Crystal

I find some goldfish just don't like cold water. Some individuals will float belly up in cold water, but will recover in hours if you bring them in - my one friend had 3 'wimps' they had to bring in... I would personally hit a petstore next time you are in the city and get those 10-25 cent mountain clouds. Yeah they are small, and 25% usually never make it, but I find them much better bug control than the fatheads. Those that live breed pretty readily. I would call to find out if they have them and the prices - some places will give discounts if you buy so many (eg. I buy 50 and they only charge me for 40). I wouldn't add mosquito fish, they can get pretty aggressive - tearing up fins of other fish. Good mosquito control, lousy fishy companions.

Most green houses open on the first Sunday of May (tomorrow). I can't wait to go, but I actually need it to warm up so I can get my pond up! No pond, no plants... Today's weather was glorious, a hint of what may eventually come. Maybe I can get my pond up next week and the week after get plants (fingers crossed!). The fish in my 65g have grown quite a bit, they are no longer the little 2" feeder runts they were when I got them last spring. The one garden center in Spruce Grove actually asked me which plants I would be interested in and ordered some in! I would invite you over, but I think the drive is a bit too much!

FYI: After some discussion on other reef sites I decided to go with the Deltec MCE600 skimmer and 48" Tek Light T5 Fixture - 4-Bulb, 4 x 54W by Sunlight Company.

I am planning on making my 55g saltwater - reef with fish. corals are mostly softies, but I hope to add a couple LPS high up on the rock. the tank is 48" long with a center brace, 12" wide (13" if you count the outside of the frame). I have no idea when it comes to lighting or the skimmer... Any help is appreciated... What kind of lighting? I was thinking of either: 2x Coralife Aqualight Pro 24" 1-150W HQI, 2-65W PC, 2-1W Lunar LED or x1 Coralife Aqualight Pro 48" 2-150W HQI, 2-96W PC, 3-1W Lunar LED but I noticed someone said these cause glare and it is actually too wide for my tank. Do I really need MH? Would T5's and actinic work? What are other suggestions? Skimmer, I was thinking of either: Red Sea Berlin x2 Turbo Deltec MCE600 100-150g (can't seem to find this locally... someone said the European models don't work with Canadian plugins - is this true?) Any other ideas? This is going in a bedroom, if it is too noisy can it be turned off at night?

Just starting out myself, just reading/research so far (and saving my money for those Metal halides... ). So I may not be right, feel free to correct me. From what I understand puffers generally try to sample everything they think is edible and most corals and anemones don't survive the sampling. I would like to know about the canisters too, from what I see people are *very* divided over it - but *most* agree a skimmer at least 2x the gallonage listed is preferred, many even say 3x - you can turn it off for a few hours if necessary, but you won't have to upgrade if you a bit heavy on feeding. Corals like light and current to varying degrees, but many seem to like lots of light and a fair bit of current 10-15x gallonage moving seems to be the minimum as there will be calmer spots for corals which don't enjoy so much current. Powerheads would work, but I saw a very adjustable "water fan" somewhere that is supposed to do better, don't ask me where, I am haven't looked for it quite yet.

Absolutely jawdropping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyLFVqppiW0...feature=related This is what made me decide to try saltwater. :drool: I am have never even seen corals (except 3-4 1" frags) and I don't even know what quarter of this is - but it is inspiration! The color balance is nice, I hear people say they only want hte most colorful - but this shows how browns and tans highlight the brighter ones! What are the majority of those? hard corals? I can't wait for my coral book to arrive to id some of this - definitely bookmarking it! I don't think I could afford one of those clams, let alone - how many did I count? 19? Definitely gives me ideas on how I want my tank, but I think I would have a number isolated rocks in front with polyps - is it a myth that polyps won't cross sand or truth?

There are actually two parasites, but both have very similar life-cycles. The parasites are Pomphorhynchus laevis and Polymorphus minutus, I believe the laevis is more common around here - though minutus is more common in most locations. They are parasites which need gammarus (aka scuds) to grow to a certain stage as an intermediate host. The gammarus is then eaten by a fish in which the parasite reaches its final adult stage and begins to produce eggs, which travel with the faces into the waters and are eaten by more scuds. When growing in the scud, it collects carotens which create the yellow-orange dot and which makes it more likely to be seen and eaten. The parasite also affects the scud's brain, causing them to be more likely found in open, bright waters in which they are easily seen (it causes other effects on scuds - but there are many studies which focus on this so I won't go into it). The parasite needs a scud first, and a fish second - no other combination is known. No other creature besides fish are known to be chosen as the "final host" - in other words, you aren't the host it is after... It simply won't work, and the parasite dies. Here is a nice chart: http://www.u-bourgogne.fr/BIOGEOSCIENCE/im...chus_laevis.jpg If there are no fish, then the parasite usually isn't present, so fish-less ponds are perfect to collect gammarus from. The parasite cannot reproduce without fish, it also tends to castrate the gammarus in the growth process. As for the exact affect on fish - I am uncertain, I assume it is similar to most parasites. I will do a bit of research later. iceturf - give me a few days to get to the ponds as they are an hours walk away. I will let you know what I find, if the birds haven't eaten them all.

