Shai

Oooh! Thanks Boom! I wonder if I need enough supplies currently to bump the cost over $200...

Weeeell, it sounds like I'll be better off buying it at home and supporting the local economy. : ) Now to price it out all over town... Thanks for the help everyone.

Interesting idea! Using glue would eliminate the problem of waiting for the silicone to properly cure on the back of the tank. As it happens, I finally have opportunity to start this project... My friend's bettas finally went home. But now I'm contemplating getting a breeder tank and dividing it, and having the moss wall span the entire back of that tank instead. In the time since I got the moss and now, it's grown quite a lot in the nursery! To further complicate matters, I think I want to get a canister filter and somehow use spraybars to ensure there is filter input and output in each compartment. Ah, the plans, the plans... Most likely it'll all have to wait until after I get back from Vegas in November though. I don't think I want to start tearing things apart quite yet.

I definitely won't have room in my carry-on or checked luggage for the filter. It would have to come back to Canada separately.

Good luck! Camallanus is awful. I hope I never have to deal with it again. : )

Maybe it's worth putting a copy of that thread in this forum. Not sure new people would necessarily think to look in the Photography forum for this particular kind of "how-to".

In a month I am going to Las Vegas. (It's my first time to Vegas and my first time outside Canada since the mid 90s.) For a while now I have wanted to get an Eheim 2217 for my 55g tank. I see they're about $200 new. I've been a bit hesitant to buy used, but they don't seem to come up for sale that often anyway. Since the dollar is strong (hopefully it'll still be strong next month) I have wondered if it could be worth it to buy the filter in Vegas and ship it home via FedEx, UPS or some such. I know that certain kinds of items are often waaaaay cheaper in the US (even after dollar conversion) but I don't know if Eheims fall into that category. Also, I really have no idea about things like border duty and whatnot. What do these filters retail for in the states? After shipping fees and duty would it be about the same as buying it at home? All help appreciated. : )

So do I.

Are the scratches worse on the front or back? ie, can you turn the tank around to present its 'best face'?

The water noise is pretty loud (might just be the video?). Don't you hear it all through the house? Turned out pretty well. : )

What size tank is that on, Werner? I have a 55g that I want to do CO2 on instead of Excel but I have lower light so I wouldn't need the bottle to have as many bubbles per minute. I'd rather only have to fill CO2 once a year if I could get away with it.

MTS don't lay eggs. : ) They do start out pretty small though, so it could be the snail was in the gravel near her own egg when she picked it up, and it got sucked up too. I just wonder what it ate the whole time it was in there? Maybe Mom should count her fry... :P

Yeah, poor Caesar. : ( That's what I get for going away for the weekend. Sigh... I never got any fry out of him either. He and Sheba went through the motions and even dug themselves a little nest in the tank once, but couldn't figure out what to do next. : \ Then after I got Cleo he couldn't decide between the two of them. I'd like to try some of Patrick's Ruby Greens since they like higher pH water compared to GBRs...but I also don't want to give up on my GBRs! I'm pretty happy with how the 55g turned out. I had a lot of trouble with it in the beginning and the aquascaping just never seemed to come out right. I think it helps that I got such a great piece of wood as the centerpiece. Couple of times before now I've considered ditching the tank but I'm glad I didn't. Bissell is a real brat. : ) Every time I see him at feeding time I always think of the seagulls from "Finding Nemo". He tries to take all the pellets or wafers for himself and it's hilarious when he finds out I spread them across the length of the tank--he can't be everywhere at once and gets pouty at being thwarted! I've had him for quite a while now...still no bristles. , a montage of tanks I used to have. The 10g was my first tank after years of not having one (can't you tell?). I went from the 10g straight to the 55g and then picked up the 20g and the 33g later. I still have these tanks but only the 10g is still in use at the moment (divided betta tank). The 20g is a "high" and I'd much prefer a "long" if I could ever find one...so it's dry. My 33g is currently serving duty as a receptacle for pop bottles that need recycling. : | I know, horrible use for a tank! But once my friend can take back her bettas that I have been looking after (and I get to the bottle depot) I'm going to set up the 33g again as a big betta barracks.

: ) Thanks for the info! Saves me from driving across town. Hopefully they'll have one soon!

Are they having a "grand opening" sale? They were out of a particular filter before moving so I've been hoping they'll be on sale for the new location.

I'd like to share! :3 is my most recent creation, a "photostream" (slideshow) showing how my 55g has evolved since 2006. It has video and photos in it. is a bit older and contains strictly video showing my fish at feeding time. : ) shows my copper blue betta Tiamat in a 5g. He's since been upgraded to a divided 10g that he shares with another betta. features Caesar when I had him in my 33g tank (currently empty). Alas, Caesar recently passed away. : ( Now I have two females (Sheba and Cleo) who have no suitor!I have photostreams still to create from when I had other tanks setup. When I finish them I'll post links. : )

This is scary. A very small leak has a way of quickly becoming a very large leak. Any water escaping from the tank is bad. Do you really want to run the risk of the leak becoming catastrophic, say, in the middle of the night? While you're away on vacation? etc. 80g is a lot of water and you don't have buckets that big. IMO if you're going to set this tank up, do it right so you don't have to risk your fish, your carpet, etc. Cleanup is a drag.

If you have a powerhead in your tank, you can get the suction going by putting the in-tank end over the output of the powerhead. It will push water into the hose and once it gets far enough along, gravity will take over. Just leave the other end of the python in the bottom of the tub, sink, or on the lawn.

Found this on another board. It's one of those "exception" stories that proves the rule that you just shouldn't flush your fish (live or dead). You never know who might find it... http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090820/tuk-go...sh-dba1618.html

You can use a black garbage bags too. Just tape them over the tank (double layered is good, to make sure no light penetrates). You want to increase NO3, so you dose KNO3, which is a dry fert. You can get some from Quick Grow at #1, 1204 Edmonton Trail NE. While you are there, get some KH2P04, K2SO4 and trace elements--then you can use the EI method. Dry ferts last a lot longer than liquid ones. : )

You can use the blackout method to get rid of it. Using chemicals runs the risk of impacting your beneficial bacteria and starting a new cycle, or creating a new strain of cyano that is resistant. Cyano prefers low NO3, so dose to bring the levels up to 10-20ppm. What ferts are you dosing in addition to the CO2? The tank is new--do you have lots of fast growing plants? How heavily planted is it? Increase your water changes to 50% a week--cyano left in the tank will rot and reduce the amount of oxygen available in the water column. Be sure to manually remove as much as you can and thoroughly vacuum the substrate. If any plants are badly covered, take them out and give them a mild bleach or peroxide bath. Also, cyano likes to grow where there is not a lot of current, so increase circulation. Increasing the amount of CO2 can help too.

Yes!! This is excellent news. I always hated the existing location and that was pretty much the only reason I've only shopped there once or twice.

Thanks for the info!

When fish are kept in tanks that are too small for them they become stunted. Stunted fish, as mentioned, become deformed (including internally), and I've seen it claimed that these fish also release "excess" (unusable) growth hormones into the tank water which can be harmful to tankmates. All organisms are susceptible to stunting. Google stunted fish and you will get lots of results (including scientific studies) showing why it's a bad idea.

You have the option not to use one at all. I have a DIY python and at first I used a waterbed fill kit but hated how it wasted so much water in the sink. Instead I bought some hose fittings from Rona (cost a buck or two) and stuck those on the end of the hose so I can attach it directly to the tap to refill. To drain the tank I leave the end of the hose in the sink (or on the lawn) and use a powerhead in the tank to start the siphon. Once the water gets going the pump can be shut off.