DevonCichlid

I've had my eye on the Finnex line of lights for a while now. In particular I am looking for something for either 24" or 18" in depth and am not keen on Running CO2. They have the 30" models which is what I would be in the market for due to space available. I am fine if I am restricting myself plant wise but am more inquiring about these LED setups being adequate for planted tanks. I will likely put in an order anyways to try one out but any success (or not) stories would be appreciated. I've had algae issues with T5 HO lights in the past in 24" deep tanks, likely due to the lack of CO2, even though I wasnt running the lights for long hours (maybe 6hr per day at the most). I have a 30" Coralife T5-HO right now on a shallow planted tank and haven't had the same kind of algae issues and running 10 hours a day. I know I'm missing lots of info like substrate, stocking, etc. but good or bad experiences help either way.

From the looks of it they should be paying out commissions on all the referrals they have been getting here.

Without doing any reading on it I am just wondering if there is a formula or rule of thumb for aeration of aquariums? Reason I am asking is that I set up my new 220g last night and want to make sure I am getting things right for my Frontosa's to move in. I've already got a sponge filter that is air driven in there and a large bubble disk but figured I'd reach out to see what everyones opinion is. I don't need to buy extra hardware, have extra powerheads, 2 more outlets on the air pump etc.

Haha, ya its been offered, couple buddies said they'd show but by the time they do I won't want their help haha.

So I just recently picked up a 220g tank (6ft x 24 x 30). I built a stand for it, got it into the basement and now realize I just can't move this 220g into the house and down into the basement alone like I have with my other tanks. Does anyone know of a reliable mover that does this for a fair price? I get the feeling that it's a 3 person job but they would probably know that. Anyways if anyone knows a guy or place I would totally appreciate the heads up.

I just bought some Sil 8 (80lb bag) $12.96 and Sil 9 (90lb bag) $11.78. The Sil 8 is in nearly all my tanks now and the 9 is for an aquarium I put in at work. Much cheaper alternative to the fish stores.

I bought an XL version or the XP4 as previously known. Now that API is selling these they are cheaping out on components and quality. They removed the spray bar in favor of a single outlet and the plastic clips on the sides have a real cheap feel to them. Personally for a 55g you can get an Eheim that will work quite well. (I also have an xp2 on a 55g, works like a champ)

You're talking about the Chiwindi right? The calvus are so small right now I wouldn't want to risk it (just separated another 60ish tonight too). My next trip to Calgary (sort of) isn't planned until late July but if you have someone coming up that works too. I am also going to Red Deer tomorrow but my schedule is kind of tight so that may be tough to line up.

I am just wondering if any of our members sell to LFS or kijiji buyers or whatever from what they have bred in home. I have grown about 50 Aulonocara Stuartgranti Chiwindi from a F1 trio that I purchased from Harold. The first successful batch are just starting to show their colors now. Anyways that's a bit of background but I am just wondering if you are selling, what is considered a fair price and what size/stage is ideal for selling? I am on the fence whether I even want to sell because I have a soft spot for them but figured I'd get some feedback on it. Plus it looks like my F1 Calvus harem is going to produce monthly so I'll eventually have to sell some off (or get a lot more tanks).

What's your budget, what are you stocking in the tank? The Fluval FX6 will work under normal conditions by itself.

I personally always use fish like danios to cycle. Rarely lose one and goes really smooth. Feed em and be patient.

Thanks. Honestly there isn't much to the stand. 2x4s into notched out 2x4s and screwed in. I think 1/2 plywood in each slot and only cost about $100 to build maybe less.

I've had tanks in the past where I've been completely non-observant and had minimal fry survive by just picking up the scraps from what the adults were eating. If I get the fry into their own tank I try to feed them NLS (powder), First Bites, Baby Brine Shrimp etc. The more often the better along with small water changes to account for the water quality. Anyways, there are so many different combinations but if you can get some smaller pieces of food in there they seem to pick at it.

Alright well I did some quick reading and made a snap decision to move the fry to their own tank. I knew that the calvus were notorious fry killers but wasn't sure if they would protect their own. After Before The bad news. It was World War 3 in the main calvus tank. Its become quite clear who mom and dad are and they are not happy at all. They were very calm and collected an hour ago and now they are the opposite and attacking the other calvus in the tank, blaming them for what I did. They all have their hiding spots so the aggression has already died down but within about 5 minutes of moving one of the caves and the fry they showed their displeasure. The good news. There are about 10 stragglers left in the main tank and another approx. 85 in the fry tank. Its hard to count them because they are so tiny but somewhere in there anyways. I read from a source online that they would retreat back to the cave if startled and they sure did (the 10 or so I could see). I flipped the cave up and moved it to another tank with the same temperature that was holding 5 or 6 yellow lab fry until earlier. Once the cave was in the water in the new tank I flipped it over and all the little fellas swam out to the bottom of the tank. I supplied a couple options for feeding NLS (powder) and will keep an eye on these guys. So I documented the conditions to see what I had done lately in this tank because I hadn't really actively been concentrating on breeding these guys. The water is set at 78 degrees and has been getting 25% water changes weekly. There are 3 different styles of calvus caves set up (2x double, 2 single, one bigger one) with two sponge filters driven by air. The black substrate (name escapes me) and a piece of malaysian driftwood (about a year old). They have been fed NLS 2mm almost exclusively aside from the weekly frozen treat. These guys were in a 90G shared with 4 Burundi Fronts and 6 synodontis for the whole time I've had them until the last 2 months (or less). This was just a temporary home for them while they grew out more as they were growing very slowly but I might stick with it for a while to see if they take another crack at spawning. This really took me for surprise because I thought they had a lot more growing out to do before spawning but I'll take it

