It all started innocently enough... I'd been thinking about upgrading the 10Gal in the bedroom when I saw this on Craigslist:
20 Gallon Aquarium with stand. Includes everything you would need to operate this biosphere from scratch. Just add water and fish. $20
What fish-head could pass that up (if they wanted an upgrade that is)? I bring it home, clean it up and get to work. I already decided to use Fluorite in this one so, after washing it thoroughly, threw a bag in the tank and filled it very carefully.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/528630967/in/photostream/
Once I saw the dust storm I realized it needed even more cleaning so it got rinsed a few more times until it only got a little cloudy when disturbed. The Python helped a lot since I could suck the dust directly from the Fluorite.
Then came the problem of rocks. I can't stand artificial decorations... besides, if I wanted cheesy decorations I would have skipped the fluorite and bought clown-puke for 1/2 the price. I also can't reconcile myself to paying $3-5/lb for rocks at the fish store. I was hoping to build "jagged, very small, cliffs/mountains" in the centre and be planted all around. Well... turned out here in the Niagara Escarpment all my local rocks are limestone. I found some great rocks, just nothing that wouldn't kill my water.
I finally ended up talking to a granite countertop manufacturer who let me pick through their trash/scraps. I finally had some safe rocks, the only problems was that they were all rectangular and 1" thick. So much for "mountains". I eventually took a hammer and broke them into less regular shapes (some of the nicer ones I couldn't do since they were a little too hard). I may not be able to make mountains, but I managed to make a debris field...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/528630977/
20 Gallon Aquarium with stand. Includes everything you would need to operate this biosphere from scratch. Just add water and fish. $20
What fish-head could pass that up (if they wanted an upgrade that is)? I bring it home, clean it up and get to work. I already decided to use Fluorite in this one so, after washing it thoroughly, threw a bag in the tank and filled it very carefully.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/528630967/in/photostream/
Once I saw the dust storm I realized it needed even more cleaning so it got rinsed a few more times until it only got a little cloudy when disturbed. The Python helped a lot since I could suck the dust directly from the Fluorite.
Then came the problem of rocks. I can't stand artificial decorations... besides, if I wanted cheesy decorations I would have skipped the fluorite and bought clown-puke for 1/2 the price. I also can't reconcile myself to paying $3-5/lb for rocks at the fish store. I was hoping to build "jagged, very small, cliffs/mountains" in the centre and be planted all around. Well... turned out here in the Niagara Escarpment all my local rocks are limestone. I found some great rocks, just nothing that wouldn't kill my water.
I finally ended up talking to a granite countertop manufacturer who let me pick through their trash/scraps. I finally had some safe rocks, the only problems was that they were all rectangular and 1" thick. So much for "mountains". I eventually took a hammer and broke them into less regular shapes (some of the nicer ones I couldn't do since they were a little too hard). I may not be able to make mountains, but I managed to make a debris field...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/528630977/