AndyL

Hey folks, I'm probably going to order some starphire this week for my next tank (reward for quitting smoking). Got a couple questions, since I want this tank to look good - completely opposite of what I've built so far First off, for an 8x8x10" tank (2.77g), what size glass can I get away with? Most of my charts don't bother dealing with tanks under 2'. I was thinking 3mm - but I'm second guessing myself - 4mm might be more appropriate due to the extra height of the tanks. I also want rimless / braceless - so should I step up to 5mm? I'd rather avoid trial and error with this tank - its getting built out of starphire, which isn't cheap. Second question, should I design in room for silicone space? I'll have 2 sides ordered at 203mm, should the other side be ordered at 197 (assuming 3mm thickness) or should I order 196 to allow some space for silicone? Tnx, Andy

Well it took long enough! I've gotta admit, my tanks look like hell right now - been slacking on maintenance while I've been building and tweaking the emersed growth systems. Other than still playing with nutrients on the emersed setups, they're done - now I just have to get the 55s and 10s whipped back into shape. Andy

Call me nuts, but this seems like a waste of time to me, if you hunt around thekrib.com you'll find a comparison of various reflectors. Wrinkle free mylar and gloss white paint are the best 2 of the possible DIY methods. Using CDs seems like it would be rather difficult, after all they don't bend very easily, they have a big hole in the middle. And they're not as heatproof as you think (I've got a Logitech CD right here I left on my 10g hood, it's got a nice warp in it now). Using whats on hand isn't always the best method, in this case you're much better off going with something else. Andy

One of the states banned their importation, probably california. I think one of the eastern states had a bill to do so - not sure if it passed. They're actually a pretty neat looking fish you need an actinic bulb for them to truly shine though. Andy

Peppermint shrimp - But they are generally not reef safe (love apistasia - but in its absence any invert will do). A friend and I had speculated once about taking a UV lamp assembly, modifying it - (surounding it in something to prevent damage to surrounding life) then using it as a ray gun to kill apistasia - never tried it though, easier to just get / borrow a peppermint shrimp. Andy

The setup is interesting to be sure, learned a lot from some guppy breeders who used everything from paint pails, tupperware, and garbage bins for fish rearing. I suppose you could say my system is largely based on their ideas / principles. (But I admit, I stole a few of smokeys idears too) I use Sponge filters in the tank, and a sump (on rollers - easy water changes) Pond pumps feed standard irrigation equipment over each tank, overflows are 50/50 drilled and syphon overflow style (http://waynesworldangelfish.com/automated_water_changes.htm) A fair percentage of my racks are 4x2 rubbermaid containers, 10-16" tall, they are setup so the small end faces forward. Breeding pairs get real tanks (sizes range from 2.5 to 37g) Pics are generally not possible with the racks, there's enough room to stand in front of them, thats about it. maybe I can combine a half dozen pictures into an overall view, but that's a lot of photochop work! I could grab a picture of the plant rack, but it's not much to look at - 2x4s, shoplights and rubbermaids, that's all you see... Andy

Hey folks, Just finished a overhaul of my rack in the basement (prepping for new arrivals), got rather frustrated, since I can't quite fit as much in there as I'd like... Problem is we just don't have room for a fishroom! Right now my racks are located in a corner of the laundry room (4'x4' - 8' ceiling) A small rack that fits between the furnace and hot water heater roughly 3'x4' again 8' tall, and the plant propagation rack sits in a closet I "Stole" (Not that my wife is bitter) The sump barrels are kind of stuffed wherever I can fit them.. Just wondering if anyone had some ideas as to how to make more space for more water... I tried reducing the gap between the top of the tanks, and the rack above, from 10" to 7", gives me a little more room - but maintenance will become an issue if I have to reduce that any further. all the tanks (ok - they hold water and more than half say rubbermaid on them) are located to take up the full depth available. I'm now right up to the ceiling (necessitating a small step ladder). Ideally I'd like to squeeze another 3-400g into the house I'm eyeing the space over the washer dryer at the moment, but I figured I should see if you guys had some ideas... Andy

