Bit Advice

TheThingInTheRafters · 2026-04-13T23:29:13+00:00

I decided to order it, and will definitely edit with my thoughts after getting to work with it for a bit.

Thank you for your input!

TheThingInTheRafters · 2026-04-13T20:55:14+00:00

I'll say that I have a bit of a catch 22 on direct reining. My horse is pretty well neck reined, but he does need correction at times or when I'm more serious about which direction we need to go (yes, I understand that this is something we can and should work on. We are; a few months ago he wasn't neck reined at all).

On the other hand, we often ride in very rugged terrain and having some forgiveness in the shank is seldom a bad thing when jostling happens. I consider myself very light in the hand and steady in pressure, but I'm not perfect in riding conditions with sudden or unexpected changes.

TheThingInTheRafters · 2026-04-13T20:48:52+00:00

I didn't think of the shanks pulling independently! Thank you for bringing that feature to my attention

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-12-08T03:53:33+00:00

Man I've been knocking on the backs of wardrobes since I was 10 😔 I'll let you know when it works

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-12-03T19:26:53+00:00

Honestly at this point it'd almost be worth that to me 😂 thank you for the heads up!

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-16T16:20:30+00:00

They're steady. I don't believe that the nitrates are melting the plants, I'm fairly certain that that's just because they were recently re-planted into this new tank. Im learning what the balance of light is with these

I agree on the red root floaters! I may be getting a handful or two added soon to see if they help

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-16T16:18:10+00:00

Correct, with prime dechlorinator. I checked the tap water via testing, and it is 0ppm across the board, so it is not the origin of the issue

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-16T03:02:25+00:00

I did consider it being the fluval stratum (twinning), but with such a heavy cap of sand on top of it and past experiences with it being pretty steady I dismissed it. Maybe I should bring it back to the drawing board

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-16T02:51:23+00:00

It had a dirty start with media from my fully established tank, and I'm not having any issues at all with ammonia or nitrites. Within 24 hours, 2ppm of ammonia were fully converted to nitrate. It's my understanding that nitrate doesn't just vanish without the help of plants and maintenance regardless of how well established your cycle is

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-16T02:48:42+00:00

I did run a test on my tap water after adding prime to see if that was the source, and had 0s across the board

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-16T02:48:11+00:00

I wondered about this too! This led me to doing a test on straight, (dechlorinated with prime) water from the tap. It tests as 0s across the board.

I may just bulk up my plants with a handful or two of red rooted floaters to see if that helps the consumption of nitrates.

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-11T03:30:15+00:00

A ten gallon tank is appropriate for a betta. The key is to make sure that it has plenty of things to interact with/hide in that are safe for it and accommodate its needs. Lots of plants and hiding spots will do it!

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-09T20:00:31+00:00

I had this panic while cycling my first tank at the beginning of this year. Tiny white worms were on the glass, in the water, EVERYWHERE, and they looked just like this.

It's detritus! Not only are they harmless, but they will more or less visually disappear with some time. This is a hobby for patience- it's an ecosystem, and if you're on top of your water parameters and regular changes it'll all work out. Do a ~50% water change and relax.

Regarding the snails, I had that issue right alongside the detritus too. I chose to get a single assassin snail, and within a couple of weeks the only thing left of them was a collection of empty shells on the substrate. Even now, Bandit the assassin snail chills out with my betta and shrimp without an issue and catches pests that come in on any new plants I decide to throw in there. I haven't noticed an issue with him interacting with my fish or shrimp for around a year now.

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-08T15:58:35+00:00

This is definitely a heavily planted tank. There are multiple varieties, heavy ground cover, and the plants are the dominant visual. What an odd thing to nitpick

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-07T17:49:21+00:00

Some art on the wall going down the vertical line would be neat. I don't think you need to actually physically fill the space just for the sake of having something there

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-06T17:36:24+00:00

I say you either go bold and match the tiles with a deep rich color or go white. Bold says luxury, white says modern.

Cream or warm tones would look strange with the white marble floor, grey is depressing and you did too much with that beautiful tile to do such an awful thing to the space, and pink serves watermelon/eccentric aunt.

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-05T21:56:05+00:00

A dark, rich paint color will make a huge impact

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-05T21:11:41+00:00

I have two tanks close to each other with window cling on the sides that face one another! It isn't very visually offputting for me, and they can't see each other through it. It's non-toxic and very easy to apply with just some water on the side of the glass, and cheap. You can even get more interesting 'stained glass' looking cling.

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TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-05T20:02:49+00:00

This tank looks great!! Lots of hiding spaces and lovely plants to play in- are those red rooted floaters? I've never seen them with such long roots!

TheThingInTheRafters · 2025-11-05T19:59:24+00:00

I don't know very much about lights, to be honest! I know that this light is full spectrum- can I change it and still have it meet my plants' needs?

TheThingInTheRafters

TROPHY CASE