Tag: jellyfish aquarium

DIY: Build Your Own Extension Scrub Brush for the EON 2ube and 3ON

by sunsetmarinelabs, posted in DIY Jellykeeping Tools

Jellyfish Tank

If you have the Eon 20 gallon Jellyfish System, you may have had difficulty cleaning the bottom of the tank.  It’s easy to clean the sides of the tank with an aquarium cleaning magnet, but how to clean the bottom & back?  There are some extension scrubber brushes out there (the black unit on the left in the picture), but in our experience these tend to be in adequate. They do extend nicely but…..

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The cleaning heads are minimal and after only 2 uses tends to fall apart.scrubrush2

You can easily and cheaply build your own scrub brush using a standard acrylic aquarium scrub brush purchased at any fish store & a couple 1/2″ PVC fittings, 1/2″ PVC pipe & electrical tape found at Home Depot, Lowes or any home improvement store.

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What you will need:

8″ long piece of  1/2″ diameter threaded grey rod

4″ long piece of 1/2″ diameter PVC pipe

1 PVC fitting: 1/2″ coupling Slip x Slip

1 PVC fitting: 1/2″ coupling Thread x Thread

electrical tape

First thing you want to do is secure the 1/2″ PVC Thread x Thread fitting to the scrub brush handle using electrical tape.  Place the PVC fitting just below the hook on the scrub brush & using the electrical tape (about a 9″ long piece) secure the fitting to the scrub brush.  Electrical tape stretches nicely, so stretch and then pull on the tape to join the two together & then continue wrapping the tape around the fitting and the scrub brush handle like the picture. Make it snug and tight!

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Now you can attach the  extension handles.  First, the threaded grey rod & then the white PVC pipe.

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Lickety Split! Easy! And cheap!

DIY: Stop Your Turkey Baster from Dripping

by sunsetmarinelabs, posted in DIY Jellykeeping Tools

 

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If you have the Eon 10 gallon Jellyfish System, you may have been using a turkey baster to either feed your jellies or quickly pick up any detritus or uneaten food at the bottom of the tank, or both.  Most turkey basters drip terribly unless you seal the bulb to the pipette.  Once sealed properly the baster creates better suction and you can quickly and easily pick up any unwanted algae or uneaten food and deposit right away into the filter box–no dripping!  This makes for a quick tidying of the tank without having to pull out the siphon tube and do an entire water change.

Using a 5″ piece of electrical tape you can easily solve this problem.  Electrical tape comes in many lovely colors and has the unique characteristic of uniformly stretching and creating a nice watertight seal around the bulb and the pipette.

Step 1.

Cut a 5″ long piece of electrical tape.

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Step 2.

Place the 5″ long piece of electrical tape half on the bulb and half on the pipetteturkeybaster2

Step 3.

Place your thumb on the electrical tape and hold it firmly while firmly pulling on the tape to stretch it.turkeybaster3jpg

Step 4.

Continue pulling the electrical tape tightly all the way around to create a nice seal like this!turkeybaster4This is easily removed & repeated when you need to clean the turkey baster once a month or so.

Problem with Your Jellyfish? First Order of Business… Salinity!

by sunsetmarinelabs, posted in Sick Jellyfish?

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I recently had the opportunity to meet and speak at length with some new local customers who came in to learn how to keep jellyfish as pets.  Payam, Lauren and their little dog Ted came down to the lab to see just what is involved with keeping jellyfish and maintaining a jellyfish aquarium.  It was super to spend time with them and show them the ropes!  It was then that I realized that most of the questions they had are the same questions a lot of folks send my way via email. So, I will start to shoot quick blog posts every week that cover these questions– most of which are not jellyfish specific questions, but standard aquatics questions that can be answered fairly easily and quickly.  And, I will certainly get to the more specific jellyfish inquiries which will help you, as a jellyfish owner, begin to recognize and identify certain issues that can arise while caring for these beautiful animals and how to correct the problem right away.

Don’t bog your jellies down with high salinity levels in your jellyfish aquarium!

The first and biggest problem I see is maintaining water quality–specifically salinity.  The problem seems to be in the hydrometers that are generally purchased to measure the salinity. The plastic hydrometers that are on the market, and even the more costly refractometers need calibration.  Using either one of these instruments right out of the box will yield a variety of readings which is not good when you are trying to establish the salinity level of your aquarium.  Payam left with 20 gallons of my natural ocean water, salinity 33ppt, and when he got home and tested the water with his newly purchased Deep Six Hydrometer, it was reading over 40ppt!!  I knew this was incorrect.  Payam returned it to the store and bought another one.  Same problem.  Then he purchased yet another one! Finally–Getting closer! Third time’s a charm!

