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5 gallon Aquarium

Two stage filtrarion? Sponge filter with some kind of ceramic? I am guessing activated charcoal would be good? I have been watching lots of videos tonight on DIY filtration, they really do rival the best systems and free up $ for other things, like larger tanks! When I get my 20-30 gallon, I will use my hang on the back 5 gallon, in conjunction with a high volume 2 stage filter.

LOL, I am a cheap skate on a budget, worse case scenario I kill my fish, I ride 6 blocks to the river and restock though I don't think I will kill them.

Instead of an industrial looking sponge anchored to tile, how about a real sea sponge anchored to natural slate?

If you are going to DIY, go to a store that sells fish and aquariums and pumps and filters. See how it is done and then copy it. But for basic filtering, a foam pad and charcoal is good, but the ceramic material stays in the hang on, let the bacteria live on that and assist. If you are only doing 30 gallons with a few fish, you don't need a lot, but, more fish = more poop, and the need for the water to be more aerated and filtered. I used to use an air pump that was attached to plastic undergravel plates.
 
I like fish tanks.... but they are deceptively expensive and annoying to maintain.

I can't count how many times I accidentally swallowed a huge gulp of nasty fish water siphoning the damn thing lol.

Good lord man, they have gravel pumps with manual pumps to get the suction going.
;)
 
Wanted a fish tank, for Mrs Slingshot (OK, me too)

Thought on it a few days and went to Wal Mart and got the 5 gallon. A good set up. 30$ gets you a tank, lights and lid and filter.

After you buy all the extras (gravel, decorations, pump, airstones, splitters and line, extra filters) it was 65$.

We would need to drive (get a ride) 40 miles to buy fish.

I went 6 blocks to the river with a minnow net, got 8 minnows one is a "dairy cow". Have 6 grass shrimp (they are freshwater and don't grow bigger than one inch, great garbagemen)

Also have a "flounder". They grow as big as a silver dollar but are freshwater fish. (eyes on top, sideways mouth) Looks like a flying carpet when it leaves the bottom.

I could watch it for hours, a tank is mesmerizing.

I love aquariums. I had two 10 gallon tanks when I was a kid, and over the past few years I got back into it because my daughter wanted a dog but I got her a Betta instead. It started out as a bowl with a small filter to 5 nano tanks (5 gal) scattered through out our condo. I've cut the number down to 3 with fish and shrimp (one 20 gal, one 2.5 gal shrimp tank, and a 12 gal Mr Aqua tank with Celestial Pearl Danios, shrimp, and snails) so my Saturday mornings aren't monopolized with cleaning tanks.
 
Don't clean fish tanks when you have open sores or wounds. Fish bacteria can do horrible things to humans. Wear gloves even if you have no wounds.
 
I love aquariums. I had two 10 gallon tanks when I was a kid, and over the past few years I got back into it because my daughter wanted a dog but I got her a Betta instead. It started out as a bowl with a small filter to 5 nano tanks (5 gal) scattered through out our condo. I've cut the number down to 3 with fish and shrimp (one 20 gal, one 2.5 gal shrimp tank, and a 12 gal Mr Aqua tank with Celestial Pearl Danios, shrimp, and snails) so my Saturday mornings aren't monopolized with cleaning tanks.

Salt water? I have about 10 shrimp in my tank, they are freshwater/slightly brackish and get only 1 inch max. Just caught a native sailfin molly like this guy, he would appreciate the 29 gallon. Why not just get one large tank? 50 gallon? th.jpg
 
Salt water? I have about 10 shrimp in my tank, they are freshwater/slightly brackish and get only 1 inch max. Just caught a native sailfin molly like this guy, he would appreciate the 29 gallon. Why not just get one large tank? 50 gallon? View attachment 67232335

Just freshwater tropical fish and all are planted:

- 20 Gal: Tetras (Ember, green, and black), Beckford Pencilfish, Danio Tinwini, Red Cherry Shrimp
- 12 Gal: Celestial Pearl Danios, Broraras Brigittae, Cory Habrosus, Microdevario Kubotai, Amano shrimp. Horned Nerite snails
- 2.5 gal: Red Cherry Shrimp

One of my 5 gal tanks was brackish and I had some Bumblebee gobies in them along with nerite snails. Keeping the salinity balance was a bit of a pain so once the fish died I changed the water out and have kept it as a planted tank with no fish. Salt water tanks are high maintenance, and expensive (as are the fish and coral) which is why I've stayed away. I would get a larger tank; I had been eyeing a 55 gallon tank with the idea of consolidating all the tanks and keeping large schools of small fish (microrasboras and danios), but it would be too much of a footprint in our condo for my wife's liking. I also like having tanks with different aquascaping.
 
