(no subject)

[austin_tycho]

Floor guy finally finished the floor and wanted a bunch of money. I guess I have no reason to be surprised. *sigh*

The 2 rooms we've been working on have been coming along nicely. In the green room, we framed and hung these posters, which I had bought on 3/3 but never could figure out where to hang them. I loved them when I saw them at Autumnfest last year, and was so happy to get them- but I'll be the first to admit that they're kind of cheesy. I don't care! We got some oversized poster frames from Garden Ridge, and some artsy-fartsy colored paper (like quality posterboard) and did a pretty decent matt and frame job with this stuff. They're hung on the green wall, which I was thinking of sponging but have decided to leave it be for now. It looked too stark, but with these posters up it's a lot better.

The aquarium is waiting for me to supply it. I think I will go ahead and keep the 10-gal because I just like having it in the bedroom. Good feng shui. Anyway I managed to get a good deal on a Magnum filter for the big one, but I still need to get other stuff (at least one other type of filtration, heater, power strip, gravel, not to mention fish) and clean the bastard. I am looking forward to it- having it set up, not cleaning, which according to most sources will just involve a lot of scraping with a razor blade, bleh. I may stick more neons in the big one, and another betta just because I like them so much. I'll plant it with the plants I have in the 10g (they grow like mad! I've had to thin them out and just throw them away numerous times), which I have discovered are most likely java ferns. I thought about a very cool looking black and silver hammerhead catfish looking guy in Paul's tank called Pangasius sutchi, but apparently they can get to be a yard (!) long, and will- according to one website- eat any fish it can fit into it's mouth. So none of those! Maybe I'll try cardinal tetras, though I hear they prefer soft water with a low pH, which Austin's ain't.

Last night hub got the lattice, and we'd already gotten the fake vines and white Christmas lights we're going to put up on the ceiling in there. It's almost finished! It already looks really good in there.

Yesterday I finished the paint in my computer room (the 'breakfast nook'). The walls, if you recall, are a gorgeous blue with cobalt blue sponged off; well, now there is a perfect border of golden Egyptian-style stars around the top. I owe a lot to hub who made the stencil exactly as I described it to him. Oh, man, I am so thrilled with that room... I must get pics of it before I crap it up with all my stuff.

Later projects include the kimono wall (we plan to paint it cobalt, but it's very high off the floor and will take a lot of ladder work) and the wall by the front door which will be green as well, but I may plan to sponge that too since it's too small to put any artwork on it.

Comments

posters

[starcrossedlady.livejournal.com]

some may think the posters are cheesy, but I think they are quite nice.

I made Gentleman Friend look at them, and he liked them too :)

Re: posters

[mielikki.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[scorpionis.livejournal.com]

You can clean the aquarium using sea salt and one of those rectangular green scrubby things. MUCH MUCH easier than using a razor blade, not to mention safer and no risk of scratching the glass. And I have an unused 200W heater I'll sell you for $15: it was $19+tax new and is one of the best ones you can buy (Ebo-Jager double thickness: very hard to break, dialable temperature). I would go to www.petsolutions.com for any supplies you need: they're about 1/2 as much as any store you can go to and have nice speedy shipping. I've never been disappointed. What sort of filter is the Magnum, canister or plain over-the-back power? If it's a canister, you may not need another one: they're pretty stout. As long as it's pumping 10 times the tank capacity per hour it's all good. If not, I'd really recommend an AquaClear power filter, a 500 in your case. I love my AQs, so quiet and not very expensive at all. I'd skip the cardinals, though: so much fuss to make them happy with Austin's water. I'd also skip the betta in the big tank: they don't do well in large spaces in my experience.

Ok, that's my fishy advice. :)

[mielikki.livejournal.com]

This is the filter; it's the one with the bio-wheel and the gravel vacuum thingie. It says it only pumps 250 gal/hour, but somewhere else I read that it is supposed to filter up to a 65 gallon tank. I was looking at an undergravel filter in addition, but I hear that they're really messy if you don't keep on top of it and in a frank assessment of my organizational skills I'm afraid I'd let it get away from me. I've heard that reverse undergravel filters are less prone to getting nasty, but that they're not that good if you have live plants. I'm thinking of just using the Magnum, and with the plants maybe that will be enough.

BTW, I tried to go to www.petsolutions, and they don't seem to be up. :( I will take you up on the heater though! For cleaning, someone suggested using vinegar as well. Sea salt? So I would just use that as an abrasive to scrub the stuff off?

I'm still divided about the betta. Is there another sturdy fish you would recomend I get to help the tank cycle faster?

Hub says since I will have 2 tanks that makes me an official fish nerd. I was talking his ear off last night about filtration systems. It's been fun!

Re:

[scorpionis.livejournal.com]

I read that it is supposed to filter up to a 65 gallon tank

In my experience, the guidelines the manufacturers give for how big a tank the filter will handle are completely inadequate: frankly I think they do that to make consumers buy more filtration materials than they need. I only had trouble when going by those guidelines and my LFS guy said to *always* make sure it pumps 10X the tank capacity. That way you can actually fill the tank with fish to its capacity without having them die off (I have a 100G that I had a lot of trouble with until I gave it adequate filtration: the bigger the tank, the more it's a problem). I'd skip the undergravels as well: they're so tedious. If you got an AQ300 (around $20 I think) it would complement the Magnum very nicely.

Weird about petsolutions: I have an extra catalog I can bring you. They rock so hard.

Yeah, the vinegar will help dissolve the hardened salts, and the sea salt is indeed a safe abrasive. In combo with the green scrubby things I use (or any algae scrubbing pad) it's done great in getting dirty tanks clean. You might still need a razor for the really tough spots, but try letting them sit in vinegar first (the spots, not the razors). :P Best way to scrub and rinse is to take it out onto your backporch and lay it on its side to rinse it out.

For cycling the tank, I'd either get some of that bottled bacteria stuff they make now or get some mollies or platies. Don't get guppies: they're very hardy but you'll have a tank full of 100s of guppies in very short order. Mollies & platies are just about as hardy, will tolerate Austin's water, are fairly bright and colorful, and don't breed nearly as fast, although you will have a few baby fish. Just get a handful at first, and then after a month or so, get more fish: I like tetras & loaches. Rasboras are also fun fish: they like big tanks and will swim in a school back and forth across the front panel. Avoid gouramis: they're notorious for picking on each other AND the other fish.

I don't know how far you feel like driving for your fish, but I only know of one store in town that holds their fish for a few days to ensure that they're not sick, and it's down by me on South Congress (Rivers & Reefs: tell him Antares sent you!). All the other stores will sell you fish the day they arrive, and I've had some awful problems with diseases that way. Either that or only buy fish on a Monday: all fish are shipped to Austin on Wednesdays & Thursdays, sometimes Friday.

Welcome to fish-nerdiness! :)