Drilling Algae Wafers

When I'm feeding algae wafers to my fish the mystery snails woud get the bulk of it. The big snail would completely engulf the wafer preventing the fish from getting to it. My solution is simple. Drill a hole in the wafer and hang it wher the snail can't get to it.

Drilling the hole turned out to be very easy, The wafers are hard and drill easily. I always use a block of wood to back up the wafer because occasionally they will break while drilling and you will get to hold a spinning bit with your bare fingers.

I use solid core bell wire to hang the  algae wafers. Just tie a not in one end of the wire, slide on the wafers and hang it where the snails can't get it. the wire is stiff enough that it can be bent about any shape you need. In the aquarium I hang it over the side and close the lid. The aquarium top is heavy enough to hold it in place and holds the wafer a few inches from the side. My fish are crazy about algae wafers and put on a good show when fed this way.

The wafers will stay on the wire a surprisingly long time.

Here are some of my red blonde guppies and some sunburst platies attacking a wafer. The video isn't that great. It looks good on my end but gets messed up when youTube processes it.

Here are my red blonde guppies in my out door stock tank feeding on an algae wafer.

Custom Glass Aquarium Covers/Tops

Picked up the custom tops for my 40B aquariums today. Fits perfect. I bought one like these over a year ago and I'll never buy commercial covers again.

The cost $70 and change out the door for two. Almost as much as the $96 I paid for the aquariums.

The cheapest commercial top I could find was $36 plus tax and shipping.  

UPDATE:
But here is the real benefit of using this style of cover. These have been in use for more than two years and I have never had to add a drop of top off water between water changes.  Not even when I let them go for more than a month. There is almost no water evaporation.

Guppies and Homemade Feeding Ring

DIY Feeding Ring - Guppies - 110 Gallon Stock Tank

This is my DIY feeding ring its made from 3/4 inch pvc. Because That's what I had on hand. It works really well and except for needing to tie it down to keep it from move I have no complaints. Commercially available feeding rings are flimsy pieces of junk that,  break sink, let the food get out, and fall apart in direct sunlight. I have a few of these in my outside tanks and have nade them from 1/2 inch CPVC to use in the indoor tanks.

I like feeding rings because they keep the food in one location. The fish soon learn to come there for food.  You get to see them eat and it mkes the lots eaiser to catch.