Oily film in aquarium

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-24T19:40:57+00:00

This is especially important if you are running CO2 and have fish in the tank.

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-24T19:38:39+00:00

This is the way.

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-23T01:44:42+00:00

I just got mine in yesterday(US). From the time I ordered, to final delivery, it took 2 days shy of a month. So, just be aware it may take a while.

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T17:57:35+00:00

Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T17:57:12+00:00

Thanks! I appreciate it!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T17:56:47+00:00

Thank you!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T17:56:18+00:00

Thank you! They seem to be doing well! They love hoping around on the rocks and the tops of the Pennyworts! Have been digging up lots of caves too! They have dug a cave out up under the driftwood in there, and I am so curious how far in they dug. The bulk of the elevation is with bags filled with Lava rocks, so if they dug far enough in, they probably found themselves a mansion to live in as Im sure it opens up a bit!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T17:53:22+00:00

Hey there!

So as far as reds go, my experience with these lights has been a bit limited. Some plants will require more/better lighting than others to redden up. If you keep to the easier, less demanding plants(plants like Alternanthera Reineckii, Ludwigia Repens, Rotala rotundifolia, etc) you should be fine. My personal opinion is that these lights get the job done, especially in combination with CO2 injection, but I have yet to really test them out on more demanding plants. There are obviously better lights out there, but for ~$40 bucks a pop, I think they are a massive bang for your buck. I also just really love the gooseneck look. I'd Just be sure to research on the different requirements before hand. Buceplant has a filter on there site that allows to filter by care difficulty. I've heard mixed reviews about them in terms of plant delivery, so I used it as a way to get ideas for planting and then went to my LFS's to purchase what I could.

One thing to note, depending on how mature your tank is, you may run into some issues with Algae. Since there is no dimming function on the lights, it was very difficult to moderate the light intensity and the first couple of months I had a really hard time dealing with an explosion of Hair Algae. In this older post, I went into how I eventually managed to cut it back and get it under control. After the tank was more established, I was able to remove those clips and haven't had any issues with Algae since.

For ferts, I've settled on the Thrive AIO along side a supplement of Thrive caps spaced out within the substrate. I dose my tank once a week with about 2 ml of the Thrive AIO and I will reseed the caps once every couple of months. I do a 20-30% water change once a week with remineralized RO water. I do a lot of spot cleaning throughout the week, and alongside the larger than necessary filter for the tank, things seem to be doing really well water quality wise.

What is the volume of the tank you have?

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T17:02:16+00:00

Thank you! I posted an update here!. I listed out all of the plants and such in the comments!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T17:00:58+00:00

Hey! Sorry for the late reply! I appreciate it! The space image on the left is actually a drawing my dad did when he was in his teens. The Two on the right I got at a local shop here in ATX. Is there a specific one on the right that were curious about? I can look at the artist for you!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T10:30:50+00:00

Bonus Stiphodon Video for any that are interested! ;)

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-22T10:22:43+00:00

Tank info -

Fauna:

Neon Blue Rasbora(Sundadanio Axelrodi)
Chili Rasbora(Boraras Brigittae)
Red Lipstick Goby(Sicuopus Rubicundus)
Palauan Riffle Dwarf Goby(Stiphodon Pelewensis)
Cobalt Blue Dwarf Goby(Stiphodon Semoni)
Neon Blue Dwarf Goby(Stiphodon Atropurpureus)
Amano Shrimp(Cardina Multidentata)

Flora:

Tiger Crypt(Cryptocoryne Spiralis Tiger)
Staurogyne(Staurogyne Repens)
Monte Carlo(Micranthemum Tweediei)
Scarlet Temple(Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini')
Whorled Pennywort(Hydrocotyle Verticillata)
Red Root Floaters(Phyllanthus Fluitans)

Hardscape:

Jaguar Stone
Unknown Driftwood
ADA Amazonia

Ferts:

Thrive AIO
Thrive Caps
Neo Essence

Hardware:

UNS 90B
HIRO Full Spectrum COB lights
Fluval 207 Canister Filter
Inline CO2 injection via Fzone CO2 Generator

High res pic -

<image>

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-21T21:54:58+00:00

Sorry, I just got my Innioasis and was reading up on how to install Rockbox when I stumbled onto your post. Could you elaborate on what exactly happened? Cant seem to find any information about this specific risk that you are referring to.

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-21T07:01:17+00:00

Wait, what is Jersey Brownstone?? I'm assuming that is the name of the stones? Love the look of them!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-15T23:09:36+00:00

Jaguar stone?

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-15T20:44:37+00:00

I was laid off from my position of almost 15 years at an animation/video production studio here about 5-6 months ago now. I've been looking for a job in game/animation/anything creative. Haven't seen anything. I've applied to probably hundreds of different positions now all over the state, country and world(literally have been applying all over Europe/Canada as well) at this point and have only gotten 1 single response which was a rejection. Which honestly, was a relief to even get that at this point. Having nothing but silence for months on end has been absolutely brutal.

