Blue Ram

I've kept rainbows for several years and have many from Rick Wilsac. My suggestion is just to be patient. Rainbows are great eaters and usually will eat anything. I probably feed my rainbow tank at least 6 different feeds a week. Lots of clean water and a temp. of about 78 should trigger their healthy appetite. Good luck.

Flyer says store opens at 8 a.m. - best to check in Calgary though.

Haven't had any issues with the Hagen HO. One is 18 months old.

Is anyone else fed up with these light fixtures blowing the ballasts? Two fixtures - 1 36" and 1 48" both blew recently. These are the very slim black T5 fixtures that hold 2 normal T5 output bulbs. The fixtures are not overly expensive but when you also lose new bulbs because of the ballasts that really ticks me off. Can the ballasts be fixed? What other options are there? I have two Hagen T5HO lights that I like but wondering what else is out there. Want to stay away from the power compact because of the cost of replacing the bulbs.

DATE CORRECTION - POTLUCK IS MONDAY, DECEMBER 13TH.

A fellow who just obtained his CAS membership that evening. Was very pleased to say the least as he has a reef tank!

Great job on the presentation Stacie! Thanks for your efforts.

I saw the new Fluval Nano Shrimp Habitat set up at Tanks a Lot on the weekend. It holds almost six gallons, comes with substrate, a cool built-in background, top, light, etc. Very very nice. For the more expensive species of shrimp, I would recommend a ten gallon so you have a better chance of keeping your water stable.

Is a company rep giving the presentation?

Perfect timing. I've been considering this for some time now.

Werner this was one of your lots at the auction I purchased. I believe it is the "rose". I'll look closer this evening. Do you have any smaller or starter size diamonds available for sale?

How can I tell if it is the rose or red diamond?

You're on a roll Dan! Have to give up your full-time job soon!

There is a breeder in Ajax Ontario that I visited in July. He has a large successful breeding operation. He sells 1 1/2" juveniles for $75.00. I was going to bring one back in July but was afraid I would not get enough food to it in the tank I was going to use.

I have a large beautiful swordplant I bought at the CAS auction. I believe it is a red flame echindorus (Werner help me out here!). I put it in a terra cotta pot filled with substrate because the tank is being redone shortly. The plant is doing great and has new leaves coming all the time with good colour. The mature leaves are 12" high. Would it limit the size it will get if left in a pot or should I plant it in the substrate?

I have a very nice young frontosa (approx. 2 to 2 1/2") in a 75 gal tank with some haps and peacocks. All of the fish will be sold and I was wondering what the possibility is of keeping the frontosa with rainbowfish and possibly a couple of angelfish?? The frontosa has left the vals and anubias in the tank untouched but would it eat other tasty plants if they were added?

I let the tank sit without filtration for a day before I turned the filter on.

I set up a 15 gal over the weekend with a bag of "flourite dark". I did not rinse it as I was not in a hurry to add any fish. What's the best product and/or method of removing the cloudiness? I have a small aquaclear on it - I'm hoping most of the small particles will get mechanically removed.

I thought the auction was one of the best Calgary has had in a couple of years. The variety was great. Lots of unusal fish and plants. The turnout was lower which resulted in lower prices but that's how it goes. I was very pleased with what I brought home and I was outbid on many items.

They do need soft water: CRS

My colony are kept in Calgary tap water added to the tank from a phython. I only used partial RO for the first couple months after I got them and then stopped. They are constantly breeding in this water.

I finally got my pair of killies that I purchased from Bill Bishhop last Monday settled into their new 5 gal home. Added the container of peat last night and this morning I see eggs in it! Just have to do some research on the next step.

Aquariumplants.com sells good products - I have not tried their substrate. Out of eco-complete and flourite, I have always used eco-complete. I have had it in tanks for several years and have found that the plants still grow well. Eco-complete is also a lot less messy to work with. Add it to the tank and add your fish and you are ready to go!

UPDATE

This is what I have changed since my original post

- swapped out the "Powerglow" bulb for a "colormax bulb" (the Powerglow light was brighter but for the sake of reducing the algae, the colormax bulb is better

- reduced the lights "on" to approx. 8 hrs (they are off for most of the day)

- added 1 capful of Excel daily

- added fertilizer after every water change (2 to 3 times per week)

- added 5 otos

The tank is 90% algae free. The plants are free of all algae and most of the algae is gone off of the driftwood. The otos are doing a great job even though my wild angel thinks they are food.

I plan to slowly increase the lighting period by 1/2 hr per week so I have 10 hrs on per 24 hrs.

How often do I need to change:

HOT5 light bulbs

Power compact bulbs

I just replaced a "Powerglow" HOT5 with a "Colormax" HOT5 bulb. I noticed that when the bulb is on, it has only a slight shade of pink while in a regular T5 bulb is very pink when on. Could the bulb be defective or is that the colour of the HOT5?

I do like the idea of tiger vals - I'll have to try and find some - usually some at the CAS auction. I'm buying my sand at a pool and spa store in town because it is off white not tan colour and its usually really clean. I rinsed it once the last time I used it. It's really common in the states in discus tanks. Any sand will do but I like the lighter colour and the texture is not rough or abrasive.