Scuds are common in many lakes and ponds. I advise that any collected be from an unpolluted water body with no fish, as they are less likely to have a certain parasite which appears in later stages as an orange dot on their back. As for dispensing, I would use a HOB filter (like the aquatech) with a slightly blocked sponge, so there would be some 'overflow' overtop the media pad. You would have to use something (like nylon stockings) to cover the holes around the propeller so you don't get 'scud soup'. Some would go over as they search for food, or just from the current - which could be a problem. Scuds are difficult for smaller tetras and the like, but fine for bigger fish. Though I would have a separate cultivation bucket (eg. 5g bucket with 2" of dead leaves/grasses + some twigs and an airstone), and just net some in to the HOB every morning. You could even use an AC110 shell (need the motor to plug the hole, but it wouldn't need to be in operating condition). Use a separate (weaker) pump in the tank to provide a slower current so they don't all get washed away in the first hour. An old AC which no longer works should be a breeze to find. You wouldn't need to use the media, but would have to silicone a partial 'gate' over the overflow. Some craft mesh from any dollarstore/walmart would work. I would also add some nylon/cloth in the filter so the scuds have somehting to hang onto when not swimming, or they will all go over swiftly. I plan to check local pools near here soon, if they have some I can net a few for you - or I know a few in Edmonton collect their own regularly. There are probably even people here who culture them.

Good to know. thanks. I may get one later, but I want my bank to have a chance to recover after the setup. Maybe a Christmas present...

They generally den up by the hundreds for the winter, if they are leaving the den then spring is definitely on the doorstep. There used to be a den somewhere around Island lake, but it is gone now - I think a new house was built on it. So nice to see that they are still hanging around. Nice pictures by the way.

From what I see most people use RO/deionization water. I would prefer to not have to install an RO unit. Would those big 5g water jugs from the local drug store or grocery store work? The cheap ones, not the super pricey ones. I am planning a 55g reef tank and the rest of my tanks are hardy fresh water fish that like my tap water. I know using tap water in the salt setup can cause massive algae problems later down the road - and thus is a "no go".

I have ordered from the US before, I bought a bunch of snails - half of them DOA. Customs can be sticky, I find that there are more stories these last few months. I would find a Canadian dealer - perhaps a store can order in what you want? You would be amazed at what people breed locally - ask if anyone has it. I was sure amazed when I asked.

Thanks, I will have to find those books. I had better read a lot so that when I do ask questions I don't sound completely clueless. That nano one sounds interesting, I was not intending to do one under 15g, but the 55g isn't too far off compared to the books that deal with 125g and up. I will have to find that coral one, most of my confusion/questions revolve around the corals and (inverts?). -I assume the polyps, mushrooms, softies, (and hard corals?) etc. all fall under inverts? but snails, crabs, etc are also inverts. Is there a different grouping name to keep them separate?

I am thinking about turning my 55g into saltwater, but I want to do a heck of a lot of research first. I would ask questions, but I have way too many to even organize them and I am pretty positive that a couple of books would answer a lot of my questions. As it is I can't figure out half of those abbreviations.... Can anyone suggest books on saltwater fish, inverts, corals, and/or basic saltwater theory? I need a good beginners basic book with good information for starters. I am also looking for a book that deals specifically with corals and inverts, and one for saltwater fish for aquariums. They need to be a a more beginner level - though I have kept fresh water tanks for 10 yrs I have never even glanced a salties due to fear of being hooked when my budget wasn't up to it .

I find that adding epsom salts and aquarium salts seem to help with it in some cases. I know some fish (especially fantails) get it when the temp fluctuates, which is why fantails don't do so well in ponds up here. I do a 25% water change, vacuum the gravel well and add the salts even if I suspect something is out of whack. The salt and an extra water change certainly doesn't hurt.

