April 2010 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

A P R I L 2 0 1 0Fins & TalesServing Kitchener-Waterloo and the surrounding area since 1960In This Issue: Volume 50, Issue 4TMA #51: Panama! - page 6DIY River Tank Engineering - page 16Al Ridley remembers 31 years of KWAS - page 12Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 6th at 7:30 pm! ! ! Jerry Draper talks about Breeding TechniquesOfficial Publication of the Kitchener-Waterloo Aquarium SocietyVisit us at http://www.kwas.ca

A P R I L 2 0 1 0In This Issue...TMA - PanamaCAOAC Convention DetailsDIY River Tank Engineering31 years of KWASFrom The Prez’s DeskPage 4From The Editors’ DeskPage 4Local Store DirectoryPage 52010 Jar Show ResultsRein takes us on a tourof the “Local” fishstores in Panama as partof his journey. Alongthe way he recalls a fewshort stories about thetrip and his pastexperiences as ahobbyist.Page 6The 2010 CAOACconvention will be heldat Sheridan College thiscoming May. Phil hasassembled a lot ofdetails into a handyreference on page 9.We hope to see anotherlarge contingent ofKWAS members thisyear. See you there!Page 9Ryan breaks out hisengineering skills andtreats us to a seminar onhow to build a rivertank complete with a“huge wall of sponge.”He notes the things thatworked well and thosethat could be different.This is a continuation ofa forum thread, so ifyou want more info orto say thanks to Ryanhop over to the forum.Page 16Al recounts his time inthe hobby as our fourthmember bio since we’vetaken over as the editorof this publication. It’salways neat to see howpeople got involved andwhy they stuck with it.Do you want to writeup your bio? Please DO!We’d love to publish itin this newsletter.Page 12Page 5Name That FishPage 10Constitution ReviewPage 10Exchange Editor’s ReportPage 11KWAS Meeting MinutesPage 14Fry TankPage 20Upcoming Fishy EventsOn the front cover• March 28 - Brant: Show and Auction• April 6 - KWAS General Meeting• April 11 - Durham Region: Show and AuctionDoes this fish look familiar? It was in last month’s issue as part of Phil’sarticle. That however didn’t stop it winning a land-slide victory in March’sFish of the Month poll on our forums. Beautiful fish Phil!• April 13 - KWAS Business Meeting• May 1 - Cambridge Auction• May 4 - KWAS General Meeting• May 11 - KWAS Business Meeting• May 21-23 - CAOAC Annual Convention• June 1 - KWAS Pizza and Raffle Night• June 8 - KWAS Business Meeting• June 26 - Sarnia Guest Speaker ‘ Gary Lange’• June 28 - KWAS Summer Picnic• September 7 - KWAS General Meeting• September 14 - KWAS Business Meeting• September 18 - Sarnia Show and AuctionGet your cameras out! Your fish or tank could be featured in an upcomingedition of Fins & Tales! Simply email your high-res photos and a descriptionto us at cam.turner@gmail.com. Photos must be at least 2400 pixels wide by1800 pixels tall to be printable. Bigger is better. Questions? Email us.2

A P R I L 2 0 1 0KWAS Mission StatementThe Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society (KWAS) is a nonprofitorganization whose primary goals are to:• Further the hobby and study of tropical fish and relatedendeavours• Inspire the preservation of aquatic life• Maintain a meeting place for its members• Develop and maintain a library on aquatic life• Promote fellowship among its members• Seek out and establish a kinship with other clubs withsimilar objectivesKWAS is a charter member of CAOAC:The Canadian Association of Aquarium ClubsFins & Tales is published 10 times each year between themonths of September and June for KWAS members. Opinionsexpressed in this publication are those of the authors and notnecessarily those of the Fins & Tales editors or KWAS. Themention of any product does not constitute an endorsement byFins & Tales or KWAS members.Reprint Policy — Articles from this publication may be printedin a not-for-profit publication provided credit is given to boththe author and KWAS. Copies of the reprint must be sent toboth the author and KWAS. Any other use is prohibited withoutthe written consent of KWAS.Exchange Program — KWAS exchanges newsletters with otherclubs across North America. If your club is interested inbecoming a part of this program please contact our exchangeeditor by mail or e-mail zenin@golden.netCorrespondence — Please send all correspondence to theKitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society, Box 38037 256 KingStreet North, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2J 4T9.Submission of ArticlesCover images and articles can be submitted for publication inFins & Tales by all hobbyists and must be submitted digitally.Priority is given to KWAS members and to topics that have notbeen recently covered. Not all submissions will be printed in themonth they are submitted. The editors of Fins & Tales may berequired to edit your submission for length, spelling, grammarand/or clarity. Please indicate if you would like to proof readthe edited version prior to official publication.Submissions are due via email to the editors (editor@kwas.ca)by the 15 th day of the month for publication in the upcomingissue of Fins & Tales. Please contact us if you have anyquestions or would like suggestions or feedback on possiblearticle topics.President !Vice President !Treasurer !Secretary !Past President !KWAS Officials 2008 - 2009ExecutiveGeoff Money (gmoney@golden.net)Phil Maznyk (webmaster@kwas.ca)Brad McClanahan (nasfan@3web.com)Al Ridley (pyrofish@rogers.com)Kevin Reimer (kevin.reimer@sympatico.ca)Board of DirectorsEditor/Publisher ! Cameron Turner, Tanya Morose! (cam.turner@gmail.com)Exchange Editor ! Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)Membership Chair Mary Lynne Lucier (marylynnel@yahoo.ca)Auction Chair ! ***** Open *****Oktoberfish Chair ! Al Ridley (pyrofish@rogers.com)Librarian ! Terry ClementsLunch Committee !***** Open *****Programs ! Al Ridley (pyrofish@rogers.com)Raffle Chair ! Katie McClanahan (nasfan@3web.com)B.A.P Chair ! Ryan Barton (rabar10@yahoo.com)H.A.P Chair ! Ed Koerner (edkoerner@sympatico.ca)CAOAC Reps ! Phil Maznyk (and one position open still)Name That Fish ! Ed Koerner (edkoerner@sympatico.ca)Jar Show ! Dave Boehm (fishman@golden.net)Webmaster ! Phil Maznyk (webmaster@kwas.ca)Pet Store Liaisons! Al Ridley (pyrofish@rogers.com)! Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)Advertise in Fins & TalesThe KWAS Executive and BOD voted to try a bit of anexperiment starting November of 2009. We will no longer runexplicit ads based on feedback from our readership. Instead wewill focus more completely on content written by our members(Hint! Hint!). As an alternative we have included a Local FishStore (LFS) Directory that lists all the businesses that supportKWAS either through donations, sponsorships or discounts forclub members. Check the table of contents on the opposite pageto learn where that directory is this month. If you would like todiscuss or provide feedback on this policy please email oureditor(s) or any member of the executive/BOD. Thanks.Join KWAS2010 Membership Fees! ! Adult ! Family! 1 Year ! $25 !$30! 2 Years ! $48 !$58! 3 Years! $71 !$86! 4 Years ! $92 ! $112! 5 Years ! $100!$120Junior Members (under the age of 18) $10 per year 3

