New House = New Office = New Aquarium - 2/25 update [56k Warning]

Lighting

I wanted incandescent lighting again as well as well as lighting that was suspended over the tank. After a few days searching, I came across fishneedit.com and their low-priced halides.

They are a great value. The are light enough to hang from wall shelving.



There are 2 problems. First, the hanging brackets were not straight and make it difficult to level the lights and the do not come with any shades to cut down on light spill.

I was able to compensate for the brackets and I was able to create shades using about $30 in materials. (I can go into more detail if anyone cares, but the pics will pretty much tell the story)






Now things are looking better.

I decided to take a blind leap on the filter. I can find little info on the JBJ Reaction 4-Stage Canister Filter. I was intrigued by its addition of a UV lamp and wanted to see how well it works.




After getting my hands on this thing, I can say it looks a like a dandy canister filter. This thing is huge.




Provided that the pump is worth a hoot (still not tested), this looks like a solid canister filter. However, I have serious doubts about its UV sterilization capabilities. It seems the lamp is too small and the flow will be too fast to do much of anything....we shall see.

Aquarium finally arrived!!!

It took a while, but my LFS owner picked the thank up for me today!

It is a beautiful tank, not quite AGA quality, but the best option available to me.




The aquariumplants.com substrate looked better than I thought it would. I never opened the buckets till today and was very pleased with its appearance (hope its performance is equal).

If you ever decide to go this route, take their suggestion on the website and rinse this stuff first. I drilled small pin-holes in the smaller bucket and used it as a strainer. This is the dustiest stuff I have ever ran into. Seriously, if you are pouring this stuff into anything dry, hold your breath because you will choke on the cloud.

However, as dusty as it was, it cleans up a lot faster than any other substrate I have tried to rinse.

I also added a layer of pure laterite on the bottom. I had it on hand..so why not.






Tomorrow I will pick up my python hose from my old house and fill it with water. I will also need to trim the intake.

Disappointment and Frustration

No plants other than some clippings I brought from my old house and some Wisteria I threw in to have something green. I know it will grow fast and can be easily removed if\when I get my plants.

I had to bring over my fish because they were being neglected. No losses in the move, but I hate having them in a near-bare tank.

Nothing is coming easy with this setup. With only a few exceptions, everything I have ordered has been Late, Lost or in Limbo. My plants are in Limbo.

Dreams of a green Christmas...shattered.

Woke this morning to something I have never seen in my tanks in 26 years of keeping aquariums...hair algae!

My guess is ammonia, but I haven't tested for ammonia for years and I don't have a test kit. The fish load, while not huge, is more than what I am comfortable with for the age of the tank.

GH readings are alarming as they are off the chart. Very strange as my water is extremely soft from tap. KH is where I expect it to be. Could it be the substrate or fert tablets?

I usually have to add calcium chloride to my water, but I am going to try some baking soda.

I went out and bought some more Wisteria along with money wart and micro swords. Nothing I want to keep in my tank, but I need something to compete with the algae and help with the fish load.

Some good news.My circulation pump came in and got installed with the help of my assistant...



Its a lot larger than what I expected at about the size of a baseball. I placed it in the opposite side of the tank and directed it to the center. Turned it on and debris started lifting from the substrate like someone just switched off the gravity. No fish or plants were blown out of the tank, so its a keeper.