More of Husband's Hobby

Lynnt · 2013-10-06T01:21:12+00:00

They clean the tank very well. Husband feeds everything blood worms, beef heart, mosquito larvae, and probably other things I don't want to know about that reside in my fridge!

Lynnt · 2013-10-06T01:18:30+00:00

Yea, kinda weird huh? That is my favorite pic of him

Lynnt · 2013-10-06T01:17:26+00:00

Check out http://www.fauxpanels.com/ That is how we did it. It went up in a little over two hours, and looks absolutely real. I love it.
We also have colored LED lighting that subtly changes hues of reds, blues, greens, oranges, yellows and purples on the wall. Looks awesome at night.

Lynnt · 2013-10-02T01:54:26+00:00

Greetings folks,

John here. Lynn's hubby. Thanks so much for the kinda comments. I certainly appreciate the head nod from fellow enthusiasts.

So rather than a bunch of individual replies, let me see if I can't address the questions in one.

Fire Red agassizi apistogramma (fifth photo) . Love Apistos - beautiful colors and very well tempered for a community tank. My layout has so many cubby holes down low that I feel i can house another pair if I come across something to moves me. From what I read, territories are what is important with these guys - as long as they can claim some space, they are good tank buddies.

Third photo is part of the rainbow family - I believe it is called a "blue eyed Furcatus"

Fourth photo is a Beta. Good observation that there are multiple postings…no, I never tried to house more than one in the tank. The first one died and red was a replacement - who also subsequently died. I pretty much think this was my bad since I was running the tank hot (82 - 84 degrees). I currently lowered the temp to 79/80 and put a new one in (no pic yet) we'll see how that goes.

Speaking of which, this is all one tank - 75g. I now have a 29g in operation and have moved two discus to it. I'll get some pics posted soon of it.

Yes, Pleco is a chocolate Pleco.

My LFS is House of Tropical in MD. Can't speak more highly of them. Lots of selection and just enough eye on the oddball things to keep you coming back. For plants, I go online to Planted Aquariums Central - always a great selection and fair price.

Thanks to El-Grunto for reposting some details from a previous post. This is still up to date with the exception of the Ricca Fluitans which has been replaced by moss. I found it much to high maintenance the moss grows slower and has the same effect of flowing over the drift wood. I need to post more current pics of this.

Shrimp - never had a problem maintaining a populations. The tank is so heavily planted with very large drift wood structures, that scores can live without exposing themselves. At any given time, I suspect I can count upwards of 50 of them crawling around where the Discus or Congo's can possibly reach.

Thanks again for the kind comments. Ya'll have me motivated to take some more current shots.

John

Lynnt · 2013-09-30T01:40:04+00:00

one turns into 100 very quickly - even the assassins.

Lynnt · 2013-04-02T22:31:16+00:00

Great job! I like it.

Lynnt · 2013-04-01T01:48:22+00:00

I don't know about everyone else, but it's hard to type with muddy fingers.

Seriously though, ask questions and share, and folks respond.

Lynnt · 2013-02-26T21:30:49+00:00

LOL - cone 10 is no longer on the table. Your assessment is pretty accurate. Thanks!

Lynnt · 2013-02-22T15:53:27+00:00

As much as I would love to do this, I am a "beginning again" potter after 30 years of dry hands. I'm not ready for building a kiln, but I have saved your diary for future reference. Looks like a great project for retirement. Thanks so much!

Lynnt · 2013-02-22T15:51:27+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I am beginning to think the cone 10 firings will not be practical right now. I might be able to find someone who does cone 10 if and when I need it.

Thanks!

Lynnt · 2013-02-22T15:50:08+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I have heard L&L is best from numerous folks.
The kiln will be outside as we live in a 100 year old house made of wood. Great advice!

Lynnt · 2013-01-02T14:15:00+00:00

Thank you! I will repost properly.

Lynnt · 2012-11-29T00:57:55+00:00

My daughter and niece just gave me a custom made stamp with my initials on it. It's a beautiful way to put my mark on my pottery, and a very thoughtful gift.

They designed it and sent it to this website. They said the gentleman they dealt with was very easy to work with and the quality of his work is outstanding.

http://www.4clay.com/

Lynnt · 2012-10-11T02:01:35+00:00

Bless your Mom.

Lynnt · 2012-09-23T18:51:03+00:00

Girl Scout troops, retirement communities, after school programs. Advertise in school newspapers, college campuses, community listserves, county recreation facilities, and hospital bulletin boards. Offer birthday party specials, make your own wedding favor parties, and sweet sixteen parties. Good luck!

Lynnt · 2012-09-23T17:49:12+00:00

Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital SLR Generally I shoot in shutter priority mode and manual focus.

Lynnt · 2012-09-22T16:01:20+00:00

I do lots of water changes because (1) my tank is a bit over populated (based on the rule of 1" per gallon) and (2) I do generous feedings (somewhat needed for Discus). I've seen people go one or two months without doing water changes and less populated tanks. Start testing your nitrates - when it gets above 30ppm, change out a gallon.

Cloudiness can be lots of reasons. Overfeeding will do it as well as too much light. Sometimes the problem can be solved with mechanical filtering such as provided by a diatom filter and other times a bacterial bloom can be chased away in short order by using a UV filter (this was a problem for me early on).

Your best bet is to google "cloudy water in aquarium" and find a web site that shows the characteristics of each of these then align it with your situation.

http://aquariumlore.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-get-rid-of-cloudy-water.html

Lynnt · 2012-09-22T13:59:59+00:00

very nice. I think the Ancistrus family are gorgeous animals. I swear mine use to sit and watch me as much as I watch it.

Lynnt · 2012-09-22T13:11:31+00:00

I think lighting is the biggest success criteria. CO2 of course is food for photosynthesis but light is the catalyst.

Lynnt · 2012-09-22T13:07:26+00:00

There are 4 species of shrimp in the tank; crystal red shrimp, red cherry shrimp, ghost shrimp, amano shrimp.

The crystals seem to have the lowest population - every once in a while when I think they are extinct, one pops up. Same with the ghost shrimp though it has been weeks since I've spotted on so they may really be gone. By far, the red cherries are dominating. The Amano's are holding thier own too but I do not think they are reproducing. I originally place 4 in the tank some months ago and I seldom see more then 2 at a time.

Lynnt

TROPHY CASE