A P R I L 2 0 1 0From the President’s DeskHello again everyone,So March did come in like a lamb after all. Now the onlyquestion remaining is will it go out like a Lion? All the snow isgone from around here and I think we can truly say good bye toold man winter until next November! I hope all of you took achance to visit Mary Lynne at the membership table at our lastmeeting and renewed your club membership. If you haven’tMarch was the last month for you to receive the club newsletter.Last month’s guest speaker Veronique LePage from theUniversity of Guelph was great. Sea Horses are trulyfascinating. I believe club member Zena is currently raisingthem and I’m not sure but there may be others as well. Nextmonth we have our good friend Jerry Draper from The TropicalFishroom in Brantford coming in to talk to us about ‘BreedingTechniques’. Jerry is a life long hobbyist who turned his passionin fish keeping into a business many years ago and has notlooked back since. It will be great to see Jerry again and I’msure all our BAP aficionados will be out in force to hear hispresentation.I’m writing this installment early as our Editor has imposed ahard deadline of the 15th of each month for any submissions. Ihope by the time he gets this his mailbox contains one or twomember articles. This month we will be reviewing someimportant revisions to our Constitution and Bylaws before wevote on them. I urge all of you to take a moment to reviewthem. They can be found on page 10. As spring approaches thearea clubs are once again beginning to hold events. Thisweekend, HDAS held their spring auction and from what I readon our forum it looks like it was a good day for those inattendance.Durham gets rolling with their spring auction on April 11thfollowed the next weekend April 17th by Sarnia. For thosemembers who are into livebearers, the ALA (AmericanLivebearers Association) holds their annual convention April 22thru 25 in Springfield, Michigan. Saturday May 1 sees ourneighbours, the Cambridge & District Aquarium Society, holdtheir first spring auction. Cambridge has been struggling a bitlately, lets all see if we can make an effort to get out andsupport their event. May 2nd sees our friends in London getunderway. The big event that follows in May is the CAOACconvention held May 21 thru 23 at Sheridan College inOakville.The convention website is now complete and they are takingorders online for tickets and official embroidered golf shirtswww.caoac.ca/convention.html See the convention flyer in thismonths issue for a complete list of the great speakers. It’sshaping up to be yet another successful event. While I’m on thetopic of CAOAC, their President Bob Wright has crafted a verycomplete response to the folks at CFIA regarding the proposedchanges to the importation of ‘Ornamental Fishes’. You candownload a copy of the letter from the CAOAC website herewww.caoac.ca/news.htmlApril’s Jar Show competition is Catfish and AOV. Catfish is avery popular fish with our club so let’s all try and fill Dave’stables up! I’m sure Zenin and Jonathan will have a few treatsfor us to see. Katie did a great job with the raffle table lastmonth but she could use a volunteer to roam amongst thegroup and sell more tickets. In March I was invited to visit theHamilton club (another great club) and present myphotography program for them. I’ve taken what Matt and I puttogether last year and tweaked it to show actual images of fishas they relate to a particular camera setting. Perhaps I’ll givethis revised talk our club again this year. Lastly, a quickreminder that our annual club elections are coming up nextmonth. KWAS is a solid club built on a core set of values thathas seen us grow over the past 50 years. There is always roomfor improvement and we’re always looking for the nextmember to step up and contribute at this level. Whether you arenew or a long term member, fresh thinking and ideas are one ofthe best ways to keep the club moving forward. That beingsaid, if you have any questions about stepping up and joiningthe team, please come to the head table and discuss them withus.See you at the meeting!Hello All.Phil MaznykInterim President (former VP), KWASFrom The Editors’ DeskWell, we did it. Cam imposed a strict deadline on all ourcontributors at the last BOD meting and with one tinyexception they all got their stuff in on time. That means thisissue can be in member’s hands a little earlier than normal.Hopefully this is the new normal.In relation to the stellar content we get here we wantedeveryone to know that it’s getting noticed around the world.We regularly get mentioned in the “exchange” write ups ofother clubs. Congratulations to everyone who writes, even ifyour articles don’t get mentioned by name every time.As an aside, mentions can sometimes even come with wordslike “hey, if they can do it so can we!” which makes us feel likerich-beggars when we ask for content. That said, we’ll still beg!Please write something, or even summarize your favouriteforum thread to share with the world! (see page 15).See you at the meeting,Cam Turner & Tanya MoroseNewsletter Editors, KWAS4

A P R I L 2 0 1 0Store DirectoryIf you know of any stores we’re missing, please email the BOD.Aquarium Services (Big Al’s) Ω Φ! Kitchener, Ontariowww.BigAlsCanada.com!(519) 894-1810508 Wilson Ave.The Fish Sempai Ω Φ!www.FishSempai.com !(519) 648-9992By Appointment OnlyBreslau, OntarioMc’s Petworld Ω Φ!Cambridge, OntarioEmail: mcspetworld@rogers.com!(519) 241-2691Currently By Appointment OnlyTropical Fish Room Ω Φ!Brantford, Ontariowww.TropicalFishRoom.ca!(519) 756-6225166 Grand River Ave.John’s Fish Food Ω!Kitchener, Ontariowww.JohnsFishFood.com!(519) 897-1567By Appointment Only.The Fish Bowl Ω!Elmira, Ontariowww.inTheFishBowl.net!(519) 669-0202120 Oriole Parkway, Unit #4Garden Supermart Ω!Cambridge, Ontariowww.GardenSupermart.com!(519) 624-2554Homegrown Hydroponics Ω Φ!www.Hydroponics.ca!(519) 648-237479 Woolwich Street South, Unit #4Breslau, OntarioMoore Water Gardens Φ!Port Stanley, Ontariowww.MooreWaterGardens.com!(519) 782-4052PO Box 70, 4683 Sunset Rd.The Fish Place Φ!N. Tonawanda, NY141 Robinson St., 14120! (716) 693-44112010 Jar ShowEach year KWAS holds a Jar Show competition where membersbring their most prized fish to our monthly meetings to sharewith others, compete and teach. The various classes and basicrules are laid out below, but first the 2010 Standings. After threemonths of competition this is where we stand:! Seniors:! Points! Zenin Skomorowski!18! Alan Smiley!12! Tony Gibbons!4! Al Ridley!4! Juniors:! Points! Jonathon Samson!44! Griffin Quigley!6There is a limit of two fish per person per class. You may alsobring any species of the featured classes in any other month;they will be entered in any other variety also known as AOV. Ifyou have any other non-fish creatures, or odd-ball fish, they canbe entered in the AOV class. If you have any questions aboutthe Jar Show Competition please contact Dave Boehm.2010 Jar Show Classes:January: !February: !March: !April: !May: !Dwarf Cichlids / Rainbow fishRift Lake CichlidsCharacinsCatfishLoaches & KillifishAlso a BIG thank you to the following manufacturers fordonating goods to our 2009 Oktoberfish Auction:Rolf C Hagen, Danner Manufacturing, Brown Trout Publishing,Martin Mills Inc., Doctors Foster and Smith, Plecocaves.com,Casco Inc, Tetra & SeaChem (Star Aquarium Products).June: !September: !October: !November: !CyprinidsLivebearersLarge American CichlidsAnabantids & PlantsΩ KWAS member discount of 10% or more (does not apply to tanks or glass).Φ Supports KWAS through participation in our annual Oktoberfish event.We highly encourage you to check the above websites for store hours.Everyone is encouraged to participate. For tips on how to enter,what to bring and what to look for ask any of the competitorsabove. They obviously know a thing or two about it :). 5

