# Flat Earth society...



## dcurzon (1 Dec 2020)

Here at the flat earth society, we have members all around the globe.

And speaking of globes, for those non believers...





(stock image)

The infamous "fish killing" Biorb.  Having saved one from a trip to the local tip, I've been toying with some ideas, such as "ok so what ever am I going to do with it?"
Theres been thoughts.
Theres been maths involving spheres.
Theres been LED light disassembly only to find it just needed the right remote.

My conclusion, I think this can be made to work as a planted tank and successfully sustain aquatic life other than a snail.

Ive drawn up a planting list.  Not based on careful consideration of the conditions but on what I have already available and I don't want to spend any £'s.

Dwarf Sag
Crypto Crispulata
Ludwigia Red
Hydrocotyle Triparita
Hygrophilia Polysperma
Spiky Moss
Red Tiger Lotus

I am definitely going to be needing my hacksaw...


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## Nico Felici (1 Dec 2020)

This won't be of much help with your topic I'm afraid, but is polisperma a plant that can generally fit well in such small tanks? I'm asking because I'm also tempted to plant some in my 30cm cube yet I worry that it's leaf size and general width might look a bit disproportionate


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## dcurzon (1 Dec 2020)

Nico Felici said:


> This won't be of much help with your topic I'm afraid, but is polisperma a plant that can generally fit well in such small tanks? I'm asking because I'm also tempted to plant some in my 30cm cube yet I worry that it's leaf size and general width might look a bit disproportionate


In my 72 it was dwarved by my lobelia cardinalis.  It can be cut back hard, and will be an almost background layer, so should be ok


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## Aqua360 (2 Dec 2020)

Id make it into a shrimp tank, if it has magnifying qualities to it, so much the better


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## dcurzon (2 Dec 2020)

I improvised an uplift filter (v1.0), as a proof of concept/test fit. It worked.






As I don't have hands of a similar size to a small child, I've freed up some space in there and more surface area for planting.
I won't bore you with the calculations for volumes of segments of a sphere, but effectively, I calculated that I would need 3 litres of substrate.

Of course I then realised it was far easier to empty it, and add a jug of water one at a time to see how much I needed.  Which happened to also be 3 litres and far easier to work out :/

I have exactly 2 litres of tropica soil powder in a bag...

But I digress. The goal for this step was POC and that was achieved 

Ps. Note the cocky confidence of even sticking a couple of stems in there


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## Dogtemple (2 Dec 2020)

that looks cool, I presume the velocity of the air bubbles pulls the water through and out the pipe to create a bit of flow?


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## dcurzon (2 Dec 2020)

Dogtemple said:


> that looks cool, I presume the velocity of the air bubbles pulls the water through and out the pipe to create a bit of flow?


That's exactly it.
I wasn't able to find a way to measure how much water was being pulled through though, but eyeballing it, I figured there was an amount that could move some water about





But more is always better...


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## Dogtemple (2 Dec 2020)

dcurzon said:


> That's exactly it.
> I wasn't able to find a way to measure how much water was being pulled through though, but eyeballing it, I figured there was an amount that could move some water about
> 
> View attachment 157297
> ...


 could you have the water collect in a bottle from the outlet.  however much you catch in 10sec multiply by 6 then again by 60 to get LPH?


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## dcurzon (3 Dec 2020)

Dogtemple said:


> could you have the water collect in a bottle from the outlet.  however much you catch in 10sec multiply by 6 then again by 60 to get LPH?


Thats exactly what I did do with v2.0... but I'd already pulled v1.0 out. And i used a bag over the outlet to catch the water.  It was just easier with a bag!  I should have phrased that better - I wasn't able to find a way at that time to measure it....

Anyway, I just went and plumbed v1.0 back in albeit temporarily, for a fair comparison. Same usb air pump and piping.

v1.0 = 45lph
v2.0 = 108lph

Things to consider... This Biorb is 30litres.  With my 3litres of substrate and a bit of an air gap at the top, I'm expecting no more than 26litres of water, so thats a 4x turnover.
The air pump being used is one of these USB Quiet Air Pump which gives absolutely no specs on power at all, but it is MUCH quieter than the Biorb air pump.  It obviously isn't a very high powered pump nor adjustable. But it was cheap and quiet.


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## Filip Krupa (3 Dec 2020)

This would be a perfect shrimp tank.
Good luck!


