2ft Aquarium Sump

Disclaimer: This project was done due to blogger's boredom. At the time of this post, a month has passed. Blogger will not be held responsible should readers attempt to follow what he has done which includes broken glasses, cut fingers due to glass, wrong size glass panel purchased, wet floor, sticky silicone on fingers etc. At any point, blogger is not trying to show off, show he's the expert of this project or in this field. Blogger mere attempt is to share his project and have readers throw in ideas and feedbacks on the project.

 

I was feeling bored and wanted to play around with a sump. I went to Y618 and the sump they had cost a bomb! I was surprised it cost so much. I went to research it online, reading and watching videos on diy sumps and freshwater sumps.

 

I had three options which I can pursue.

 

1) Send my dimensions for a 2.5ft acrylic tank to Dama (a huge company that does acrylic of all kinds)

 

2) Send my dimensions for a 2.5ft glass tank to a glass manufacturer in Defu.

 

3) Use the spare 2ft tank I already have and just buy the glass panels and fix it myself.

 

I chose number 3.

 

Plan

A 2ft tank with a) trickle chamber b) refugium chamber and c) return chamber.

 

There is a chance I might remove the refugium chamber in future and add a glass panel and turn it into a media chamber where I can place media, corals, peat or carbon. Let me know what you think.

 

This sump will not be attached to any main tank. It will just circulate within.

 

Tank

I have a used 2ft glass tank that I once used for my planted scape. It had serve me well and was in process of doing a hamster diy mansion of sorts. It was for my fiance but she decline as she didn't want it to be glass. So the 2ft was up for the dustbin. Luckily enough due to my boredom, I found another purpose for it.

 

Glass Panels

I bought my glass panels (5mm thick) from Kwong Fatt Glass Merchants Pte Ltd located @ Blk 10 Defu Lane 10. Provide them a drawing and measurements and whether you want it polish or not. As I was anxious I didn't have it polish. (Handle with care)

 

For those who wish to have this done, I recommend that the glass to be at least 8 to 10mm thick. The latter will be ideal.

 

 

 

Silicone

Make sure that the silicone is safe for your aquarium. Selleys had a lot. Wet areas etc. But all that I checked states "Not for Aquarium Use" I had fear of this as I once had disaster with such unsafe for aquarium use silicone. Even when I waited 2 days for it to settle.

 

I found this silicone call DAP Aquarium. Cost about SGD$14. Yes it's a bit expensive but I wasn't gonna take any chance.

 

PVC Pipes & Joints

Using 16mm PVC for return and back to trickle.

 

Process

Chamber 1 - Trickle Chamber (kinda)

This chamber is roughly 36cm (H) 15cm (L) x 30cm (W)

Using pieces of glass which will hold an egg crate, I silicone them in.

The top portion will hold my filter wool. 2nd portion holds my bioballs which will have some above water and the rest submerged. 3rd are my Mr. Aqua media. The bottom is just a course filter pad.

 

Chamber 2 - Refugium

I know reef keepers uses this area to cultivate micro organism to feed their main tank and I was wondering what purpose it then have for freshwater. My research shows that folks place plants that absorbs nitrate such as duckweed etc. I'm still observing whether it will be better to convert it into a media chamber by adding another glass panel to have the water flow through the media.

 

Anyway, I added sand and plants for this area. And since then have added a couple of fish.

 

Chamber 3 - Return

I have an unused submersible pump from Dymax. Using it for this project.

 

After, I silicone the glass panels and waited for 24 hours (48hours ideal), I placed the pump, fix pvc pipe to it and it goes back to the trickle chamber. The pvc end I actually place a T Joint with a short pipe at each end with an end cap. I then drilled holes so it kinda rain onto the filter wool. Yes, I'm bad at describing things so the pic will tell you what I mean.

 

I flooded the sump. And watched. Success! I added the medias, filter wools and pad, carbon, sand, plants etc. One month later, I added a couple of fish from my other tank. Oh the water is used water from my other tank.

 

As you can see the filter wool has turn black. Exactly what you want. Bacteria being cultivated blah blah blah. Fish are doing okay and flaring their fins around. My lights are switched on 7hrs a day. Plants looking green and I will be doing a water test later on.

 

I'm pretty happy that it turn out great. Future, I might be doing plumbing to my 10 gex tank to this sump. What do you think if I turn my individual tank and placed aquasoil and some easy plants? Beats having an empty looking tanks right? Will think about that.

 

Using wood and clamps to hold the panels in place.