A P R I L 2 0 1 0The Minimalist AquaristDoing more with less and keeping it simple: Panama— Article and Photos by Rein & Char Breitmaier, KWAS (mrrein@gmail.com)We begin a new destination this month albeit not terribly farfrom where we left off. A mere few hours drive from CostaRica, yes I said ‘drive’, where we found ourselves mid-way intothe Country of Panama and into ‘the Canal Zone’. And fellowreaders, to a place where English is spoken, the AmericanDollar is the only domestic currency in evidence and folksactually keep and talk ornamental fishes.create enough bio-waste to quickly plug this little pump’sintake. But hey, we’ve found fish.TMA was excited to find fishes in the marketplace. Okay thefirst encounter wasn’t a traditional 4-square aquarium with allthe filters, skimmers, and lights but it had goldfishes!The ceramic tub had a recirculating pump which was no longerfunctioning, but in the greater scheme of things was supposedto pump up into the highest faux bamboo pot, which then fillthe second pot, subsequently the third and finally tumbled backinto the base. The setup was not unlike cement water featuressold back home that sometimes double as a bird bath - I mightfind one on the patio at our house. Look closely however andyou may spot that a tiny air pump was hung onto the side ofone of the upper chambers with an airline extended down intothe water below. Don’t see any bubbles? Well I didn’t either, soapparently the “Sonic Silent & Powerful” air pump was toomuch of the former and not enough of the latter. As we know,goldfish aren’t going to quibble as long as you change the waterand give’em food and in that regard these seemed fine.Those of us who have played with these things howeverrecognize that a) the goldfish will soon outgrow thisenvironment, b) even if the water pump was working, thesurface disturbance from the final pot dumping into the bottomchamber would make the fish difficult to see, and c) goldfishNext up I spotted a great advertisement in a pamphlet in astore. You may have found them before but TMA had not. Theholy grail of aquarium keeping – zero water changes! Of coursethe photo showed what had to be a planted 100 gallon tankwith angels, discus, et. al, and everything peachy andwonderful without ever sucking on another siphon hose. Wow!I can’t speak to how many of these units have sold in Panama,but I have seen the rivers here. The water flows (read that as‘changes’) quickly and plentifully, so the advertising claim of“just like in nature” seemed a tad vacuous.The fine print noted that this system handles up to 20 gallons ofwater so I reasoned the accompanying photo must surely have5 of these hanging on the back with at least ten of the littleplastic towers coming up out of the gravel. Don’t see them inthe photo? Neither did I. We wondered whether these ads weretargeted at North American ex-pats who spend the wintermonths here in the balmy warmth because the locals we met6

A P R I L 2 0 1 0would hardly be able to afford the additives this system basesit’s technology on.As a vintage hobbyist (that has a nice ring to it) I have to reflecton one of the earliest lessons I was ever given in tropical fishkeeping: “Son, the two most important tools in this trade are ahose and a pail”. To my thinking it’s like taking a sniff of thefiltered, heated, recirculated and medicated air inside a hospitalward in lieu of pointing your nose into the wind as it sweepsalong a forested hillside in the great outdoors. Not in the sameleague is it?These glass vases are at least bigger than the cups your LFS,even here in Panama, display their bettas for sale in. Rememberthat small water volumes are prone to contamination if notregularly maintained. I can picture you downsizing my hoseand pail doctrine to airline tubing and a coffee mug for keepingyour own ‘Goofy’ on your desk at the office – Good work!So I will simply offer that once you have had one of these newsystems going successfully for a year, let me know. Until then,I’ll keep the pail’n hose handy and leave these “zero change”devices to the wealthy ex-pats down here in the tropics whomight not know any better. ‘Nuff said!It is Panama so I should at least mention the big water filledditch which bisects the central mountains here and whichbecame a legendary shipping route – The Panama Canal. Thedaming up of several rivers to create a huge lake flooded 262square kilometres of the interior jungle of the country includinga number of villages and even part of the original railwaysystem. Could such a project pass today’s environmental impactstudies? Likley not. Freshwater from this lake flows northwestto the Caribbean Sea and southeast to the Pacific Ocean, ananomaly you need to refer to a map to get your head around. Itis rather like imagining Detroit being north of Windsor – whichit is.And then another familiar sight popped up. Again it this notthe usual hobbyist methodology but I was glad for any fishydiversions. TMA’s eldest child came into this world and spenther first public outing at an aquarium society summer picnic.Later in life having been baptised into fish keeping she kept asingle male betta in just such a ‘tank’. Sadly her “Goofy” passedrecently of old age and I have forgotten until just now to askhow his plant is doing? Hmmm, honey call our daughter!In our eco-green, zero carbon footprint world, these surely mustbe worth a look. The local price in Panama – 12-13 US dollars.In any event a dracena palm, peace lily (Spathiphyllum willisii) orbamboo shoot is typically grown soil-less with one fishmeandering in a world without corners through the root base.Here as in the former situation, food (for the fish) and waterchanges are key even though the plant can be reasonablyexpected to draw some soluble waste nutrient from the water. 7

