106. DIY: The Good, The Ugly, and the Just Plain Bad 1
DIY projects are something that most hobbyists try at some point in time. Whether it be to try saving a few dollars or because the industry doesn’t have a reliable solution for a problem, the Water Colors team discusses the DIY strategies we’ve tried. We’ll even tell you which ones failed and which ones are golden. Tell us about your DIY projects, whether they succeeded or not, in the Water Colors Aquarium Gallery Podcast Listeners Facebook group.
Corrections:
– In this episode, we stated that the type species for the genus Betta was Betta pugnax. The actual type species is Betta picta.
– In this episode, we used the name “Heniochus duplicares“. This is not a currently recognized species and. What we meant was Heniochus diphreutes.
– In this episode, we stated that brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) exoskeletons are comprised of keratin. Keratin is a family of fibrous proteins produced specifically by vertebrates. In the case of an invertebrate, like brine shrimp, their exoskeleton would be composed of chitin.
Fishes Mentioned in This Episode:
– Heniochus butterflyfish (Heniochus diphreutes)
– Tiger barb (Puntigrus tetrazona)
– Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)
– Betta pugnax
– Neon red rasbora (Sundadanio rubellus)
– Espei rabora (Trigonostigma espei)
– Neon green rasbora (Microdevario kubotai)
– Sundadanio spp.
– Cockatoo cichlid (Apistogramma cacatuoides)
– Panda Apisto (Apistogramma panduro)
– Pelvicachromis kribensis “Moliwe”
– Common “Krib” (Pelvicachromis pulcher)
– Betta mahachaiensis
– Stiphodon gobies (Stiphodon spp.)
– Volitans lionfish (Pterois volitans)
– Harlequin rasbora (Trigonostigma heteromorpha)
– Betta unimaculata
– Betta ocellata
Great podcast. I had a couple of random points of interest for you. I finally have something I can contribute back instead of just learning! Mineral processing something I get paid to geek out on.
Blasting sand is used for it’s abrasive properties (typically due to high silica) rather than it’s “sharp” edges. It is entirely possible, if not likely that blasting sand that is a byproduct or crushed to create will have sharp edges, as silica is often going to break similar to glass. However, a lot of blasting sand is probably washed and sized sand fines, that have been getting rounded like river rocks for a very long time. For the average hobbyist without a microscope or mineral background they are probably indistinguishable. This is why some people swear by blasting sand and other’s kill their fish with it. That is the same for all of the cheaper varieties of sand out there, such as pool filter sand, etc. If someone is going with Cory cats they probably should just go with something like the CaribSea products to avoid scratching those barbles.
You mentioned using a magnet to test for iron oxide. That will only work for ferrous iron oxides such as magnetite. A very sizable portion of iron oxides are not necessarily going to exhibit strong magnetism (ferrous, or anti-ferrous) at room temperatures. I would caution using just a magnet to test this.
If someone wants to test their sand/rocks for pH I encourage the use of a dilute acid (such as hydrochloric) on a sample to see if you see fizzing as that will indicate for a lot of carbonates.
You’re absolutely correct that most sands and other aggregates are very local. So your advice on tapwater as a good way to check for general rock parameters for the area isn’t off base.
Sorry for the rant. Rocks, and not putting bad rocks in fish tanks is a pet peeve of mine.
On a question note, what’s your thoughts on the best color substrates? I’ve heard every possible answer for black to white to neutrals. If the goal is the health, happiness, and attractiveness of the fish? Probably somewhat fish dependent, but for those of us who lack the artistic ability to pick colors, what’s a good choice? Some fish seem obvious, like Malawi and white(ish) sand. But for most freshwater fish I never know.
Thanks again for the podcasts. You guys are a great resource.