Emersed Growing Setup

I decided to try to grow some of our excess plants in a cheap emersed grow setup. Ive seen a few other people grow them this way with lots of success. I just took a few plastic Sterlite shoe boxes and cut out the lids. I then covered the lids with plastic wrap to hold in humidity. I filled the containers a few inches deep with potting mix. The potting mix was wet down and then I planted a few species of plants. There is Micro Sword (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis) and Pogostemon helferi in one and Dwarf Hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula) in the other. The tubs are on the bottom shelf of our rack with a 6500k CFL bulb hanging above them. I mist the boxes every morning to maintain the high humidity. I havent noticed much growth yet, but its only been about a week. I will update on a monthly basis to show any growth that occurs in these setups.  Look for a video soon on our youtube channel going over this setup in more detail.

Thank you all for reading.

-Austin (Spialz)

[Video] Outdoor Styrofoam Cooler Guppy Pond

In this video I show you guys my outdoor styrofoam cooler guppy pond. It has about half a dozen adult guppies and about 2 to 3 dozen fry. This is just a little experiment and Im excited to see how it develops over the course of the summer. 

If you enjoyed this video and would like to see more, please head over to our youtube channel.

Thank you all so much for watching and reading! It is truly appreciated.  

-Austin (Spialz)

Outdoor Guppy Pond in Styrofoam Cooler

I became fascinated with the idea of keeping tropical fish outside this summer. While researching ways to do this, I came across some people making small outdoor "ponds" in styrofoam coolers. So I got one, filled it with water and extra plants, and added a few guppies. They have been thriving! The cooler is located on a part of my porch that gets morning sun and shade during the hottest part of the day. So far, with daily high temps near 100°F, the water temp has gotten no hotter then 80°F. Plants include: Guppy Grass, Hornwort, Java Moss, Java Fern, Anubias nana, Rosette Sword, Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green,' Duckweed, Giant Duckweed, Frogbit, and Salvinia minima. All plants are doing well, but the floaters especially have taken off.  Today, we added some more guppies and thought it would be a good idea to show how far this little "pond" has come in just a few weeks.

First Day: 5/28/15

The First Guppies

 A Few Potted Plants: Rosette Swords

and C. wendtii 'green'

6/5/15: Added divider to prevent floaters from covering the whole surface.

 6/7/15

Today: 6/10/15

Three New Guppies Added

I will update this as the summer goes on. I hope to get lots of beautifully colored guppies by the end of the summer. Look forward to a video soon on our youtube channel detailing this fantastic little "pond."

Thank you so much for reading. More videos coming soon on a new addition! Have a great week.

-Austin (Spialz)

[Video] How To Make Top Fin LED Light Work With Timer

In this video I show how to quickly and easily modify your Top Fin LED light to work with any light timer.

I found it very annoying that the touch sensor for this light didn't work with timers...so I did a little work and found an easy way to fix it. Hope this video helps.
As always thank you so much for watching. If you liked this video please head over to our youtube channel to watch more shrimp, fish, and aquatic plant related content.

-Austin (Spialz)

[Video] New Dwarf Emerald Rasbora

A quick look at our new group of Dwarf Emerald Rasboras (Danio erythromicron) in our 6 gallon bookshelf aquarium. Morgan created a beautiful scape that the rasboras seem to really enjoy. They share the tank with about a dozen Red Rili shrimp. We hope you enjoy these beautiful little fish as much as we do!
Thank you for watching and please head over to our youtube channel if you would like to see more of the fish, shrimp, and plants we keep.

See you all in the next one.

-Austin (Spialz)

Tripod Mount Arrived! ~ New Aquascaping Video Soon.

Finally! My tripod mount for my phone arrived from China a few days ago. As Ive said before, this will allow me to make higher quality videos by eliminating the shaking. I will also be able to make hands free videos like the one I filmed today. Look for a video tomorrow showing the re-scape of my Aqueon Evolve4. Im excited for all the new video possibilities this opens up for the channel and I have lots of ideas for new videos soon. Thank you all for your continued support. :)

-Austin (Spialz)

Preparing to Re-Scape the 4 Gallon

Got some driftwood today and started soaking it in preparation of re-scaping our Aqueon Evolve4. This tank has really gone downhill and I think adding some new hardscape and plants will bring it back to life. I plan to change to a plant specific substrate as well. Either Seachem Flourite or Floramax. The new substrate, combined with fertilizers, should help the plant growth take off and allow them to fill out the entire tank.

I'll be filming a time lapse of redoing this tank. Just waiting for my tripod mount to arrive in the next few days. More videos and updates coming soon.

 -Austin

Video: New Red Rili Shrimp

Thank you for watching!
Please subscribe to my youtube channel for more shrimp, invert, fish, and plant related content.

-Austin

Getting Started

Hello everyone.

I created this website a few months ago not knowing what I wanted to do with it. I knew I wanted a place to get out my thoughts and ideas on a subject I really cared about. Trouble was, I didn’t know what that subject should be. I’ve struggled with a feeling of emptiness in my life. Like there was something better I should be doing. I was stuck in the day to day activities of work, bills, chores, stresses — and I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere….

Recently, I’ve been getting more involved in a particular hobby of mine – the keeping and breeding of freshwater dwarf shrimp. I’ve had cherry shrimp for almost a year now, but I’ve begun to expand my collection to other types of shrimp, inverts, and even a few species of fish. Strangely, these animals have given me that sense of purpose. Unlike other hobbies I’ve had over the years, these shrimp haven’t faded away. They’ve become something important to me and I see myself becoming more and more invested in these little guys each day. I think this is the thing I’ve been looking for. The thing to devote my life to. To learn and explore as much as I can. These creatures are so new to the scientific world that very little is known about them. People have successfully kept and bred them, but nearly everyday new and exciting things are being discovered. I feel as though there’s a very real possibility to dive in and make a difference in this niche hobby. To be one of the experts and develop these little shrimp into something amazing.

This website will be the place where it all comes together for me. It will be a record of all my venture into this wonderful word of aquatic life. There will be videos, write ups, trials, successes, and failures – and it will all be recorded here. I hope some people join me on this journey, but even if I’m all alone this will be a valuable tool to see where I’ve been and where I’m going. I believe only through sharing and communicating can we truly develop into the best we can be. For that reason, I appreciate and welcome all comments, criticism, and suggestions about anything posted here.

Thank you all. I cant wait to dive in together.

–Austin (Spialz)