10' Pond Build
- Thread starter moriarty
- Start date
moriarty
New member
Thank you! Yeah, will have to look into the reclaimed brick idea a little more. The thought of carrying 1000's of bricks down to the basement is off-putting, but I think it has some potential!
moriarty
New member
Thank you! I appreciate the compliment!
moriarty
New member
Decided to place the new skimmer last night. Still need to do some tweaking, but I think it's safe to say that it works! Upgrade was way overdue.
One more "FPS" now that the water has cleared up a little. I think that I might have to get some more base rock to conceal the shark's PVC pipe a bit more.
One more "FPS" now that the water has cleared up a little. I think that I might have to get some more base rock to conceal the shark's PVC pipe a bit more.
gavinsepanik
New member
the new scape is great, best yet, what if you used some krylon fusion and painted the pipe black so it blends in with the liner
anbosu
New member
Or just glue/epoxy some sand to the outside of the pipes.
juniorrocketdad
New member
JamesHolt
Active member
No trustable kids in the area?? I use the neighbors all the time for toting..
$20 goes a long way with them....lol
Like the new skimmer! I stick with the 'old school" skimmer technology on my systems. I actually have a few back-up skimmers that i rotate sometimes. Ive got two of the 6 foot dual downdraft ETSS commercial skimmers and a third similar model that was shipped USPS and arrived broken at every possible place. A dual beckett Precision Marine Bullet XL3/4 (Custom height with the dual beckett bullets). I also recently was able to find what looks to be an original model recirculating MTC that's over 5 feet as well. All of these skimmers require big pressure pumps which add to their cost and electric bill. But I believe that these trusty technologies like the injection, downdraft, beckett and recirculating have benefits that are unique and more ideal when processing 1000+ gallons and heavy bioloads.
As for the Mazuri shark/Ray gel, I definitely use it. I prefer it over the tabs, at this point. If I understand what their customer representative told me once is that with the gel.... large institutions and public aquariums order huge batches to be made but with unique vitamin, mineral, amino acids and different ingredients, that the biologists at whichever place have specified. The leftover gels from making these batches are what is sold to private aquarists. (I called them after receiving a jar that had said some alpha-numeric diet onot the label.)
When I makethe gel, I follow their written ingredients but I make the powder to water ratio much more in favor of powder, so that it comes out thicker. I use extremely hot water to mix it with and then i have a dish that is divided into four quarters that are about 4" × 4" each, and 1" thick. I bage each square seperate and freeze them. At first when feeding it to the sharks, they wouldn't touch. So then I incorporated the squares, cut up into cubes, in with their normal food that soaks in second or vitachem. That got them eating it. Now I can feed them the gel exclusively as long as I let it sit in whatever liquid supplement I'm using for a while.
Phew, that was long winded!
As for the Mazuri shark/Ray gel, I definitely use it. I prefer it over the tabs, at this point. If I understand what their customer representative told me once is that with the gel.... large institutions and public aquariums order huge batches to be made but with unique vitamin, mineral, amino acids and different ingredients, that the biologists at whichever place have specified. The leftover gels from making these batches are what is sold to private aquarists. (I called them after receiving a jar that had said some alpha-numeric diet onot the label.)
When I makethe gel, I follow their written ingredients but I make the powder to water ratio much more in favor of powder, so that it comes out thicker. I use extremely hot water to mix it with and then i have a dish that is divided into four quarters that are about 4" × 4" each, and 1" thick. I bage each square seperate and freeze them. At first when feeding it to the sharks, they wouldn't touch. So then I incorporated the squares, cut up into cubes, in with their normal food that soaks in second or vitachem. That got them eating it. Now I can feed them the gel exclusively as long as I let it sit in whatever liquid supplement I'm using for a while.
Phew, that was long winded!
moriarty
New member
I really appreciate you taking the time to share this info!
As for the new skimmer, I was a bit apprehensive about going with something other than injection (have been using AquaC skimmers on all of my systems since around 2000 - 2001). Will have to see how things go with the RO, but I will likely return to some sort of "old school" tech when I get around to building something a little more substantial.
I won't give up on the gel just yet then. Going to try your method of a firmer mixture soaked in selcon along with their other food. I'll make a good amount and freeze and just keep trying! I followed the mixing instructions in each of my past attempts of 60% water to 40% powder, but will definitely change this ratio in favor of more powder going forward.