                         

Now, I know from personal experience because I have 2 of them myself and each one reads differently. The trick is to calibrate it with a known water source and then simply account for the difference each time you use it.  It’s no big problem to do.  The third one Payam purchased was a bit closer to an actual read and we agreed that he will bring it in for me to calibrate properly soon.  The point is, if you are continually having problems with your jellyfish eating, belling or pulsing, or just not thriving, you should first look to your salinity level.

Moon jellies perform better with a salinity level between 32-33ppt. Don’t worry if you go a bit below that because lower is better than higher. Just don’t alter the salinity level too much at one time but do it gradually over a few days.  And, never add distilled or RO water to your filter box as it will kill your beneficial bacteria, which are a marine (saltwater) species of bacteria and are also affected by salinity & pH.  Also, keep in mind:  depending on your geographic location and evaporation rate, you may need to check your salinity twice a week.

Here in Los Angeles we have very dry air and experience quite a lot of evaporation. But, again, it’s hard to know that if you have an instrument that is inaccurately reading your water.  Try taking your hydrometer to your local hi-end reef / fish store and see if they will calibrate it for you.  What you want to know is how many points off your hydrometer is – either too high or too low– and then just account for that each time you take a salinity reading.  For example, when using my plastic Deep Six hydrometer in a pinch, I know it reads 3 points too low, so I just add 3 points to whatever it is reading.  When I do have a chance to test it against my pricey refractometer, it is consistent with my adjusted plastic hydrometer read.

Do Jellyfish Need to be Kept in Round or Cylindrical Tanks?

by sunsetmarinelabs, posted in FAQs

 

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This is a question we get all the time when folks see a jellyfish Tumbler Tank.  It looks like a traditional square or rectangular aquarium, but it has some specific modifications inside it that make it safe for jellyfish.

Back in the 1960’s the plankton kreisel (German word meaning, “to spin”) was crafted to hold all sorts of planktonic animals because it was evident they could not survive in a normal aquarium.  They needed a current inside the tank to assist them to swim or bell, otherwise they just laid on the bottom of the tank.  A piece of acrylic was formed into a circle and placed inside a square aquarium.  Then a small stream of water by way of spray bars was introduced along the interior of the circle.  This created what is termed, laminar flow.  The spray bars created a false current by spinning the water around the interior of the circle.  Think of a whirlpool effect—the water movement going around and around kept the planktonic animals up in the water column and not resting on the bottom of the tank.  It was revolutionary!

That was over 45 years ago! Since that time many new jellyfish tank designs have emerged and each one has its benefits.  There are true kreisels, like originally mentioned, a true circle inside of a square aquarium and there are pseudo kreisels.  Pseudo kreisels include those plankton kreisels that are modifications of the original and include Stretch kreisels where the tank is longer than it is tall and these can be either Horizontal Stretch kreisels or Vertical Stretch kreisels, and there are Cylinder and Half Cylinder tanks, as well as, Modified Tumbler Boxes.

The important thing to know are the key features that make a jellyfish tank safe for jelly keeping. The flow needs to be consistent and even and the drain or overflow needs to be protected.

Because jellyfish move with the flow of water, wherever the water flows, so will the jellies.  So, if the water flows into the tank, it must flow out by way of a drain.  This drain must be protected or guarded otherwise the jellies will go down the drain. You need a tank that can properly create a nice even flow for the jellies to swim or bell, and a safe guarded drain so they don’t go down it.  Two very simple, but important requirements for a jellyfish tank.

So, what is up with the Jellyfish Tumbler Tank?  It isn’t round or cylindrical?

No, it isn’t, but it doesn’t have to be as long as all the bases are covered—even and consistent flow and a protected drain.  It may look simple, but the inner workings of a Tumbler style jellyfish tank are just as intricate and defined as with a standard kreisel tank. The spray bars are well defined in two places.  The drain is protected by a screen and a spray bar that gently moves the jellies away if they get near. The Tumbler tank creates a gentle turnover  of the water column so the jellies can bell freely without being forced around and around like on a merry go round.