Carefully putting the silicone and filling gaps in between.

Yup, I suck at this. Real messy eh? Using my fingers didn't help.

The trickle chamber

2hours after putting the silicone

Picture taken about 56hours later.

 

<<Final Pictures Pending>>

 

Anyway, if you have any comments or feedback, do drop me a few. Would love to hear what you think.

 

Cheers!

 

 

Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis / Ich / Ick / White Spots Part II

Disclaimer: Please note that the purpose of this article is to share with you my experience in tackling the above. Not in anyway a guaranteed method. Blogger will not be held responsibile for any deaths in your tank, explosions that might occur or your parents/partner yelling due to the wet floor. Thank you.

Hello readers,

Firstly, thank you for dropping by my blog. I do hope the information in here has helped you one way or another. I've been checking my stats and it shows that a lot of you people around the world has this problem with white spots.

Don't be discourage. It is a very common problem. But I can see that our Western friends might have a bit more of problems with theirs. You guys are in a cold climate. As such, the parasite life cycle is slower than ours. I live in Singapore for those who don't already know and the temperature of my tanks fluctuates depending on time of the day. The highest I've recorded was 31.2 (Degrees Celcius) DC at 13:00hrs. We are facing some wet spells here so temperature has been good for my fish at 26 DC.

So for my Western friends, you guys need a heater. Turn it up and medicate.

Now, I've been asked and read the same questions on Icks/Ichs. The following are some of the questions being asked and I try to answer them as best as I possibly can; based on my experience. It might not be right but it works for me.

Q: Are white spots common?

Yes, it is. Everyone will face it at least once or more. There are lucky ones who never encounter it.

Q: I bought my fish and select them carefully, when I introduce them into my tank, I get the white spots after a few days.

When you first purchase your fish, you will not be able to see them. I observed that fish that has recover from ichs don't tend to get it again. True or not, I've yet to get another outbreak from existing tank. The cyst might be attached to the mucus of the fish or the fish store net you're using to catch them has the parasite in it. So that might be the reason how you've transported the ich home.

There are great fish store like the ones here in Singapore, Green Chapter. They quarantine their fish before selling. I might be wrong but it's a good thing that a fish store is taking a step to ensure healthy fish.

Q: You mentioned about Sera product, can I use other brands?

Of course! I read where others have been successful with many "value for money" brands. It's all about following instruction carefully. If you have fear about putting too much of it, reduce it a bit. The key here is patience and following instructions.

Ocean Free brand

Credit to ahpek_lion, member of Arofanatics.com 

Waterlife brand

Q: Some of my fish and shrimps died, what did I do wrong?

Other than you might have dose too much, you did nothing else wrong. Shrimps are very sensitive creatures. Especially those CRS. They will die with the medication. It is advisable to remove them if you want to treat the tank or less the dosage. As for the fish, it is inevitable that there will be some deaths.

Dead shrimps. YummY!!

Credit to Diamondslair.blogspot.sg

Q: My fish has the white spots all over them, should I remove them into another tank and treat? I don't want the medication to affect my plants.

Not necessary. Again, if you have shrimps, you might want to remove them and place in another tank for the time being if you're worried they might die from the medication. The tank should be treated. Where the ichs are seen, that tank should be treated.

And no, I have yet to encounter anyone complaining about the medication affecting the plants.

Q: How long exactly should I stop medication?

When you observe no white spots on all your fish, keep doing the medication for another 7 days. This is to ensure the parasites in the water are dead.

Q: Do I really need to increase the temperature to 30DC? I don't want to affect my plants.

Your choice. The reason why it is recommended is so that the life cycle of the parasite is hasten. This will allow the medication to kill it off when they come out from their cyst. Hence, the colder the tank is, the slower the life cycle of this parasite will be.

My plants are doing well even when the temperature have gone to 31DC. Some people exaggerate that plants will die and all. Last year we had a crazy heat spell. Was really bad. What happened? Temperature hit 32DC for my tanks at certain times.

You cannot have the best of all worlds. Its either you risk some browning plants or your fish dies. Its your choice. Be responsibile towards living things under your care.

Credit to ihasahotdog.com

Q: Should I do water changes during medication?

Yes or no, both works the same. So it's fine. Do water change or not. But be mindful of your fish. You don't want to change the "chemistry" of the tank suddenly. Do your usual water changes if you want. I did my usual 30-40% water change weekly.

Q: Why do these ichs attack our fishes?

