biodives

I made two 4-footers to act as second lights over two 24" deep (front to back) tanks which is too wide for a single light to cover unless you raise it up. Cost for each light about $35. Each can generate up to 4400 lumens. One participant build a light for a 5' tank using a single 4' module, also rated at 4400 lumens. The host showed 2' lights he had built in a much smaller package so it would fit in a narrow space between tank and shelf. Another light was built using 3 daisy-chained modules including one double-intensity module, but I didn't see the final product. A neat trick was to use rain gutter as the light housing for which you can buy water-tight end-pieces that will be more durable than my tape solution. Some others were going to assemble their lights at home.

Last year I moved from a house with large and very natural self-made pond to a condo and am thinking about setting up tank, or more likely tubs, on the balcony. Perhaps in combination with some aquaponics. The pond could swing a few degrees over a day but above ground I expect much larger temperature swings with both very high and, if you want to stretch the season, quite low temperatures. I've been interested in desert pupfish, some of which can survive 4-40C temp ranges. Of course finding such fish for sale will be the hard part. The other issue is bringing them inside, or rehoming them, at the end of the season. I've been wondering if there are smallish native fish that could benefit from captive breeding and release to boost their numbers. That would solve the rehoming issue and bring me more in touch with the local natural aquatic world rather lust after far-away exotics. Last year I caught some unidentified fish fry late in the season and released them at 1-1.5" back into the same pond before winter.

Hi Roxy, There are a few good local breeders but most of the online activity for buying/selling happens on the Edmonton Aquarium Facebook Group. Too bad you missed the Edmonton auction last month which had a lot of fancy guppies, and a healthy buyers interest for them too I noticed. Calgary has its auction today! I was most active in my fish hobby from the mid 70's to 90's in the Netherlands and got seriously back into the hobby last year. I didn't notice too much change on the equipment but the selection of fish and stores is a lot less than I was used to in the Netherlands. IMO there is also more commercialization of gadgets, pills and 'elixirs' that you apparently need to be a responsible hobbyist but that you can do without with a bit of knowledge and proper tank care and fish selection. Wrt the undergravel filter. I never used one and what I heard is they can clog up the substrate but like you said generations group up on them and to me they have the advantage that everything is in the tank. No tubing to start leaking and heat loss as the water is pumped around canisters, boxes, etc. I personally don't use any filters and use heavily planted tanks to let the plants remove fish waste. By the way, you can still buy undergravel filters, at least I saw them on Amazon.ca. All the best, Bart

I haven't seen anything like that for driftwood in local aquarium shops. Landscaping stores have large pieces of wood, tree trunks etc. We had one in the backyard, above water, for a decade without rotting but I don't know how it would fare submerged. The river valley may be another location to find well-weathered wood.

Haha, I know who you are ... Very welcome on this forum, your insights and goodies will be appreciated.

Since you are asking for personal opinions, just treat the following as mine - eg. very personal and without judgment of other tastes. IMO none of the aquarium strains are as elegant and subtle as the natural wild forms although, I admit, some are more spectacular and colourful. I've seen many discus in bare-bottom tanks with minimal decor in which case natural environment and subtlety is not a goal and the more brightly coloured and patterned fish are a better choice. However, regarding these particular white-on-white ones, they lack both colour and contrast and have no appeal to me at all beyond possibly appreciation for the skill of breeders to create all these varieties.

Yes that's me. So you should be able to recognize me. I just made a fresh microworm culture that I'll bring for you.

Hi Robinszala, I just found out that Curtis Jerrom in Calgary has female endlers and unless they get sold today some of them will come to the ACE auction on Sunday. If you are still looking for females this may be your chance to get some. If you come to the auction I can also try to whip up a microworm starter culture that I promised you earlier. They need to be refreshed anyways. Bart

Philips released the 4th generation of their LED modules. Cost less and 10% less energy used. They now also have 4 foot modules. For more info and spectra check out http://biodives.com/blog/?p=127

The Philips Fortimo modules come in 3000K, 3500K, 4000K, and 5000K colour temperatures with CRI=80. They also have slightly more expensive and less efficient CRI=90 modules in the same K ratings except not 5000K. Colour temp does not deteriorate over time and intensity drops off too slow to be of concern, unlike fluorescent tubes. Philips just released the 4th generation of their LED modules that save another 10% on electricity for the same amount of light. Some details are given in my blog update on biodives.com/blog/?p=127 There are plans to put in a group order for parts to build these lights with some ACE members. I can post here once I know more in case some of you are interested as well. A 2 foot 2200 lumen light could cost as little as $25 or so.

I have lots of floaters in all my tanks to soak up fish waste in lieu of a filter. I started with water lettuce and frogbit, they work great but make very long roots that get tangled in stem plants unless you keep them put with fishing line. I've recently added salvinia and red root floater and there is duckweed as well. They have very short roots and I may slowly let them take over. Ground cover such as Helanthium tenellum (aka Echinodorus tenellus) or something like it can also help shield the substrate.

For myself I don't believe in diets, supplements, "health food" etc. Just eat a wide diversity and let my body pick and choose what it needs. I do the same for my fish. Diversity of life, frozen, and dry foods and they should get whatever they need.I guess life food is a luxury for the fish but they do spark up, especially when they get the red wriggler worms.

I run a red wriggler worm culture all winter as a kitchen veggie scrap composter and it also gets the excess aquarium plants. I need to cut up the worms for my tetras and dwarf cichlids. For acaras at least the smaller worms can eaten whole. I also culture white worms, grindal worms and micro worms. The latter only for fry, and even grindals may be too small for acara. White worms would be a good size but they recommend not to feed them too often.

