Shai

In order to run a tank with little or no water changes and no filter it has to be extremely heavily planted and have a very, very light bioload--the focus is more on the plants than any fish. This article is very informative with respect to using soil (low light, low tech): http://lowlightlowtechplanted.blogspot.com/

So where is it, exactly? I kept an eye out for signs coming out of Sundre all the way to Bearberry itself while on my way up for camping and didn't see anything. Couldn't look for it on the way back since the storm hit us at 2am Sunday night and flooded out the camp, ripped a buddy's tent, nearly drowned my car, etc etc etc. : )

I don't believe using foam as a dividing material would work. Water flow rate in a betta tank needs to be low to not drag the fish down by the fins, so there would not be sufficient pressure to move the water through the foam, resulting in stagnant compartments. An alternative to craft mesh or manually cutting holes in acrylic or glass is to use vented/perforated soffit, the kind that has the round holes in it (example). It's a lot stiffer than craft mesh with larger holes (that are still small enough to prevent fish from getting through). Cut to size and use spines from report covers (or the channels that come with dividers available at the LFS) to hold in place against the glass. Article.

Apparently, importation of aquatic animals in Canada is the responsibility of Fisheries and Oceans Canada but is being transferred to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, so some changes might be forthcoming to the regulations. Source. The current regulations state that no permits are required for fish species to be held in hobby aquaria, except if the species is listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in which case you need a CITES certificate. Some provinces have more specific regulations that require permits (such as for koi brought into BC). Source. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a similar page detailing information on importation of aquatic plants for hobbyists, although there were a number of results for articles calling on a ban or strict regulation of plant imports because some species have become invasive (such as Eurasian Milfoil and Cabomba caroliniana).

I have three Aquaclears on my 55g but I am currently "in the market" (so to speak) for a good deal on a canister. After several years of waterfall noise and other such things I'm ready for some silence.

I have four bettas in two divided 10g tanks. I use plastic craft mesh as my divider material because the holes are larger (water flow) and the plastic is more rigid than the flimsy plastic sheet that comes with the dividers available at the LFS. The bettas flare at each other occasionally but for the most part they stick to checking out their individual compartments. Each one is planted. If you were to completely seal off each compartment you would have to ensure each was evenly heated. With dividers that allow for water flow, you can buy one heater suitable for the entire tank's volume and not worry about it. It's also easier to keep a larger water volume stable. I, too, would not position the dividers below the water line. In my tanks I had the dividers an inch above the water line and the bettas still managed to jump over. I've since had to cut the divider to match the shape of the hood so there are as few gaps as possible, but there is still a vulnerable place by the filter that one betta has managed to take advantage of. I have an empty 33g and I am thinking of putting my bettas into it. My idea is to use a canister filter with two spraybars: one would be attached to the intake with slightly larger holes and would run along the bottom near the substrate to pull in detritus, etc (and possibly covered with nylon to keep fins from getting sucked in). The dividers would have to be cut to accommodate. The second spraybar would be on the outflow and either positioned along the entire back length of the tank at the surface or at one end of the tank--depending on how much current was created. Just an idea.

lol Bearberry has a barn, a saloon, and two houses. I wonder where they hide the pond store! I'm camping up there this weekend, I'll have to take another look!

Did you jumpstart the cycle using established filter media? A tank that big takes at least a month to cycle from scratch. That was way too many fish to put in all at once! Even with small-bodied fish you should have started with no more than 6-10 and waited at least a week before introducing another 6-10, then another week, and so on. The bacteria need that time to adjust to the increased bioload. Having added 48 fish in less than a week, you likely started a mini-cycle and your fish are dying due to ammonia and nitrite poisoning (breathing hard supports this). I know you say your tests do not show any ammonia and nitrite but I find this hard to believe! Is it possible your tests have expired? The GBRs ("blue" and "german" are the same thing) probably also died because the tank is too new. They need a mature tank (6 months to a year) and unless bred in local water need to be acclimated slowly. Increase your water changes--25%-50% daily or every other day and see if your fish improve. If you have Prime, double dose to help detoxify the water in case your tests are incorrect.