Just freshwater tropical fish and all are planted:

- 20 Gal: Tetras (Ember, green, and black), Beckford Pencilfish, Danio Tinwini, Red Cherry Shrimp
- 12 Gal: Celestial Pearl Danios, Broraras Brigittae, Cory Habrosus, Microdevario Kubotai, Amano shrimp. Horned Nerite snails
- 2.5 gal: Red Cherry Shrimp

One of my 5 gal tanks was brackish and I had some Bumblebee gobies in them along with nerite snails. Keeping the salinity balance was a bit of a pain so once the fish died I changed the water out and have kept it as a planted tank with no fish. Salt water tanks are high maintenance, and expensive (as are the fish and coral) which is why I've stayed away. I would get a larger tank; I had been eyeing a 55 gallon tank with the idea of consolidating all the tanks and keeping large schools of small fish (microrasboras and danios), but it would be too much of a footprint in our condo for my wife's liking. I also like having tanks with different aquascaping.
I started with a 1 1/2 gallon, lol.

Sounds like you have quite the variety there!

My plan is to have a good representation of native (and established invasives like the jewel cichlid) and native plants. I will put peace river gravel and fossils on the bottom. I could easily have 15 species and several shellfish.
 
Think I found the best deal, 29 gallons. Not huge but plenty of room. These things get expensive.View attachment 67232334

That's a lot better than a 5 gallon tank, with only 5 gallons you need really small tropical fish.

I had some gold fish, the oldest one lived for 16 years, about as long as dogs and cats do.

My 25 gallon wasn't big enough in the end, my best fish was about the size of a flattened palm, he just barely had enough room and couldn't really swim much of a length.

The posters are correct saying it is more work than it seems, and I must have went through many thousands of gallons of water over the years.

Oh, something else... fish are much smarter and more personable than they might seem, probably at least one will be your special buddy.

Thx :)
 
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That's a lot better than a 5 gallon tank, with only 5 gallons you need really small tropical fish.

I had some gold fish, the oldest one lived for 16 years, about as long as dogs and cats do.

My 25 gallon wasn't big enough in the end, my best fish was about the size of a flattened palm, he just barely had enough room and couldn't really swim much of a length.

The posters are correct saying it is more work than it seems, and I must have went through many thousands of gallons of water over the years.

Thx :)

I may just stick with the sailfin mollies and a few non aggressive natives, I don't want fin peckers. I have city water so I have to use a chlorine remover. When I set up the 29 I will use my friends well water.

Lots of work, but I can sit and watch fish for long periods, Mrs Slingshot is a homebound stroke victim so at first I thought it was just for her, then I got hooked lol.

And since it is hurricane country, I will need a battery pump, Irma had our power out for 3 days last September. The good thing is, I spend no $ on fish, I just go 6 blocks to the river and set my trap out or use a dip net.
 
I may just stick with the sailfin mollies and a few non aggressive natives, I don't want fin peckers. I have city water so I have to use a chlorine remover. When I set up the 29 I will use my friends well water.

Lots of work, but I can sit and watch fish for long periods, Mrs Slingshot is a homebound stroke victim so at first I thought it was just for her, then I got hooked lol.

And since it is hurricane country, I will need a battery pump, Irma had our power out for 3 days last September. The good thing is, I spend no $ on fish, I just go 6 blocks to the river and set my trap out or use a dip net.

Yeah, fish getting along is a big consideration.

I had a Sailfin Plecostomus in with the gold fish for awhile, he was fine when he was small, but once he got as big as the others he got aggressive and tried to attach himself to my best fish.

My brood were 25 cent feeder fish when I got them, a friend had a tank, then neglected them and I took them and kept them all that time.

Fish tanks are very therapeutic and relaxing, I enjoyed the time I had them.

I got to the point where I was doing about a 50% water swap every day by dipping a pitcher instead of setting up a siphon hose or just changing the filter every two weeks or so, I got rid of the filter and pump all together.

My best fish was one of those personable ones, he used to swim through my fingers.

Thx :)
 
Yeah, fish getting along is a big consideration.

I had a Sailfin Plecostomus in with the gold fish for awhile, he was fine when he was small, but once he got as big as the others he got aggressive and tried to attach himself to my best fish.

My brood were 25 cent feeder fish when I got them, a friend had a tank, then neglected them and I took them and kept them all that time.

Fish tanks are very therapeutic and relaxing, I enjoyed the time I had them.

I got to the point where I was doing about a 50% water swap every day by dipping a pitcher instead of setting up a siphon hose or just changing the filter every two weeks or so, I got rid of the filter and pump all together.