If you haven't bought that extra tank yet then you have at most a mild case of aquaritis. You need not worry until only 75+ gallon tanks can satisfy your craving

Maybe I never bother to pre-warm replacement water. It may be the flow that attracts them but the point is they don't seem to mind the cold. Unlike me stepping into the shower before the water has warmed up.

Does anyone else notice that if you pour in a bucket of cold (room temp) water a lot of fish are attracted to it and swim right in the midst of the cold water stream. If they actively seek it out I don't think they mind, at least not in the short term.

Nice to see wild discus for a change with lots of room to manoeuvre. With a tank that size even large fish look small.

I haven't seen these "in the flesh" but often their power is disappointing. In this case the specs state 200 lumens per foot which is more than 5 times less than T5HO tubes or the least powerful LED modules I work with. The attraction is that they are already waterproof but my prediction is that you will need at least 3 rows of them to get reasonable intensity for a planted tank. (200 lumens/foot with 3 modules per foot means about 70 lumens per 3-led module. With 20 modules per package that is about 1400 lumens total. That would give a good 1 foot light, weak 2 foot light and not enough for plants beyond that).

I have a current USA satellite pro+ and it is a well-made and quite powerful led that has served me well. I can't speak from experience but normally I hear about diatoms in tanks with too little light. The current ... plus light should take care of that. I do find that at the top of the tank, where the light is the brightest, I get green filamentous algae. Since it is not spreading I don't mind and I consider aiming for a 100% algae free tank is a recipe for frustration. A more active "clean-up crew" could probably also help keep diatoms as well as green filamentous algae under control. I'm looking at enlisting the help of some nerite snails myself.

Yep, new guy on the block. Looking forward to meet you.

The oldest light is about 5 months old now and the tape is still in good shape. The specs state that the tape doesn't yellow which some plastics do with UV radiation. Given enough time the tape may get brittle but so far so good and the roll of tape will last a lifetime. For the power supply you just need to make sure it is a constant current model, has a drive current at or below the specification for the module, and can reach the 32-36 volt required by these modules. For instance the 2200 lumen module is rated for 400 mA current and for a next LED light I might get a 350 mA power supply as they are more common and I'm getting too much light already for my shallow tanks. You can actually use a higher-than-rated current if you have adequate cooling. I did run the 2200 lumen module at 500 mA without problem and get a bonus 25% more light output but for actual long-term use I'd rather stick with the rated value. If you daisy-chain two modules the voltage stays the same but the current doubles. So 800 mA for two 2200 lumen modules (I'm using a 700 mA one, again because more readily available and cheaper). I am going to bring a light to the Edmonton aquarium club meeting next Tuesday (March 7). In case you are not a member, the web site says you don't need to be a member to attend. However, there is a catch. You will have to sit through a presentation on Scuba diving and reef fish from the Red Sea by yours truly From the website: For those who are new to our community: membership is not required to attend meetings.Please join us! Meetings are held at 7:30pm on the first Tuesday of every month, September to June (dates are subject to change) at:Allendale Community League6330-105A Street

Hi all. I just uploaded my latest blog. This one is on how to make a DIY LED light powerful enough for high-tech tanks at 1/10th the cost of commercial and with up to 3 times higher energy efficiency. You can build it in under an hour with a pair of scissors as the most advanced piece of equipment. Parts, pricing, suppliers, pictures, and step-by-step guide can be found at biodives.com/blog.Enjoy!

For this specific case, it depends on how "outrageous" the situation was. The article I read states "The evidence of the veterinarians who testified as expert witnesses ... established exactly what the Crown says and that is a set of horrific conditions in this pet store," But what does that mean, against what set of criteria was this judged. I can think of reputable fish stores in town and find the conditions of the fish depressing: much too big or many fish in a small tank, large numbers of sick/dead fish, betta in marmalade jars, IMHO horrible examples of "breeding gone wild" deformed-to-the-point-of-suffering fish, stressed fish in bright tanks with no hiding spots purple gravel and a toy castle blowing air bubbles, etc. If I had walked into Riverfront would I have been similarly depressed or would I have been so appalled that I would on the spot decide to never give the store any business (or call animal welfare). So in the more general case, is the fish trade itself in need of a more humane set of guidelines? If so what is reasonable and who decides? In addition, aquarium owners also play a role. In contrast to the judge's opinion, I don't think it is fair to expect the LFS to "... set an example for the public to treat animals in the best manner possible ...". I would hope that in most cases the aquarium at home provides more reasonable stocking levels, hiding spots in the form of rocks, driftwood and plants, and more TLC than can be provided in a store. But is that actually the case or do many consider fish as disposables. Better care will also increase operating cost and thus cost to consumers. I personally prefer to pay more for healthier and happier life stock but in practise that approach may fail to keep a business afloat. I think this judgment brings up a lot of questions and I wonder whether the LFS will consider this as the proverbial bad apple or if it has broader implications.

That should be a reasonable fish and plant load for a 28 gal tank but I'd add a few more hatchets myself. My 40 gallon breeder now has growing plants and a good load of driftwood but is still awaiting fish. Just this morning I got news that some of my target fish have been ordered by Curtis Jerrom in Calgary, I just have to find out how long before they come in and go through quarantine. He also has cardinals and I believe that Carnegiella strigata hatchet fish and all three dwarf cories should come soon. Just in case you can't find them locally. He posts his lifestock on this forum in the lifestock classifieds section.

All my tanks are open top with commercial or DIY LED lights. So I can't really contribute to the hood discussion, unless "no hood" is part of your considerations.