Stuff that happened to you today but isn't worth a thread

Looks good. I like it

 

Here is the tank, pump being in the back left corner. We printed the connector to the pump, pipe elbows and the spraybar


Next I need a proper strainer (the canister one doesn't stay on, hence there being one less catfish) so the system is off till the strainer is ready.

blob:https://youtube.googleapis.com/7caa78d6-68ee-4211-ac24-9a43538aaeb9

 

ABS plastic. They use it in piping. Yeah link is weird

 

This was sold to me as a flying fox. I think it might be a SAE. Anyone help with an ID?

 

Definitely flying fox.

 

With some d.i.y. and expired brain matter I got my sweet potato in the tank, see how that goes with wifey just shaking her head. Also some pineapples, oranges and potato brew going. Anybody got prickly pear?

 

SAE... Stripe runs straight to tailfin
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/may08/siamese-algae-eater-id.htm

 

Hey all just looking for advice here, Iv got a problem I usually do my large daily WC on my discus tank which is around 200ltrs. (Side note the water get reused throughout the house for various needs, I couldn’t bring myself to throw away that much water daily. I’m still looking at more efficient ways to reutilize the water but that’s for another post.)
Now my water is off and has been off since I woke up at 06:00. What would you recommend doing? I can control the ammonia levels via chemicals etc but I assume that’s only a temporary measure. The last time a similar thing happened here in Hout Bay my water was off for 9 days. That was pre discus. So it wasn’t as huge of a worry. Thanks.

 

I'd guess you'd need to worry about Nitrates - adding some pothos roots or floating plants will help keep that in check.
Or, if possible, you could go to Newlands Spring if it's accessible, and you have barrels, and get some spring water there. It's pH was about 5.5, KH 1; GH 1; TDS 58 last I tested. So, soft water.
Push comes to shove you could buy some RO water and do smaller water changes every couple days. Prime/ dechlorinator should keep things in check for a couple days between changes.
Hopefully others can suggest some things too. I'd also cut back on feeding regardless of what you do.

 

200 litres a day water change...1 reason I won't keep discuss . What will happen to discuss if you don't do such a big water change? Legitimate question.

 

Iv already cut back the feedings from 10/12 times a day to only 4 which isn’t going to hugely negatively affect them to much in the long run and of lowered the temp by a degree.
Nitrates are a worry but the jungle of plants in the tank should keep everything in check but I’m testing regularly.
The guys working on the pipe have assured me that latest tomorrow afternoon it’ll be 100% again. After which I’ll do as many tests on the water as possible to make sure there is no contaminants.
So I’m going to miss one change which isn’t ideal and has definitely made me think about my future water storage and filtration plans.
My filter plans came to a grinding halt due to lockdown.
Thank you for the information about the spring especially those values. It sounds great!

Also for brad discus are only a huge amount of work if you make them a large amount of work. So far my discus have only brought me joy. Iv got a fairly large amount of them in my tank and I’m running their environment to accelerate their growth. I know of guys that keep discus and only do weekly changes, Iv even heard of monthly changes etc but it’s largely a filtration dependent thing. You feeding your fish mass amounts of high quality food they going to make lots of waste.

 

This is mostly for juveniles and babies, adults do fine with a weekly change. Doing the big, daily changes keeps the water super clean which allows you to really pump the amount of food, which gets them to grow big and fast.

 

Been storming down in the Cape. Been taking the opportunity to compile a proto-CV of sorts. Us young 'uns will need every edge we can in the post-covid world

 

True that! I read an article comparing us uni leavers to those from 2008 during that economic crash. buuuuut just gotta be positive and take any opportunities we get!

 

Luckily I still have many years to study before venturing into the world, but it won't make it any easier

 

What's your target field?

 

Biology. Next year I will be moving into Biodiversity and Ecology. Still waiting to see where I go postgrad, but probably into phylogenetics

 

That's cool good luck