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## Dogtemple (3 Dec 2020)

dcurzon said:


> Thats exactly what I did do with v2.0... but I'd already pulled v1.0 out. And used a bag over the outlet to catch the water.  It was just easier with a bag!  I should have phrased that better - I wasn't able to find a way at that time to measure it....
> 
> Anyway, I just went and plumbed v1.0 back in albeit temporarily, for a fair comparison.
> 
> ...



thats quite an improvement, was that just due to the pump change?

was just thinking, the longer the tube and the bigger the bubbles from the pump, that should also drag more water up.  theres probably a difference to be had with the width of the tube as well.  

if you hang the air pump from an elastic band, that will make it quieter, should have another noisy pump


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## dcurzon (3 Dec 2020)

Dogtemple said:


> thats quite an improvement, was that just due to the pump change?


Same pump and air pipe was used on v1 and v2.0,  so it's a fair comparison.
More to follow...


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## dcurzon (4 Dec 2020)

This is referred to as a "Czech" uplift, or jet uplift.
A series of small holes drilled into the uplift pipe which is sheathed and sealed by a larger pipe and the air pushed into that, so the air bubbles are pressurised.

I didn't have the tooling available to me to be able to build it though and it wasn't going to be very economic to buy the tools for a one off, so I got in touch with Envobee Shrimp through his web site. He makes them for HMF filters, so after a few exchanged messages he made one to suit, although there was always going to have to be some slight alterations made so it was intentionally oversized to accommodate.

It was sent to me at 35cm high and I trimmed roughly 2cm from the uplift.
There's one slight oversight that I need to modify, and that's the intake, I need to raise it so the bottom inlet holes are above substrate level. But that just needs a 20mm coupler and about 3" of 20mm pipe so that should be easy. This is it as supplied by Envobee. You can see I also cut down the inlet as the foam filters i got were 8cm.



As it is now, the extender and small bit of pipe should lift the bottom of the inlet up out of the substrate...


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## Wookii (4 Dec 2020)

Lol I admire your determination, but have you tried to see if you can operate a pair of scissors on there?


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## dcurzon (4 Dec 2020)

Wookii said:


> Lol I admire your determination, but have you tried to see if you can operate a pair of scissors on there?


I did the cutting and fitting of the airline in there whilst flooded....


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## dcurzon (5 Dec 2020)

And that's the inlet extended to a height that will be above substrate



Now remember, I calculated a volume of 3 litres for the substrate... And I have 2 litres of tropica soil.

That gives me a defecit :O

However, I also have a sack full of rounded gravel in black and white variety, so I can make the deficit up with that.
But I suspect what will happen is the small tropica soil will end up underneath the gravel rather than staying above?  So  I'll probably need to put the gravel into bags of some sort, then into the bottom, and the tropica on top.

Where can I buy tights from without looking like some kind of pervert??!!


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## Hufsa (5 Dec 2020)

dcurzon said:


> Where can I buy tights from without looking like some kind of pervert??!!


Go to your closest well stocked grocery store, preferably one you will have to visit again. Pick up a package of tights, and as you get to the register, tell the cashier: 
"Oh these? Dont worry. They're for my fish!"

Alternatively I guess you could buy some off amazon or ebay? Id get some heavy duty looking ones, my limited experience with gravel and tights had the normal fine ones starting to unravel very easily.


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## sparkyweasel (5 Dec 2020)

dcurzon said:


> Where can I buy tights from without looking like some kind of pervert??!!


Buy them from a sex shop, they won't care if you're a pervert. 
Of course, most of theirs will have holes too big to keep gravel in.


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## DeepMetropolis (6 Dec 2020)

dcurzon said:


> Where can I buy tights from without looking like some kind of pervert??!!


Do you really care what people think about that? I would just buy it think the cashier don't care either..


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## not called Bob (6 Dec 2020)

as long as your not putting them on at the till, they will just assume your buying for some one else, 

your you could freak out your female friends and do a social media post asking for any stockings/tights if they pick up a ladder and are throwing them out


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## Wookii (7 Dec 2020)

. . . once you've paid the cashier, just take them out of the packet, pull them over your head and ask the cashier; " Can you just give me directions to the bank?"


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## dcurzon (16 Dec 2020)

I hear that nothing brings guys to a journal quicker than a question about buying pantyhose...

I decided I couldn't be bothered with the tights. So a layer of filter foam in the bottom, then some cleaned smooth gravel filled to level with the base, and then the remains of a bag of tropica soil thrown in.








In fairness, it looks like I could add more, if I had some more.

I'd intended to throw some root tabs right at the bottom, but forgot.