My best fish was one of those personable ones, he used to swim through my fingers.

Thx :)

My fin nipper Cichlid got a trip to the bird bath out front when my sailfin came home. It is illegal to release them in the wild, even if you caught them there. When I set my fish trap, I get 8-12 of them in 40 minutes. I guess I should toss them on the bank, not that it would make much of a dent in the population. When I set my trap, I am hoping for a red cichlid or a baby catfish or other unique specimen, in this particular creek jewel cichlids are nearly all I catch.

The river is full of plecos, they seem to top out about 1 and a half pounds. I tried eating them, hard to clean and not very tasty, lol.
 
I knew the subject of crawdads was going to come up in the thread, I had a friend with a 10 gallon tank he had one female in with a clutch of eggs and I don't know how it turned out for him.

We used to get good sized ones when I was a kid in the mud flats of Puddingstone Reservoir, great big huge bag of suffering crawdads to present to his mother. :D

Thx :)
 
I knew the subject of crawdads was going to come up in the thread, I had a friend with a 10 gallon tank he had one female in with a clutch of eggs and I don't know how it turned out for him.

We used to get good sized ones when I was a kid in the mud flats of Puddingstone Reservoir, great big huge bag of suffering crawdads to present to his mother. :D

Thx :)

Love me some mudbug tails! I have caught a couple here and there in fishtraps in the past, but never enough to make a meal. Not sure if you saw it in this thread but here is my recently constructed fish trap, a pretzel jar and the funnels are 2 liter tops, used a hot glue gun because super glue sucks.WIN_20180426_20_36_11_Pro.jpg baited with dry cat food. Placing in different areas, catches different species.
 
Love me some mudbug tails! I have caught a couple here and there in fishtraps in the past, but never enough to make a meal. Not sure if you saw it in this thread but here is my recently constructed fish trap, a pretzel jar and the funnels are 2 liter tops, used a hot glue gun because super glue sucks.View attachment 67232340 baited with dry cat food. Placing in different areas, catches different species.

We caught the crawdads by putting our arm down their hole and would pull out some big ones, large claws.

We were really hard on the population, we'd end up with about half an old school shopping bag's worth, enough for his family of five and me too.

Thx :)
 
Wanted a fish tank, for Mrs Slingshot (OK, me too)

Thought on it a few days and went to Wal Mart and got the 5 gallon. A good set up. 30$ gets you a tank, lights and lid and filter.

After you buy all the extras (gravel, decorations, pump, airstones, splitters and line, extra filters) it was 65$.

We would need to drive (get a ride) 40 miles to buy fish.

I went 6 blocks to the river with a minnow net, got 8 minnows one is a "dairy cow". Have 6 grass shrimp (they are freshwater and don't grow bigger than one inch, great garbagemen)

Also have a "flounder". They grow as big as a silver dollar but are freshwater fish. (eyes on top, sideways mouth) Looks like a flying carpet when it leaves the bottom.

I could watch it for hours, a tank is mesmerizing.

I enjoy keeping fish my favorite are saltwater because they're easier to care for. But wild-caught minnows and Brim are just fine
 
I enjoy keeping fish my favorite are saltwater because they're easier to care for. But wild-caught minnows and Brim are just fine

If I lived on the coast (60 miles inland), I would love to see what my trap would catch, but the cost might be offputting, maybe I overestimate and perhaps a larger tank would not be all that much more than maintaining a freshwater?
 
If I lived on the coast (60 miles inland), I would love to see what my trap would catch, but the cost might be offputting, maybe I overestimate and perhaps a larger tank would not be all that much more than maintaining a freshwater?

Don't go over your means
 
Wanted a fish tank, for Mrs Slingshot (OK, me too)

Thought on it a few days and went to Wal Mart and got the 5 gallon. A good set up. 30$ gets you a tank, lights and lid and filter.

After you buy all the extras (gravel, decorations, pump, airstones, splitters and line, extra filters) it was 65$.

We would need to drive (get a ride) 40 miles to buy fish.

I went 6 blocks to the river with a minnow net, got 8 minnows one is a "dairy cow". Have 6 grass shrimp (they are freshwater and don't grow bigger than one inch, great garbagemen)

Also have a "flounder". They grow as big as a silver dollar but are freshwater fish. (eyes on top, sideways mouth) Looks like a flying carpet when it leaves the bottom.

I could watch it for hours, a tank is mesmerizing.

