AccidentalAquarist

Am I correct to assume this pool is an outdoor one because of the annual shut down? And do you know what the Chlorine concentration is when you shock it? Nope they are all indoor pools. We do 2 week shutdowns for maintenance purposes. The concentration depends entirely on the chloramine levels in the domestic supply. There's been years where we've gone as high as 30ppm.

I do maintenance for a municipal pool. When we fill the pool after the annual shutdown it always has a green tinge to it from all the algae and other contaminants in the domestic water system. Takes a couple days of superchlorination and the filters to clear out. Have some fun, get a microscope and check out your tap water. You'll be thankful that your using at least the brita. AA

+1 to Jayba's reply I may have to try his deglazing tip One thing I forgot to mention in my first reply. And it is important. No matter what, resist the urge to wipe debris away from the cut site with your hand!! I do it all the time, drilling wood, stone etc. It's second nature to wipe the hole clean to see it. But with glass DO NOT do this unless you want stitches. Use emery cloth or the like to round the edges before touching AA

I agree that responsible owners should be allowed to have whatever pet pleases them. Be it exotic aquatic species to so called aggressive dogbreeds. Unfortunately uneducated, irresponsible or unscrupulous people seem to out number the responsible owners . Instead of an outright ban I would support a license and tagging system. But I suspect overseeing such a program would be cost prohibitive, leaving a ban as the government's only option. AA

Bulk heads - I've always ended up ordering through J&L aquatics (wife hates hearing that I need to order something from them $15 piece becomes a $500 order of stuff I really really need). Though Edmonton should have a few water supply stores that will have all the plumbing and fixtures you need. Just go in knowing what you need these guys are used to dealing with contractors and will get a glazed look if you start talking aquariums. Drilling - ugh do NOT skimp on this. I've drilled a few dozen tanks. The first piece of advice I can give you is to avoid the $3 bits from over seas. They are cheap and they will work... eventually. I cheaped out once and bought 5 of those cheapies to do a 220g (expecting to burn one+ out with each hole). It took me almost an hour to drill one hole and the second bit was useless by that time. Cutting the second hole I ended up cracking the pane. A $25? bit will save you a ton of headaches and time. 5-10 minutes a hole with a high end bit. Instead of Big Box stores check with local saw sharpening services or trade-a-bit facilities you can often get a reconditioned bit for less through them. The second piece of advice I can give you is be liberal with the cooling water. Wrap a towel or something else around the hole to keep as much water as possible at the cut site, and replenish it frequently to prevent warping or cracking of the panes. Best of luck

I usually do a 1-3+ week quarantine depending on the source of the fish 1 week mature fish from established tanks that I know personally 3 or more weeks for everything else. Don't trust a tank you don't know personally medication - I use dewormer as a matter of course on wild caught fish. Otherwise I watch, diagnose and treat as needed in my Q tanks

I'm at both ends of the spectrum. I do weekly top ups, and then an annual 25% WC for display tanks, mainly to keep armpits dry while adding/removing plants But my breeding and grow out tanks can be 25-100% a week depending.

The hardness shouldn't be too much of a problem as they adapt relatively quickly. But for the yellowing leaves I would recommend googling the barr report forums there is a comprehensive list of plant symptom/nutrient list there

another option is loaches. They all love eating snails. Though they are a schooling fish and prefer to be in groups of 6+, and some like clowns can get quite big 12"+.

Interesting, I've never heard of anyone have an assassin snail problem. If they do not have enough food they can become cannibalistic, seen that myself a few times. I feed mine prawns to prevent that. Once a year or so I will catch a bunch and trade them at my LFS for what ever I need. There's always people looking to buy them out here.

Agree, an RO system is unlikely to be the best option. When I lived in Bragg Creek our well water was very hard, and had severe fluctuation throughout the year. I had to use a water softener system, combined with water from rain barrels for WC's. Plants did well in that. I really would advise against using a RO water for planted tanks

Mods>> This is the first forum that I have seen "warning points" next to a posters profile. A search gave me nothing, can you tell me what that is about? Thanks AA

A noticeable amount of floating debris is not good, it breaks down throwing your water parameters out of whack. Were the "floaties" right at the surface or in the water column? Surface: A potted moderate to fast growing stem plant that pokes up through the water line could help break surface tension allowing debris to settle. making it easier to vacuum out. Also will help keep water chemistry in check so less frequent WC's/vacuuming. I'd recommend an un-potted plant if it was a larger tank but potted will make removal for cleaning easier, just try to avoid the mineral wool stuffed pots. Water column: Frequent large water changes, until debris is gone. Then add a plant as above. Adding a clean up crew in such a small tank would be counter productive. You'd be chasing the dragon when it comes to water quality. Best of luck AA edit > added text

Clea helena "assassin snail" - great little snail that given time will eventually control or eliminate pest snail populations without need for chemicals or ammonia spikes. I have them in every tank, and never worry about pest snails. Also in my opinion a great indicator species, if nitrate, nitrites creep up they will all climb the glass telling you something is wrong before your fish do AA

I was able to read the classifieds as soon as I signed up (couple of days ago). But won't post there or contact sellers until I've been around for a while. Common forum courtesy. But I am chomping at the bit......