Figured this may be of interest to some of you: http://www.angelfish.net/yabbse/index.php?...y;threadid=3122 It one LONG post to read through, but definitely a worthwhile read. Basically it deals with exchanging angelfish wrigglers (and theoretically eggs) instead of grown fry. Thus saving on shipping (and fish purchase price). Success has been mixed, some completely losses, but also some good successes. Definitely something to think about, how many spawns have we all thrown away because we dont have room at the time to grow them out... How many times have we drooled over a friends latest spawn, but knew that 100+$ shipping bill would never get by the wife Andy

Ok, so I gotta ask... Where's the planted tank section? C'mon we all don't have only africans in tanks containing nothing but sand and rock... (And we all know the best african tanks have some Val in them) Andy

Unfortunately, sometimes you'll just never find a good answer... There are a lot of variables which affect a fish's longevity, and a lot of it happened before you even laid eyes on the fish... Poor genetics, poor raising, social hierarchy in grow-out tanks, shipping, time spent in the store tanks... Can all lead to stunting/runting, and future problems. To give an example - I recently euthanized a large batch of angelfish fry simply because I missed a water change while they were very young (was a couple days after my knee surgery - they were 3-4 days freeswimming), the fish had noticeably poorer growth rates, and higher death rates than other spawns. In some hatcheries that's tollerated, even expected - but realistically as a breeder you can tell that those fish are going to be 'problematic' over the long term... But some breeders think only of the allmighty dollar - thus they would have sold such fish. I had a pair of dwarf honey gouramis, that were also recently euthanized, the reason: their offspring all died for no good reason after roughly 8-10 months. I've got another pair of these gouramis raised under the same conditions, that do not have this problem - thus I can only assume it's a genetic condition... In other words, don't stress for the next 6 weeks over why the fish died, quarantine it's replacement and move on... Andy

Hey smokey, You're in calgary now? Did the pass get to cold or too windy for ya? Andy

Oh you poor SOB... People think we have the worst job in the world... Nah... Couldn't pay me enough to do insulation install It hurt just watching the stage 1 expansion of the finning shop - -45, wind howling... Couldn't have paid me enough to get on one of those swingstages (or whatever they call them). Andy

I would HIGHLY doubt that melafix killed your frogs... It's basically an herbal remedy, concentrations needed to become toxic would require more than a big bottle of melafix to be dumped into the tank (really only is an issue if you're using pure tea-tree oil (same as melafix, just not diluted) from a local health food shop) I have however seen angels go after frogs during the night... My old (AOD) "Angel of death" (A huge hybrid black superveil + ribbon tail) loved African dwarf legs as a midnight snack... I haven't dealt a lot with frogs, so I can't really ID diseases in them, but there are a few... A google search might be in order - I know there are some good sites out there. Andy

Overhead doors... Lots of fun Andy

I was going through old bookmarks I'm guessing I was given the link a while ago and forgot about it... J-Roc: Fun fun, when I'm not off with a blown knee, I do maintenance/install work at all the plants up here... Nothing like a little H2S to wake yup up in the morning eh? Andy

G'day to y'all... I know a few of you guys, figure I should introduce myself anyway... I'm Andy, stuck up here in Hell - whoops Fort McMurray. I keep a nice range of fish, a little bit of everything really. 6 'real' tanks on the go right now. I've got africans, discus, angels, gouramis... Several nano tanks, I even have a betta (ok, well its my wifes). My freshwaters are a 50/50 mix of planted tanks to FO tanks, as well as a 10g Nano-reef. Down in the basement, I've got a small fishroom... Currently contains some Convicts (feeders), some dime sized angels (hybrid black, marbles, a couple blue blushing), some dwarf gouramis. And a bunch of plants (Just what I can trade/sell local) mostly asian ambulia (limnopha sessiflora) hygro p. rosanervig, hydrocotyle verticillata, some vals, cabomba caroliana. If I can scare up some money for lighting, I'll be adding a SW frag tank in there soon... Nice meeting y'all... Andy