I used to feed japanese fishes as a teenager ,I like watching them and naming them after beloved or hated ones ,:lol:

we have a giant aqualand about our neighbourhood ,fascinating
 
Wanted a fish tank, for Mrs Slingshot (OK, me too)

Thought on it a few days and went to Wal Mart and got the 5 gallon. A good set up. 30$ gets you a tank, lights and lid and filter.

After you buy all the extras (gravel, decorations, pump, airstones, splitters and line, extra filters) it was 65$.

We would need to drive (get a ride) 40 miles to buy fish.

I went 6 blocks to the river with a minnow net, got 8 minnows one is a "dairy cow". Have 6 grass shrimp (they are freshwater and don't grow bigger than one inch, great garbagemen)

Also have a "flounder". They grow as big as a silver dollar but are freshwater fish. (eyes on top, sideways mouth) Looks like a flying carpet when it leaves the bottom.

I could watch it for hours, a tank is mesmerizing.

I used to raise crawfish and bullhead cats in a fish tank. Bullheads in texas are a pest and not game fish, they get to 7-12 inches full grown, and even have a personality. The crawfish I caught with old rotting hotdogs in a crawfish trap, same with the bullheads as well as some blue gills and minnows I used to feed them.


If you want a long term pet get a red eared slider turtle, though they do like to eat the fish in the tank.
 
I was looking into making a propane fired furnace with a crucible for metal castings. I saw some good plans on the web, oxygen was not needed IIRC. Should be plenty hot enough, I would think. But then again, I was looking into aluminum casting.

For aluminum you can use a plaster of paris and play sand mix with charcoal and a cheap blower fan. They work great, too great to be exact, first one I made I did not pay attention and it melted the aluminum, and the steel crucible, burned through the plaster and even melted the steel freon tank I used for the case, leaving molten steel on my concrete walkway.


You can use kaowool as well as other refractories, but the key is temp control, with forced air you need to monitor it and cycle it as needed, even charcoal with a simple vacuum cleaner put in reverse like a shop vac can produce temps to melt steel if left on too long.
 
I used to raise crawfish and bullhead cats in a fish tank. Bullheads in texas are a pest and not game fish, they get to 7-12 inches full grown, and even have a personality. The crawfish I caught with old rotting hotdogs in a crawfish trap, same with the bullheads as well as some blue gills and minnows I used to feed them.


If you want a long term pet get a red eared slider turtle, though they do like to eat the fish in the tank.

Pass on the slider, my friends have one they got as a baby, he is now large and cramped in a 20 gallon. They make the water filthy, if I wanted a turtle I would get a box tortoise. They don't get big and no water other than the dish to deal with.
 
For aluminum you can use a plaster of paris and play sand mix with charcoal and a cheap blower fan. They work great, too great to be exact, first one I made I did not pay attention and it melted the aluminum, and the steel crucible, burned through the plaster and even melted the steel freon tank I used for the case, leaving molten steel on my concrete walkway.


You can use kaowool as well as other refractories, but the key is temp control, with forced air you need to monitor it and cycle it as needed, even charcoal with a simple vacuum cleaner put in reverse like a shop vac can produce temps to melt steel if left on too long.

What were you casting? What sort of mold? Sand casting molds can be very intricate but one time use. I have heard I can melt aluminum in a cast iron pot on an open fire, but with a melting point of 1221F I would have to see it to believe it. Have to be a very hot ass fire.
 
What were you casting? What sort of mold? Sand casting molds can be very intricate but one time use. I have heard I can melt aluminum in a cast iron pot on an open fire, but with a melting point of 1221F I would have to see it to believe it. Have to be a very hot ass fire.

I used tin cans and cut up fire extinguishers for aluminum, the tin cans need care though as even though they will not melt they become soft enough to puncture spilling molten aluminum. Sand casting molds are actually easy, but for a while I was just melting aluminum and putting them in bread pans and muffin tins to make ingots.

Do not be surprised if 100 pounds of cans only gets you 20 pounds of aluminum, their if often impurities and paint that take up more weight than the metal itself.
 
I used tin cans and cut up fire extinguishers for aluminum, the tin cans need care though as even though they will not melt they become soft enough to puncture spilling molten aluminum. Sand casting molds are actually easy, but for a while I was just melting aluminum and putting them in bread pans and muffin tins to make ingots.

Do not be surprised if 100 pounds of cans only gets you 20 pounds of aluminum, their if often impurities and paint that take up more weight than the metal itself.

Was looking at plans for a homebuilt propane fired furnace, always got my eyes open for any cast iron vessel that would make a good crucible. Just got done welding a 29 gallon tank stand fro angle iron, came out nice and square. A 29 gallon tank with everything in it will weigh close to 300 pounds so I made it very sturdy. 29 gallons letting go inside would kinda suck.
 
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