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## dcurzon (16 Dec 2020)

You can see some pebbles made it upwards whilst planting, so yes could definitely do with a deeper layer of the tropica...
3 small stems of Egeria densa
3 hygrophilia poly
4 stems of ludwigia sp red
1 small lava rock of spiky moss
1 small lava rock of hydrocotyle.





undoubtedly I'll move things about, and add more soil and more plants

I put 4 root tabs in, why oh why do they insist on liberating themselves??? And splashed a dose of micro in there too.

I need to up the light at some point, however I think a lounge refit may come first to find a spot for the globe


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## aec34 (16 Dec 2020)

Looks great! Have you found trouble putting plants in the right place given the refraction of the globe? Mine’s currently looking a bit weird, but hoping when the plants all get going it’ll look better


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## dcurzon (16 Dec 2020)

aec34 said:


> Looks great! Have you found trouble putting plants in the right place given the refraction of the globe? Mine’s currently looking a bit weird, but hoping when the plants all get going it’ll look better


Its very difficult with the refraction!  Sometimes its just easier to tilt my head in a  different way, then it looks ok again    I was putting them in, then looking from different areas and trying to figure out what to move and how much... but yes im also hoping the the fill in should improve it all.


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## dcurzon (17 Dec 2020)

Ok I folded and picked up some more tropica soil, rinsed and added another 1.5kg ish. Obviously still a little bit murky from the new dirt added


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## dcurzon (18 Dec 2020)

Dwarf Sag now installed.
x1
No point in overdoing it


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## dcurzon (22 Dec 2020)

Livestock!!!

There appears to be 2 snails in there, must have snuck in on the plants.  1 is VERY fast!! and was last seen doing laps around the filter foam


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## dcurzon (24 Dec 2020)

In my 72, the crypt crispulata had sent out a runner under the substrate and started a new plant up against the front glass... Maybe I should have left it I don't know, but anyway, I tried to snip it out without destroying the carpet.   I think I may have messed that up as I snipped right at the bottom of the few leaves and so no roots  :/ but anyway, I have put it in the ball, I'm not sure if I got enough of the plant for it to survive  or not.
Diatoms have set in as one would expect, mostly on leaves of the hygro.  Snails aren't keeping up with it.
But there has been growth. Slow, but growth. Most noticeable on the hydrocotyle and the lonely sag.  The Egeria is perking up and standing uprightish now where before it was flopped over.
The ludwigia red is becoming green.  Not unexpected as the lighting is about 2w, and is on my to do list.


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## dcurzon (26 Dec 2020)

Decided to throw in some DIY co2 just to get things going a bit.  For no other reason than I was bored and because I can.
There's nothing in there that 'needs' extra co2, except perhaps the ludwigia might appreciate it, but it's not going to do any harm. And as it's DIY, it'll be easy enough to 'wean' the plants off as it will naturally start producing less anyway.






It's sitting about half way up, and behind the water outflow pipe.
Interestingly, the mist gets drawn anticlockwise (direction of flow) and then pushed down by the outflow. And I can see the fine bubbles floating around the tank throughout, from substrate to surface, in the direction of flow.
I'll  chuck a drop checker in there, but it's not important as there's no critters.


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## dcurzon (8 Jan 2021)

Changed the co2 from yeast/sugar to a citric acid/bicarb mix as an experiment. Running 1 bubble per 1.5 seconds roughly.



I made a DIY clip for the heater, as its too long to be able to clip to the bowl. I need to redo the clip as the glue didn't hold the pieces and I've had to use a cable tie to joint them as a temp fix, so it doesn't sit so squarely.  I have the BiOrb heater clip, but needs a much shorter heater, and I don't want to shell out £30 for BiOrb's heater kit.   So I've made it so it clips to the heater firmly, and to the uplift pipe much less firmly, so no risk of accidentally wrenching out the pipe if I have to remove the heater! Temp is 22deg. Without the heater, temp was settled at 16.



Plants I stuck on barbecue lava rock (mobile plants if you like):
Hydrocotyle is growing well and will probably need some cutting back.
Spiky moss has now pretty much fully covered it's barbecue lava rock!

Ludwigia seems to be picking some colour back up as it gets higher, looks to have a slight hint of browny red coming on.
Polysperma doesn't seem to be doing much except gaining algae on leaves :/
ED is slowly gaining some strength but not yet running amok.  As its behind the filter uplift, im hoping that as it gets higher, it'll pick up some current and swirl around the bowl.
Cypt crisp appears to be not dying. Also not growing, but it seemed to wilt a little and has picked up a bit since...
Dwarf sag has done nothing. Well it's leaf grew a bit taller, but aside that, it's been lazy.  I've cut the leaf in an attempt to encourage its growth.




Still a lot of unused space,  perhaps I need to remove the hydroctotyl rock and plant it into the substrate?


