arixonbarnes

I use a STAR centrifrugal pump (model HPP360) that takes standard garden hose connections, draws 1.75 amps and moves 360 gallons per hour (optimum Rate). It takes about 10 minutes to pump out a full 55 U.S. gallon drum. I use mine to pump the water out of the tanks and also into the tanks. I use quick connects to swap hoses (different ones for pumping out versus pumping in). NOTE: If you use METAL quick connects wrap them in foam so you don't break a front pane of glass on one of your tanks (which is what I almost did). It takes me a little over one hour to do a 15% water change on 25 tanks. This includes filling and treating the water barrel with chemical (Prime), pumping out 25 tanks and dipping the hose end into a pail of hot water and bleach after pumping out of each tank and pumping the water in after I've completed the pump outs. I bought a pair of brass, ball valve, splitters from Lee Valley and installed them on the hot and cold washing machine taps and hooked each side up to a two to one washing machine hose with a quick connect so I can hook my long hose to it for filling my water barrel. Sorry! forgot to mention the pump was $100 at Canadian Tire and comes with a one year warranty.

If it was the small container of blue gularis eggs. Yes. I have neon and red Swordtails, some multicolored Platies, some guppies (but very few right now), Endler's livebearers, Ameca splendens and Girardinus falcatus. I also have a number of guppy endler hybrids.

I suggest you come to the next A.C.E. auction (see http://www.fish-club.org/ for info). There should be some livebearers up for auction. Otherwise I would suggest coming to an A.C.E. meeting. Also A.C.E. club members ($25 per year) have access to the club library.

I use timers for all my lights to ensure regular lighting hours for the fishes. I plug a bank of flourescent lignts into a power bar which goes into a 3 to two prong adapter (from the $ store) and then into a $6 timer (2 prong as the 3 prong ones are about $15). The ground isn't needed as the lights are all two prong (no ground). Two timers would do you for your day and night lighting.

When I set up another tank I just take some water from another tank and a filter pad from another tank. You just dump your filter sponge into an existing tank for a few days to get the bacteria going (or a friend's if this is your first tank). I top the new tank off with fresh treated water (cloramines removed).

Does the Mr. cleaner have an impeller (I have a lot of small live bearer fry) that might puree a fish?

I did the tropical fish tank for about 22 or so years getting up to a 50 gal and a ten gal tank. Then kids, camping etc caused me to shut it down in about 1980 and I got rid of everything (or so I thought). Well! I'm retired now and two years ago guess what I found in my attic - a 13, 19, 5.5 and 3 gal tank. I started off trying to design my own guppy and am on the 4th generation. I've branched out into swordtails, platies, girardinus falcatus, ameca splendens and endlers as well as angels, blue gularis, golden pheasants, bettas, sparkling gouramis, and guppy/endler hybrids. Oh yes! I have also added another 30 tanks of which 21 are running right now. I live in Spruce Grove and have joined A.C.E. which is the descendent of the Edmonton Tropical Fish Society which I belonged to in 1958. I think I am proof of the adage that there is no fool like an old fool as I have learned many things the hard way in the past two years. However I am learning from my experiences and hopefully will never make the same mistake twice.

I ordered mine from the drug store. I would suggest caution as it is very easy to kill your plants (which I did a few times) and if you use it in a fish tank be very carefull as you can damage your fishes' gills. I used a dark brown eyedropper container and worked up a concentrate where one drop per gallon = 1 part per million(PPM). Alum works as well but you can't soak the plants in that too long either if you have a heavy concentrate of it. Soaking in untreated city water overnight should eliminate most parasites but doesn't seem to eliminate all the snails.

I cut a slit in one of the filter pads and put it over the intake tube. This keeps the impeller from getting crudded up and it's easy to pull off and rinse. It also adds more bio surface and the fish are constantly picking at it. It also keeps small fry from being pureed as they can't go throught the tube and into the impeller. I use the filter pads (or other other filter media) on all my power filters.