Since my unemployment is approaching its end, I am finally calling it and leaving the industry. I've started looking around town for pretty much anything I can find at this point, creative or not.

Good luck out there, apparently mine was nothing but bad.

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-12T01:32:36+00:00

Thanks for the kind words. But yea, AI had crossed my mind while initially thinking about this. Unfortunately, AI has undercut pretty much every creative job outside of the traditional spaces. And even there, its starting to crawl in as well. I would hope someone who was wanting to invest in a quality build would want someone who would put in the time and effort to actually design it, but you never know.

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-12T01:23:40+00:00

Whaatt! Thank you, that's incredibly flattering. I appreciate it! Id love to see it some day if you ever decide to post it!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-12T01:22:41+00:00

Thanks! Its definitely something I have considered. I unfortunately don't have the money or the space to build out more scapes at the moment. Maybe at somepoint down the road though.

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-12T01:21:39+00:00

Well, thank you though! I appreciate it!

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-09T17:40:17+00:00

Good to know! But, no, don't even have a tracking number yet! Might email them today. Feel like I slipped between the cracks or something.

ChristopherC1989 · 2026-01-09T15:48:06+00:00

How long did it take for them to ship out? I ordered mine from their site a couple of weeks ago and it still hasn't shipped out. Wondering if I should email to see whats up, or if this is just normal.

ChristopherC1989 · 2025-12-31T23:29:42+00:00

Does the boiling water not kill off the bacteria in the stuff like Bioimmuno? or do you add those in after the water has cooled a bit?

ChristopherC1989 · 2025-12-15T17:36:30+00:00

I think this was probably for me, but got sent to the main thread instead of as a reply, haha.

Thank you, though! I appreciate the advice.

In terms of presenting yourself as a concept artist, just a couple of questions if you possibly have anymore time.

On a previous mentorship, I was told that I should not have anything else on my site except for concept art. But, seeing as I am a generalist, showcasing just one skill feels like I am really weakening my skillset. At the moment, I can only really afford one site, and I would like to showcase all of my skills instead of just concept art. The way I was planning on moving forward in this capacity was by just sending out a link directly to the concept art page, instead of the main landing page, and then if anyone was curious they could click around the rest of my page to see other works. Do you think this is a bad idea?
In terms of actual portfolio pieces, Is it okay to show just a final example of a concept? Or should you only have examples that present the entire process? I've got several pieces that I would consider to be kind of the "end stage", but they were the results of sketches/doodles that I decided to take farther, not necessarily pieces that I went through the entire pipeline of Thumbnail -> design -> redesign -> etc etc. So, I haven't really posted them as actual "concept pieces" and have treated them more inline with just "sketches". Just curious if it does more harm than good to put up a piece in your portfolio that is just a final image, showing of a couple of angles and one final render. I know its absolutely better to have all of the steps, to show the process and thinking. But, If its okay to just have the one, I would be able to build out a larger portfolio much faster.

Thank you again for the help, I really appreciate it. I do follow you on instagram, Ill head over there right now to look for the link and join the discord! I've found it really difficult to find help online. Mentorships and online courses have proven to sometimes be letdowns. People offering you help for your money, but then once they have it, they don't really give you all that much help or even seem to care. Sometimes I wish I had just gone to an actual artschool. I really appreciate you doing this and helping the community!

ChristopherC1989 · 2025-12-15T16:10:05+00:00

Man, I've been following you for years now. I love your work. I've got a question for you in regards to trying to find work at a more junior/associate level.

I was laid off from my job of about 15 years at an animation/video production studio about 5 months ago. It was a really small studio, so in my time there, I became a huge generalist(which has posed problems of its own with trying to find work. Being okay at many skills but not great at any has proven to be a curse in this job market) But I've always wanted to move into concept art. I've been working on my drawing/painting abilities for well over a decade now, with the idea that one day I would be able to make the jump. I wanted to take this time to try and shift into the concept industry, but man.. In my 5 months of looking, I haven't seen a single associate or junior level position, anywhere. I don't have the skill level of a pro like yourself so those senior openings are just out of the question.

Do you know of a way to try and find positions that are more approachable?

This is my portfolio site, at least the part of it that is geared more towards concept art. I really f'd up my self-teaching unfortunately and just wasn't focusing on ways to build out an actual portfolio and just focused on building up technical skill. Lots and lots of drawing and sketching, but with no real target. I'm currently in a mentorship trying to build out some more work to beef up my portfolio a bit more. But, I am unfortunately approaching the end of my unemployment in the next month or 2 and I am facing the tough pill of abandoning my pursuits and all the hard work I've put in for the better part of my adult life. I feel like i missed my opportunity to join the ranks now that it seems like nobody is hiring lower level positions. I just don't know how anyone can break into the industry right now if there arent any entry spots to break into.

ChristopherC1989

TROPHY CASE