A P R I L 2 0 1 0At its grand opening the 27,500 lives lost in the canal’sconstruction were a foot-note of history – a manageable loss inthat time in exchange for a marvel of engineering. The marvelwhich remains is that the now nearly 100 year old gigantic steeldoors that open and close as the water rises and falls in thelocks to the tune of 14,000 ships transiting the canal annually,still work perfectly. The average toll charged for a one waysailing is $30,000 in US dollars and 52 million gallons of freshwater escapes into the ocean with each ship.There are a number of studies that suggest fishes actually canand do make the transit, but with 40 odd miles of freshwater inthe middle of the system, it remains largely brackish waterfishes like gobies that freely explore the route. The freshwaterspecies apparently shy clear of both ends where a significantamount of salt water permeates through with every inboundship although sport fishermen it is claimed can reap the benefitsof peacock bass, tarpon and snook all in the same day’s fishin’.So tell me about the LFS scene in Panama I hear you asking.You saw the betta display earlier and I can add that the tanksand hard goods photos we took could easily have been from astore anywhere in North America. Racks of fishes and rowupon row of familiar Canadian brands like Nutrafin andAquaclear abounded.All of this is possible because it rains here – a lot. Witness thecontractors taking shelter while working on the 5 billion dollar(US) widening of the canal through the Gaillard Cut whichbreaches the continental divide, along with new super-sizedlocks which will beget even larger ships. At least they havemodern machinery and technology although that tin roofthey’re hiding under is decidedly ‘old school’ in design. At leastyellow fever and malaria as any tourist is forewarned are nowpreventable.Packaged plastic plants and an interesting assortment of fishesrounded out the store. Of special note, maintenance of the tankswas first rate and business seemed brisk. As you can seegoldfishes are the international favourite, here as elsewhere, butit was a striking discus that caught TMA’s eye this day. Thecolours were magnificent, especially for a store-kept discus. Getout that hose and pail, this one deserves a water change. -TMA8

A P R I L 2 0 1 0FREE PARKINGHOSPITALITYSUITE2010 CAOAC ConventionMay 21-23, 2010Sheridan College Oakville, OntarioYour Convention CommitteeDave Boehm / Bob Wright / Ann Stevens / Noel Wright / Ken Boorman / Terry LittleGUEST SPEAKERSDavid BoruchowitzSpencer JackAd KoningsRay ‘Kingfish’ LucasOliver LucanusLee NewmanSPECIALROOMRATESTicket price includes the following at no extra chargeLunch meal SaturdayCatered banquet dinner Saturday nightSPECIALDRAWSBreakfast meal Sunday morningCAOAC Executive meeting, Annual Elections & Awards PresentationsBring your fish, reptiles, amphibians, plants, crafts & photos to showLarge Auction Sunday afternoonAll for only $75 per person!Purchase your tickets online.Bring the family! Lots to see and do in the area!Visit www.caoac.ca for all the convention detailsBOOK EARLY TO GET OURSPECIAL CAOAC RATEWIRELESSINTERNET 9

A P R I L 2 0 1 0Name That FishBy Ed Koerner, KWAS (edkoerner@sympatico.ca).Well, March left the group with another stumper and I doapologize for that -- not a lot but a little anyways. I do promisethat the April contest will be a fish (or non-fish) that you haveall heard of before. Maybe.The fish in the bag this time were four Archocentrus spilurus orBlue Eyed Cichlids. I waited after giving some clues. I listenedto Al repeating “Blue eyed something…… Blue eyedsomething….” several times. But they went into the auction andZenin nabbed them to add to one of his SA themed tanks.I’m sure that Zenin has done his research already but as iscustomary, there is a bit of background given about the fish sopeople can learn something. Or maybe point out some mistakes-- which is okay -- I make enough of them to be quite used to itby now, so here goes:Annual Constitution ReviewSubmitted by The Executive and BODProposed Constitution Changes:On page 5 (Article II) correct the spelling of Exchange Editor (currentlyCHANGE EDITOR)Create position and description for Oktoberfish Chair:• Shall be responsible for the organization of our annual Oktoberfishevent (as approved in March of 2007)On page 8 (Article IV) change “one member may cast only one voteirrespective of multiple positions held” to one member may cast only onevote even if multiple positions are held.On page 11 (Article XI) change “KWAS shall award annual awards...”to KWAS shall give annual awards…On page 12 (Article XI) change the wording of Junior Hobbyist of theYear to match Hobbyist of the Year. Junior Hobbyist of the Year is awardedto the club member(s) age 12 through 18 who has contributed the most to thehobby in the past year. All aspects of the hobby, especially club related, will beconsidered.On page 5 under TREASURER edit the last line to read shall arrange tohave an audit of the treasurer books done at the end of each term of office by atleast two current Executive and one KWAS Adult member in good standing.On page 5 under HORTICULTURALIST AWARD CHAIR add willaudit the HAP program books annually during the clubs summer break (Julyor August). Auditing to be done by at least 2 of the current executive in officeand one KWAS Adult member in good standing.On page 5 under BREEDERS AWARD CHAIR add will audit the BAPprogram books annually during the clubs summer break (July or August).Auditing to be done by at least 2 of the current executive in office and oneKWAS Adult member in good standing.Proposed By-law Changes:Changes relating to the BAP and HAP Programs:Photo by Jiri Plistil from ZipCodeZoo.comThe spilurus is from Central America inhabiting the rivers andstreams of Guatemala, Honduras and Belize and prefer softerwater conditions. A pH of 6.5- 7.5 will be fine but they will alsohandle harder water quite well. They are a “peaceful” cichlidbut will eat smaller fish when given the opportunity. They willgrow over 4 inches long and may reach up to 7 inches in thewild. Coloration is mostly green with a yellow throat and somedark barring. They are easy to feed taking flake, pellets, frozenand live foods without any issues or arguments. Breeding issimilar to most of the Central American fish – a tank with rocks,wood, and plants for cover is best and they like to spawn inflower pots. They are very protective of their fry and make goodparents. These fish were bred locally.Until next month. - Ed• When participating in BAP and HAP executive and BOD members,including BAP and HAP program chairs, are not allowed to sign-offon the first or second inspections of their own submission forms.The President or Vice President must sign in their place for"chairman" prior to awarding them.• The executive must be informed of all HAP/BAP participants thatexceed 300 points annually, especially where CAOAC will benotified and CAOAC awards are concerned.• All fish must be in the care of the hobbyist 60 days prior to a firstBAP count. Geoff proposed 30 days ownership rather than 60 days.A vote was held with three in favour of 60 days, two in favour of 30days and one abstainer.These changes will be voted at theApril 2010 General Meeting.10

