Nudibranch, Jumping fish, Overflows - A safty tip

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thomas712

Guest
Well folks I think I've lost one nudibranch do to my own failings.
One of the Velvet nudi's that I got has been MIA for several days now, had a three day period where my tank was cloudy and the xenia are looking mighty unhappy.
The problem I believe was that they just would not stay out of the overflow slots. I also lost a new firefish when he jumped into the overflow through the eggcreate slots. Well I think I have the problem solved now.
I got some plastic mesh grid from a hobby store here in town and started cutting the right peices that I thought I would need. Using some fishing line I tied these plastic grid pieces onto my eggcreate.
Take a look and tell me what you think.
 
mina_40

mina_40

Member
Hi Thomas,
I had a nudibranch go MIA on me. I figured it died and was cleaned up by one of my cleaning crew. Anyways, I was doing a media change and opened my filter and low and behold...there it was fine...just crawling around the inside of the filter.
Anyways, you might want to check there.
:)
 
skirrby

skirrby

Active Member
i might use your idea for my overflow.. my neon goby has gone overflow surfing 3 times now.. 2 making it to the sump.. last time i found him down there he was pearched on the return pump not even a inch or 2 from sure death :eek:
 
johnny5

johnny5

Member
ditto, great idea thomas. I hate my remora overflow box! no fatalities yet but I could see the same thing happening to my lmb (he has jumped into the overflow a few times already, he is just too big to get sucked up) or my new neon gobie.
 
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thomas712

Guest
I'm sure this idea could be adapted to make a sortof gable rooftop so that it slants down back into the tank so that if a fish does jump on it then it would not get stuck up there frying under the lights and dry out. Or an entire box could be made that would touch the top of the canopy.
The plastic grid stuff is easy to work with, just take a good look at it to make sure that there isn't any plastic between the squares, some of them had some still between the grid squars.
Thomas
 
pokdbz

pokdbz

Member
Hey Thomas I just had a firefish jump out of my tank. I had a eggcrate over top of it. I was thinking of putting the same material on top of it as you did.
Do you think that it will block out too much light?
 
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thomas712

Guest
That might block out too much light and cause some algae problems for you, not to mention salt creep. How are your lights hanging over the tank?
You might try building an eggcrate box around the top of your tank and tie the smaller plastic grid onto the sides of that and still have it open topped. If its done tall enough he might not be able to get out again. It would look strange to visitors but give you a clear shot for your lights.
Might be better if you were to build a canopy and then use the plastic grid stuff to cover the back of your canopy.
Thomas
 
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thomas712

Guest

Originally posted by YellowTail
what is the reason for the piece of PVC pipe or that cap thing?
That just happens to be the top of my Durso standpipe. It fits inside my interanl overflow box which reduces the running water noise, in fact it is a silencer for that noise and lets me sleep at night without that running water sound.. If a fish gets real lucky it might be able to skinny down around the back of it, but for the most part I think I can say that 99% of the time they won't get passed that grid.
Thomas
 
jeepboy

jeepboy

Member
Great idea Thomas. I have two lettuce slugs and I have to retrieve them from my overflow almost daily. Have you been running this setup long? Have any problems with algea growing in the small grid and reducing flow?
 
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thomas712

Guest
Been about thee months now, I;ve found that flake food is the enemy blocking some of the grid, so it does take some to maintain, it does get a litte dark after a month and needs to be wiped. But that vs. losing the nudis? no contest.
I will remove the overflow grids to do maintenance, when scrubing the tank so large chunks of algae dont' get stuck to it. Just wait for the tank to clear and replace.
Thomas
 
jeepboy

jeepboy

Member
Thomas,
Thanks for the tip. I got some of the small mesh from Hobby Lobby and installed it around overflow. The lettuce slugs have now remained in my DT for 2 days.
 
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thomas712

Guest
Good to hear Jeepboy,
Did it restrict your flow any? Any other noticable flow changes?
 
jeepboy

jeepboy

Member
I did not notice any reduction in flow. I bought the size 5 grid from the sewing section of the store. I only installed it on the sides, left the top open. At least once a day I see one of my lettuce slugs moving away from the overflow, obvious they would have been in the overflow if not for the grid.
 
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