vic Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Karen: Check the yellow pages for handy man guys etc. in Innisfail. I hope you are doing the exchange with Red Deer store. Quite a bit closer than Calgary. If you need a contact in the Red Deer store, PM me. Good luck. Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Karen lives in Calgary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Karen lives in Calgary. Sorry, I thought she lived in Innisfail. Vic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shai Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Karen, if it looks like you're going to need more time to get things straightened out, I would suggest putting the filter media from the old tank in a pair of nylons or a mesh bag and hanging it in one of your other tanks to keep the bacteria alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 (edited) Has anyone offered to help yet? I know if I lived in Calgary I would more than willing to help you exchange your tank. Edited December 16, 2006 by Sam Chicklets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pier Pressure Posted December 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Hey, Neil. I was hoping I could do a replace right away thing but that is not going to happen - and I see what you are saying - all the bacteria is dead and I have to start over. I called PetSmart and I guess the replacement tank is available but I have to bring the old in and pick up the new - they have no delivery service whatsoever. Kind of choked because this tank is just under two years old. Oh, well - at least they will replace the tank. I called a courier company and they charge more than the tank is worth, if you can believe it. We are going to try to line some people up this weekend. We are going to hopefully line up some buddies to help out. Shai, that is an awesome suggestion - I wish I would have thought of it many hous ago! Pretty much wrote off the bacteria - we are cycling water in big garbage cans at the moment hoping for the best. Mr. Chickets, your heart is huge but that is asking a lot of anyone. Busy season - and moving that aquarium is a hugely mean feat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shai Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 (edited) Shai, that is an awesome suggestion - I wish I would have thought of it many hous ago! Pretty much wrote off the bacteria - we are cycling water in big garbage cans at the moment hoping for the best. : ( That's too bad I didn't post in time... Instead of using garbage cans, if you have room in your existing filters, you can stuff the (cleaned) filter media from the old tank into them to uptake bacteria that way. At the very least, you can do this with the sponge, even if you have to cut it up to fit it into two or more filters. You can temporarily remove something like a carbon insert to help make room. This will be a lot faster than cycling a brand-new "tank" (garbage can). You can still put a cup or so (or more, however much you like) of gravel from the old tank in one of your other tanks (in a nylon or mesh bag)--new bacteria will still cultivate in it if you allow some of the mulm from the cycled tank to get inside. All in all, you'll still need a few weeks at least to do this, but compare that to upwards of at least a month or two to cycle a brand-new 150g... If this tank is planted, you can also Silent Cycle it, which would really cut down on the time needed if you also have your filter media and some gravel partially seeded--you could probably get away with adding a few fish within a week after planting once the filter is seeded, rather than the two weeks recommended in the article, and can thereafter reintroduce the remainder of your stock over the next few weeks. I would gladly help out if I could, but I don't have the physical means (I have scoliosis, no carrying of large, heavy, awkward objects for me) nor the transportation means (I drive a Saturn) to help get the new tank. I hope you get this worked out! Edited December 16, 2006 by Shai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pier Pressure Posted December 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 We have the 33 gallon with lots of seeded gravel, as well as a 20 gallon in the same shape. We also have two filters running that Rod is saying are just "gunked" with bacteria so the seeding should not be a problem. We measured the tank and it will fit into our Jeep, so it will not have to be outside for the trip to Chinook. Rod lined up some guys to help out Monday evening so everything is worked out. Here's to an uneventful move! We are going to change the bottom to sand while we are at this. Where is a good (aka cheap) place to pick up some pool sand, and what kind should I get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Karen - I use Target play sand, not pool filter sand. I've tried a number of sands substrates, and I prefer Target over them all. Very natural looking, and very clean. You can see some pics in this previous thread. http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=8097 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pier Pressure Posted December 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Cool. I really like the looks of it, so a trip to Home Depot or Target is in order. For a 150 gallon aquarium - how many pounds of sand do I buy? Is it heavy enough to hold down really BIG plastic plants? I had no luck with real ones in my cichlid tanks - eaten full of holes within a couple of hours. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Not sure how many pounds you need, but the stuff is cheap. I paid around $5 for a 55 pound bag. It held my plants down fine. If you find you have trouble try siliconing a flat rock to the bottom to help hold it. Just make sure you rinse the sand really well. This will cut down on how cloudy your water is to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 It depends on the depth that you want, but you'll need approx. 2-3 55lb bags. Check out the calculator at the bottom of this page. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/calculator.php What I did was fill my tanks with approx 6" of water, put the sand in, then drain off the water. Refill with clean water, and when filling using a large rock or plate to run the water in so the sand doesn't get stirred up. My water was crystal clear within 1 hour. Here's what to look for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqualung Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 well thats really bad news about the leak..I know how you must feel, hope the fish survive just fine, sounds like they are in good care! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 We measured the tank and it will fit into our Jeep, so it will not have to be outside for the trip to Chinook. Rod lined up some guys to help out Monday evening so everything is worked out. Here's to an uneventful move! How did the move go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pier Pressure Posted December 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Hey, guys. Sorry to leave you hanging but things have been busy. We got the tank moved out and the replacement tank moved in. PetSmart also replaced the stand as we were unsure if the stand was meeting up with the tank properly. We got the play sand and the tank is now full of water, sand, and Rod is just adding decorations. We will start moving fishes tomorrow. They seem to be doing alright in the 33, other than causing the water to boil everytime I walk by because they are hungry. It will not be a pleasant Christmas for them, but what can you do? We will add the smaller fish first and work our way up to the big ones, adding just a couple a week or so. Does that sound good or does anyone else have other ideas? Thank you so much for all of the advice. I am going offline now to help with the tank decorating but will try to check in soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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