Result of my addiction- 40B Build

[hunterlook]

So I got the stand built today, it's still over at my dads house so the stain has time to dry. I came home after a whole day of doing then and started to try and get my tank running to set up tomorrow. I spent an hour catching the danios in there to put back in my 10G, moved a few plants out and took the hardscape items out. After that, I added a bit of some organic soil to the tank to cap with sand but it had wood chips and all sorts of other crap in it! I specifically asked the lady if it had that and she said no but she lied...anyways, I spent another hour scooping all of the gunk I could out of the tank. I then decided to just add sand and pick up a couple bags of eco complete tomorrow to cap everything. Well no matter how well I rinsed the sand, my entire tank is a sand dust cloud now so I plugged my filter back in hoping it clears everything up along with a 100% WC tomorrow. Anyways, I'm exhausted and a little frustrated at how everything went with the tank, please feel free to point out what I did wrong and if you think capping the sand with eco complete should be ok.

I took some photos, enjoy.

Pops laying out the frame while I cut all of the wood.






Put an arch in to add some character to it (remember this is an uber budget build so no fancy trim for now)


Ran out of ply wood so we just used to cut out piece for the back panel, you can't tell when you're standing or sitting on the couch


Got it stained, now it's drying. Turned out much better than I expected and cost me around $45! I'll be adding a middle shelf and/or doors later on.


10G is my plant holding tank for now :P


Thanks for checking in! Hopefully tomorrow goes much smoother.

[DarkCobra]

Finally, got to check out your journal! And subscribed.

Given the 10, I'm sure the 40B is going to be spectacular. It's great you're able to work with your dad on the stand. I have a love for woodworking, but don't get to do it often.

Hopefully the fish and plants will arrive tomorrow as expected, and in good condition. A few hours after shipping, we saw a USPS freight truck being towed, and nervously joked about it being the one with our package!

I don't know if you were planning on using CO2 in any form. The Aquaclears make good diffusers, and can work almost like a reactor after a few minor tweaks. For the large ones, it doesn't seem to noticeably affect the bacterial population.

Stef also slipped in a couple more plants, a bit of anacharis and a baby Marimo. Anacharis is usually very sensitive to Excel, but ours is fully acclimated, and will even shrug off overdoses.

Looking forward to more updates!

[hunterlook]

Everything is pretty much set up for now. For some reason my DIY CO2 isn't working, I'm assuming there's a leak somewhere and it's getting aggrivating but I'll continue to work on that.

Best part of today was my package from ArtbyStef and Darkcobra! Stef has done wonders with breeding guppies and the ones I received from her were nothing short of amazing. On top of a couple males and a few females, she even threw in some fry to help me learn how to raise them! I also received a buttload of plants from darkcobra and they were fantastic. The colors with rich and they were packaged extremely well with no chance of dehydration.

I took pics throughout the day so I hope you enjoy!

p.s. if you can give me pointers on how to check for leaks on my CO2 or how to actually get it running properly again please don't hesitate.

Water is still a bit cloudy but I have some cotton type media in the filter, hping this helps over the course of the next few days.




Goodies!




Fish were in perfect condition upon arrival.




Made my life so much easier. Each plant was wrapped in a soaked paper towel and labeled


Look at those tails! The dorsals are high as well with great coloring.






I couldn't be happier with the fish and plants, just wanna thank Artbystef and Darkcobra for their generosity and help along the way. I highly recommend contacting them if you have any questions and DEFINITELY if you want some of the best looking guppies around!

[hunterlook]

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

Finally, got to check out your journal! And subscribed.

Given the 10, I'm sure the 40B is going to be spectacular. It's great you're able to work with your dad on the stand. I have a love for woodworking, but don't get to do it often.

Hopefully the fish and plants will arrive tomorrow as expected, and in good condition. A few hours after shipping, we saw a USPS freight truck being towed, and nervously joked about it being the one with our package!

I don't know if you were planning on using CO2 in any form. The Aquaclears make good diffusers, and can work almost like a reactor after a few minor tweaks. For the large ones, it doesn't seem to noticeably affect the bacterial population.

Stef also slipped in a couple more plants, a bit of anacharis and a baby Marimo. Anacharis is usually very sensitive to Excel, but ours is fully acclimated, and will even shrug off overdoses.

Looking forward to more updates!

Haha imagine if it was actually the truck!

I do run CO2 but it's only DIY. It worked great on my 10G but now I tooke the same set up and threw an extra bottle onto it and it can't seem to get going for some reason. I've been tinkering with it for 2 hours, hopefully I can figure it out soon.