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## dcurzon (9 Jan 2021)

I found a spare juwel heater clip (goes inside there built in filters) so butchered that... I can't seem to get the 2 plastics to bond, so again with the cable ties...
Marginally less ugly than the previous bodge.


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## dcurzon (12 Jan 2021)

The usb "silent" air pump had gotten a little noisier over time, and this evening it looked like it wasn't pushing much air at all :/

I rolled back the rubber sleeve (like you might find on a cricket bat) which revealed 3 teeny screws, undid these and took the cover off, reseated the rubber diaghram and reassembled. Back to being fairly silent and pushing air again 

Ludwigia has just reached the surface.
I gave the hydrocotyle a trim.

Oh, also I found a rock in the bathroom that I'd forgotton was there so chucked that in also.


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## sparkyweasel (13 Jan 2021)

dcurzon said:


> I found a rock in the bathroom that I'd forgotton was there


There speaks an aquascaper.


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## dcurzon (14 Jan 2021)

woke up and walked into the kitchen to make my first coffee of the day, to find the citric acid and bicarb bottles empty.  Seems a hose wanted a taste of freedom, and the price to pay was wall to wall, floor to ceiling sticky mess.  800ml's doesn't sound much, but pressurised and spraying through 4mm hose ensured a good coverage ensued.

I wouldn't mind, but id just recently cleaned the kitchen, and now I need to literally blitz everything again.
I think this was user error.  I'd given the bicarb bottle an inquisitive swirl last night and really shouldn't have. 

Anyway, new mix made up and set off   whilst i ponder pressure relief valves and better hose connections.


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## dcurzon (20 Jan 2021)

Nothing new to report. Dwarf sag not growing and the crypt is also motionless so far.  However it seems to be coming along. I'm thinking blue shrimp


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## Raws69 (20 Jan 2021)

Good t see it being put to use other than killing fish lol


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## dcurzon (31 Jan 2021)

Removed:
Lonely dwarf sag (dead)
Hydrocotyle rock

Added:
Hydrocotyle cuttings (tiny)
Lonely Dwarf sag (to replace dead)
New spiky moss rock.

And some topping/replanting of ludwigia. Starting to fill out a bit now.


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## dcurzon (12 Feb 2021)

Still just lopping tops and replanting.  The replacement lonely dwarf sag is doing well


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## Wolf6 (12 Feb 2021)

Starting to look very nice  How do you keep the glass clean with this sort of thing?


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## dcurzon (12 Feb 2021)

Wolf6 said:


> Starting to look very nice  How do you keep the glass clean with this sort of thing?


Inside has only really seen diatom growth on the first couple of inches of visible glass (plastic), Part drain, then give it a wipe with a sponge. (Part drain else when my arm goes in, displacement...)

Edit... Plus I now seem to have a small army of limpets trying their best.  There's no intentional creatures in there yet, so I guess there's not much muck in there either


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## aec34 (12 Feb 2021)

Looking good! And a lot better than my baby currently is....  think we’re approaching Terrarium Time


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## dcurzon (16 Feb 2021)

The USB air pump, whilst very very quiet, had started to lag a bit, so that got redeployed elsewhere...  And in its place went the original biorb pump.

But oh my god the noise!!!!!  Although im not used to using air pumps, so maybe it was 'normal' I don't know.

So an amazon box arrived today, with a Tetratec APS50 pump.  Ok, not silent by any means, but marginally quieter than the biorb pump.  And a big visible difference in the flow coming out of the pipe, this pump is pushing a lot more.


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## dcurzon (25 Feb 2021)

The crypt crispulata finally gave up the battle to survive, so that has been whipped out.
Have added 3 small sprigs of Rotala Indica.   See how they do.
Anyway looks like I'm due another trim in there which is good, as I'm trying to build up a plant mass in another tank in the house.


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## dcurzon (24 Mar 2021)

So I now have a sole inhabitant (aside the little limpet things).
I accidentally broke the glass thermometer in my 72, and as I was syphoning the glass out, a very teeny baby shrimp decided he wanted to experience the waterslide.



So I've popped him into the biorb to see how he does.

I haven't seen him since, but that's hardly surprising as he's about 3mm long.


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## dcurzon (30 Mar 2021)

I have seen the shrimp several times, growing rapidly, and has shed at least once during his short time in the orb.

He is no longer alone...

One of the tiger barbs in the 120 was not very well at all, and then I spotted it laying on its side on the sand, and the others were having a peck.  I didn't have time to do much other than quickly net him, then run down 2 flights of stairs with him in the net and plopped into the biorb.  I know this is definitely NOT the ideal way, however he was about to get eaten anyway.  That was approx 5pm yesterday.

