Boom

So for those interested in these lights from Lee Valley, they are 46" light and they include the single fixture, 6700k bulb, and reflector. And they are T5HO, yes that's right, they are High Output lights. Which I think makes the price even more reasonable!

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Hey all, just thought I'd share some pics I took tonight. My group of (4) Ps. Saulosi's in my 55 gallon have bred again. I stripped the momma about a week ago, and believe it or not, these little buggers have about doubled in size already. There are about 15 of them, as near as I can count. Please keep in mind that these little guys are only about 7-8 mm long right now, including tail. Getting good photos is extremely difficult, but I did my best.

Thanks for looking!

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I thought some of you may be interested in this. My favorite store, Lee Valley, is now carrying T5 light fixtures. I think they are a decent price and from Lee Vally, no doubt they are of superb quality.

If any of you are unfamiliar with Lee Valley, the store and customer service is second to none. They have lots of cool gardening and woodworking tools and gadgets. I shop there very regularly.

I'll likely be buying these lights soon as I'm sick of replacing the ballasts in my crappy Aquagiant lights every few months...

Lee Valley T5's

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If I'm only really interested in the photography talk, what time should I "shoot" to be there for? (hehe)

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I have a group of 11 F1 Mpimbwe's from Fairdeal, I would like to thin the group a bit and probably get rid of 3 of them. Let me know if your interested and once I decide for sure I can let you know.

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What varient did you get? And what are you looking for more?

I have a group of 11 F1 Mpimbwe's from Fairdeal, I would like to thin the group a bit and probably get rid of 3 of them. Let me know if your interested and once I decide for sure I can let you know.

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Throw it in the dishwasher... no soap, extra rinse.

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Oh, and just as a reminder to everyone, if you are interested in me doing some work for you, or purchasing something I have built, PLEASE PM ME. I don't check this thread every day and I may miss your post. Thanks.

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Do you have any band saw boxes for sale?

Unfortunately no bandsaw boxes right now. I do have one other small box tho. I'll send you a PM.

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In their natural habitat these fronts live in water so deep they are in constant darkness. The divers capture them in 60 to 100 meters and have to decompress them in wire cages very similar to skin divers who have been deep diving or they risk bursting their swim bladders and then they are worthless to a hobbyist. I have read that sometimes it takes 3 days to get them to the surface.

They are indeed opportunistic piscivores but then again which piscivores aren't? Their natural prey (cyps) feed in shallow water during the daytime and move into very deep water for the night. As they settle to the bottom the fronts simply vacuum they off the floor of the lake until they are full and then don't have to eat for 3 or 4 days. That is why fronts prefer dimly lit tanks or blue lights - used to total darkness. I have seen mine moving around the tanks at night like they are looking for an easy meal and seem to have no apparent problem manouevering around the tanks in pitch black.

It is important to keep the fronts well fed but not overfed to cut down on tankmates becoming an easy meal at night.

All very true (from my research as well), but I think the instinct of hunting will kick in even with a well fed fish. Or should I say a "normally" fed fish. They can consume alot, and in a lake how much waste they produce is no concern of anyone, of course. But in an aquarium setting, feeding so much that they are "not interested" in live prey is very unlikely, and if done, will result in a very dirty tank very quickly, no matter your filtration and cleaning regiment.

I don't think a "well fed" front in an aquarium setting will help much with their inherent desire to hunt smaller fish. Even on the best diets.

Has anyone had long term success with keeping small fish with fronts? I'd love to hear other's experiences.

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Wow , very interesting idea. I'm not a planted tank guy, but I never would have thought of that. Very ingenious.

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Be VERY careful using chemiclas like chlorine bleach and CLR to clean fish stuff. You can rinse the chlorine well with tap water and then kill any remaining chlorine with an ample dose of your regular dechlorinator... but the CLR contains other chemicals likely very harmful to fish. I would avoid it. Instead, use the flexible pipe cleaners ( I got mine at the dollar store) or the pot scrubbie on a string idea. Just make sure the string and the scrubbie dont seperate mid tube, otherwise your SCREWED!! haha.

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Two things that haven't been mentioned ( or I missed them). They are known to wake up *before* other fish....therefore simply swimming up and gobbling the fast asleep meal. Also, some people have mentioned that they will sand sift, taking in shrimp and other critters, and blowing the sand out of their gills.

I've never kept them, so take that for what you will. :smokey:

Actually they don't "wake up before other fish", they just hunt at night. And by "hunt" I mean they are very lazy hunters, they like to wait till the other fish are asleep and slowly settle lower in the lake, then they just snatch them up. That being said, I have thrown feeder fish in for my fronts and have seen them very actively chase and catch anything that moves.

Regardless of their method, they WILL eat anything small in the tank that they see as edible. My synodontis cats have been alright tho.

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I wouldnt be so sure about them not eating plants. I put a fake (plastic) plant in my 180 with my 11 Mpimbwe fronts and the first thing they did was try to munch the leaves! Haha.

They also eat any fish small enough to even come close to fitting in their mouths. I lost a dozen firecracker lelupi's within a few days when I tried putting them in with my fronts. That really ticked me off. Anyway, I would avoid both if I were you. FWIW.

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That is just rediculous! What a waste of gold!