A P R I L 2 0 1 0Exchange Editor’s ReportSubmitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net).The newsletters featured in this column and others are available toyou. Please let me know by email, or at the monthly meeting, whichones you would like to read.Have you spent very little time with your fish due to workcommitments or other distractions, only to find later that yourfish have spawned ? Well that happened to Joel Antkowiakand his Chalinochromis ndobhoi. These easy to care for torpedoshaped fish from Lake Tanganyika raised their fry andprotected them from other fish in the tank. Read all about it inthe February 2010 issue of Tank Tales from the Aquarium Clubof Lancaster County. Also in this issue is a reprint of ScottGraner’s article on The Rainbow Darter. These native NorthAmerican fish are the most vividly coloured of the more than140 species of Darters. They can be bred in the homeaquarium, given the right water temperatures, food and waterflow.Charlie Drew has spawned the HY511 Tetra. ThisHyphessobrycon species is similar to Ornate Rosy Tetra andhas white fins and a rosy red body. It is a peaceful fish thatgrows to about 6 cm ( 2.5 inches ). The spawning and frygrowth is similar to other tetras. Feeding the fry requires verysmall foods such as infusoria. Also in the February 2010 issueof The Monthly Bulletin from the Hamilton and DistrictAquarium Society, is an article “Pretty as a Peacock” by LarryJohnson. He has visited the rift Lake Malawi many times andhas imported many peacock species and other cichlids toCanada. The Peacock he has chosen to write about is theAulonocara sp. “yellow collar”. It is dark blue fish with adorsal margin of white, tipped with some yellow. The YellowCollar name comes from the yellow area that is behind thegills and rings the body. Breeding and feeding is easy. Theyhave a gentle disposition and can be kept with most otherAfrican rift lake cichlids.Spring in the aquarium hobby is when the club auctions beginagain. Bruce Hart gave his “Top 10 Reasons I like FishAuctions” in the February 2010 issue of Aqua Antics from theSarnia Aquarium Society. See how many reasons match yourlist. For me, I see fish at the auction that I never see in thelocal shops, the plants are large and inexpensive, and I get tosee other fellow hobbyists that I have not seen for a while.Also in this issue, Peter Melady wrote about “Pearls In MyTank”. These beautiful Pearl Gouramis are bubble nestbuilding anabantids. Some attention is required to feed andraise the tiny fry.Have you ever had a trio of Angels raise a batch of fry ? JimPeterson had a large albino pearl male, a small koi female anda koi male look after fry from the albino pearl and the koifemale. The male koi decided to help out looking after the fry.Three weeks later there was another spawn. Read about theseevents in “Angel fish Surprises” in the February 2010 issue ofParadise Press from the Long Island Aquarium Society. Also inthis issue, Darryl Shaber wrote about “Our Trip to Atlantis FishHatchery” in Gardiner New York. They specialize in Africancichlids from Lake Tanganyika and Malawi.A possible addition to our club library is Catfishes by Lee Finley.Susan Priest reviews this new publication in her column WetLeaves in the March 2010 issue of Modern Aquarium from theGreater City Aquarium Society New York. There is lots ofinformation on choosing, feeding, health care, and breeding ofcatfishes. There are also extensive notes from the author’sexperience. There is even a section on appropriate medicaltreatment should you sustain a sting or puncture wound from acatfish. Also in this issue, Dan Radebaugh talks about theChocolate Cichlid Hypselecara temporalis. This larger fairlydocile cichlid from the Amazon looks fairly plain when small,but grows into a dramatic example of mood colouration. Theyhave a base colour of olive or emerald green, with chocolatebrown, purple or red highlights. They are a large, peoplefriendly and colourful fish that will look good in a large showtank.The Perfect Aquarium Filter? Jules Birnbaum discusses thehistory of filtration in aquariums. Several types are comparedalong with the merits and use of various filter media. For Jules,a good filter is light weight, easy and fast to service, has amaintenance free motor, a water polishing feature, an on/offswitch, a long warrantee and is moderately priced. See all thedetails in the March 2010 issue of Pisces Press from the NassauCounty Aquarium Society.Does water temperature determine the ratio of males andfemales in a batch of fry ? For Shawna Foster it sure did. Shenever got any males in her Rosy barb fry. It was suggested thatthe water temperature should be higher than the 74-75 F shehad for them when spawning. Check more details on spawningBarbus conchonius in the March 2010 issue of Aqua Antics fromthe Sarnia Aquarium Society. Also in this issue, Peter Meladydetails his experience with Neolamprologus signatus. This LakeTanganyikan shell dweller will also dig tunnels in the muddy/sandy substrate. Read more here on the tank setup, feeding andbreeding these dwarf cichlids. - ZeninAnother club has been added to our newsletter exchange:The Aquarium Club of Lancaster County – in south-easternPennsylvania www.aclcpa.org 11

A P R I L 2 0 1 0another from the South Park Aquatic Study Society. Both clubsinvited me to speak to them. The SPASS had contacted theirsister club in Kingston and they were bussing members to themeeting. I met with Strood first and was delighted to discoverthat the meeting was held upstairs in a pub. Two days later, Itravelled by train, bus and underground (subway) and was metat my final train station by Mrs. Dudley who was holding agoldfish shaped sign with Mr. Ridley printed on it. Once at thehall, I was met by members of SPASS, Kingston, the BritishKillie Association and the Hounslow Aquarium Society. Theyhad prepared a full meal for everyone and the cook, whosename was Mac, was the most obscene, colourful man I had evermet. He had everyone in complete fits during dinner. I wastotally catered to during my stay and talk.I approached Lee with the idea of starting a freshwateraquarium club in Vancouver. There was a marine club but thefreshwater club had folded many years prior. We used theVancouver Aquarium Auditorium and began the VancouverAquarium Study Group (now called the Vancouver AquaticHobbyist Club). I also helped a group of people start a club inAbbotsford but I don’t know if they are still in operation.We moved back to Ontario in 1995. I even brought a 15 gallonaquarium filled half way with some of my prized fish. Oddballplecos and four species of apistos made the four day trip in thetrunk of the car. I had maintained my membership with KWASand even contributed to the newsletter from time to time whilein BC. I was informed that upon my arrival back in Ontario, Iwould be the clubs Vice President. It was so good to be backhome with good friends!In 1999, I was asked to take over the organization of the annualOktoberfish event. This event is so important to our club and itwas very rewarding to put in the work and see the success eachyear.Al with members of SPASSIn 1992, I moved to Surrey British Columbia. I had soldeverything and had sworn that I would not buy anotheraquarium until we purchased a house. It took six months to setup five aquariums in the town house that we rented. It alsodidn’t take me long to buy a membership to the VancouverAquarium and to start volunteering there with Lee Newman. Itwas an awesome experience and really opened my eyes to thebehind the scenes work that goes into a zoo or aquarium. Therewere fire ants everywhere behind the exhibit set ups and thebest memory is when Lee told me I was to clean the glass in the2400 gallon piranah exhibit. I looked for the long pole with thesqueegie but was told that the water gets drained to about 3 feetand you climb into the exhibit with hip waders to scrub theglass. We had a good laugh when I climbed in and discoveredthe water was just above my crotch and I begged him to drainanother foot or so!Robin Day, Dave Boehm and Al Ridley promoting KWASAs for fish that I have kept, I really never specialized inanything for too long. I have kept fish from every continent(with the exception of one) and today I still breed some killies,livebearers and dwarf africans. The fads come and go. Otherclubs come and go. Friends come and go but one thing thatholds us together and keeps the memories fond is the aquariumhobby. - AlVancouver’s Piranah Exhibit from Above 13

