just recently joined AKA

I joined the American Killie Association recently. Very cool.
www.aka.org

whoa there are more killies than when I started

As I have not completed my main project my fish are out in the garage in their massively overgrown planted tank. They've grown to about 7/8" - 1" or so and you can tell the males and females quite well. I don't have a picture because despite my efforts I can't get a focused shot with my little digital camera. The fish just don't ever stop moving. That's one reason for the constant flow tank because I think it would freeze them in place somewhat. They'd be swimming, but not really going anywhere.
Anyway the males have developed flowing pale yellow fins with little spots and already had some vertical barring on the body. They were always pretty pale (the eyes were the attraction) but now with age and size the color is starting to come out.
Funny how they told me at Albany Aquarium the fish wouldn't get any bigger than the 1/2 inch they were when I bought them. It's rare they make a mistake. Never having had them before I wasn't super confident telling them they would get bigger, but that's what the internet said. I believe they were only like $2.50 a piece which makes them a great deal.
Anyway, when feeding last night I was just sort of looking into the brush when a tiny blue spot caught my eye. It was hard to see but there was a baby killie about 3/16" long. Quite noticeable vertical banding (like parr marks on baby trout) and the characteristic neon blue lampeye. I assume it's been in there a little while - not sure if there are more. The tank is so dense that it's hard to see more than a 2 inches into the plants or so. Perfect nursery habitat I reckon. That baby killie was hiding all the way across the tank from the bigger guys and the barbs.
If one can make it, then so can others! I'm going to keep my eyes peeled - and try to get a photo.

where is new tank?

Been a little hectic lately. Haven't actually finished the tank. I have cut the panels and cleaned up the edges but haven't glued them up. Got busy with work and travel that cut into all my available time...

It is on short list of things to do.

done with R+D time to build beta tank

Tomorrow I'm going to start cutting material for a new tank. This one will have the baffles and flow dividers glued in. With them glued in the whole package will be more streamlined.
The alpha R+D tank served it's purpose over the last few weeks. I'll post pictures of the build process. I should have the panels cut and routed tomorrow, and can start glue-up this weekend.

supply diffuser r+d...

Today I fabricated the first of a set of test diffusers for the supply side of the tank. The first diffuser I put in worked great and immediately established laminar flow across the tank. I'm going to quickly move to getting the correct pump and plumbing on the tank for my target flowrate before settling on the final design. I'll also wait for the plants to grow some more to fill the tank up and obstruct the flow. Waiting should provide the best test conditions.

thinking about messing around with flow

I've started experimenting with the flow setup so I get laminar flow across the entire tank. I'm aiming for a nominal flowrate of 0.5in/sec.

To aid in the experiment I planted ~100 stems across the tank so I can see how the water is moving. I'm giving them a little while to grow and establish a foothold.

I'm going to make 10 or so little acrylic panels that will be drilled and slotted in various ways. They'll act as supply/return baffles and will be removable. This will give me flexibility to experiment until I find the baffle combination I like the most.

some plants from these 20L's

Plants will be coming from these tanks. It won't be a true African tank in plant terms - I'll have a mix of anubias, some crypts, etc... in there so it looks cool.