Well, I finally found some 5/8" tubing that will fit my gravel vac. 24 feet of it, long enough to drain from the tank all the way outside to the garden. This proved to work okay, though the suction isn't great, and you have to start over if the syphon gets above water.

The godddamned faucet hookup is a real problem. I need to find a proper clamp to secure the tubing to the sink adaptor, otherwise it sprays free if a second person isn't holding it. Then if there are any problems, half the time the water starts DRAINING from the tank into the sink, introducing a new pain in the ass.

I should have just bought a python. I've nearly spent the amount it would cost and in time and hassle it would have been well worth it.

- Josh
http://joshday.com

Cheap DIY Python for fast water changes

I got 25 feet of clear tubing and a faucet adaptor at Lowe's to make water changing in the 55 gallon significantly easier.

Pythons can be expensive. Making a hose to hook into your faucet to refill the tank without a bucket brigade is a midway alternative. It's not as good as a Python because you can't drain directly into your sink with the same hose (unless you buy a water bed adapator), but it beats the buckets.

To make one for yourself, first measure the distance between tank and faucet. Unscrew the threaded nozzle where the water comes out and bring it to your favorite hardware store. Find an adapator that will fit the faucet and how many feet of tubing you need. Look around for a clamp too to hold the tubing on the faucet... I forgot this, but it's good to have.

Then just add dechlorinator as the water is filling up. Shaves at least 10 minutes off large water changes.

I'm looking for 5/8 " clear tubing for my gravel vac too... 30 ft worth, so I can empty straight outside or into the shower.

- Josh
http://joshday.com

Afternoon update

I fed some Tetra colorbits (the pink granules with discus on the bottle) to the 55 gallon tank and sure enough, the two new discus accepted them happily. The old discus would never touch em... he's a wild caught brown, and the only thing he'll eat is bloodworms and occasionally a bite of flake, as long as it's enriched in garlic.

Before I did another water change, i checked for nitrates... under 5 ppm! I changed a lot of water frequently up until the discus arrived, and it looks like it did the trick. The tough part now is getting it stay this low. Honestly, I'll be happy if I can keep nitrates under 20 ppm.

I left the light off on the side of the tank the discus are hiding for three days. Then I put in an actinic bulb to get them used to lighting. By Sunday I'll change both lights to a pink colormax bulb, like the one that illuminates 1/2 my planted ten gallon.

- Josh
http://joshday.com

Lot of new stuff!

I've been neglecting this blog. It's been nearly a month since my last post. And a lot has transpired, especially in the last week.

First, the mandarin. Still going strong. He's plumper than ever and he's growing, exceeding two inches now. I have not seen him eat Formula 1 yet, but he gets excited when some is poured in. But he's still wolfing down roe like a mofo.

I've found the yellow dye comes off the roe when I add it to the water in an orange cloud. So what I do is put about half a tsp in a small cup and let the dye color the water in the cup, then turkey baste the roe into the tank. The dye stays at the top of the turkey baster, the eggs fall to the opening at the bottom. Works out very well.

Ok, some more little things before we get to the big updates...

Had to totally clean out all three of my vases. Scrap the gravel, plants, etc. Wash the glass with hot water. All three of them got so terribly cloudy you couldn't see the fish. But luckily, my total vase cleaning has worked, and each vase is crystal clear.

Ich broke out in my ten gallon planted from a new plant. Lost 90% of my plants in the heat and salt bath that followed to wipe out the parasite. It did the trick, but I had to buy new plants. I have wisteria, jungle val, and an amazon sword in the tank now. No new fish, however... and I didn't lose a single fish to the ich, I'm happy to say.

Big Al's the large Canadian fish franchise was offering free shipping at the end of November. I took advantage of this and bought a Rena Filstar XP2 canister filter. Suffice to say I am very pleased with it. I set up it before I went to bed, and the next morning the tank sparkled and was crystal clear. The included biochemzorb carbon resin sure did the trick. I plan to keep biozorb in some form always in the tank now--I'm starting to question the oft-parroted tale of carbon being pointless unless you're clearing out a med or a toxin.

The evidence I've seen in my tank has led me to believe that carbon is always good to have. As long as its ions are still pulling things out of the water, it can't hurt. I really believe it adds an extra polish to the water too.

I added some ceramic noodles to one of the filter trays too for added bio filtration. ($20 for one measly box. Ridiculous. You could probably buy the same material at Home Depot for 3 dollars.) Unfortunately, I had to scrap the biozorb and load it into my remaining H.O.B. Whisper filter. I couldn't fit all the biozorb into the filter bags, but enough is in there to polish the water. I also added the ceramic bio-noodles that didn't fit in the canister, dropped in the back of the filter basin--really loud now but the extra bio filtration is helpful.

Especially with the new occupants...

Ok, if you haven't figured it out by now, I like living on the edge and pushing the limits when it comes to fish. I question everything in the fish hobby, and I question most pre-set knowledge... I hope you are the same too, reader, and that you don't take my word or the word of wetwebmedia as gospel--read different sources and don't be afraid to trust your gut! I would not have my mandarin if I subscribed to the normal sheep culture way of doing things. I wouldn't have my pico vase either, nor the retired, mated discus pair I added on Sunday...

This brings my 55 gallon to a total of...

3 discus, full grown
1 angelfish
1 black skirt tetra (the long finned died from fin nipping, looked like. Poor bastard)
1 royal pleco *
2 otos
2 bala sharks (under 3 inches and tragically stunted by the fish store where I purchased them)
1 black ghost knife

That's enough bioload to give the NYC treatment plant a crash.

But I think it will work.

My filtration is pretty strong, and I'm only going to feed 3 times a week. After every feeding, I'm going to start gravel vacuuming an hour afterwards, sucking out about 6 gallons of water. Also I'm going to try some gimmicky forms of filtration, like nitrazorb pouches. I'll test water params and see what's what on a regular basis.

Like I said, I push the limit. And I think most hardcore aquarists do... I know the people in my local reef club do this as well. It's unfortunate so many on internet fish forums choose to be hypocrites and chastise people for breaking established norms, when in actuallity they are probably even more guilty...

Ok, how about some pictures? How about A LOT of pictures? :)

- Josh
http://joshday.com

* I finally bought a suction cup clip and my pleco can devour a piece of zucchini in less than hour, leaving only what looks like a slimy exoskeleton of skin. Very fun to watch her chew holes in the veggie...

Vase contains an unknown feathery plant and 3 harlequin rasboras and a Glofish.

Reef vase. Green star polyps frag, brown button polyps, and pink zoanthids.

Planted ten gallon. One 6700 k bulb (right) and colormax (left).

Nano tank. Blue mushrooms and assorted shrooms on the left side.

The green star polyps has grown up two sides of the tank. I need to razor it back and try to superglue some onto a shell or rock.

Male discus on the top, smaller, slightly stunted female on the bottom.