Shai

I second this... Lately I've noticed some posts where the poster would do the rest of us a favor by using, say, periods, the Enter key, etc... That's hard to "enforce" though, except through gentle moderation. I'm a freelance editor so a post that is 500 words of run-on sentence and misspellings is particularly grating. : \

Thanks for the explanations. : )

I'm just curious why the Member of the Month is chosen at the beginning of the month instead of the end of the month? ie, If choosing the member of the month for March, why isn't the decision made at the end of the month based on contributions during that month? I don't want to stir up trouble, I'd just like to know how it works. : )

Thanks for the replies. : ) I'll check into that place in Airdrie and remember to take that bottle with me. PM sent to fishytime too.

I am hoping to get replies from people who have actually gone to places other than Burnco so that I don't have to spend a day with my nose in the Yellow Pages cold-calling places and/or driving all over Calgary for nothing.

Alas, I don't have a small squeeze bottle. I'd be testing the rocks at home either way though. Besides, it's currently winter out there still and the river is iced up past the banks.

Thanks for the info! Whichever it is, I hope it grows. The clump has disappeared, possibly floated away to get caught somewhere else in the tank. Or, maybe eaten by the rainbows. Hopefully not the latter. If I can find it again maybe I'll pull it out and try to propagate it in a dish or something. Interesting. The photos I brought up on Google for Bolbitis heudelotii certainly look more like the leaves I have, and the rhizome too. Our water is hard and the info I found indicates this plant likes soft water... I wonder how it's going to do in my tank long-term (since posting this photo I have a lot more growth). Where can I get lots of those iron rich plant tablets? Every time I go to the LFS I can't seem to find anything like that. I have other swords so I know I need them. Is it maybe something I can get from a garden center? I think the leaf form changes if you let it float. As it happens both of these stems have one branch each which is sprouting fast. I have a third stem in my other tank which I think doesn't have a branch, so I'll cut that one and get it to root. Wee!

According to their voicemail recording, Burnco is not open on the weekends and only until 5pm during the week. I want to buy some larger rocks for scaping purposes (similar idea to this, which later turned into this, gorgeous tank!!) but because of my work hours I won't be able to go there until the end of March. I'd prefer not to wait that long if I can. Since I'd like to make sure I'm getting aquarium-safe rocks like granite or quartz I don't want to default to hunting around the river...what other places in Calgary could I get some cheap safe rocks from? Does Ornamental Landscapes carry rocks like what I'm after? I know they have slate, but I've never been there and it's a bit out of my way to just "stop in" to see if they do. Help appreciated, thanks!

Back in January I stopped by Fish_Frenzy's place for some fab plant donations. : ) Thanks again! The plants have mostly settled in now but I've forgotten and/or didn't know what I picked up so I'm looking for some info. This was a hitchhiker and there isn't much of it. Java moss, I think? This one is possibly Broad-Leaf Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta), can anyone confirm? I'm pretty sure Fish_Frenzy wasn't sure what it was and it was not doing very well when I took it. Seems to be recovering nicely. : ) It has attached itself very securely to the rock. It has a rhizome similar to the anubias family of plants and the older stems/leaves are a really, really dark green. The roots are brown and thin like java fern. Is this an Ozelot sword (Echinodorus x. 'Ozelot')? Very interesting leaf patterns. Whatever kind of sword it is, can anyone tell me the kind of care it needs? Last, but not least, I'm pretty sure this is Dwarf Bacopa (Bacopa monnieri). It's been giving me some trouble, choked with hair algae, but I did a mild peroxide dip the other day that I'm hoping will have killed the algae off for the moment. I'm pretty eager to get this plant propagated so I can get a more filled-in look with it. If I cut the stems, will they root? Thanks for helping. : )

If I can get them I've decided to go with a trio of Blue Panchax Killifish. I have some time to see about locating some, as I'm temporarily keeping some cories in this tank until they get a bit bigger--then they'll go in my 55g. If I can't get the killifish then I'll go with danios. So my eventual stocking plan is 2 German Blue Rams 8 Cherry Barbs 3 Blue Panchax Killifish OR 5-6(?) danios

Pond snails need other pond snails to make more pond snails. Are you certain the MTS is actually MTS? They are fertile at 7mm.

Be careful...those two Malaysian trumpet snails could soon turn into about 140 Malaysian trumpet snails. Each snail can fertilize itself and gives birth to about 70 live young. You might find your tank getting a little overwhelmed. : ) Good luck on the rescape!

