devocole

Wow. My dad fly fishes for tarpon. He caught one last year that weighed 50 pounds. One of his friends caught one that was 120 lbs. They grow up to be monsters.

Ah i think i know where the communication went wonky. I figured you were talking about fluorescent bulbs. Those are the only type that i use. Right now in my 5 gallons i have 9 watt ones from dollarama. For a dollar. They are a very slim fit as well. I'll post a pic for everyone. For a buck a light its hard to go wrong. No K value or CRI however. Regards Devon

wowsers. what brand of bulb and where do i buy it. At home depot i'm looking at more along the range of 5-6 bucks a bulb with 5000 or 6500 k

Glass filter pipes $90 Double drop checker with two small bottles of extra reagent and instructions $35 Two extra bottles of reagent (each 60mL to be exact) $12.00 Shipping $18.81 and didn't have to pay customs tax. For total of $136.98

Oh your right. I just checked my receipt and i guess i did buy extra solutions. So for 10 bucks extra i got a 100ml bottle of each. As well as the 15ml bottles. For 10 dollars its worth it to me because i don't want to have to be buying distilled water and adding baking soda etc etc. I've got enough other finicky stuff to do. At the same time i bought the glass lilly pipes because its the best price i've found for the glassware. Its only for asthetics however. I was pleased about how they are made and look. As for how much is used etc. I haven't actually used it yet as i'm waiting on my tank to be made. But considering how small the drop checker is. I can't imagine i'll ever use all the solution. Regards Devon

Hi Gobies. In my 6 gallon I bought a 13 watt screw in grow bulb from the hydoponics shop just off of white (all seasons garden centre) and stuck it in the factory hood. He sells them in 5 packs but cut out one and sold it to me for under 10 bucks (may have been 5 bucks). It had an excellent CRI rating compared to normal fluorescent bulbs. My plants grew quite well under it. The only crummy thing that happened was that the ballast started to melt the other day. But i don't attribute that to the bulb, my hood is completely sealed and i've recently learned that on the fluorescent bulbs it says not to completely enclose. I just wanted to let you know about that because you can also get your dry ferts there. I got 4 sour cream sized containers of all the necessary ferts, and a crispy cream doughnut. He's a good guy. He also gave me an info sheet on the ferts. Anyways hope that helps. I'm thinking about trying a new bulb. It cost 20 bucks at aquarium illusions and puts out 20 watts. I've also heard that the watts per gallon rule doesn't apply so much to small aquariums, and that small aquariums should have a bit more. Just something to think about. Regards Devon

I second the green leaf double drop checker. Just ordered it and the customer service was great. They shipped my goods in such a way that i didn't have to pay the custom taxes which i'm used to. I also like the idea of having a reference solution near by so that i don't have to hold up colored paper or just use guess work. For 35 bucks i got the drop checker which is very small, and 2 bottles of reference solution and indicator solution. The bottles are probably about 100mL each.

Thanks for all the tips guys. Its helped me out too. I especially liked the link to the algae page werner. I'm going to be starting my 50 gallon planted within a month and will need everyones brains as well.

Currently how my 6 gallon sits Flora: Cryptocoryne willissii Jave fern Java moss Hygrophila polysperma Pogostermon helferi Duckweed Fauna: 6 neon tetra 1 Ramshorn snail 2 pigmy cory 1 otocinclus Ferts: Occasional flourish excel Substrate: Gravel

I haven't heard about using burlap but your assumption about roots getting caught up in it is probably correct. That would be enough for me not to use it. Rescaping will not be easy.

hygrophila is a good choice as well. It grows like a weed and you can cut it every month and propogate it within the tank. I think its the best beginner plant because it grows so well and needs nothing in my experience.

It has all the micro elements such as Mb, Fe, and a list of others that i won't try and tell you off the top of my head. If you ask him. He has an information sheet that has the exact amounts of each component in all his dry ferts. I don't have it on me right now. Regards Devon

Right on, thanks for the link. I did know that i had to do something with water hardness, and baking soda etc. But I haven't been at that point yet in my understanding. Just wanted to make the checker. LOL. I'll look more into it. Regards Devon

Ya sorry, not questioning your intelligence about the hobby here, i'm more of newbie so alot of it is for my own clarification. I think i see what you are saying about the solenoid and PH controller etc. The PH meter will turn off the CO2 at night if it goes too high etc, always keeping it at a constant level. Good point, funny that i missed that. For some reason in my head it just seemed like a good idea to turn it off at night, mabe i read somewhere that people would turn CO2 off at night (obviously didn't have the controller.) Hmmm, so i guess i don't really need the PH solenoid on a timer then hey. As for the air pump, the bubbles will just add more surface area, etc. I know its a bit rediculous. Especially if i change the plan so that the CO2 isn't turned off at night. I'm going to have to think about this one. I thought i had it right. Thanks for the perspective. Regards Devon