Meeting MinutesMinutes of the March 2010General MeetingActing President/Vice President PhilMaznyk called the meeting to order at7:33 pm with 49 people present.Announcements• Phil welcomed guests and invited themto see Mary Lynne to sign the guestbook and to get a complimentary copyof our newsletter.• All expired KWAS memberships areover due.• Brochures are available for the CAOACConvention at the front table.• KWAS shirts are available for order. SeeAl to place your order.• We remembered Miecia Burden whopassed away one year ago this month.• Zenin asked for volunteers for theaquarium at the Waterloo Inn.Constitution• Phil asked everyone to read theproposed adjustments and changes toour Constitution and By-Laws. Theycan be found on page 8 of our March2010 newsletter. We will be voting onthem in April.Question and Answer• Hosted my TMA, Rein discussedsubjects covered included loosing yourshoes in Costa Rica, breeding by Juniormembers (Rein found a baby killi too!),gas build up in gravel due to lack ofdeep vacuuming and Rein’s RO waterexperience.Name That Fish• Two months in a row now, nobodycould guess the fish. This month it wasthe “Blue Eyed Cichlid” – Archocentrusspilurum. They were placed in themonthly auction for sale.A P R I L 2 0 1 0Program• Veronique LePage spoke in depth aboutthe husbandry of seahorses.Show Jar• Dave “Beemer” Boehm announced thewinners.• We had 11 entries judged by DaveBoehm.• Next month is Catfish and AOVAuction• Ed sold a selection of fish and plantsLibrary Draw• Dave Boehm won the library draw.Raffle• Brad won a gift certificate toAlternative Aquariums in Burlington.• Phil won a gift certificate to Big Al’sAquarium Services in Kitchener.Meeting was adjourned at 9:57 pm.Minutes of the March 2010Business MeetingThe meeting was called to order at7:30pm at the home of Cam Turner.Executive present: Phil Maznyk, BradMcClanahan and Al Ridley.BOD present: Cam Turner, Ryan Bartonand Terry Clements.Motion to accept the February Businessmeeting minutes as published made byBrad, seconded by Terry… V&CMotion to accept the March Generalmeeting minutes as emailed made byRyan, seconded by Cam… V&CFuture Business meetings – nobody hasoffered to host for April or May. Zeninwill host the June business meeting.Treasurers report read by Brad andaccepted on a motion made by Al,seconded by Cam. V&CCorrespondence• The American Livebearers Associationhas asked us to help promote theirApril Convention. We will promote thisthrough our forum and our calendar.Committee ReportsNewsletter (Cam)• Deadline is March 15th FIRM.• Cam would like someone to summarizesome forum topics for publication.Webmaster (Phil)• A new marine Licensed Vendor is beingconsidered. He is affiliated with TrueLove Corals.• Phil will contact the other marinevendor who has been waiting for anopening and look at adding both.• Discussed the popularity of the marinesection and if it would be a positivemove to add new sub-sections.• Moderator review is coming. Somemoderators are not active enough.Program (Al)• April – Jerry Draper on BreedingTechniques• May – Frank Aguirre on Synodontis• June – KWAS Pizza Party/50th yearcelebrationsJune Meeting Suggestions• Cake with KWAS logo – Al to pursue• Zenin to pick six photos from the pastyear for publication• Ask Zenin to create a slide show –KWAS in review (how far back do wehave pictures?)• Looking for give aways (LFS?). A niceshow tank and a breeder tank set upwere suggested. Gift certificates alsosuggested.• Invite all Lifetime members – but willthey attend?14

