devocole

sweet, i had it in my head that i needed to replace the T5s every 4 months or so. good to know

looks incredible. i like the contrast between the two stains. Well done Devon

Kevin i bought my Co2 equipment online. After shipping, customs, the time, etc it would have been more worth my time to buy in edmonton. Give Henry a call at natures corner store. He sells the full set ups. Also when your CO2 is done, you can just bring it in to him and exchange it for a full one at a small fee.

Hi guys. As usual i'm looking for hairgrass. I've been asking and looking for a while now. If anyone has some to spare, knows a place to get it (edmonton or red deer or calgary) it would be very helpful. I'm not ready to make an internet order of great magnitude so alberta is my only option as of now. Also. I was wonder if anyone in alberta has scapes with more exotic plants? (diff mosses etc). Where did you get them? What are you using them for? Thanks so much Devon

Kayan. As for the Riccia. Its quite simple. Get flat shaped rocks. Then go to the dollar store and buy a cheap clear/white colored luffa. Pull it appart and stretch if over the riccia. It works perfectly, the holes are not too far apart, nor are they too close. So it should only cost you a dollar to make a foreground out of it. Regards Devon

SAE will get too big

I heard guppies were a hearty starter fish. In my experience they were not very hardy and did not last a year.

i've been looking for hairgrass for a month. Kind find them in stores, or from other members.

Thankyou As for an update: I switched out the chain sword for an even narrower leaved variety that i bought at the auction. I think it is more suitable. Afew Branches out of the surface is growing small mushroom like fungi that i like. The terrestrial java moss is taking root and really starting to look natural. I did my first 50% water change the other day after over a month. I think i'll do it every 6 weeks or so just to keep things fresh. I'll post pics in 2 months or so when there is more substantial changes. And i'm already thinking about my next projects. Plural. I really get lost in this stuff i love it. I'm going to post some ideas for an upcoming scape soon and would like advice. I really enjoy this scape and look forward to seeing how it shapes itself over the next several months. Regards Devon

Need for expoxy? Nope. I made a background useing the Quickrete cement. Water parameters have been great and no problems after 2 months. I will tell you what you might expect however. At least 3 coats of the cement. Which requires a full day drying per coat (or more, i gave them a day) and then a 2 day dry time before you add water to fill at the end. The PH is pretty high for while (for me 2 weeks or so) but i've heard that filling it up and emptying it out several times can speed up the process(i only did it daily). IMPO i don't like the look that epoxy gives, i find it to be unnatural. The quickrete color is not too bad either. You can also add diff colorings to it as well. Regards Devon

Found the Dash(1/8), pinch(1/16), smigen(1/32) at canadian tire. Two and a half bucks Regards Devon

Looks very clean. Well done. Regards Devon

I know that mount royal college does. They have a woodshop/art studio and general public was using it as well. Not sure of the particulars however. Look into it Regards Devon

Good question. Its only been 2 months so i can't help you out too much there. But in this time the height has not changed too much. It definately is bulking out though.

It does look good. He/she has really put some thought into the terrestrial plant life. My main critique however is that you can see the plexiglass siliconed to the front. I really don't like that. Devon

True that. Did it on my patio so i wouldn't track it all over the house.

I think the table is stupid. An aquairum should be a display/showcase and an "oasis" for the aquatic life. Tables would not be looked at or admired. The viewing angle sucks. It is a horrible novelty idea. IMO

Thanks again. I am trying to make it look as natural as possible, the penny-wort is starting to branch out, once it starts moving around in there randomly it will look even more natural then the one big clump. The other thing that i think helps with the natural look is I put several pieces of java moss partly in the water and partly out. Allowing the upper portions to dry out and die, while the lower ones are green and healthy. The Moss on the background looks dead and dry but it may not be because it is damp, the water is climbing up it slightly. We'll see. My only regret right now is buying a used scratched tank instead of a new one. It is 5.5 gallons. 16L*8W*10H Devon

Thanks everyone. Jerry. As for water changes, i'm not planning on doing them with this one. The other tanks I have running right now have DIY CO2 and EI ferts and 50% weekly WC. This is my attempt at a natural aquarium. I'm slightly cheating as i made a little canister filter: ( http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=20958 ), although it is more for water movement then anything. I have had this tank up for 6 weeks now with only weekly top ups. Weekly test results have been Fe 0ppm, NH3 0ppm, Nitrate 0ppm, Phosphate 0ppm, PH 8.2ish. For the first 2 weeks however the nitrates were around more then 100ppm as the soil was still settling itself out (no fish at that time though). So all the parameters are okay my only concern is organic build up that i can't measure. I'm hoping that won't be a problem. Anyone have insight? One other thing. I have alot of java moss and duck weed which will suck up additional nutrients. A large portion of the java is terrestrial with water flowing over it so it has the aerial advantage (as Walstad would say) and will grow extra fast. The ivy is also supposed to be a fast growing plant. So with all that thinking in mind its kind of an experiment for me. So far its working. Regards Devon

Thanks for the photo advice. Its going to help out alot. Devon

I will add the rest later. Can someone tell me how to add better pictures. Devon

Started making it at the beginning of September. 5 Gallon tank and canopy i bought for 20 bucks. DIY background using styrofoam and Quickrete. I have inline tubing plumbed in the bottom right corner connected to a mini DIY canister filter, the outake is the top left corner. I put in a small powerhead under the left ridge for flow. There is mineralized soil on the bottom later with fluorite on top. The piece of wood i found in the glorious edmonton river valley. Plants: Creeping Jenny species Small Chain sword Dwarf Hygrophilla Java Moss And the umbrella looking plant i forget. Fish: 2 female endlers 1 male endler/snakeskin

My conclusion about lumens (from readings etc) is don't bother thinking about them. As for Kelvin, its slightly more important and i would say recommend exactly what puhbah said.

Where can I find small measuring spoons, like 1/8 teaspoon kind of thing for dosing dry. Thanks Devon

Also i would suggest looking into what kind of plants you are interested in as well. If you want foregound high light demanding plants you will have to do higher wattage. But if you are going to be doing things with crypt and hygro for ex, that amount of wattage is not necessary. Regards Devon