[Art by Stef*]

Thank you Hunter!
You helped me out by practicing my fish shipping abilities and your reports.
It was my first time, and I have had some disappointing experiences receiving fish by mail, so I was nervous. (Especially nervous about the heat pack thingy after getting a boiled betta in the mail)
Lots of luck, and hope all goes well with your tank in the future. And...Ha! Guppies are non returnable. They are the gift that keeps on giving. And giving...and giving... (actually, I'm quite proud of the strains I've been working on)
-Stef*

[DarkCobra]

Woot!

Thanks for the kind words. Glad to see everything happy, including you!

Now about this CO2 business.

I'm sure you already know about spraying soapy water on seams, or immersion in a tub/bucket, to detect leaks. (If not, now you do!)

I'm thinking the prime suspect is the Ragu lid. Not sure that will reseal gas-tight once opened.

The places where tubing enters lids is also a common leak point. There's a trick I use for this. Not sure where it originally came from, but it doesn't seem to be in common use these days. So I detailed it recently on this thread, starting with my last post on page #2, and a diagram at the top of page #3. Pulling on the tubing is what normally causes a leak. But this works like a Chinese Finger Trap - pull and it only seals tighter. And also like that trap, it can be released with a moderate push. Have not had a single leak of this nature since I started using it years ago.

Should you find a leak and want to fix it quickly, especially if it's a lid-to-bottle leak, glopping rubber cement all over the seam is usually a "good enough for now" repair. Dries fast and can be removed easily later if needed.

[hunterlook]

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

Woot!

Thanks for the kind words. Glad to see everything happy, including you!

Now about this CO2 business.

I'm sure you already know about spraying soapy water on seams, or immersion in a tub/bucket, to detect leaks. (If not, now you do!)

I'm thinking the prime suspect is the Ragu lid. Not sure that will reseal gas-tight once opened.

The places where tubing enters lids is also a common leak point. There's a trick I use for this. Not sure where it originally came from, but it doesn't seem to be in common use these days. So I detailed it recently on this thread, starting with my last post on page #2, and a diagram at the top of page #3. Pulling on the tubing is what normally causes a leak. But this works like a Chinese Finger Trap - pull and it only seals tighter. And also like that trap, it can be released with a moderate push. Have not had a single leak of this nature since I started using it years ago.

Should you find a leak and want to fix it quickly, especially if it's a lid-to-bottle leak, glopping rubber cement all over the seam is usually a "good enough for now" repair. Dries fast and can be removed easily later if needed.

I did soapy water with no luck, i'll try the submerged technique tomorrow.

As for that linked thread, that idea is GENIUS! Are those things usually sold in pet shops or would that be something I'd have to order online? I'm really getting desperate at this point, I don't want the plants dying

Also, is there something else you'd suggest as a bubble counter? I have some mason jars that have the standard 2 piece lid, would those be air tight after applying the lid?

[Zolek]

How well is the Aquaclear working with it dead centered like that? I always had to shift mine over towards the left or right or else the side opposite the intake never had its debris get sucked up.

[DarkCobra]

Originally Posted by hunterlook

I did soapy water with no luck, i'll try the submerged technique tomorrow.

The soapy water technique can be a bit touchy. I've had it fail to detect leaks. It needs a continuous film around the joint under test, which is particularly hard when it's a broad lid on a bottle. Otherwise gas will take the easy way out. And some leaks only occur when a few PSI of pressure is built up. In handling the bottles prior to testing, you might squeeze a bit extra out through the leak, dropping the pressure so the leak won't occur for the next few minutes...

Originally Posted by hunterlook

As for that linked thread, that idea is GENIUS! Are those things usually sold in pet shops or would that be something I'd have to order online? I'm really getting desperate at this point, I don't want the plants dying

It's a common item. Both Petco and Petsmart have them. Airline couplers also work, used for joining two segments of tubing (instead of three, which makes it a tee). Oddly, I haven't seen those in pet stores for years, though hardware stores might have an equivalent. In a pinch, I've also used a three-way tee, in a juice bottle wide enough to accommodate it. In a soda bottle the part of the tee that sticks out could just be cut off. One way or another you will find something that will work, without having to mail order.

Originally Posted by hunterlook

Also, is there something else you'd suggest as a bubble counter? I have some mason jars that have the standard 2 piece lid, would those be air tight after applying the lid?

A mason jar will probably work better. Most folks use small soda or juice bottles with wide lids.

[hunterlook]

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

The soapy water technique can be a bit touchy. I've had it fail to detect leaks. It needs a continuous film around the joint under test, which is particularly hard when it's a broad lid on a bottle. Otherwise gas will take the easy way out. And some leaks only occur when a few PSI of pressure is built up. In handling the bottles prior to testing, you might squeeze a bit extra out through the leak, dropping the pressure so the leak won't occur for the next few minutes...



