by Nancy Johnson
Get a very accurate electronic pH pen for less than $50 at In The Swim’s web site. They sell pool supplies. I’ve had mine for over a year and love it. You can buy the battery at Radio Shack.
I just bought a custom-made tank stand from a guy I found on eBay. It’s 40 x 12 to fit two 10-gallon tanks on each shelf, with a center brace on each shelf so I can place smaller tanks on it. Made of nice-looking pine, cost me $48, plus $5 for several layers of clear coat, $15 shipping. He shipped it unassembled, and included the hardware. I had it in three days-from Michigan He made it the day I ordered it and sent me photos before he shipped. To get your own, e-mail Randy Rykman at kd4vjd@i2k.com.
You can see some of Randy’s tanks on ebay (use the e-mail address to find him). He tells me he was an Angle breeder in Florida and started making his own stands. Fish store dealers saw them and wanted some of their own, and now he makes them for stores.
"I just wanted something to do in the winter months here in Michigan because I am in the floor-covering business the rest of the year," Randy told me. "I am having such a good response I might have just found what I have been looking for to get me out of the carpet business. Thanks for your warm concerns ... "
Another guy on eBay sells cases of little round sponges that were originally for some sort of pond filter. $10 a case, I think there’s 36 sponges per case. Slice them down the middle and slip them over your intake. Great for extra biofiltration. Look for or jim@bestfish.com.
Happy fishing, bargain hunters!!!
This article first appeared in PVAS’s Delta Tale, Vol 32, # 3