Today, he is swimming around quite happily, eating and foraging.  Still looks in bad overall shape, so I'll let him recover and fatten up a bit before returning him to the tiger tank.  Whilst I have concerns about the shrimps' chances, im pretty certain that the shrimp can hide better than the barb can hunt at this time.


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## dcurzon (20 May 2021)

its starting to look a little sad now, I let the diy co2 run out a while ago and not redone it.  The solo shrimp in there is now huge! and the tiger barb, well I put him back into the 125 tank but he didn't do so well in there, so he's back in the biorb and seems happier in there


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## Karmicnull (20 May 2021)

So basically was he the tiger barb that got picked on by all the others?


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## dcurzon (20 May 2021)

Karmicnull said:


> So basically was he the tiger barb that got picked on by all the others?


yes, seems to be the weakling... maybe if I add a few more to the group and that one also, it'll disperse the aggression.. over time, the group has dwindled to just 3 in the 125 (plus the one in the biorb) and although they should be in groups of more than that, they seem calm


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## dcurzon (23 May 2021)

So the single little shrimp in there has blossomed into a gigantic female with good child bearing hips! 




That could just be the effect of looking through a sphere though...

Anyway, Ive plucked out a virile young male to join her this afternoon.


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## dcurzon (5 Jun 2021)

I plopped the barb back to the barb tank and this time seems to be getting by ok.
And virile young make shrimp seems to have been busy as the female is berried already


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## Karmicnull (5 Jun 2021)

Clear evidence of happy shrimp!


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## aec34 (6 Jun 2021)

I’m very impressed that anyone can sex shrimps- it’s a dark art!


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## dcurzon (6 Jun 2021)

aec34 said:


> I’m very impressed that anyone can sex shrimps- it’s a dark art!


Adults... Females are chunkier and fuller/more solidly coloured, males are less chunky and the colouring slightly translucent.
Or I'm a lucky guesser!


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## dcurzon (7 Jun 2021)

So miracles CAN happen...
Further inspection suggests... the shrimp that is berried, is NOT the child-bearing-hipped female that was originally in the biorb.  

It appears that what I thought was a male that I added, is in fact the berried shrimp.

So my mind is blown.  Either they're doing a seahorse impression, there's been an immaculate conception, or the male that I added was in fact a female that had already done the dirty before I moved him/her.

Or maybe it is a non-binary shrimp??  Gender-fluid or whatever the kids "that never got enough attention" like to call it?  Thats quite fashionable these days dontcha know?


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## Karmicnull (7 Jun 2021)

Are you sure your biorb isn't in fact a stable?


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## dcurzon (7 Jun 2021)

Karmicnull said:


> Are you sure your biorb isn't in fact a stable?


im sure of nothing anymore, except death and taxi's


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## dcurzon (18 Jun 2021)

Rescape time....
as I hadn't put any co2 in since it ran out, and it was all looking a bit sorry in there, it was time to go low-tech.
So low tech that I even removed the heater.
I have a load of Java moss, and I also happened to have a box of barbecue lava rocks. So I set about attaching Java moss to lots of lava rocks, and making a bit of a mosaic.
And some plants wedged into the substrate here and there in the mosaic gaps
Java ferns attached to lava rocks sit behind the filter pipework and should  hopefully bush out and fill the back.
When it comes to trimming moss, it should be a simple affair of pulling out a rock, trim, put it back




Didn't stumble into any baby shrimps though, so perhaps they just didn't get to hatching this time.


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## dcurzon (22 Jun 2021)

Whilst cleaning up some moss that I'd just trimmed from the other tank, this teeny tiny stowaway was spotted  (for reference that's a child's teaspoon)




So into the biorb he/she has gone



I don't expect to see it for some time.
I also put in there maybe/possibly/hopefully a virile young male. Wether it is or not remains to be seen though :O


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## dcurzon (8 Jul 2021)

Growing well.  I found a few more Java fern plantlests and wedged them in some gaps between rocks, and a couple of additional bits of sessiflora that had been eaten in the barb tank to see if they pick up at all. 


The shrimp count has gone down, the 2 female adults both died within a couple of days of each other, however the tiny one on the spoon is ok, along with a young maybe male. So not sure what happened there?

Have been dosing a bit of excel here and there, but have subsequently reduced this to every few days.


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## dcurzon (28 Jul 2021)

I added one single piece of frogbit from a batch that @Karmicnull  sent me last week, and that one has become 3 already.


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