Hey thanks for the reply. Bulkheads are just a plumbing device that allows you to connect tubing etc from one side of the glass to the other, when there is a hole drilled. Its just the best water tight method. So i plan on drilling holes at the bottom back corners of the tank, on one side for inflow, and on other side for outflow. You could google bulkheads to get an idea of what they look like. I'm doing this because i want very little hardware in the tank. Pretty much just the drop checker, and very subtle outflow and inflow. I'm also not useing a sump, just canister filters. Mabe you can use the word interchangeably but i'm not sure. If you are uncertain about what a canister filter is, its simply a external filter that has a pump in it that pulls water through a filtration system. As for the CO2 PH issues. I'm going to have PH running on a timer useing a solenoid. Starting 1 hours before the lights and turning off with the lights which are also timed. Also the way i plan on having the outflow etc, i will have no surface agitation at all so i will not be losing much CO2 in the day time. That is also unfavorable for O2 at night. I know adding O2 at night is overkill, but this entire set up is going to be and i have fun doing it. The plants use 02 at night, so why not i say. Also with the plants using O2 at night, its less for the fish, so why not just flood the system with good stuff. As for the automated ferts. I totally agree with you. I'm probably planning on manually dosing for the logical reason of observing and reacting etc, but i will need an autodoser for holidays and travel. And yes the mixing of trace elements with one of the macros (can't remember) is not good. That is why I would have seperate autodosing for each mixture. One for trace(iron etc) and one for macros. The two cansiter filters would be overkill if there was nothing inline with them, but i just have a "feeling" that with everything i have inline, i will need a bit more pumping power. A little more flow can't hurt i figure. Regards Devon

The dimensions are 7cm length, 5cm height, 3 width. A drop checker holds a PH indicating liquid with distilled water in an interior compartment of the device which is separated from the aquarium water by air/gas. CO2 will dissolve out the aquarium water and "float" or equilibrate into the indicator solution. It really has to do with equilibrium. The CO2 content in the drop checking liquid will be approximately the same as in the aquarium. Its a kind of real time measurement of CO2 in your tank. Regards Devon

I just got this test kit by hagen that comes in a little brief case. It was 90 bucks and has every test you could possibly imagine. Iron, Calcium, high PH, low PH, phosphates, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, KH, GH. It is really overkill but i like to play. Regards Devon

450 gallon. that is sick. hope your house doesn't fall down. LOL Lucky guy or gal Regards Devon

haha thats funny. All i can say is good luck and let us know how it works out, only other thing i would try is breaking his mouth suction if you can. LOL Regards Devon

I'm just going to swarm the forum with all my ideas right now. why not hey. I'm collecting all the pieces for a 36*18*18 custom with bulkheads in the back two corners. I have to do it slowly as i'm only buying top quality equipment and budget is an issue. As of now i have: Light: 36" tek 146 watt. Fertz: Dry, (thinking about ways to auto dose, small timed pumps and premixed fertz) CO2: 10lb can, and milwaukee combo set up with SMS digital PH monitor, DIY inline reactor, DIY drop checker Filter: eheim 2215, and a eheim ecco 2233 (50 bucks couldn't resist) Heat: Hydor inline Air: For night a whisper air pump ( i like overkill) Substrate: _ Tank:_ Plants:_ Stand:_ I'm only half way. I can't set it up till August because of travel but i wanted to aquire the small finicky parts first. I'm going to source out a starphire to aquarium illusions or enthusiasts once i get back and have funds. I would love some local input. I'm hoping to form a network up in E-town, for info, to bounce ideas, and exchange plants etc. Community is the best way i say. As you can see I need the biggies yet. Subtrate i'm stuck with. I liked the idea of mineralized soil with a quartz like top, it seemed natural etc. But then it would be hard to manipulate doseing and fertz. Thats why right now i'm thinking of something slightly more inert such as fluorite or ecocomplete. Any feedback? Also my dilemma is plumbing. I want everything inline and out of the tank, but not entirely sure how to do it effectively. Ie can the canisters handle the work etc. Take a look at my ideas, and please drop a line. PS. i'm making good use of the tek's in the meantime. Starting my garden indoors. Friggin Alberta weather. Regards Devon Compsetup.bmp

thanks, i love DIY projects, i'm dieing to find another one LOL.

very happy to help

I've bought a bunch of aquarium products online over the last month or so and i've decided i don't like it. Canadian suppliers have been great (mops in particular) but the US ones have been brutal. Bad customer service, takes forever etc. I'm going to try and keep my business local from now on, even if it costs a touch more. I've heard rex has a good deals, i sent him an email about them but then just decided to go pick it up local Regards Devon

I just wanted to let everyone know about my dry fertilizer experience. For 20 dollars i got approx "sour cream" sized containers of each fertilizer from all seasons garden centre just off of white ave. Andre that works there is super nice, very helpful, and gave me doughnuts when i came. I just thought I would let everyone know. Ps. The containers in picture didn't come from the store. Regards Devon

This is my DIY reactor. I wish Canada had easy access to clear PVC but since its not to spec here, its hard to come buy. A fellow at Rona was able to put my description of the reactor into action. Then i went to Plumbing world, and the guys there helped me to drill a gas relieve valve into the side if there is ever a need to dispel built up gas, or to expell air when filling with water. Regards Devon