I throw in a small handful of shrimp pellets at night, and when they eat the pellets it causes the poo to float and I just net it out. Works for goldfish too. 3-6 pellets per fish seems to work best.

I have some cattail seeds (and young plants if you happen to come into Edmonton some weekend), and can probably spare 5-10 marsh marigold seeds I can mail you (with growing instructions). Walmart also sells water lilly bulbs, but I never had any luck with them - you can get full grown plants from stores like Rona, Canadian tire, etc around May or so they bring in a tub with various floaters, submerged, and marginals. Also Irises and canna lilies make good marginals plants - you can get the bulbs from walmart right now. I just plant them in a yogurt container until they sprout and then put them in a water lily pot with gravel for substrate. They grow well with half the pot in the water, or even with the pot rim even 4" under the water surface. There are numerous nurseries that will start selling pond plants, usually around May. Not sure of any around Calgary, but there is an excellent one in spruce grove. Another idea is to get native plants, they are hardy to our climate and grow well.

That explains it, the light in that tank is very "white" and very bright. The parrot's feather I have has never been submerged, I use it as a floater - I love the out-of-water foliage. The different leaf shape is happening with the buds on an already-emergent stem, I will just shift the plant a few inches more towards the shade. I have the main plant in a regular plant pot on the window sill, I use cuttings in my pond (http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=20198) the plant spreads up to 6-7 feet and is really makes the pond.

You can try lowering the temp of the tanks (if it won't hurt the fish). I put 2"-3"Styrofoam on the back of my heated tanks - it does help a bit. A lid will also trap heat. I still say try the wattage meter (or whatever it is called), you can't know anything for certain until you get one. I noticed the price of electricity went up the last 2-3 months here, increased about $50 as they finally read the meter - plugging in cars in cold weather doesn't help much either. But we are hijacking this thread, perhaps open a new thread titled "what is causing my electricity bill to increase?", then I can answer freely without the guilt of posting in someone else's thread.

I put some cuttings of parrots feather in my 65g goldfish tank. they are in a protective floater underneath the lights (not sure what kind of light - it just says Big Al's on it). I noticed that new growth is turning red and the leaves are a bit different shape, why is this? I don't know much about aquatic plants other than the fact that they like light and water .

Thanks for the compliments! White clouds, they cycled the tank. I removed most of them, but due to the ph difference and time needed to acclimate them, I am waiting until I have more time to transfer them to their original tank.

These are the Neolamprologus Multifasciatus (previously Lamprologus) I got from Marty and from the recent Edmonton Auction. My lighting has an odd blue tinge, but is much lighter in real life than in the photos, the camera flash gets rid of it. (all hiding)

I am getting ready for the ponding season. Planting seeds - marsh marigold, cattails, reeds. None of the reeds grew - I will have to raid a lake or river for a plant. The marigolds aren't planted yet - they are very early bloomers and grow too fast to start yet. The cattails... The first two batches didn't grow at all, so I threw over a hundred seeds in hopes of getting one or two, put them in the freezer for 3 hours - and forgot them there for 3 days. Well, now I have just shy of a hundred 1cm tall cattails. :shock: If anyone wants some just let me know and when they are a bit bigger I will bring them into Edmonton. Come mid-April I will stick my water lilies and adult cattails in water-filled storage tubs in the basement under a grow light to revive them. I had no clue what I was doing when storing them for the winter, but I checked and all are damp and alive, except for one small cattail which dried out. I am glad the lilies made it through the winter :thumbs: , the one should bloom this year and I can't wait. Has anyone here had any success with lotus up here? I just can't seem to get my seedlings to live past a month or two - is it the seeds or just my inexperience? How is everyone else doing in preparation for the ponding season? The pond fever has started!

I agree, that waterfall picture is amazing - I would love to buy a big print too. It should be put in a frame or entered in a calendar contest... I WISH I could take pictures like that...

I agree with Ishkabod, many things guzzle electricity from just being plugged in. tvs, computers, speakers, fridge, freezer, the power cord to plug your vehicle in - just because they are not being used does not mean they are not using electricity. Also remember what Punman said in the first post: "All heaters were set for 77-78 F and room temperature in all rooms was 70-71 F so we are looking at 7 degrees heating (about 4 degrees C) above room temperature. All heaters but one were Ebo-Jagers (the other a Visi-Therm). All were installed in the upright position." Different heaters have different efficiency levels as well. Try putting a wattage gauge (or whatever it is called) on your tanks (and other places around the house) to see where you are losing power.