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Here is another gift I made. Something about solid wood toys that really appeals to little boys. This is made of padauk and maple woods.

I love a challenge in woodworking, and nothing says challenge like making a bowl without a lathe. Thats right, I don't own a lathe. I made this with some router work and a band saw only. It is made from the scrap wood of the cutting board posted above, and will be given along with it as a gift.

One of the greatest joys in woodworking is making your own tools. It's even a greater joy if they work well. This is the first wooden plane I have made, but it certainly won't be the last! It was fun to make and is a joy to use. Made of white oak with walnut wedge and purpleheart pin.

Well thats about all I've got to show you for now. I did also complete a large shelving unit for a client, but I havent had the opportunity to take photos of it yet. I will post it once I do.

So that, in a nutshell, is what I've been up to. Very busy as you can see.

Hopefully a few people take the time to look at all this stuff, and post some comments. I love hearing from you guys.

Thanks!

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My new boss at work had several swords that were handed down to him from his dad. He also wanted to display them, in his office. He left the design completely up to me, and this is what I came up with. It is solid african mahogany with maple inlay.

I made this cutting board as a gift for some friends of ours. It is end grain butcher block style which is extremely durable for cutting on. Its made with maple, cherry, birch, and purpleheart woods.

This next project is another gift. It's a jewelry box in a "band saw box" style. It is made from mango wood (yes from a mango tree, the type that you can eat) and african mahogany for the base and pulls.

My dear old uncle asked me to build him an entertainment stand. He provided me some details as to what he wanted for size, dimensions of his stereo equipment, and left the rest pretty much up to me. This is what I came up with for him. Solid oak with white oak raised panels. The doors slide from side to side.

This next project was for an AA member, Lana Bollers. Lana asked me to buid this display box for her son's sword. It's made of solid oak with walnut accents and custom brackets to hold the sword. It also features solid brass hardware.

I have recently received a few requests from members interested in having me build some custom aquarium stands for them. First and foremost, thank you to those members for considering me for your custom woodworking needs! I am very appreciative of that.

I'd like to take a few minutes to explain where I've been, what I've been up to, both in my woodworking and in my career as a police officer. I know I havent been around the forum much lately, but rest assured I still have my aquariums, still have my fish, still enjoy the hobby, and have been very very busy!

So first I'll start by saying that in the past few months my woodworking "career" has moved forward significantly, at least in my books, especially considering that I still do this as a hobby in my spare time only. In addition to AA, I am an active member of several woodworking forums, where I show my work, ask and answer woodworking questions, and have discussions on all things wood related. I was approached several months ago by the chief editor of Canadian Woodworking Magazine. He asked if I would be interested in making a project and writing an article about it for an upcoming issue of the magazine. Of course I was shocked and honored, and accepted the task. I worked on that project and wrote the article, which has been submitted to the editor, and will be published sometime in early 2011. It will be my first time being published.

In my career as a police officer, I have been very busy as well. In January I accepted a position in the crime scene forensics unit. I have been working there since then, and in the end of October I came to Ottawa for 8 weeks of formal training in the forensics field. I am still in Ottawa, and have 3 weeks of my training left to go. Prior to coming to Ottawa, I met with the owner of TU Gallery in Edmonton. TU gallery displays and sells high quality custom made wood furniture. I had been in the gallery several times prior and expressed interest in one day having some of my work displayed there. Well the owner saw some of my work on my website gallery, and was interested in seeing some of it in person. In October I brought in several pieces that I had built, and he immediately asked me to build something for the gallery to display! What an honor! Unfortunately at the time of our meeting, I was off to Ottawa in a few days and had no time to build anything. So projects for the gallery are a top priority on my list once I return home and finally have some shop time again.

I've also been neglecting several projects that I promised to build for my wife. Almost two years ago I told her I would build her a bedroom suite. I have built the headboard and two dressers, but still owe her two night tables. I also owe her a wine rack that I have started but neglected to finish becasue of other projects and time constraints. Needless to say, when I return to Edmonton, I will have my hands full of projects for some time.

I can however show you guys a few more things that I have completed since my last posting here.

I'll start with the second dresser I build for our bedroom suite. Solid walnut with solid birch drawers.

Another small collectors box. Cocobolo rosewood lid, with narra. This one is still for sale!

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Where's the pics?

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It's also not just what you feed them, but how you feed them. They can eat more and get more out of the food if you feed them 2, 3, or even 4 times a day, rather than just once. Spread out of coarse. The reason for more water changes is to keep them as healthy as possible. You can do other things to keep them healthy as well. Make sure their water conditions (ph, hardness, alkalinity) is correct, temperature is correct, keep the lights off, and don't put their tank in a high traffic area. These things will all help eliminate stress on the fish to keep them healthy. Healthy fish will grow the fastest.

Other than that, just be patient. It'll still take time.

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Good luck!

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For anyone interested, I just posted a whole bunch of new pictures in my Member's Journal, both under the 55 gallon and the 180 build threads.

Didn't want to double post them here again, but please check them out and comment at your leisure.

Thanks.

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And FWIW, none of those photos have been edited in any way at all, not even cropped. Those are all just how I took them with my new work camera (Nikon D300) with macro lens.

Thanks for looking.

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