Exchanges (Zenin)• Request from the Aquarium Club ofLancaster County in South-CentralPennsylvania to exchange newsletterwas accepted. February’s issue wassent.CAOAC (Phil)• Presidents Challenge 2010 – Bradmotioned to purchase a $101.00 giftcertificate (50 years for KWAS and 51years for CAOAC) from AquariumServices in Kitchener to be donated forthe CAOAC Convention. Seconded byCam. V&C• The letter from CAOAC (Bob Wright) tothe CFIA regarding proposedlegislation about importing fish wasdiscussed for awareness purposes.Membership (Mary Lynne)• One new member joined last month• Mary Lynne reports that we have lost21 memberships from 2009• Confirm that Family Membershipsmeet the criteria outlined in our bylawsAuction (open) - No reportLibrary (Terry)• Inventory completed. Some books thatwere not listed have been added.• April will be amnesty month for thosewho have overdue books. Terry willemail those who have items signed outand advise them to return them andavoid paying a fine.• Phil will email Terry a form letter andthe membership list.• Suggestion welcome – DVD’s (BluePlanet and/or National Geographic)would be of interest.Raffle (Katie)• Last months sales were low.HAP (Ed) - Nothing to reportBAP (Ryan)A P R I L 2 0 1 0• The American Cichlid Association isasking clubs for their cichlid BAPresults to create a database of cichlidspawnings.Name That Fish (Ed)• The Fish Bowl in Elmira has inquiredabout assisting us with donations. Alwill follow up.Show Jar (Dave Boehm)• Phil is getting Dave’s report and isforwarding it to Cam for publication.Lunch Counter (open)• Dave Bradley has been contacted to seeif he is able to run the lunch counter.No response to date so Al will followup.Pet Store Liaison (Zenin and Al)• Flyers are still moving quickly at localaquarium shops.• Zenin visited The Fish Bowl in Elmiraand posted photos on our forum.• Al is promoting our club to Ruffin’s inStratford.Old Business• We now have the CTV Oktoberfish clip.Cam suggested posting it to You Tubeand linking to our website.• All ten issues of our newsletter havebeen submitted for the FAAS Awards• Waterloo Inn Aquarium Maintenance –received one volunteer. Two morepeople are required especially for April.New Business• Upcoming elections of the Executivewill be held in May. Board of Directorswill be appointed in June. Please advisean Executive if you are interested inany position. We will post in the forumto reach as many members as possible.• Constitution review will be voted on atthe April General meeting. See page 10.Motion to close the meeting was made byCam. Seconded by Ryan. V&C at10:05pm.Letter to the EditorsTo the editors and contributors,I get several electronic versions of otherclub publications and for a great part theyare 'nice to have contacts' with other clubsand club members at a distance. Thatsaid, they are a fast scan and a quick readfor the most part. Once you flip past thevarious advertisements you can be donereading most issues in a few minutes.Having just tried that not-yet-patentedtechnique on the current Fins & Talesoffering, it’s obvious that’s just not gonnahappen. I got about mid-way throughand realized there was still way too muchcontent ahead yet to dismiss thisnewsletter so easily.This publication of ours truly is aworthwhile read and I'm going to have toset it down and pick it back up severalmore times until I've digested all it has tooffer.Kudos to all the contributors and editorswho play their role monthly. Thank you!- ReinThanks Rein for the kind words. We’d alsolike to extend another thank you to all thecontributors past and present. We just makethe words look pretty and put them into neatcolumns for printing. Not easy work, butcertainly not as hard as creating the words inthe first place.We’ve also lined up two new contributors forfuture issues by trolling the KWAS forums forneat threads (inspired by this month’s articleby Ryan about his DIY river tank). We’vediscovered that there are quite a few diamondsin the rough in the forum. So, please don’t besurprised if you get a PM from us asking for anewsletter article to be made out of yourexplanations or threads. Spying and beggingare not beneath us.Thanks again everyone!- Cam and Tanya 15

A P R I L 2 0 1 0Adventures in DIY – River TankArticle by Ryan Barton, KWAS (rabar10@yahoo.com). Photos by the author.Expanded from KWAS forum post “My 125 planted streamtank” in DIY section, Feb 2009:http://www.kwas.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=11510I have always been led to the more DIY aspects of the aquariumhobby, due to my love of tinkering and an educationalbackground in engineering. This is in contrast to mybiologically-inclined wife, who was the original fish-keeper andhobbyist, having even worked in an aquarium store severalyears ago. We originally hail from the States and spent severalyears in Indianapolis as members of the Circle City AquariumClub. For anyone who reads the CCAC's Fancy Fins newsletter,the February 2010 issue mentioned a certain 'Fish wives' club',and I think I was probably the first male inductee to thatorganization!When Kelli was admitted into veterinary school in Guelph, weknew that we would take at least part of our aquarium hobbywith us across the border. While we chose to divest ourselves ofthe rack of 8 tanks along one wall of our apartment, we agreedto bring our 125-gallon tank as well as some other smaller tanksand stands with us. We acquired the big 125 from a relative andhad it set up as a planted tank in Indianapolis with a Magnum350 canister filter and big Aquaclear HOB filter. Once I knewwe would be tearing it down, my mind started racing withdifferent possibilities on what to do with it once in Canada.I ran into some designs for stream or river tanks while perusingarticles and forum posts on the Internet, and particularlywww.loaches.com. These setups typically use long tanks andrecirculate the water from one end of the tank to the other viapowerheads and pipes or channels. This creates a constantcurrent-like flow of water through the tank, and whencombined with additional oxygenation of the water, theresulting environment is well-suited to fishes from cool, fastwatermountain streams.I was introduced to another novel aquarium concept during aninformal gathering at a local hobbyist's home in Indianapolis.Stephan Tanner introduced me and several others to a DIYsponge filter setup called the Hamburg-Mattenfilter. The filter'sGerman origin is clear from the name, and evidently the filterstyle is very popular among European hobbyists and breeders.A sheet of foam is placed across the entire cross-section of thetank. By moving water from one side of this foam “mat” to theother (typically with an air-powered lift tube), the tank volumeis slowly pumped through the foam sheet like a massive spongefilter. Other equipment like heaters and bulkheads can behidden behind the foam filter sheet, and filter cleaningmaintenance is greatly reduced due to the large filter area andvolume.As I sat there enjoying BBQ food and good company, it struckme: Why not combine the two designs? One could takeadvantage of the water movement of a river-manifold setup byplacing a Hamburg-style foam sheet across the tank and in thepath of the flow. This “sponge wall” could then be used toseparate one or more submersible pumps from the rest of thetank as well as to hide any additional equipment. With PVCreturn tubes buried in the substrate, a couple of risers withspray bars can return the water flow at the other end of thetank. This eliminates the need for additional canister or HOBfiltration, allowing the big tank to sit much closer to the walland take up less floor space. The master plan was comingtogether in my head, and I quite literally sketched out the ideaon the back of a napkin.At this point, all I could do was dream and wait. We weren'ttearing the tank down until a few days before the move, and allthe measurements and planning really needed an empty tankfor reference. I casually looked at pumps and PVC fittings, butthese thoughts were quickly pushed out by more pressingmatters related to moving ourselves and our pets to anothercountry. So, we eventually packed our things, tore the tankdown, and then moved everything to our new residence inGuelph.As an aside, I'd like to make a fairly obvious point here.Moving a 6-foot-long, 125-gallon aquarium constructed of 1/2”thick glass is a real pain! I would say pain in the backside, butthe pain wasn't restricted there―everything hurt after my wifeand I picked it up and carried it in one continuous step, out ofthe truck and up the slight hill in front of our place, up the fewsteps to the door, around a bend in the entryway, and finallyonto the waiting stand in our living room. At one point I askedmy wife if she wanted to stop for a few seconds to take a breakand adjust our grips. She said something to the effect of 'no, ifwe stop now we may not get started again!' In the style ofpolite Canadians everywhere, I've removed some expletivesthat made their way into the original phrase.16

