devocole

name him masta

What is the best way about ordering a large number of fish. Like 30 harlequin rasboras. Over the internet, ask a pet store to cut a deal. etc. What would you or what do you do? Regards Devon

Also don't buy a CO2 kit from a store. You can DIY one for a couple bucks if you choose to.

As for plants. Definately get hygrophila. It grows like a bloody weed even in the poorest conditions. Great to put at the back of the tank as it will grow to the height of the tank. I bet in 8 months the original hygro i bought increased in biomass by 10X. I just kept cutting and replanting the cuttings, and so on. I've also found that crypts are also quite hardy. I bought one small potted plant 8 months ago and it has probably increased in biomass by 4X. I didn't use CO2 or ferts. And only plain gravel. My only suggestion is to use fluorescent bulbs. Incandescent isn't really good at growing anything. Although i wouldn't be surprised if the hygro was still able to grow like a weed with incandescent. Java fern is also fine in low tech conditions as well as anubias, but they are slow growing plants. It just depends on what you want. Java moss is also a nice addition to a tank. It is super cheap and grows like stink. It is the perfect plant for small fish and fry to hide in. You can also coerce it to grow on things like wood, rocks etc(this is the same for java fern and anubias actually) The java moss is also really cheap. I bought a baseball sized bunch from a pet store for 3 bucks. I bet someone would be more then happy to give it away for free as well. Good luck Plants make an aquarium more then the fish (IMO) Devon

I got 6 endler fry from flip and due to lack of experience i only have 2 left. I'm sure afew got eaten or something. Anyways the 2 i have left i've identified as female. One is bigger then the other and is really mean. If the smaller even comes into sight its chased into a corner. Is this because they don't have a dude or something. They aren't even full grown either. Mabe halfway. Thanks Devon

i'm going to take another look at the soil section. but i don't remember her mentioning anything about super high nitrates. Also can anyone suggest some plants that would be good "filters" in the aquarium. I'm attempting no filters on this one. Right now some hydgro, java ferns, java moss, and a small hornwort looking thing, duckweed. Thanks

Funny thing. I have that book out from the library right now. Its great and highly scientific.

Hi Everyone. Trying soil underneath fluorite. Didn't do the whole mineralized soil thing, but i did soak it once, get out the floaties and let it dry for 3 days. Then put er in and layered fluorite on top. Most things seem to be fine. PH, KH, Phosphate etc. I've changed the water 10-15 times over the last 2-3 weeks but when i last checked(full WC 2 days before) the nitrates were in excess of 110ppm. I did a WC again and checked after 2 hours. The nitrates were 55-60ish ppm. Has anyone experienced this using soil, and if so how long should i expect excess nitrates. And i haven't put fish in yet, only plants. How much nitrates would be harmful? I surfed many forums about soil but have not found issues with excess nitrates. Thanks Devon

Couldn't say. I would have to do an experiment to decide. If you are seriously interested i could do it. and Ya you could call it a DIY canister filter.

Gravity definately does help, but there is enough sucking power to pull some as well.

I asked a while back if anyone knew of an external pump that was small enough to hook up to airline tubing. Well no one knew and i couldn't figure it out either. So i decided to make my own. I inserted a Repti Flo 200 inside a well sealed plastic container and epoxied the tubes etc for a water tight fit. The flow has tripled compared to my aqualifter.

well done

Well i'm glad we have that cleared up. lol. I actually used it in a recipe last week. Its like a hybrid between celery cabbage and spinach. I don't think the fish will care too much about the details however.

I just set up a 5 gallon paludarium wtih a DIY background etc. I plumbed airline tubing in it to produce a waterfall effect useing an aqualifter http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/sk...d5d6+1222568919. Well now that its up and running the 3.5 gallons per hour for a waterfall isn't really sufficient. Does anyone know of an external water pump that could be hooked to an airline diameter tubing. Thanks guys

i'm trying heated cucumber right now, no luck. Off to the store for zuchinni then.

Ya its sick. I'm probably just going to chip some off the rockies.

Just cleaned out my tank and definately no algae. I've tried spinach in the microwave and he doesn't touch it. What works for everyone? Thanks

Thanks snaggle. Its actually the only place i know of. I just hate ordering stuff from the states. Shipping and customs costs etc. One time i payed 65 bucks in customs costs for a 400 dollar item. And i would like to be able to see the stone before buying it. Truth is i probably will have to end up ordering like that.

Ya Canar major supplier to look into. From looking on their website they have some granite and limestone sizes that might be suitable. But i was also wondering if anyone knew about somewhere to buy really specialty rocks like manten stone, or seiryu stone. Even if it were a pet store. Thank for the reply Definately a good spot to check out

Does anyone know if there are suppliers in Edmonton that have rocks such as Manten stone, Seiryu Stone, Ryuoh stone etc. Thanks

bloody hell. I have to wait 3 months to get an ADA tank from Japan. Anyways, i'll continue this thread or start a new journal once i get it.

I got Power sand special, and amazonia I. For a 50 gallon it was 300 bucks including shipping. That is pretty expensive compared to if we could just pick it up in the US. But in my experience ordering from the US is never cheaper once you add in shipping and customs costs. And ya its the Langley supplier. The guys name is eugene and the phone number i got off of "distributers" in the ada main website. Devon

Thanks Valerie. I will probably wait until the auction then. Do you have to be a member of something in order to go? Anyone know good driftwood links.

Thanks for replying. I'll check out aquarium plants for prices and packages. Also I've been leaning more toward Hemianthus callitrichoides, I like how small and comact the leaves are. But Glosso could also be a good choice as it doesn't require pruning etc. I also want to get a piece of wood with tons of character. Something very branchy. Does anyone know a place in Edmonton worth looking into. Or online suppliers. Regards Devon

Hi guys. I have almost completed collecting the supplies for my 50 gallon planted: Tek lighting, Pressurized CO2, ferts, ADA amazonia etc. It has been a lengthy process collecting all the bits as money was a big issue, but after 8 months i'm finally there. Now after all the research on equipment i'm actually finding the process of choosing the right plants for me to be daunting. It is hard to visualize my tank with only pictures of plants off the internet. I dont think i want a rock/glosso tank. I think that would get old pretty quick and i don't even think they are very creative(IMO). What i imagine is a Very branchy driftwood piece as a main focal point off to one side, and a very natural yet diverse jungle of plants. And i imagine the aquascape starting relatively low (foreground) at the opposite front corner of the driftwood and then getting taller working our way to the opposite back corner. I'm hoping people can help me bounce ideas. Ideal plants. Places to purchase all of them in one bout (mabe internet) and any words of wisdom. Thanks Devon