Have a look at this article: http://lowlightlowtechplanted.blogspot.com/ It describes a great way to have an easy, low-cost, low-maintenance planted tank. You just have to bear in mind the bioload for a tank like this must be light to medium only. If you start to push your stock limits it isn't going to work. Really! I never would have thought it would--Do you know why this is? It would explain why my riccia is doing so poorly.

Looks very cool. Can you post a link to the original article? Do you have more pictures of the setup running?

I've heard some people swear by apples for otos, and according to them apples don't need to be blanched and can be left in for longer. Haven't tried it myself though. It would be great if we could come up with some sort of reference list that we could keep as a sticky, ie, the name of the veggie or fruit, brief prep instructions, fish that seem to like it, and how long it can be left in the tank.

Fantastic article, great info. Unless I missed it while reading, it would be great if you could include the finished tank dimensions and gallonage in the first post. : )

It could be columnaris, which is a bacterial infection that can be spread to your other tanks through shared nets and equipment. It can be lethal. High water temps help accelerate the bacteria growth. Best treatment for columnaris is increased water changes to ensure the water is pristine, because the bacteria feeds on organic wastes. Do a thorough gravel vac. You could add some aquarium salt too. If it isn't columnaris, increased water changes and a thorough gravel vac won't hurt anyway, and will help the fish strengthen their immune system to fight it off. If it continues and starts to get really bad you can consider treating with copper sulfate, Acriflavine, Furan, or Terramycin.

Nice tank Frank! I like how you have a bit of a rainbow lighting effect going on there. Ever considered mounting the intake horizontally? Just an idea, I'm not familiar with the filter you're using. : )

No problem Tammy. : ) I know, I'm horribly picky. Too bad I'm not in Edmonton, Jason. But maybe I can find some pictures. I'll look into killis and furcates--never considered these fish before, don't know anything about them. I'm still partial to wanting the danios but I'll look at the other options. Are there perhaps any top-dwelling cichlids that might get along with the other inhabitants? I finally got a stand for this tank. Once I'm feeling more up to speed I can put it together and then find somewhere in the house for it to go. :3 EDIT: I did some quick reading. The Blue Panchax killi has my interest due to color and body shape. Anyone stocking these in Calgary? Now I also see that furcatas are rainbowfish--yellow ones! Since I am keeping rainbowfish in my 55g I'd like to consider the killis first, but both look like great suggestions. Input on these--suitability and how many I could keep--would be really appreciated.

What are the advantages to having LEDs on the aquarium?

What a monster project! When the house was built did you have extra drains installed in the basement? Might be something to do if it wasn't...if the tank ever blows you'll have a heck of a time waiting around for it to drain out of the one or two standard basement drains. Also, is your furnace on the ceiling...? I heard a horror story once of some guy whose tank blew and managed to wipe out the furnace while they were away in the winter... Without heat and with the amount of water involved the water ended up freezing into a nice big block of ice in his basement because it couldn't drain fast enough. Talk about major problems...

Hmm. I'm not particularly fond of the appearance of these, and the lid I have for this tank is not tight-fitting. Thanks though, I'll still keep them in mind. Any other suggestions?

My rainbows like to eat my riccia. Kind of a pain actually, because I don't have enough light in my other tank to grow it. But they are veggie eaters, so...

In the near future I'm going to clone my 20g onto a 33g. The 33g measures 36"Lx12"Wx18"H. This tank has a sand substrate and it's planted. Planned stock includes a pair of GBRs (I have the female already), some cherry barbs (not sure how many--maybe 8 or 9? I have four already, 3f, 1m). I'd like another type of fish, one that hangs around the top portion of the tank, but not a betta. I've done some research and was considering danios, but I've found a lot of conflicting info online regarding whether they can tolerate the higher temps needed by the GBRs and cherry barbs. Can anyone give me some thoughts about this? Some other suggestions I got in my travels included rasboras but I want to have some color contrast--the cherry barbs are already red/orange/gold so danios seem like a nice alternative. Plus, I've never kept them before and I've heard they're a delightful fish. Thanks!

Great deal. I agree it's the store's fault... If the fish had a barcode and rang up cheaper at the till than the sticker price, it's not the customer's duty to point out the fault. Across the retail industry it is the norm to sell the item at the cheapest price indicated, whether it's on a sticker, at the till, or written down by an ill-informed employee on a waybill. Note that the cashier didn't pick up on it either. It's the responsibility of the managers at the store to ensure their stock is properly priced and their employees are knowledgeable.