holes at bottom of breadbox.

Paint with black plasti - dip. This stuff cures inert and is durable. I would have used the green but it was out of stock. Doesn't scratch or nick at all. Usually takes 48 hours depending on humidity and temp but I waited a week. Soaked for a day and was good to go. You can choose from many colors.

Cut PVC pipe 1/2- 3/4" longer than total height of lid and box. This makes a nice stable lip to sit the power heads in.

Attach PVC T-joint to base of pipe and place inside box. Fill in biomedia, push lid over center hole. Place powerhead basket in top and you're good to go. Easy peasy and extremely effective filtration. You can use this method for other large plastic food containers as well. They drill easy and are fish safe.

Take one of your powerheads to the store when buying pipe...that way you can test the width with your basket to insure a correct fit.

Lid view.jpg

Bio Bale media.jpg

Filter Base.jpg

sch-40-tee_3.jpg

top view.jpg

assembled view 2.jpg

assembled view.jpg
 
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FINWIN

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Dec 21, 2018
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Washington DC
I should add that I use bio-bale because of the massive surface area. One gallon bag is 33 square feet of area. These filters could probably hold 2 gallons if tightly packed. I never had to clean or maintain anything. The versatility is great because if you want more filtration / flow simply get higher capacity power heads. Or get adjustable power heads for lower flow. Bio-bale does dry out quickly once removed from water, since its basically one long continuous plastic ribbon. So once out of the tank you need to make certain they stay full of water.

Dimensions of the filters - Total height 19". Base is 4" square.
 
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FINWIN

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Dec 21, 2018
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My Oscar is not liking being in the tub. BRICK moved all the biomedia bags and piled them up over the drain. He insists on sleeping next to the heater. So to save him from himself I've put the sponge prefilters over the Jaeger.

And then there's the air disks. He drags them all over the place. He ignores his basketball for the time being...the new game is slamming the air disks against the walls of the tub with a loud CRACK. He's having a blast doing this.The first time I heard it I thought something had fallen in the tub or hit the surround. At this rate the ceramic will get chipped.

The large marimo ball he's pulled and stretched into a pad that he rests on (you can see it in one of the pictures). The pothos is long destroyed (the same pothos he never bothered in the tank.)

So anyway the other day I'm trying to clear space around the drain for a water change. With a flick of this tail BRICK shoots across the tub and grabs my forearm like a club sandwich. I had to shake the #%^^% loose. He'd never done anything remotely like this before. Then on other days he'll let me pet his sides. Are all O's this screwy? :screwy:

CHIP the severum is also getting testy. He's getting annoyed at the Syno's constant "nesting and cuddling" underneath and spins away. CASH is currently sporting a nice nick on his side. This is CHIP'S chance to be dominant and he's taking advantage of it. Any other time he's the one getting chased and banged around.

BOSS is... BOSS. Relaxed in his tote with a "whatever" attitude. He'll nibble meals before drifting into the plants (he's good at disappearing) or he'll float under a large filter sponge. Hiding ain't easy when you're basically an orange ball.

There's an interesting side effect of the main tank being down. In the fish room there's a large open area now. It's affecting PATCH. She's less playful and far more defensive than ever and hovers near her house a lot. She won't swim her whole tank but dive bombs her food then darts back into her house.
 
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deeda

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I would not use a sponge pre-filter over a heater, maybe use a piece of PVC pipe with multiple holes or slots at least 2 inches in diameter?
 

FINWIN

Potamotrygon
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Dec 21, 2018
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I would not use a sponge pre-filter over a heater, maybe use a piece of PVC pipe with multiple holes or slots at least 2 inches in diameter?
You think the sponges would cause a problem? They're very loose around the heater. Unfortunately my pvc piece I have is too small, I'd have to get another one.
 
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deeda

Silver Tier VIP
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Mar 26, 2008
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You think the sponges would cause a problem? They're very loose around the heater. Unfortunately my pvc piece I have is too small, I'd have to get another one.
It might, not sure if there is the potential for the heater to melt the sponge material but it also might affect how the heater senses the surrounding water temperature.
 

DrownedFishonFire

Goliath Tigerfish
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Updates? FINWIN FINWIN entertaining read on your cichlids personality!
 

FINWIN

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Dec 21, 2018
4,864
7,814
164
Washington DC
Updates? FINWIN FINWIN entertaining read on your cichlids personality!
Check out my continuous journal thread, "More Tank Pics Updated". New pics are up of my Chocolate cichlid, Bobo! Lots of cichlid character descriptions. It goes back to last year and you can see how the tank has evolved. 63 pages of fun.



and...



Also a more recent thread "Year One: Then and Now" you can see the evolution of my fish.


My crazy O


grab a cup of coffee!
 
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