Took in abandoned betta!

TheBanker425 · 2020-04-02T11:09:40+00:00

Mine looks a lot like yours! What sand are you using? Looks great.

TheBanker425 · 2020-03-28T14:43:42+00:00

Thank you! I'll get him some new food. Unfortunately, I don't have an up to date picture, as I'm away from my tank at the moment. That bump has gotten bigger over the past few weeks, but there has been no pineconing. He's been resting on leaves more, but his appetite is fine. I've upped my water changes to 25% 2x a week from 20% 1x a week.

TheBanker425 · 2020-03-28T14:27:21+00:00

It's a well-established tank (over a year old). I feed him 4-6 Aqueon pellets once a day, no food on Sundays. Temp is steady at 78.

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-14T12:49:52+00:00

Santa Cruz Tallboy!

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-14T00:34:17+00:00

Thank you!

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T23:58:21+00:00

The top race popped out a bit but I set it back in. It seems to be protruding from the steerer tube just a little bit.

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T23:45:39+00:00

I popped the stem off in order to wipe off the steerer tube down by the fork. Got some dirt out and then put it all back together.

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T23:29:05+00:00

I’m just worried about dirt getting in there! Plus the gap wasn’t there when I started my “maintenance”

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T17:11:22+00:00

Nope, I never pulled the fork out all the way (just gave it a wipe down) so everything is still in the same place.

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T17:10:48+00:00

Alright -- going in to do it. This might take a while.

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T17:02:54+00:00

Cool cool. I’m certain I put all the original parts back on but I’ll double check! Thanks!

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T17:01:29+00:00

I think you’re right. The race was originally all the way in and (I think) somehow popped back out. I think that’s going to be my next approach.

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T16:48:47+00:00

I popped out the fork to clean it (nothing new) but this time it won’t go back in. I put everything back in the same order (and it was fine before) so I don’t think spacers are the problem.

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T16:34:11+00:00

That was my first strategy, but it won't push down any further.

TheBanker425 · 2019-04-13T16:27:21+00:00

Any ideas on how to close this small gap? It's been driving me crazy.

Thanks!

TheBanker425 · 2018-12-27T22:59:12+00:00

Good tip, I think the top of the tank does limit exposure to oxygen a bit too much.

TheBanker425 · 2018-12-27T22:58:45+00:00

Thanks, will keep that in mind!

TheBanker425 · 2018-04-19T01:27:40+00:00

Playing ironman on console is just another gamble with RNG. I got all the way to the codex brain coordinates mission when my game locked up on me. I was unable to rescue the save and lost 20-ish hours of gameplay. Just play honestman and save yourself the heartbreak.

TheBanker425 · 2018-03-14T13:24:10+00:00

Sharpshooters are great if you move them at the end of your turn. They have a relatively high damage output potential but it’s often not enough to kill something outright. They’re excellent at mopping up what everybody else has already hit due to their ability to fire multiple times in one turn. For example, on an avenger defense mission, I got swarmed by pods of chryssalids, codices, and a trooper or two. A grenade from my grenadier knocked them down to 3-4 health each and then my sharpshooter used faceoff to kill six enemies in one turn.

In short, feed your sharpshooter kills during the early game and then let them rip once they have their top-tier skills.

TheBanker425 · 2018-03-14T03:00:35+00:00

You bet!

TheBanker425 · 2018-03-13T17:12:03+00:00

Yeah, ChristopherOdd.

TheBanker425 · 2018-03-13T17:10:59+00:00

Mimic beacons are great, but they only have 8-10 points of health. If they take more damage than that, they disappear. If the beacon is within sight of an alien they MUST shoot at it. The caveat is that if aliens have a shot on one of your soldiers but not on the mimic beacon, they will likely take the shot on your soldier. So while they do help mitigate damage, they don't entirely prevent it. Also, you should be moving your mimic beacon soldier last. It's tempting to panic and toss it out there, but kill as many aliens as you can first and THEN toss it into an area where you want to draw fire.

As for sharpshooters -- where to begin? They're by far my favorite class. Perch them up high to give them a line of sight on just about everything and then let them shoot away at the aliens you've blown out of cover with your grenadier. Admittedly, they're kinda weak at the beginning of the game, but once they get their top-tier abilities, they're killing machines. In particular, they have an ability called "Serial" that lets them keep shooting their sniper rifle until they land a shot that doesn't kill an enemy or they need to reload. You can routinely soften up a pod with a plasma grenade and then wipe them out in one turn with your sniper if you plan it right. Also, bluescreen rounds. Always bluescreen rounds.

If that ability doesn't convince you, take a look at Faceoff, which lets the sharpshooter take a shot at every enemy in sight with their pistol. That's a pretty ludicrous damage output and can be extremely useful for finishing off enemies stuck on 1-2 health but fully capable of shredding your squad next turn. There are some other pretty kickass abilities like fan fire and lightning hands which also make snipers supremely deadly.

TheBanker425 · 2018-03-13T12:48:30+00:00

Sounds like your early game strategy is pretty solid! It seems like mid-game battles are where you're hitting some turbulence. Here are some tips I've found extremely useful:

-GRENADES are your friend. Screw what Vahlen told us in EU. Always pack a grenadier on every mission. Blow that cover up and open up shots for the rest of your team. Rather than having three soldiers take 65% shots, you can often guarantee a 100% shot from your sharpshooter. On that note, bring a sharpshooter. They're great.

-BLUE MOVES are critical. Try to get all of your characters through their blue moves before you issue them any yellow ones. For example, if you move your scouting ranger up and he accidentally encounters a muton, your grenadier hunkered down behind a lamppost isn't going to be able to do anything. It's tempting to throw on overwatch when you can't see anything, but only do when you've moved everyone else.

-ORDER OF OPERATIONS is also big. This was revolutionary for me in improving my gameplay. There is always a best order in which to perform your actions and 90% of the time it starts with your grenadier. Why? Because you get splash damage, shredding, and/or holo-targeting from them, making life easier for the rest of your squad. Take your time as you plan out your actions in order to maximize your damage.

-RANGERS are cool, but can get you into trouble a lot. Only use slash if you're sure you won't trigger anyone new because 99.99% of the time that new pod flanks and crits my favorite ranger :(

-SPECIALISTS are incredibly versatile soldiers. Did you know you can hack timed objectives from far away? Some people don't. Rather than running your specialist into a pod of soldiers hoping that they'll dodge that stun lancer (spoiler: they won't), set up shop within sight of the target and hack from there. That way you don't have to break formation and risk your soldier's life.

-BATTLE SCANNERS and the equivalent specialist upgrade are wonderful tools. Given what you said in your post, it seems like these might be the most useful for you. They allow you to move aggressively around the battlefield without having to worry about running into a pod. Highly recommend bringing one of these when there's a clock running.

-MIMIC BEACONS will save you more times than you know. Accidentally trigger a pod? Toss a mimic beacon and mitigate damage for your team. Some people say that relying on mimic beacons promotes a poor play style, but XCOM throws a whole lot of bs your way sometimes and mimic beacons help you make it back to the Avenger alive. These things have saved my squad numerous times.

Finally -- TAKE YOUR TIME as you plan out your moves. Especially when you're not on a timed mission, there's no harm at all in inching across the battlefield with overwatch on.

Hope some of this helps!

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