How much water are you changing daily? The betta may appreciate a bigger percentage. If the wound is leaking pus the water will need to be kept exceptionally clean.

I think someone mentioned plywood. Since the bottom would be covered with substrate anyway why not do that? Plywood is cheaper than a replacement pane of glass and you have several people on the board already who know about using it. Not knowing anything about it myself I imagine you'd have to do something different with the construction of the tank overall to get it all to work. But it'd be a waste of a tank otherwise...

Thanks everyone for the input. The inevitable question: Where in Calgary can either of these filters be had for the best price?

Thanks for the info Tanker. Pesky Javascript!

Actually, that is the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, in Japan. : ) It's actually second largest in the world (the Georgia Aquarium is bigger). Yes, they are whale sharks.

My 55g has 3 AquaClear 70s on it. I have never used any other brand of filter. I like ACs but for my 55g I think a canister would be more appropriate. Lately the waterfall noise is bothering me and I realize they drive off CO2 (tank is moderately planted). I want to ensure the tank is overfiltered. It's a community tank with rainbowfish, cories, rose line sharks, GBRs, killis, one BN pleco, and one pitbull pleco. I will be adding a group of Ruby Greens in the near future. I want to ensure there is a decent amount of current. These fish need good flow and the ACs can only be positioned so flow runs from front to back, which doesn't work well in a 55g since it's only 13" wide. I often see my fish trying to get "in front" of the flow to swim in it but they can't because the glass is in the way. I am looking forward to using a spraybar at one end of the tank so the water flows length-wise instead. I have a powerhead for the opposite end of the tank. I want a canister that is easy to use and low maintenance. I don't want to have to fuss with it or its media. My ACs only have sponges in them (two each). I have read a number of threads in this forum where members have debated which brand of canister they like best. I have come down to choosing either a Rena or an Eheim. Rena's seem to be 'best bang for buck' but I do not want to run into 'you get what you pay for'. Quality of manufacture is a big concern for me since I live in a mobile home (one level, no basement) so if the canister leaks or otherwise siphons water out of the tank there is nowhere for it to go except across my entire house. Eheims seem to have the best comments about quality but they also seem to have a steeper price tag for equivalent specs. I want a good canister without a giant hole in my wallet. In my reading I saw that some people use Eheim 2217s on their 65g tanks so that sounds about right for me. This filter is spec'd for up to 160g with 264 GPH and no bypass. It has quick disconnect valves so that sounds easy. I like that it is all one chamber, so I hope that means I could just stuff my existing AC sponges into it? Is it really as difficult to prime as some people have said (other people have said it was easy)? Can the ugly green hoses be easily switched out for something less noticeable? For about the same price there is the Rena XP3, which is spec'd for up to 175g with 350 GPH. This sounds "better" but I am not sure about the design--the water comes in and goes out at the top of the unit so how do you know it's actually passing through all of the filter media? On the other hand, this filter doesn't look as "tall" as the Eheim so it may fit better under my tank (though I could put the canister beside the tank if I needed to). Which of these would be better for me? Any other tips for a first-time canister user?

I think the auction is a thoughtful idea but also agree it would be a lot of work. As for degrassi's suggestion, PayPal makes it wonderfully easy to accept donations. Set up a donation account and post the link--they even provide buttons ("PayPal Donate"). You can control what denomination the money should be, etc. A lot of websites I visit have them. People can click the link and (depending on settings) decide how much they want to give. People who can't or don't want to donate ignore the button. Done!

According to the comments on the video it's a "top fin volcano" from PetSmart.