I ain't a scientist dude. I don't even know why chimpanzees haven't evolve and use a hammer yet. I'm just like you. A fish/aquarium/planted tank hobbyist. Observe, research, seek advice, plan and execute.

Q: I followed your guide and my fish died?!

-_-' I'm sharing purely on my own experience and observation. Every hobbyist must be responsible for his own pet. It is better to treat them than to let them be. Death is inevitable. Blaming someone else for their deaths is a sin. LOL.

Q: Why are you so mean?

Why are you asking a dumb question?

LOL. Okay folks. I do hope this helps a bit. Do your best for your livestocks and all the best. If I encounter any new stuffs on this subject, I'll update you guys again.

For now, good luck!

RREA Metal Red Lace Part II

I'll be honest, the last RREA Metal Red Lace I gotten didn't really "pop" I came in contact with a friend who was heading to Taiwan. I ordered two pairs of the guppy from another breeder. I couldn't wait to see them.

Here are pictures and video provided by my friend when he was helping me select.

So I met my friend David and luck would have it, I didn't have to travel all the way to the West of Singapore.

He took this picture when he landed in Singapore.

Met up with David yesterday and tada!! My RREA Red Metal Lace! Wohoo!!

I tested the water parameters and apparently belongs to David. Good parameters actually. 0 on Nitrite and Nitrate. Ammonia at 0.50ppm - expected since he was carrying it in the bag for a few hours. But the PH is really high. Not sure exactly but definitely above 7.6

Started to acclimatise them to my tank water. My own tank water had 0.25ppm of ammonia and the rest at 0 but my PH was rather low @ 6.0

I still haven't figure out how this may have happen considering, my tap water PH is above 7.6 I add Prime as water conditioner. The tank has a box filter, matten filter and Mr Aqua Ceramic Rings.

So it took a long time for me to get the water in the bag more or less on par with my tank water. I added corals to help increase PH value. 

Tada!! In their bags! Absolute beauty!

The girls are fat with eggs but not "tank in" The boys will be boys went nuts when they saw the females. I fed them BBS and they love them! 

Good colour. Healthy looking. 

So here's crossing my fingers and hoping things turn out well and get frys next month.

Absolutely love them.

Update in a month.

Air Distribution System Part II

Disclaimer: This is the blogger own interpretation of his air system. Take note that this is not a guide but merely to share the project that he has made. Blogger will not be held responsible for any wet floor and lecture from the wife. Thank you.

Here's an update that I'm trying to do to my current rack.

First off, let me explain the number of tanks that I envision and decided to have on this rack.

Top Level: 5x Gex Tank Size S -> Pending. Will get this in future.
3rd Level: 5x Gex Tank Size M
2nd Level: 5x Gex Tank Size M
Bottom Level: 2x 45cm Glass Tank (Planted Tank)

Reference to my previous attempts at the distribution system, it is working fine. I added 5 more single valve to each level.

Now I decided revamp the whole thing. I plan to add the 5x Gex Tank Size S on the top most.

The equipments I used as follows:

Hi Blow 40 Air Pump

16mm PVC Pipes

Elbow Joints 

Tee Joints

One Way Air Valve

Teflon Tape

Black Air Tubing

PVC Cutter

Silicon

Zip Ties (Cable Ties)

I did a plan on Word so that it'll be easier for me to follow. It's a simple construction.

Did a small scale just to see how it looks. The sides have already been measured. Horizontal pipe is about 4ft long.

As you can see, the top most tier, I have yet to install the one way valve yet. Will do that later.

Anyway, that's it. It's pretty simple but I took a lot longer as I was doing maintenance for the tanks as well. I had fun doing mine; hope you have yours. Good luck.

Fish Food (Live & Commercial)

Hi guys,

I was asked by a friend to post the fish food and the routine I have when feeding my fish. It may not be well taken or perhaps others are doing the same. Its working for me so far. Well, before I begin, let me provide a bit of background of what I have.

These are the list of fauna that I have...
1) Harlequin Rasbora
2) Celestial Pearl Danio
3) Rummy Nose
4) Yamato Shrimps
5) Malayan Shrimps
6) Siamese Algae Eater (SAE)
7) Otocinclus (Oto)
8) Corydoras Sterbai
9) Corydoras Panda
10) Albino Red Guppies
11) Albino Red Metal Lace Guppies
12) Guppy Frys
13) Betta

Live Food
The following are live food that I am using or have used in the past.
1) Microworms (Own Culture)
2) Vinegar Eels (Own Culture)
3) Tubifex (Purchase from LFS) Wash & Wash & Wash before Feeding!!
4) Brine Shrimps - Adult (Purchase from LFS)
5) Baby Brine Shrimps (Self Hatch)

Microworms 

Vinegar Eels 

Credit to boyneburn (Rainbowfish.info)

Tubifex

Adult Brine Shrimps

(Credit to liveaquaria.com)

Baby Brine Shrimps (BBS)

Baby Brine Shrimps (BBS)

Bought from David 

Do contact me should you wish to purchase them.

