When you try to fix one problem only to make more in the process...

Got a new, actually fitting lid for my 10 gallon quarantine setup. First mistake was not attaching the handle to the EDGE of the glass and instead put it right in the middle like an idiot.



Also, because the hinge is right in the middle I constantly bump the hood/light every time I open the lid. A slight inconvenience normally but it's made far worse due how, if even slightly budged, the whole lid shifts backwards which means it goes over this little trickle of overflow water from my shoddy Fluval 70 HOB. If that happens, water flows all over the top of the lid.


And finally, because of the HOB, there's now a giant gap that the little plastic guard can't fit over which is going to be a major problem whenever I get hatchets, who are infamous for their, shall we say, "suicidal tendencies." And cutting it to fit isn't a solution either as I'd run into the same problem with the overflow trickle.


So now, what I'm going to have to do is get a sponge filter and have that run for a while, then remove the HOB entirely; which sadly will be a huge waste of a bacterial colony as it won't fit behind my main tank and I'm not in a position to start up another aquarium altogether.

On the bright side though, I was kind of already planning on replacing the filter anyway because once my main tank is fully stocked and I don't have need for a QT anymore, I'm considering sprucing this one up for an eventual betta (the flow of the current filter is far too turbulent for one).

Decided to try and work with what I have so I set about modifying the filter's outlet with a baffle. Took a water bottle and cut it to size so it wraps around the outflow and the current wasn't as turbulent but still a little pushy. So instead I took that out and wedged an empty cartridge bag and it not only fit much better and reduced the flow to almost nothing, but I feel a lot safer with it in lieu of the dangerously sharp plastic of the bottle.


But then I ran into yet more issues. The lid handle? I put it on the wrong side. Which was part of why it wasn't opening so well because it was on the wrong side of the hinge. So I carefully wiggled it off which of course ruined the sticky pad it came with so I put a little gorilla super glue gel on it and put it on the proper side on the edge of the lid. And lost a bit of skin on my thumb from touching the still-drying glue in the process (yikes this stuff is scary). Then I cut the plastic guard to fit over the gap instead of awkwardly hanging halfway and shoved all the equipment to one side so there's only the smallest slit possible.



However, the overflow from the intake side of the filter is still very much a problem, and it's uncomfortably close to the glass lid (it's hard to tell from this perspective but the main outlet exits below the glass, but the spillage trickle is just slightly above it). The tiniest amount of increase in flow pressure and it's going right over the glass and eventually onto the counter/floor. And I can't adjust the intake flow any further, the tube's already shoved to the lowest setting.


My best guesses as to addressing the issue is to add a pre-filter intake sponge cover to hopefully further reduce flow rate, and possibly remove some of the filter media to see if that releases pressure as it's currently stuffed all the way to the brim.

You may want to try a finer pre-filter sponge to slow it down. The drawback is you'll probably need to clean it more often.

I'm no use with the handyman practical stuff I'm afraid, but using your quarantine tank for a betta when it's empty is how you end up with dozens of tanks Because you'll put a betta in it, and then you won't have a hospital/quarantine tank in an emergency. So you get another. Just for emergencies, like when you see a fish you really want, but don't want to risk spreading anything to your main tank or your betta...

Then you think "I have this tank all set up and cycled now, maybe I should get some shrimp to go in it! And shrimp are sensitive to most meds, so it can't double as a hospital tank, and you get another... lol!

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

I'm no use with the handyman practical stuff I'm afraid, but using your quarantine tank for a betta when it's empty is how you end up with dozens of tanks Because you'll put a betta in it, and then you won't have a hospital/quarantine tank in an emergency. So you get another. Just for emergencies, like when you see a fish you really want, but don't want to risk spreading anything to your main tank or your betta...

Then you think "I have this tank all set up and cycled now, maybe I should get some shrimp to go in it! And shrimp are sensitive to most meds, so it can't double as a hospital tank, and you get another... lol!

Click to expand...

Yep, been there, done that!

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

I'm no use with the handyman practical stuff I'm afraid, but using your quarantine tank for a betta when it's empty is how you end up with dozens of tanks Because you'll put a betta in it, and then you won't have a hospital/quarantine tank in an emergency. So you get another. Just for emergencies, like when you see a fish you really want, but don't want to risk spreading anything to your main tank or your betta...

Then you think "I have this tank all set up and cycled now, maybe I should get some shrimp to go in it! And shrimp are sensitive to most meds, so it can't double as a hospital tank, and you get another... lol!

Click to expand...

That's the annoying thing. It's a waste to just let all the bacteria built up die and lose a perfectly cycled system. But this is all even assuming I get to keep it running in the first place due to my folks and their "one tank only" thing they've stipulated (this 10 gallon is meant to be temporary for the purposes of quarantining new stock I'm gradually adding to the 125 community).

Even if I was allowed to just keep doing more, the other two tanks I have (a 30 and 55) are of conflicting interest due to the former being inhabited by my young ball python, and the currently empty 55 might become a stopgap larger enclosure for him later as while I'm planning on ordering a full PVC enclosure as his permanent adult home, they take a VERY long time to get manufactured and shipped (we're talking multiple months here). So if it takes longer than expecting and he gets too cramped in his current abode, the 55 will be retrofitted to serve as his next temporary home.

And then once he's fully moved into his new home the already retrofitted tanks open the door for other snakes...

Well, today's been a mess. I was transferring what was in the QT to the main system and noticed the temperature was a few degrees lower than normal, at which point I noticed the heater malfunctioned and was full of water. So I had to get a new one plus a digital thermometer because I was tired of dealing with the dinky little mercury one.

And in my infinite wisdom I got new fish at the same time because they were ones I had been trying to find for a while (to be revealed in another thread) so it was a scramble to not only fit in the new heater, but also water change, fix the lid again because the handle fell off, plus refit the plastic guard due to things being moved around. Sigh...