Dioaquatics’ Fishroom

[Geoff]

I’m learning so much today!

 

[DarkOne]

Fish Hut had 33g longs in stock a few months ago for $99.

I found this place that sells rims.

 

[DioAquatics]

Fish Hut had 33g longs in stock a few months ago for $99.

I found this place that sells rims.

That’s not a terrible deal for a 33L.

If I do go this route, I’m going to leave it braceless. Gives it a cleaner look

 

[DarkOne]

I was tempted by the 33g long but I'd much rather have a 30 gallon breeder but those are really hard to find.

 

[coralbandit]

I think you have to take it apart to cut the glass? If so then just cutting the front or back off and laying tank on whichever is let [front back ] makes a way cooler foot print .
I have a 20Xtra tall[2 10 gallon tanks one on top of the other] and have thought laid on its back it is a great foot print and less cutting ..

 

[DioAquatics]

I think you have to take it apart to cut the glass? If so then just cutting the front or back off and laying tank on whichever is let [front back ] makes a way cooler foot print .
I have a 20Xtra tall[2 10 gallon tanks one on top of the other] and have thought laid on its back it is a great foot print and less cutting ..

I was actually thinking about doing that! It would be like a 55 gallon breeder style tank. I'm still toying around with the idea but that's definitely an option now that I really think about it.

 

[Cameron92]

Yea I get glass cutters at Home Depot for like $3 so they’re very inexpensive.

How good is it, I have a friend who is a glazier so whenever I need anything done I just go to his work which is down the road from me, he's cut all my glass lids for my tanks for free

 

[DioAquatics]

How good is it, I have a friend who is a glazier so whenever I need anything done I just go to his work which is down the road from me, he's cut all my glass lids for my tanks for free

I find them to be pretty good for the price. I usually do 2 passes on each side of the glad to score it deep enough so it snaps properly. If your buddy does it for free, event better! Lol

 

[DioAquatics]

Finally bought the lumber for the new racks!
I went to Home Depot and bought 20x 2x4x8. It would have all cost me around $55 but I ran into a high school friend I haven’t seen in a while and I ended up getting it for only $17! Such an amazing deal!
I forgot to buy screws so I went back and bought 2 boxes, another $17. So in total, I paid roughly $35 for everything to make the 4 new racks.
I’ll start the building process tomorrow. Pictures will definitely be coming with the build.

 

[DioAquatics]

Welp the stand are all built. Took me a lot longer than expected but it’s done.
Here’s picture of the cutting process



Started assembling


And the finished stands in my basement


For fun I put a 20L on the top. I love the height. Perfect viewing level for me


I’m exhausted right now so I’ll be moving fish and tanks into their proper places later today after I rest a little

 

[Geoff]

It's certainly a beautiful day to be out doing this!

 

[DioAquatics]

It's certainly a beautiful day to be out doing this!

It sure is! I couldn't resist but working outside with no shirt on.... big mistake. Now I have sunburn all over my back lol

 

[Geoff]

It sure is! I couldn't resist but working outside with no shirt on.... big mistake. Now I have sunburn all over my back lol

Lol whoops!

 

[DioAquatics]

This is a very lengthy process. I am done setting up the new racks in place. I don’t think this is their “final” place just yet. I still need to shI'm and level out some of the stands but for now, it’ll work for now.
Draining the top row of tanks in the old rack


Took apart the top shelf.


And all the racks in place.


This is basically what each rack will look like. 20L on top and a 40B on bottom.


This new layout feels so much better than the old one. I love that I can see the tanks and fish the way it was meant instead of having them shotgunned.
Like mentioned, I still need to shI'm the tanks to level everything out, paint the stands black and I still have another layer or 2 of paint for the tanks themselves. That’s pretty much it for now

 

[Geoff]

It looks really good! Are there 4 new racks, in a U-shape? Almost like you're gonna have a little fish alcove to sit in and be surrounded by.

 

[JLeeM]

Looks very nice.