I've actually been out of town for the past couple weeks, and had a friend stop by to check up on the pool/feed the sharks. He currently has a pair of cali horn sharks, and is knowledgable, but being away for that long was still a little worrisome! Happy to say that all is well
moriarty
New member
Great idea!!
moriarty
New member
Thank you!!
Glad to hear all is well. It's always hard leaving the aquarium behind!
With the gel, shoot for very hot water, around 190 degrees (F), and more than 50% powder to water. A few meals with it mixed with the normal fare (and supplement) should be good for getting them ready for just the gel!
When mixing it all up, try to make something similar to a Brownie.
When feeding it cubed and alone, add whatever it is you add to their normal meal ie. Garlic-X, Selcon, juice from PE mysis, or Shellfish/Fish (you usually feed.)
Love your updates!
How's those mangroves being so far out of the water?
With the gel, shoot for very hot water, around 190 degrees (F), and more than 50% powder to water. A few meals with it mixed with the normal fare (and supplement) should be good for getting them ready for just the gel!
When mixing it all up, try to make something similar to a Brownie.
When feeding it cubed and alone, add whatever it is you add to their normal meal ie. Garlic-X, Selcon, juice from PE mysis, or Shellfish/Fish (you usually feed.)
Love your updates!
How's those mangroves being so far out of the water?
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bbaz123456
New member
I agree with griseum with mixing less water than mazzurri recommends.
I also mixed some chopped squid or mysis in there to get my sharks to start eating it. Even blend up some squid, clams, or smelly fish into a slurry and mix that into the powder right before adding the hot water. They will love it and after the first batch you wont have to bother with adding any extras.
I also chop up some mazzuri vitamins and add those in too. They are probably in there already but I add a few more so I don't have to worry about putting in the rest of their food.
Even though it does still make a mess out of my water after feedings...the smaller fish and corals eat up some of it
I also mixed some chopped squid or mysis in there to get my sharks to start eating it. Even blend up some squid, clams, or smelly fish into a slurry and mix that into the powder right before adding the hot water. They will love it and after the first batch you wont have to bother with adding any extras.
I also chop up some mazzuri vitamins and add those in too. They are probably in there already but I add a few more so I don't have to worry about putting in the rest of their food.
Even though it does still make a mess out of my water after feedings...the smaller fish and corals eat up some of it
moriarty
New member
Going to mix up a batch when I get home from work this evening and see how it goes! I picked up a few boxes of uncleaned squid before the weekend, so I'll try soaking it in Selcon along with the squid. Actually, the last few boxes of squid that I fed had some nice developing egg cases inside the majority of them, which the sharks go absolutely crazy for!
As for the mangroves, I had to "sink" the island because the sand was constantly wet, and started to develop a bit of a "wet laundry" smell. The mangroves however were doing very well, and started to root after just a few short weeks. Hopefully they will continue to do so now they are a little more submerged. Will try to grab some pics tonight or tomorrow.
Again, I really appreciate the advice, and will definitely keep you posted on how things go with the gel!
moriarty
New member
This would definitely simplify things! I do have to mention however, that I would be concerned that adding hot water to frozen/raw seafood; especially whole food items with the "guts" still intact (which is what I feed whenever possible) and the subsequent refrigeration/re-freezing would bring the temperature of the seafood to a point (can become an issue even over a relatively short time period) to allow the proliferation of bacteria or other pathogens that would have the potential for the food to become contaminated and unsafe to feed. I may be a little over cautious here, but I have lost fish to contaminated food (at least this was my suspicion for the losses) in the past... Would hate to go through that again, even if it would be a good way to make the gel more palatable
moriarty
New member
Playing around with adding some artificial corals to the pool. Started with 7, and have a few more on order. I think I'm going to stick with green/brown plating types (easiest to anchor/attach to the rock, plus I think they look more natural) and maybe a few small colorful pieces thrown in here and there.
As usual, apologies for the cloudy water - kicked up a good amount of sand while placing/attaching them to the rock.
Anyway, I wanted to ask for some opinions on the artificial coral. The last thing I want is a fake reef that looks... well... fake.
As usual, apologies for the cloudy water - kicked up a good amount of sand while placing/attaching them to the rock.
Anyway, I wanted to ask for some opinions on the artificial coral. The last thing I want is a fake reef that looks... well... fake.
