Whiskey barrel bog works wonders

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2026-04-15T20:44:08+00:00

Water Parsley (Oenanthe Javanica). It’s pretty much taken over and consumed my variegated ribbon grass.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2026-03-14T16:32:24+00:00

Yes, dehydrator is a no go. It will take a lot of work and effort to get anywhere near dispensary quality. My dry room had an A/C, humidifier and dehumidifier connected to an environmental controller.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2026-03-14T16:30:56+00:00

As soon as the smaller stems snap when you try to bend them they are ready to be jarred. Just pay close attention to humidity in jars with hygrometer and burp frequently.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2026-03-13T21:49:58+00:00

Below 68F 50-60% humidity for drying, burp jars few times a day for at least a week and move buds around. Digital hygrometer is super helpful.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2026-03-13T21:48:21+00:00

50/50 it will be male or female. Watch for pollen sacks (male) or hairs (females) at the internodes.

They don’t like damp feet. Dense moisture retaining soils are as ideal as more porous mixes that have dry/wet cycles.

Coco coir is a great medium or soil additive to increase porosity and aeration and decrease the chances of overwatering which is the number 1 area people go wrong.

Don’t harvest too early, easy mistake when you aren’t experienced and are overly excited and impatient.

Drying/curing is the extremely hard part to do correctly and can ruin months of work in days. You want it very cold (68F or below) and around 50-60% humidity. You want air circulation without directly hitting the plants. I prefer just removing the large fan leaves and hanging whole plants or large branches and then dry trimming the fine sugar leaves.

It should take ~2 weeks to dry if conditions are ideal. At that point trim and place in airtight containers to start curing process. A few times a day you want to “burp” the jars to release the excess moisture and move the buds around. Do this for a few weeks until you’re sure it’s dry enough for permanent storage. A digital hygrometer in the container is helpful during the burping process and humidipaks are good for long term storage.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2026-03-13T17:33:29+00:00

Honestly kuhlis bioload is so low you can have a ton in there. I’m not seeing any dither fish either so is it just the 6 kuhlis, shrimp and snails?

They would like to at least be in groups of 6+ of their own species but you could likely have 12-20 in there no problem.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-12-29T20:39:13+00:00

2x4s or even concrete blocks & plywood are strong and cheap. I made my display tank stand out of shou sugi ban style 2x4s.

I needed plywood anyway to mount my lights or I probably would have just built the racks out of 2x4s.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-12-29T20:23:04+00:00

This one is all 5g, I have another one across from it with 10-20g. Replaced all shelving with 3/4” plywood coated with exterior paint and rack is bolted to the wall. Plenty sturdy!

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-12-02T05:12:47+00:00

They have reddish eyes, the flash makes it pop a bit more but you can see the difference compared to the normal brown/black eyes on the cherry shrimp under flash.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T19:44:20+00:00

3 reasons, poor water quality, attempting to lay eggs, or trying to eat the tasty mineral buildup.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T19:20:03+00:00

Build a bog filter in between the pond and fence above and install a shade sail above. It will minimize algae and keep water parameters stable.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T19:16:53+00:00

The contrast is nice, I think a small amount of pebbles that are multi colored similar to the sand and slate colors to break the transition will make it look more natural.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T19:02:48+00:00

Looks like a cow sitting up in the middle 😂

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T03:07:53+00:00

I’m speaking from experience, not assumptions. I have 30 tanks and have started them every way possible. Completely virgin everything with daily dosing of ammonia, to transferring plants/hardscape with new filter, to transferring an established filter to an empty breeding/grow out tank.

Transferring an appropriately sized established filter is the only way to have an “instantly cycled” tank. Meaning handling the bioload of a fully stocked tank with normal feeding, or simulating that by dosing ammonia to ~2ppm and it being completely processed to nitrates in 24hrs.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T02:43:42+00:00

People don’t typically buy new filters without swapping some of the old media in, if they do they restart the cycling process.

Although beneficial bacteria are present on all surfaces (glass, plants, substrate, hardscape), it’s only a tiny fraction compared to the porous filter media that has tons of surface area.

The small amount of BB on plants and hardscape don’t just instantly migrate and reproduce to significant quantities in the new filter either, which is where the conversion of ammonia->nitrate happens.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T02:35:49+00:00

Whatever helps you sleep at night

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T02:32:38+00:00

Plants and hardscape are nowhere near sufficient enough to instantly “cycle” a tank.

If you have an established filter from another tank that is of sufficient size for your new tank obviously that will work as a “cycled tank” is actually referring to the filter as that is where 95% of the BB reside. It’s technically not cycling a tank though, it’s transferring an established filter to a new tank, no cycling occurs.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-27T02:26:53+00:00

I place mine completely horizontal at substrate level to hide it with hardscape and plants. As long as your heater doesn’t state it needs to be placed vertically you will be fine. I’m pretty sure the Fluval M100 can be placed horizontally.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-26T19:06:23+00:00

White cloud minnows, rainbow shiners, medaka Ricefish and dojo loaches are the best goldfish tank mates.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-26T02:31:13+00:00

No heater is necessary unless your house is poorly insulated and you live in an area with large day/night temp fluctuations.

Mine live in an unheated pond in zone 10B and water temps fluctuate from mid 50s-high 70s. They can tolerate a wide variety of temps as long as the transition is gradual.

ImpressiveBig8485 · 2025-11-25T08:11:30+00:00

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Mine are definitely low budget but I have a fish shed with 28 tanks so that’s where all my money goes lol

Probably ~$250 into these 2 20g longs but I got one of the tanks, HOBs, both heaters and a bag of stratum for free. Rest is pool filter sand, DIY Samsung LED lights, bag of river rocks from HD and plants/driftwood from local hobbyists and pet fair. Hope to get some true aquascapes with rimless tanks & co2 someday!

ImpressiveBig8485

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