K'an II goes online in Tank Two, water increased to 23 gallons; College Doin Fine

[botia]

First the update on Tank Two and company, then those involved
noticed. College - the remaining Atyopsis Moluccensis -- is doing
well. For the first time I had witnessed the molting process, which
occurred Thursday May 4th. The bugger displayed a fidgety behavior
some minutes prior, and I was moments to late to record it on digital
video. To watch this shrimp slip out of it's skin, is something to
see. As per research direction, I have cultured Chlorella and other
Infusoria for the last two weeks on the terrace, and have injected
twice daily this culture, via a turkey baster, the batch harvested into
the filtration intake. The pump streams it out slowly into the fan
hands of College, perched waiting on a uderwater wood a few inches in
front of the water outlet. The culture riped in about two weeks and
consisted of the following: Two liters of filtered water in a wide
plastic pan on the terrace ledge with eastern sun for about four and
half hours a day, adding; one teaspoon of yeast, "Fleischmann's
Yeast" Active Dry, grined; four ounces of partly rotted romain
lettuce; one teaspoon of very rich soil, and two cups out Tank Two
aquarium water - agitated twice during the sun periods. Today, I am
pleased to report, not as teared eyed as Whitehouse Spokesman Snow did,
the employment of a filteration housing unit I have been working on.
The K'an II, a ceramic bio-mechanical filtration house, went on line
in Tank Two at 6:20pm May 16, 2006. I certainly thank CSULA Arts
department staff, Ann; advanced study student respective Kim, for their
contributions in assisting manufacturing this unit - as well the
unsuccesful first prototype. I do beleive we all learned a lot in the
development of the filtration housing unit project. Though it is much
to early to tell how much more effective if any, than the smaller
makeshift plastic bottle version prior, all indications are satifatory
two hours running. More substrate area, about forty cubic inches, has
been recovered given the vertical layout of the K'an II. This
housing unit was outfitted with the existing biological filter media,
Fluval "Biomax" from Hagen, and filter pad "Rite-Size bonded
filter pad" by Marineland, cut to fit the unit. As I type this
College works the stream, and the lights auto switched off. Today I
could have done the John Travolta walk, I am so happy. The next hurdle
will be conversion of Tank Two suited with a brackish water zone, and
to mate this bugger. Future posts will soon include, comments on
aquaculture issues found online.
Present parameters; Tank Two is a 30 gallon tank holding about 23
gallons of fresh water with about one half teaspoon of Dr. Wells
freshwater aquarium salt, pH 7.5 and stable. Iodine added 5 drops
this week. Carbonate hardness of 2.5 and stable, water temp 26c. Low
levels of nitrate, stable. Daphinia population small and stable.
Blood worms population exhausted. Hydra population small and stable.
Common
water Snails small and stable, harvesting in effect. Cyclops
population small and stable. Java ferns (4) stable and barely growing.
Java moss (four bunches) stable and barely growing. Amazon swords (2)
flora stable and growing. Lotus (1) flora stable and rapidly growing.
UnID "Spout"grass flora, stableand growing. UnID "I" worms population
small and stable.