Kikojaharo

Speaking of which, a lot of times I see people over there referring to eBay as "evil" bay, like its a crime to order from there. is there some sort of unspoken aquarist rule I'm missing or is it just a couple whiny people who got ripped off?

Not a purchase, but still a steal! Neighbor was tossing out a RODI unit, I had to do a triple take! I was asking for one for my birthday, but this is much better. Upping the shrimp game for the cost of new filters and a few fittings!

Are the OEBT culls still available?

The rostrum is the "nose"

Double sponge filter; I thought that was pretty odd too. I fed what I was able to catch to my platys

I found a couple of strange, wiggly creatures in my tanks this morning, and after catching, examining, and research, I've got mosquito larva and pupa in my tank! Not totally unheard of, since my room is right my the front door, and I do get the occasional bloodsucker in there. My plan is to increase the power in the filter, and scoop them up as I see them, since the pupa tend to hang out at the surface. If it gets too bad I'll put a platy in there.

Don't bother with traps; there's many more planaria and eggs under the gravel that a trap will ever catch. Fenbendazole (safe-guard) or no-planaria (I think it's by motsura?) is the way to go. Plenty of instructions are on here when you search; in mobile so I can't link it, but I dosed .1 gram per 10 gallons of the canine powder for three days. Could possibly hurt snails though.

Exactly that. Rili are a color of Neos, so they'll be fine on tap. All the powers are for RODI water. It would also be good to add in any leaf litter so they can start growing micro fauna for the shrimp to graze, optional but nice.

It depends; what is your method of adding ammonia? (Fish less or fish/shrimp cycle) what species are you planning on keeping? Do you plan on using tap water or remineralized water? Your next step is to add more ammonia, and confirm that the levels get back down to 0/0 within 24 hours. Then you do a 100% water change. The other parameters depend on the kind of shrimp. API makes a kH/gH test kit. Also recommended is a TDS meter; easily found on eBay/Amazon

Beware tanks that held rodents before, they will make a tank not waterproof very quickly. It depends on the "type" of reptile tank. If it's something like an exo terra, yeah that won't hold water because of the doors and ventilation, but if it looks like an aquarium, it probably was one that had a lid with clips added onto it. 10 gallons are pretty safe to assume it was an aquarium. You could always test it holding water overnight outside, and if it doesn't, you're not out anything! And if you really want to get into it, you could always re-silicone it, but that's too much effort, imho

I always get my tanks off of craigslist; I never pay more than 8 per and I've always had good luck with quality. A good scrub with vinegar makes them brand new!! Check with any reptile groups around you as well; snakes are always growing out of tanks

Exactly

This is the way I understand it

That's what I've been using; you can usually get a deal on some Pyrex ones on eBay too

I'm curious as well, my temps won't drop under 80 again until maybe December!