Well I came home from 5 days away and had a nice little surprise in my Calvus tank. FRY! Don't ask me what I did because I honestly had no idea that any of them were holding. I received some calvus caves from plecocaves about a month ago and they all seemed to love the caves right from the start. They would spend the majority of their time in their caves and rarely come out even at feeding time which was really odd for them. Now they are all out roaming in the tank like they used to when they shared a different tank with my Fronts. Anyways I haven't even done any research on this yet but am curious if anyone on here has experience breeding these guys. There are 7 calvus and 2 albino bristlenose in the tank. I'm curious if all the calvus share responsibility taking care or if I should either move the adults or move the fry (they are so tiny I honestly don't want to risk moving them). So far most of them are chilling out at the entrance of one of the calvus caves but there are a few roaming around. None of the calvus are showing aggression towards each other or towards the fry. Anyways if anyone has some input I would certainly appreciate it. I'm off to start reading about this to see if I can salvage most of them (looks to be at least 20). P.S. - These guys are really tiny and have a really yellow coloration to them. I could have swore they were closer to the albino bristlenose until I got up close and watched them swim around and eat.

I am learning to not like plants. It might be because I don't give it lots of attention due to the amount of tanks I have going but they are currently my #1 pain. That could change of course. Parrot fish, goldfish, koi, very large predator fish, and any really sensitive fish that has a hard time handling a 25% water change without getting stressed out. The biggest thing that I don't have interest in doing is selling my fish. I thought once I started breeding that I would sell to recoup some of the costs that I put out but I'm quite honestly attached to all of the little guys and want to watch them grow up. Of course that could change too if/when I run out of money, space or the wife says enough. Don't get me know, I've sold off fish that I've lost interest in or when tanks have got overstocked but I find it more interesting to experience the full grow outs of the little guys.

Alright here are some pictures from my multi-aquarium stand. There are 8 tanks total, my son suckered me into making 1 into a frog tank so I've only got pics for the 7 fish tanks. They are all a work in progress but I'm pleased with where I'm at with the project at this point. All tanks are 20G tall and being filtered by sponge filters only. As suggested I've tried to keep the room temperature fairly warm so I'm not putting too much into my electric bill running these heaters too often. The stuartgranti fry are about 40-45 days apart, the small guys were only spit out about 5 days ago so are obviously fairly hard to see in the picture (the black substrate didn't help that). Angelfish Tank Yellow Lab Fry Burundi Fry Cobra Endler and Bristlenose Tank Auloncara Stuartgranti Chiwindi Fry Tank - Bottom Calvus Tank Auloncara Stuartgranti Chiwindi Fry Tank - Top Full Setup

Tank looks great.

Well it looks like I was way off base with the few weeks comment. They are all hiding underneath a couple sponge filters but looks like around 35 of the little guys. Pretty excited to see these guys grow up, I'm sure the shrimp in that temp. tank aren't too keen on seeing them get any bigger though. Momma is back in the main tank so I guess its time for a water change to see if they are eager to spawn again edit - Just noticed that I didn't post that the fish that spawned are the F1 MF Auloncara Stuartgranti Chiwindi

I lucked out last night and caught momma without having to move anything in the big tank and about as little stress possible. I checked on her this morning and she still looks to be holding so she now has a tank to herself to spit out the babies. Hopefully in the next few weeks I should have some good news and little friends to show for it.

Ya I have no doubts now, 4 days in a row and now is really showing it. Its a community tank so I would rather put her in another tank and see how many I can salvage. Being her first time I am hoping she doesn't get spooked and eat her fry when I move her.

I hope I am not getting ahead of myself but it looks like Momma is finally holding. I have had her for quite a while now but only recently put my mind to conditioning everything for optimal breeding conditions. Faithful 30% water changes and a switch up on the diet seems to have done the trick. I noticed she was hanging back at feeding time and did it again this time. Wasnt like that on the weekend so I have my fingers crossed. If she still appears to be holding after this weekend I will probably move her to her own tank. The male is an absolute stunner (both F1) . Anyways if anyone disagrees just pipe up, I would rather have my hopes dashed earlier then later. Hope the phone taken pics turned out.

To be fair Alan isn't a delivery driver. He lives in Devon and is willing to meet only specific times and usually on the south. He has lots of nice breeds there and was easy to deal with for me.

Dang. Might have to burn down to Calgary to check out a few then. Thanks for the replies.

I am in Red Deer for the week. Just wondering if there are any must see aquarium stores in Red Deer. I am always up for hitting up the local shops. Thanks.