425nm

Out of curiousity what clams are you planning on keeping? Crocea and maxima are harder to get into Canada now (or atleast much more expensive). Government is worried about them bringing Perkinsus into Canada. If you clam happens to contact it you're actually required by law to report it to CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency).
See:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/aquatic-animals/diseases/reportable/perkinsus-marinus/fact-sheet/eng/1362690064366/1362690181750

I seem to find myself running into a lot of folks who have "ponds", quotes because the bodies of water in question rarely exceed 100 gallons. Plus many of these folks don't want to overwinter goldfish/koi in the pond nor do they want to maintain a large enough indoor aquarium for carp.

Are there any smaller subtropical alternative pond fish that could survive Edmonton's pond season? Barbs perhaps?

With ANY soil based substrate it is only a base layer. You must always cap with something. I've got between 2 and 3 inches of gravel as a top cap.

You don't want to add much in the way of organics but rather inert substances that hold nutrient, you don't need items to rot in the tank.

Peat moss isn't too heavy on organic material. Its going to have far less organic material than earth worm castings. In either case used in the correct proportion either will benefit plants.

Where is everyone getting potting mix that doesn't have per/vermiculite? I haven't been able to find any without it. I've just been mixing peat moss with glacial rock dust and some other things.

Perlite and vermiculite are both very high in cec which is a good thing..so those things are good to have. btw don't use potting soil...use earthworm castings.

BTW, don't use peat moss in any great quantity as a sub-substrate!!

They do indeed have CEC however they float do they not? The main reason I want to avoid them.

What's wrong with using peat moss? It'll drop the substrates pH but lower pH means greater bio-avaibility for several nutrients including iron. I mix it with aragonite sand which will gradually dissolve at the lower pH providing calcium. Granted its a bit of an experiment I'm running but thus far (only a month whiich I know is not telling but a start) all my plants are growing and my fish aren't dead or stressed.

Where is everyone getting potting mix that doesn't have per/vermiculite? I haven't been able to find any without it. I've just been mixing peat moss with glacial rock dust and some other things.

Does anyone know if elm leaves are safe to "feed" to shrimp, as the only person I know with a pesticide/herbicide/fertilizer free yard only has elm trees who's leaves I'd like to capitlize on if they're safe.

Looked in the tank towards the end of the day (~8:30ish), low and behold two of our Rams were spawning. Haven't raised the temperature or fiddled with water parameters.
If someone could tell me how to embedded the video in the post that'd be great. In the mean time here's the link:

http://s22.photobucket.com/user/Amemaru/media/video-2013-04-27-20-36-12_zpsae983c17.mp4.html

I'd like to be but alas I am temporarily selling my tanks (I'm going to Bamfield marine station for twelve weeks so its cool). Alberta needs more of a goldfish scene, a visible one. So tied of telling people that you can't keep them in a bowl.

Gorgeous fish! Did something happen to his dorsal spine?

Going to take a crack at breeding betta's. Had two halfmoons lined up but my female up and died before I could set them up. So crossing to a veiltail female for funsies!

Not that I'm saying this should be the first thing you try in salt water buuut:
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/updates-on-the-1-gallon-reefbowl-another-year-169607.html

I'd really recommend going for a refractometer over a hydrometer (they're shody) and weighing your salt rather than measuring by volume. This way your water change water will be off a much more consistent salinity. On the topic of salinity, I personally think that my automatic top up system is the best thing I've bought for my salt water tank. That's me though, suuuuper bad at remember to top up evap (very important in salt water, evap causes your salinity to rise which can be very hard on squishy inverts such as snails and such).

Here's a some good yotube channels for learning:
https://www.youtube.com/user/tidalgardens
https://www.youtube.com/user/mrsaltwatertank

Huh. Where do you think they'd have come from? I've never seen them before in any of the tanks I've setup.