I will patch you through to David, no additional cost;

I'm just promoting his product. SGD$15/100grams.

Baby Brine Shrimps (BBS)

Bought from LFS

 Commercial Food

1) Ocean Free Super Colour (Flakes)
2) Ocean Free Super Miniature (Micro Granules)
3) Sera Micron (Powder)
4) Sera Vipagran Baby
5) Tetra Guppy
6) Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro

Ocean Free Super Colour (Flakes)

Ocean Free Super Miniature (Micro Granules)

Sera Micron (Powder)

Sera Vipagran Baby

Guppy Tetra 

Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro

Routine Feeding
We all know how attached we can be to our fishes. Everytime, we see them, they seem to move when we do and we start feeding them. This is wrong. A friend I know feed his fish once a week. It may seems horrible but n a way its better this way. Though I don't agree with feeding fish once a week especially if its a bare tank, feeding them less has its advantages.

When you overfeed, it will lead to two things, it will pollute your water when the food are uneaten and might result in diseases if not taken care of and two overfeeding fish might lead to swimbladder problems. Never overfeed.

Bettas
I feed two of my gorgeous Bettas ONCE a day. Small quantity of Ocean Nutrition Atison's Betta Pro. I don't count the pellets I give them but I'm estimating about 10. This is their staple food. I do make a point to feed them tubifex once a week.

Bettas seems to have individual characteristic. No two bettas are the same. When I first got them, one of the bettas refuse to eat the food I gave. I stopped feeding him for two days. The day I feed him again, he was moving left and right in front of the tank. When I fed, he ate them all! Thanks to Uncle Ron for this tip.

Guppies (All Strains)
Again, like the bettas, I give them small quantities only. For their staple diet, I feed Tetra Guppy. This was a trial and error actually. I tried a couple of brands before and this brand was the one I find to be best food to feed mine. They love it!

I feed my guppies ONCE a day. Every two days, I do feed them BBS as well. They love these the most. I try to rotate between the BBS and the Tetra Guppy when I can.

Guppy Frys
As a small time breeder, I do have frys. I have tried Vinegar Eels and Microworms to feed them. They love them. But the problem I have with Microworms is that it stinks. I eat bread and I think of Microworms. My last culture crashed last week and my girlfriend was happy as the small cupboard where I store them no longer stink. Microworms are ideal for frys but they tend to drop to the bottom unlike Vinegar Eels.

Vinegar Eels are damn small. Culturing them is easy as well. But I am lazy. I use Apple Vinegar from Heinz and lazy to go to the groceries to get them. I do have two cultures going right now. Just added another slice of apple for them.

So that left me with this routine.

In the morning, I feed my frys Sera Micron. These are absolutely fabulous commercial food! It's green and in powder form. Easy for frys to consume. And the best thing is you can see the frys belly filled with them! Sera Micron is fed to frys that are just born. Within two months, I stopped feeding frys Micron and switch to Sera Vipagran. They love them as well! Frys at the bottom will all swim near to surface to feast.

In the evening, I harvest the BBS. I feed the BBS to my frys and the adults guppies as well. They absolutely love them.

The different here is I feed frys twice a day. Again in small quantity. Frys should be fed more often than the adults but again lessen the quantity.

The Rest of My Fauna
For the rest of my fauna, I feed them Ocean Free Super Colour (Flakes), Ocean Free Super Miniature (Micro Granules) or BBS. When I do visit any LFS, I try to get Brine Shrimps (Adult) or Tubifex to feed them.

Again, I feed them ONCE a day. Staple food is Ocean Free Super Colour (Flakes). I've stopped using the
Ocean Free Super Miniature (Micro Granules).

So there you go. Feed only once. Small quantity or rather just enough. Overfeeding is not a good idea. So keep it simple. Refrain from feeding everytime you see them. Its tempting but don't.

So I hope, this will somehow help or compare notes with other hobbyist on what they feed their faunas. I have friends who feed vegetables as well. Whatever works for you. I've been trying different food myself and  finally come to a point where I use only certain brand.

Good luck!