It's a common item. Both Petco and Petsmart have them. Airline couplers also work, used for joining two segments of tubing (instead of three, which makes it a tee). Oddly, I haven't seen those in pet stores for years, though hardware stores might have an equivalent. In a pinch, I've also used a three-way tee, in a juice bottle wide enough to accommodate it. In a soda bottle the part of the tee that sticks out could just be cut off. One way or another you will find something that will work, without having to mail order.



A mason jar will probably work better. Most folks use small soda or juice bottles with wide lids.

I'll take a trip up to petco today and look for those for sure. I just replaced the bubble counter with a mason jar, we'll see how it works out. It appears that my issue is water in the airline from my powerhead diffuser to the top of the line where it comes out of the water. For some reason I can't build up enough pressure to push that water all the way out for the CO2 to escape. Should I be pinching the end of the airline when I put it in so water doesn't get into it or will a properly constructed system be able to push the water down?

[hunterlook]

Originally Posted by Zolek

How well is the Aquaclear working with it dead centered like that? I always had to shift mine over towards the left or right or else the side opposite the intake never had its debris get sucked up.

Working great for me so far. The water flow is powerful enough that it hits the front glass and creates 2 currents going left and right that circle around the back corners and back into the main current. Pretty much a double whirlpool effect.

[DarkCobra]

Originally Posted by hunterlook

It appears that my issue is water in the airline from my powerhead diffuser to the top of the line where it comes out of the water. For some reason I can't build up enough pressure to push that water all the way out for the CO2 to escape.

Yep, it'll take a little pressure buildup to push against the greater weight and pressure of the water. But it should generate that within a short period of time. So I think it's a leak.

If you were using something that required higher pressure, like a glass diffuser, then the extra airspace in your CO2 bottles would have to build up pressure too and slow the process; which can fool you if you're not patient enough to wait an hour or two. But I didn't see you mention anything like that, and you've probably waited long enough.

And a recipe failure, or dead yeast, could also be an issue. But you've been doing this on the 10G, so I'd suspect that last.

[hunterlook]

Originally Posted by DarkCobra

Yep, it'll take a little pressure buildup to push against the greater weight and pressure of the water. But it should generate that within a short period of time. So I think it's a leak.

If you were using something that required higher pressure, like a glass diffuser, then the extra airspace in your CO2 bottles would have to build up pressure too and slow the process; which can fool you if you're not patient enough to wait an hour or two. But I didn't see you mention anything like that, and you've probably waited long enough.

And a recipe failure, or dead yeast, could also be an issue. But you've been doing this on the 10G, so I'd suspect that last.

That's exactly why this is 1) blowing my mind 2) pissing me off, I had this same set up on my 10G with no issues what so ever. I'm using a little Rio 200 pump for my diffuser and its worked great the entire time but now I can't seem to get any pressure build up. I went and bought a gatorade to use as the bubble counter and just made a new mixture and set it up, we'll see if it works. I've gone through 2 bags of sugar since yesterday trying to get this up and running, it's so ridiculous!

What are your methods for creating the mixture? i.e. yeast first then sugar, water, etc? Right now I add 2 cups sugar, 1/2 tbsp baking soda, fill up 3/4 of bottle with warm water, shake it to dissolve sugar, then add yeast and shake a bit more.

[hunterlook]

Now I'm almost positive it's the mixture. I changed a few things around, there doesn't seem to be any leaks what so ever and now the CO2 (or lack there of) isn't even making it into the bubble counter. I'm at my wits end with this.

[DarkCobra]

For a 2L, I add 1.5 cups sugar, 1 tsp. baking soda, and (for about two week runtime) 1 tsp. Fleishmann's Active Dry (not fast rise), in that order. Then add lukewarm water to within 2.5" or so of the top, and shake the dickens out of it.

Almost nothing is critical, and I don't see anything wrong in your recipe. The only total recipe failure I've had is when I tried only 1/4 tsp. yeast in an attempt to get very long, slow production.

Rio 200, hmmm... Are you running CO2 into the venturi normally used for aeration? I have a Rio 50 used as a diffuser, and it does something weird. Instead of drawing in through the venturi, it pumps out. If the tubing is disconnected from the check valve, and held above the top of the water level, it'll shoot water a foot straight up into the air. It's enough back pressure to prevent any CO2 from coming out for a few hours when a new bottle is attached - during which time the check valve is locked tightly shut. If this is going on for you, it might take longer with the extra air space in your bottles.

Keep at it. Separate and test every part of the system individually. You will eventually find out what's going on.