salon_1928

Looks like it was hammered out of metal - beautiful!

Poor guy (or gal...).

I don't think it was an interuption for the whole house (no clocks flashing anywhere...) - just that bar or outlet. My wife and I were discussing it and she seems to remember a computer workstation set up there when we moved first moved in and the fact that we moved everything to an adjacent wall. She suspects that we may have moved it because of a wonky plug. I don't remember but she could be right. At any rate, I'm going to try the clock radio trick... Cheers, Stu

Any thoughts on what I can do to mitigate? Sponge over the intake maybe? I was also thinking of shortening the intake tube...

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me out on this one because I'm stumped. I have 2 brand new (about a month old) Aquaclear 70s on the back of my 52 gallon. Last week I found that the impeller had stopped spinning in one filter and it was no longer pushing water. When I inspected it all seemed fine. There didn't seem to be any buildup of note and when I plugged it back in it whirred to life. This morning when I got up and went downstairs check on the tank again I found it had happened again but this time with both motors. Again, nothing much of note when I inspected the motors and both are running just fine now. I did a big water change tonight so I used the opportunity to check the media. There was a little bit of waste in there but nothing that should adversely impact the filters. For the record I run a sponge, 2 pads of fine floss and a bag of Biomax on top in each filter. I have run this setup for years and have never had a problem - the flow out of each filter is excellent. One thing I suspected is sand getting in the filter. When I opened them up tonight though there was barely any in the filter - maybe a pinch in each. I've run Aquaclears for years and have never had this happen. I know they can have a bit of startup inertia if they're not completely clean but I've never seen one going from running to a dead stop while powered-up. That's why I suspect the problem might be power related - possibly the power bar I'm using or the outlet itself. I was thinking that if there was an interruption in power, it may be enough to stop the motors. So, what I've done so far is change the power bar and outlet. Has anyone else ever encountered this with an Aquaclear? Cheers, Stu

Gorgeous - I can barely see any plumbing.

I forgot to mention my overall impression of Zebra's. I like them and prefer them to Apple snails. I had both in my 70 gallon. The Zebras are like eating machines. They always seem to be in motion and their mouths are constantly scraping. My Apples on the other hand have a lot of down-time. They seem to nap for long periods and they produce a decent amount of waste. The only place my Zebras have laid eggs is on my piece of driftwood and it's not an eyesore. Lastly, they don't seem to touch plants whereas that's hit and miss with Apples (my current batch turned out to be major deforesters...).

OMG, that's what those things are! I have 3 Zebras in my 70 gallon tank and I couldn't tell if some specks on my driftwood was white sand or not. My fish often sift and blow sand so it's not unusual to see it on my driftwood. I was a little supsicious though when I noticed the spots being so regularly formed. Do they hatch? Cheers, Stu

What a freak - and I mean that in a good way. Seriously - nice fish!

It's always a sad thing to see...is he/she hiding booze around the house yet?

That is...amazing... And that was the least boring rant I've ever heard.

Well done - those tanks look great. I've wanted to pick up one of these ever since my friend got his a few month's back. The plus is that my really likes the look so it will likely end up in a living space (i.e. not my basement). Cheers, Stu

You guys have had your Edges for a while now - what are the pros and cons? Getting enough oxygen in there? I'm considering planted and shrimp. Stu

Kick his @$$ Sea Bass!

That looks outstanding - what's the plant/object on the left side? Also, what type of filter is that? Cheers, Stu

I like the shot of the Sphynx under the tank with all of the wires behind him/her - looks like a cyber-cat. Stu

Great advice - thanks Jason and DANA T. Cheers, Stu

Jason, I have similar questions to Jerry...Can I add leleupi if I have J.transcriptus? Tanks is 4 foot wide, 70 gallons, decent amount of rock and structure. Cheers, Stu

LOL - I'll pop by and visit Dennis tomorrow aft at lunch...

Hey everyone, I picked up 11 juvenile Cyprichromis on Saturday and I’ve had a few initial challenges with getting them to feed. Or maybe not – maybe they’re getting enough nutrition and I’m making a mountain out of a molehill. At any rate, any advice would be much appreciated. So here’s the scoop…the fish range in size from 1.5 inches to about 3 inches. I did not ask my LFS what they were eating prior to bringing them home which was a bad idea. I already had some NLS 1 mm Cichlid Formula at home and I just assumed that I would drop some in the tank and they would gobble it up. The first couple feeding attempts were a bust – the pellets were ignored and pretty much went straight to the bottom. After that I tried crushing the pellets. This got them interested and they cruised right in. The only problem is that they seem to grab the fragments and then spit them. Occasionally I notice one hang on to a fragment but I’m not sure that they’re all getting enough (it’s a pretty chaotic). I have a couple of Koralia Nano 425’s on opposite ends of the tank providing water movement so I notice them schooling in the current and it looks like they’re picking things off (I can see their mouths extending) but I’m not sure. Any thoughts? Oh yes, I’ve been checking ammonia, nitrites and ph daily and everything has been spot-on so far. Cheers, Stu

Hey everyone, After some deliberation I’ve decided that I’d like to add some J.transcriptus to my 70 gallon tank. Right now have 11 Cyprichromis Letpsoma (Kitumba) and 1 BN Pleco. I’m looking for a pair or small group – is anyone aware of some in Calgary? Heading further afield is not out of the question (e.g. Edmonton) as I’m in the mood for a road trip. Lastly, would 2 pair be out of the question? My tank has a decent footprint (approx. 4’ X 2’) with lots of structure (a large piece of driftwood and a fair bit of rockwork). Cheers, Stu

Thanks Blake - I'm definately leaning towards mixing to get the look I want. Chances are I won't be up in Edmonton over the next couple of weeks but if I am I'll keep you in mind. Stu

Beautiful...how do you get that lighting effect at night? <newbie question...>

Hi Everyone, I'm looking for some advice - I'm about a week away from putting stuff in my tank and I'm looking for some substrate recommendations. I've looked at a quite a few and I'm partial to some of the CaribSea products. I like the salt and pepper look with quite a bit of pepper. Online I've found some that are specifically branded for Cichlid tanks, however, the ones that I've found at my LFS's look like they're intended for salt water tanks. Can I use those? A course sand is the appearance that I like but I'm not sure if that's best. My stocking plan so far: Cyps, Julies and Shellies. Tank is approx. 70 gallons. Cheers and thanks, Stu

"...two inches max..." That's good to know. I'm planning on putting egg crate plus under-gravel jets in my new 260 litre tank and was concerned about how much sand I would need. I might try to nest the UGJ's into the egg crate a bit in order to keep the lowest profile. Alternatively I could just cut the egg crate to size to fill up exposed surface on the bottom of my tank. At any rate, I'll keep the 2 inch rule in mind. Thanks, Stu