So far so good! I introduced the little ram on Saturday. The big surprise was that as soon as she was out of the bag she made a beeline for Sheba (the mature female GBR) and attacked her! I think I will call the little fry Cleo (Cleopatra). Sheba was certainly surprised at being picked on by this little upstart. Cleo actually managed to chase Sheba around for a good ten or twenty minutes before Sheba remembered she's more than twice the size of the fry. One solid nip back and Cleo knew her place. Since then they've settled in fine. I was nervous nearly all day any time I couldn't see the killis but in the end they don't seem to be interested. I'm hoping that by now if the big killi hasn't tried to eat Cleo it means he won't. Cleo is definitely more active and has better color, so I think it was a case of being sick of being solitary in the 5g. Sheba is also always colored up now. A little competition never hurt. : )

That's interesting. It is a screw-in CF. Doesn't sound too bad, I'll check it out! I don't think the silicone will cure properly if the tank has moisture in it or a lot of humidity, but I haven't worked with silicone a lot so I don't know for sure. It's Christmas moss so it will not hold up out of the water for very long.I think thumbtacks will be an all right alternative (the brass/aluminum ones with the flat heads). If the stems are too long for the thickness of the cork I can probably clip them off with wire cutters. They only have to stick in enough to hold the moss on until it attaches itself, and the head of the thumbtack will provide more "lip" to catch the moss under.

It's not any particular kind of light... It's the hood that came with the tank. I don't have any kind of electrical experience and my house is old and very flammable so I'm not taking any chances.

lol 1.5" doesn't look fair sized to me! My mature female is a heck of a lot bigger. I did net the fry to measure so I'm sure the size is right. Anyway, I might try introducing her to the tank on Saturday so I can keep an eye on things and see how it goes.

If you decide to buy playsand (it's what I use too) I still recommend sifting it before rinsing. The bag I got had a lot of gravel in it (and a stick!) and I didn't sift before it went into the tank. Now all the gravel has worked its way to the surface. It looks pretty bad (IMO) and it will be a big job to suck it out and sift it while it's wet. You can get a cheap metal sieve from Wal-Mart or the dollar store, or use window screen. Just make sure the holes are small enough.

Rinse it, boil it to sterilize, rinse some more. Sift it when it's dry. Rinse it again. After all that, once it's in your tank it shouldn't be any different than if you'd used any other sand.

African Water Fern (Bolbitis heudelotii) anchors to driftwood just like java fern and has a great look. I have a few clumps attached to the driftwood in my tank. : )

The project is on hold for just a bit. I noticed today the hood on this tank kinda smells like burnt electrical and occasionally the bulb flicks out, then back on. The hood is only eight months old but even so I'm going to discontinue using it until I can find a replacement. For now the moss is sitting in a floating nursery in my 55g. : ) Not sure what to do with the fry yet, but sitting in the dark for now won't hurt. In about a week a friend is coming home from China and will be taking her bettas back so one of my 10gs will be empty. I'll put the moss wall in there instead. This development did give me a chance to realize something: if I have to staple the moss to the cork, and silicone the cork to the back of the tank...how do I keep the moss from drying out? If I silicone before attaching the moss, how do I get the staples in? So, I'm thinking I may have to use thumbtacks instead...

62F = 16.7C. That is pretty cold! I've always been told you should not raise or lower water temperature more than one degree per hour. None of the heaters I have go below 70F so if yours are the same, for the next eight degrees you're going to have to do it manually. Once you have them settled in somewhere you'll be keeping them for a while, I would turn the thermostat in the room down to 18C (64.4F) and let the water adjust to this temperature overnight. Put in an airstone or a very gentle filter to keep some of the water circulating so you don't end up with leftover cold spots. Tomorrow, as the house starts to warm up naturally as the sun comes up, the water will also start to warm up naturally. Forecast for Edmonton says by tomorrow morning it will be 19C. By that time you could probably do a few partial water changes with lukewarm water to get the temperature up a bit more. Once you hit 72F (22C) then you could put in a heater and start increasing the temperature that way.