 

[DioAquatics]

It looks really good! Are there 4 new racks, in a U-shape? Almost like you're gonna have a little fish alcove to sit in and be surrounded by.

That's right! 4 racks in a U-shape. I wanted to be surrounded by the tanks once I get myself a nice little relaxing chair down there lol

 

[Geoff]

That's right! 4 racks in a U-shape. I wanted to be surrounded by the tanks once I get myself a nice little relaxing chair down there lol

Go big and put in a big ole comfy recliner! Lol

 

[DioAquatics]

Go big and put in a big ole comfy recliner! Lol

I definitely want something that can swivel so I'll have to look around lol

 

[coralbandit]

Well done !

 

[DioAquatics]

I decided to go through all my fish stuff and I think it’s safe to say, I’m a dirty little fish stuff hoarder. I mean, just look at this picture. That’s not even all of it. How!?!?

 

[Geoff]

Lol I have a little workbench in my garage with overhead cabinets where I keep all my fish stuff. I threw out a bunch of stuff a month or so ago that I had collected over the past six years. I had no intention of using any of that stuff again so out it went!

Lol you dirty little hoarder.

 

[DioAquatics]

Lol I have a little workbench in my garage with overhead cabinets where I keep all my fish stuff. I threw out a bunch of stuff a month or so ago that I had collected over the past six years. I had no intention of using any of that stuff again so out it went!

Lol you dirty little hoarder.

Ive just been putting stuff in bins and empty tanks. A lot fo stuff was stuff I had when I first started the hobby with the fake "coral" decor and a bunch of other nonsense. I ended up throwing away 2 boxes full of stuff lol

 

[DioAquatics]

I need some help everyone. The 20L with the 2 remaining female PTM does seem to hot, the fish at least. I know I just moved them so stress is a factor but I didn’t think it would be this bad. The one that’s worrying me the most isn’t eating (from what I can see), is very dark in color and is swimming very weird. Here’s the best picture I could get of her.


The other female is very brightly colored but she’s hugging the bottom of the tank and has a white dot on the beginning of her dorsal fun and the side of her rain near her caudal. She is eating though as I just fed live black worms and she went right for them. Here’s pictures of her



Do you think I should be worried? Could the injuries in the second female be from the male BN pleco? The tank just got a huge 90% wc on Sunday when I moved it. And it’s got a boat load of guppy grass and floating jungle vals so I don’t think water parameters are an issue. Any ideas?

 

[coralbandit]

Tail looks injured and/or infected ?
I would think there is a bacterial issue or the females are really fighting and the injury is infected ..

 

[DioAquatics]

Tail looks injured and/or infected ?
I would think there is a bacterial issue or the females are really fighting and the injury is infected ..

Do you recommend I separate the females? I could possibly put one in the 15 gallon retirement tank or even set up another 10 gallon for now and put her in there

 

[coralbandit]

I would separate them ..

 

[DioAquatics]

Slight update. I ended up building a platform in between the 2 middle racks so I can elevate the air pump above the tanks just in case there’s ever a power outage, I don’t need the water back siphoning and ruining my air pump. I’ll be buying new airline to replace the ones I have now and “prettying” it up a bit


I also need to order new bulkheads (the threaded ones) to replace my slip bulkheads. Once I get those, I should be able to start plumbing the 20L for now and set them up

 

[Geoff]

If you ever want more stuff to build, come build me a new deck lol.

 

[DioAquatics]

If you ever want more stuff to build, come build me a new deck lol.

I’ll send you an estimate lol

 

[Geoff]

I’ll send you an estimate lol

Sweet!

 

[DioAquatics]

Well I couldn’t resist and I went to Walmart and bought 25ft of airline tubing lol. I’ll be changing out the tubing and placing the appropriate lengths for the tanks when they’re set up

 

[DarkOne]

Your cories are waiting for their new home...

 

[DioAquatics]

Your cories are waiting for their new home...

View attachment 565376

For some reason I can’t see the picture but I know my little guys are waiting! I’ll have a 20L set up for them and the rainbows to grow out a little bit more

 

[DarkOne]

No pics are working on the site tonight. They should show up either later tonight or tomorrow. If not, I'll post them again.