Sooo I was squinting at the sponge filter in my betta breeding tank and I noticed that there were little white specs hopping around.
They look an awful lot like brine shrimp in that they have that little tail-like structure.

I have no idea what these things are nor have I been able to get a photo (they're really quite tiny and fast). Does anyone have any idea what these might be?

Dunno where they would have come from. I suspect they may have been cycsts present on the coconut shells I have in there for the male betta to skulk in.

Whenever we end up with parasites at work, I QT the tanks as best I can. No idea what they do when I'm not there.

Thankfully I have yet to deal with callamanua. Or notice it at least...

Not to thread jack but does anyone know where the pink/fire/whatever danio came from?

Personally I find them a tad suspicious. Seems to me like they've been genetically modified to get that colour, like glofish but not necessarily by the same people.

I don't see why they wouldn't use a sea hem kit. They're the cheapest mid range test kit, especially since they'd be paying wholesale price for them. Sure hope they're not using API or Haven to test peoples saltwater.

I was referring to check EPCOR for free ammonia in the tap water not chloramine levels.

It's a simple enough question - what test kit are they using to test for "free" ammonia?

Probably Seachem, but that's conjecture. They could be using higher end kits. This being said, most commercial test kits don't test for poop relative to what a lab can tell you.

Shouldn't there be a report on EPCOR or whoever it is that deals with treating out water that will settle this for sure?

@SuperGuppyGirl: Not to be mean, but anything is more accurate than test strips.

Is there meant to be a picture for identification? Or am I misunderstanding something?

Genetic abnormalities? Selectively breed them and see if you can make horned cherry shrimp?

Awesome guide! Where would I be able to find a solar powered water pump?

Oh the humane society. I really do wonder how their decision making process works (and who trains them). Arguing with them about how to properly keep reptiles is fun. A uromastyx is not the same as a dog, it can't have a water dish 24/7 because they retain water like you wouldn't believe. If they decide to go on an H2O binge they can kill themselves.

Sadly a lot of systems put in place to "protect" animals often ends up destroying. Happens a lot in research (with is a whole other ethical can of worms), the group that oversees and regulates research ethics involving animals in research technically stimpulates that animals involve have to be put down at the end of the experiment. Doesn't always end up going down that way. I know of at least one instance where the animal techs threatened to quit if it happen and they ended up re-homing the animals

Can anyone get their freshwater fish to eat the stuff? My goby and blenny in my salt tank will go for it but I've only managed to get mollies to take to it (loaches and corries might be eating it, hard to say).

I've been using the frozen, has anyone had success with the freeze dried?

Pictures:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b311/Amemaru/2012-11-17190555.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b311/Amemaru/2012-11-17190609.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b311/Amemaru/2012-11-17190633.jpg

What is it? and how do I rid myself of it?

The tank is a Fluval Ebi with biomedia instead of sponge in the filter and some gravel ontop of the shrimp media to hold it down.

No CO2.

Okay good to know. I'll be sure to let her know to feed them more often. Thanks guys.

Soooo I set up a nano tank for a friend and the fish have been diseapearing and/or getting mangled by something. I did a fishless cycle that ran for a month prior to introducing live stock.

The tank:

Fluval chi (tak with out the foutain)

Aquaclear 50 (with polywool and biomax)

Aquaclear 10 powerhead

Fluval stratum topped with exoterra balck reptile sand.

Parameters:

0 NH3

0 NO2

<10mg/L NO3

Temp:

28C

Stocking:

2 cherry shrimp (both disappeared)

2 amano shrimps (One is in perfect condition, other has had his front arms torn off and bits of his tail missing)

2 pygymy corries (one now missing, other in perfect condition)

1 oto (looks like someone tore up his pelvic fins which then got infected subsequently spreading to his abdominal cavity because his intestinal area turned yellow).

It seems like the bigger amano could be the culprit since he has come to absolutely no damage but I've never come across an amano that'd take on a fish (he is however the size of the amano and bigger than the pygmies).