Thursday, September 24, 2009


Here is a very nice photo of the leopoldi my husband got with his iPhone. Check out the blue opercula!
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4 comments:

  1. niartistSeptember 25, 2009 at 12:43 PM

    I can't tell you how excited I am to find this blog - which I found via a post that you left on aquariumadvice.com. I'm just now getting back into aquarium keeping, and although I already have a blog about interior design - I think I might start a secondary blog about the aquarium. I have so many questions - and you sound so knowledgeable, I hope you don't mind if I ask questions!! I purchased the aquarium yesterday and started the cycle last night. I tested the ph (because it was the only tester they had) and it was 7.6. I think that the water here is a little hard. I am trying to cycle it well, and I know where I can get some gravel from an established aquarium. Do you think that I need to do the whole gravel in a sock thing?? Or can I just put the gravel down in the bottom of the aquarium? It's the same color - so I'm not worried about that. ALSO, I'd like to put in some plants, and I wonder if I might be able to add them sooner than fish (say 2-weeks from today)? Do they add to the good bacterial process? Would it kill them? Also having never dealt with live plants in an aquarium before, what would you suggest that is low maintenance and not overly fast growing. Thank you so much - I'm gonna continue to read your blog - your photos are so wonderful and I am sure that there is TONS of information here. Thank you so much! Adding this to my faves.

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  2. niartistSeptember 25, 2009 at 1:16 PM

    Ok - I left a comment on an older post, but feared that you might not see a comment left that far back. I wanted to tell you about the aquarium. It's a 20 gallon extra tall, so the dimensions of the tank are 20W, 10D, and 24H. I love that format, it really allows for so much movement. Here's what the skinny is on the filtration: Tetra: 20-40g Advanced HOT Filter, undergravel with two tubes: (1)tube has a tube with difuser funneled down through the tube with a carbon head on the tube. The other tube has the funnel tip of the Aqua-Tech regent power head submersible pump inserted to pull water from below the stone up and power push it into the area to be filtered from the HOT filter. I also have a whisper air pump which has tubes attached for a diffuser for the tube with the carbon head, a tube for a 4" diffuser stone which is buried about 2" under the gravel, and I'm thinking of perhaps adding another tube for a second 4" diffuser stone that I purchased but haven't used yet. I added the TetraAqua AquaSafe water conditioner to the aquarium to take out the chlorine and chloromine from the tap water. I used 4 gallons of filtered water (spring) and then used 16 gallons of tap, but treated the entire tank with AquaSafe.

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  3. UnknownSeptember 25, 2009 at 3:26 PM

    Niartist- I am notified of all comments, no matter how old the blog posting, and very much appreciate your feedback. I will be very happy to give you my two cents on your situation, and as soon as I get a chance I will send you an email - I hope I can be of help, and thanks again for leaving your comments! -Liz

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  4. niartistSeptember 25, 2009 at 3:48 PM

    Thanks Liz!! Looking forward to it! :) OOo, and in re-reading, thinking, and re-reading, here are a few other things I want this aquarium to have/achieve/engage: (1) Community less agressive species with interesting color, personality, movement, all being compatible tank mates. I'd like a shoaling effect in the middle of the tank and have thought of a few brightly colored shoalers that I might like to have, but can't think of what I can put with them. (Neon Tetras, Cardinal Tetras) I want a colorful and lively tank, with life and presence. It's small, but tall - so it's gonna have a great impact in the space anyway. I'd really like to make sure that the plantings are diverse, but easy to maintain and not invasive. I found a thing called moss balls today. They look like a million bucks to me, I love that look - but I am not sure that they are going to stay intact and not spread all over the aquarium (not a good look). I want low growing, tall, and midrange plants, all with color and interest. I want to make sure that I'm filtering adequately, and that most importantly my pets are happy. So I'm trying to do this right - even though my typeA nature is screaming NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW! :) Thanks again for your help, I feel like I'm this stranger just dumping out on you - and I hope you understand that a lot of my tenacity is coming from the excitement of finding someone who has such a love for aquariums! :)

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