 

[DioAquatics]

No pics are working on the site tonight. They should show up either later tonight or tomorrow. If not, I'll post them again.

That makes sense. Hopefully I’ll see the pictures today sometime

 

[Geoff]

I can see them on Tapatalk. They look great!!

 

[DioAquatics]

Ordered 8x threaded 1 inch bulk heads for the tanks, they should be in tomorrow sometime. I only have 6 of the 8 tanks but I'll have what I need for the last 2 tanks when I get them.
I also got a TDS meter. I was messing around and testing a bunch of water from the tank and stuff but I stupidly didn't write them down so I'll re-test all the tanks and keep note of them.
If I remember correctly, my tap os somewhere around 245, the tanks were definitely higher than that. Might need to invest in a RODI system so I can get the TDS down

 

[DarkOne]

Tap TDS sounds fine. I was getting 300-550 from my tap which is why I got RO for my shrimp. All my other fish are thriving with just prime in tap water.

 

[coralbandit]

I don't think 245 is real high either ?

 

[DioAquatics]

Tap TDS sounds fine. I was getting 300-550 from my tap which is why I got RO for my shrimp. All my other fish are thriving with just prime in tap water.

I don't think 245 is real high either ?

My 75 is at 345ish so would that need to be lowered?

 

[DarkOne]

My 75 is at 345ish so would that need to be lowered?

Nope.

 

[DioAquatics]

I tested the TDS in all of my tanks today AND remembered to write them down.
The 75 gallon is at 363, 10 gallon puffer tank is at 407, 12g bowl is at 369, 20L PTM is at 360, 10 gallon male apisto tank is at 403, and the 15 gallon retirement tank is at 599. The 15 gallon is way higher than the rest because it's stocked so much heavier with all the male guppies, I'll be getting rid of them soon though.
Do these levels sound good to you guys?

 

[DarkOne]

TDS levels seem normal to me. All my tanks except my shrimp tank is 350-500 TDS.

You only really need to know TDS in shrimp tanks. It sometimes helps when breeding certain fish that are picky but most fish can adapt and thrive.

 

[DioAquatics]

TDS levels seem normal to me. All my tanks except my shrimp tank is 350-500 TDS.

You only really need to know TDS in shrimp tanks. It sometimes helps when breeding certain fish that are picky but most fish can adapt and thrive.

Well I guess I won’t be messing much with shrimp in my tanks lol. If these levels are fine for my current fish, I don’t really want to mess with it

 

[DioAquatics]

Slight update. Haven’t been able to work on the fishroom in a bit due to some house renovations I’ve been doing but that’s done so back to work.
I went out and bought the fittings and pvc pipes to plumb the 4x 20L. All it consists of is a threaded 90 degree elbow, some pvc pipe, a ball valve and then some more pvc pipe so I can attach a 1 inch hose to it and drain the tanks to the sump pump.
Here’s my little contraption


Like I mentioned, all the 20L are plumbed like this and the 4x 40B will be done like this as well. Tomorrow I’m buying some 1/2 inch styrofoam boards to line the bottoms, backs and sides of the tanks to help insulate during the winter months a little. That’s it for today.... I think lol

 

[Geoff]

You plumbing them to connect them all to a common filtration system?

 

[DioAquatics]

You plumbing them to connect them all to a common filtration system?

No, I'm plumbing them to be able to attach a hose to the pipes and drain them easily. That way I don't have to use a siphon on each tank. They will all be individual systems

 

[Geoff]

Nice! I like that idea. Is it just gonna be for draining? Will you have to fill each tank back up separately?

 

[DioAquatics]

Nice! I like that idea. Is it just gonna be for draining? Will you have to fill each tank back up separately?

Yea they'll just be for draining the tanks faster. For filling, I'll have to use buckets or a really long hose that will be stitched to the sink in my upstairs bathroom. My ultimate goal is to have a utility sink in the basement that I can attach a python to and just refill the tanks right from the sink