H. formosa, Hermetically sealed.

the ONLY reason i am going to put discus in there is to generate interest among the hobby for algae.  i love black banded sunfish, but most people dont even know what they are...

so far as macros, chara would probably work, but i havent used it.  i have seen plenty of it growing in spring run off, so i know it would at least like the higher flow.  as for nitella, its not easy to grow in an aquarium, simply put.  the only way i have ever been able to grow it was to leave it in a jar and let it do its thing.  

as far as the blackworms go, they are still there every time i dig into it.  i just havent been there in half a year.  i had my wife turn the drain up to keep the duckweed from pouring out, so it should be covering the pond soon.  when it does, the dissolved oxygen will drop and all the worms will start hanging out at the surface in the duckweed, where they will be easier to collect.

The fact that Martin mentioned Tesla in relation to aquarium keeping makes this an interesting thread. I have no idea where it could go, but I think it would be good.....

lol

well, just to keep things interesting, here is a picture of the nitella algae that i grew when i was in texas.  it grew in a jar of mud i collected from a vernal pool in california.  it is the only picture i have of it.  i kinda wish i took more.

anyway, i tried growing it in a fish tank, but it simply does not like the conditions in my fish tanks.  i wouldnt say it is hard to grow, its actually pretty easy.  just ignore it.  it just isn't good for the kinds of tanks i keep.  i kinda want to collect more chara...

something else i was thinking about is pressure.  as things progress, im pretty sure the air pressure  is going to change.  i want to be able to let the air pressure change as it will, but i dont want air exchanging with outside air.  the whole point is for this system to use its own resources and find out where its going to fail while doing so.  the idea i have in mind for that is to build a four to six inch tall extension, for lack of better word, to go on top of the tank.  it would basically just be a rectangle on top of the tank made out of acrylic.  its purpose would be to allow me to drill a hole in it and set an airtight fitting into it.  attached to the fitting would be a hose that leads to what would essentially be a balloon.  it could be anything that can inflate and deflate.  im not sure what i would use for that, but i have thought about using an air mattress covered in several layers of 100 miler an hour tape (green army duct tape) and a few blankets to protect it from my cats...  

 

Just make a P trap. Smaller than what is under your sink. Keep it filled with water. Seems like that would do the trick. A piece of coffee filter banded around the outside opening should keep out particulates.

Just make a P trap. Smaller than what is under your sink. Keep it filled with water. Seems like that would do the trick. A piece of coffee filter banded around the outside opening should keep out particulates.

i might do that.  

anyway, ill probably be pretty busy lately, as i have been for the last week.  had a lot going on, and then things went sideways.  

the last couple weeks have been incredibly hectic for me.  we had a fairly large operation going that needed my attention, in which a friend of mine ended up losing his life.  you couldn't have asked for a better friend.  he was the kind of guy who would pull patches off of his own uniform and hand them to you if you needed it, or magazine pouches off of his own kit.  he wouldn't even care if he got yelled at for not having a proper uniform.  i still owe him a subdued flag...

i was in his unit, first battalion, 3rd special forces group until just before my current deployment.  i am in a different battalion now.  alex conrad was a good man.  generous to a fault.  i loved the way he mentored his soldiers instead of just yelling at them, smoking them, etc.  he wasn't that kind of NCO.  he wasn't that kind of man.  the people placed in his charge willingly followed his every word because they WANTED to.  he was one of the best in his field, and everyone seemed to know it but him.  

---------------to the man who taught me more about behavioral symptom analysis than i ever thought i could learn, i'll miss you brother.  when i get home, ill raise a glass to you.  we all will.  thanks again for talking me down last year.  ------------

sorry for the thread jack folks.  give me a few days and ill get back to the original discussion.  

Edited by Auban, 12 June 2018 - 09:58 AM.

OK, this almost made me turn the "like" button on.  We appreciate you around here Auban.  You are allowed a rant or thread-jack here any time buddy,

Agreed. I don't have the words, but I really hope that things get easier Auban.