A P R I L 2 0 1 0Once in place, the following days were taken up withunloading, unpacking, and settling in. Those days turned intoweeks and then months, as the few fish that were brought withus found their way into the smaller, easier-to-set-up tanks. I didmanage to mail-order some Poret open-cell foam from Stephan,but otherwise our “big screen aquarium” sat in the living room,empty and dejected. Who knew, tanks actually have feelings...Finally during the 2008 holiday break, I found time to really getthe project off of the ground.The massive 4” thick foam sheet was actually quite easy towork with. A straightedge and sharp knife were all that wasrequired to cut it to shape. Its rigidity meant that I could sizethe sheet to be slightly larger than the tank's internaldimensions, and it would hold itself in place quite securely.This was the first and easiest step to complete. I would cautionagainst using foam sheets or pieces that aren’t specifically madeor marked for use in an aquarium―foam designed for airfiltration may be impregnated with mold inhibiting chemicalsthat can wipe out aquarium fish.Next came the PVC manifold design. I decided that 3/4” PVCwould make a nice balance between size, ease of burying undersubstrate, and availability of parts at the local hardware store.After picking up a few T-junctions and elbows for measuringpurposes, I decided that I could fit 4 pipes down the length ofthe tank. The vertical connections to the pumps and risers ateach end could be made between the first and second, and thenthird and fourth pipes. Eight T-junctions, 4 elbows, and about25 feet of PVC pipe later, I had my manifold base dry-fitted intothe tank bottom. I cut slots for the manifold pipes into mysponge sheet so that it fit tightly down to the bottom tank glass.water at all through the tank itself. I looked for some backflowpreventingcheck valves in 3/4” PVC, but could not find anythat were small enough and had a low enough forwardpressure drop to work in this situation.This constraint led me to settle on using manual ball valves sothat I could isolate either pump from the manifold at will.Fortuitously, this also led to another significant designimprovement of the powered manifold system―active tankdraining. If I could keep a pump from supplying therecirculating manifold, then I could redirect its flow up and outof the tank and make water changes a heckuva-lot faster andeasier.I settled for a 3-valve setup. I placed one ball valve betweeneach of the 2 pump outlets and its manifold entry, and then athird valve formed a new vertical riser between the outlet of thepump closest to the front of the tank and a threaded PVC fittingwith screw-on end-cap, whose top remains below the tanksurface. I briefly considered putting this riser at the back of thetank, but in the end, ease-of-use outweighed aesthetics in mymind. Besides, I'm an engineer, I want to show off my work! Ibuilt a separate PVC drain adapter which, after the end-cap isunscrewed, screws into this riser and uses a faucet-style valvewith garden hose fitting at the top to carry water out of thetank.Now on to the pumps. I focused on units that were compatiblewith PVC fittings, and was looking for something with a fairlyhigh flow rate without breaking the bank. I finally settled ontwo Danner Supreme Mag-Drive 7 pumps, rated at 700GPHeach. I figured that in reality, I would probably get 600 gallonsper hour from each pump after losses in the plumbing. Thepumps had 1/2” male PVC fitting threads, so I used a threadedadapter and a short piece of 1/2” PVC to reach a 3/4” PVCadapter which connects to the rest of the plumbing.I decided to go with two pumps and two return spray-bars inthe design. Technically the manifold could have been created intwo halves, with each pump powering its own spray bar viatwo PVC pipes across the bottom of the tank. In the end Idecided to plumb them together, for the sake of structuralintegrity and ease of final placement and assembly more thananything else. But this design had one significant drawback―iffor whatever reason one of the pumps was not workingproperly, the second pump would simply push most of itswater backwards through the failing pump, rapidlyrecirculating water behind the sponge but not pushing muchI removed the stock foam pre-filters from the pump inlets. Iwanted to save them the embarrassment of sitting, near useless, 17

A P R I L 2 0 1 0next to the Great Wall of Foam in the tank. Yes, as it turns out,foam pre-filters have feelings too! I did, however, keep theplastic pump inlet guards in place, just in case some unluckyfish manages to jump the foam sheet and get to this side of thetank.My geeky math skills tell me that these pumps should turn overthe tank's 125 gallon water volume roughly 10 times per hour.Taking the tank cross-sectional area into account, if the flowmoves evenly through the foam filter sheet, it would travelthrough it at just under 1/4” per second. It's amusing to thinkabout how much more water movement is in this tankcompared to most other freshwater tanks, but at the same timehow it's one or two orders of magnitude less than a river or ashallow, fast-moving stream-bed. Nature may often beimitated, but it is never really duplicated.For the final assembly steps, I cemented the base PVC manifoldpieces together after the dry fit. Thank goodness it still fit intothe tank after this step! Then I added the riser pieces for thespray bars and pump inlets at either end. After playing arounda bit, I finalized the pump layout to minimize space behind thesponge but also keep the pump intakes as low as possible. Thepump housings were placed down onto spare pieces of foam inan attempt to limit vibration coupling and noise. As a sidebenefitto this, I now have room to press down on the pumpbody to separate the pump from its manifold at the short, noncemented1/2” PVC joining piece. This would be useful forpump servicing or replacement if needed.to be shorter than the other, the bottom spray bar leans in a bitto pass in front of the riser for the upper bar.Now let's make one thing clear―I can play around with sometank filtration stuff, but when it comes to the inhabitants andoverall tank style, my wife still dictated the terms. Yes, dear, itwill still be a planted tank! We reused our old CO2-injectionequipment, which consisted of a small CO2 tank, Milwaukeeregulator, and pH monitoring system with cutoff solenoidvalve. Previously, the intake to our Magnum 350 canister filtermade for a convenient CO2 reactor to dissolve and disperse theCO2 into the tank water. For this new setup, I fed the CO2 intoone of the pump intakes. The pump's impeller and the 6 feet ofPVC manifold pipe make for a good reactor as well. Once air ispurged from the system, only occasional tiny bubbles are visiblecoming out of the spray bars. I also fed the CO2 into the pumpaligned with the lower spray bar, so the majority of the CO2 isinjected into the base of the tank and not close to the surface.To finish off the remaining tank “hardware”, I filled the gapsbetween the PVC manifold tubes with Eco-Complete substrateand then placed a few mounted driftwood pieces on top. Afterthese slate pieces were covered with a final layer of substrate, itssurface ended up about 3” above the tank base. Tank lightingcomes from two 36” dual-96-watt power-compact fixtures fromthe States.For the outlet spray bars, I placed end-caps on two 3/4” PVCpipe sections and then drilled twelve ¼” holes along the lengthof each. The two spray bar risers are at different heights, so onespray bar end up being 6” from the gravel and the other isabout 6” from the top of the tank. The spray bars themselvesaren't cemented in place, so they can be twisted around, orremoved to be cleaned or replaced if needed. Since the risersaren't at the very corners of the tank and I didn't want one barOnce the tank was filled up, we started filling the tank in withsome plants from Big Al's as well as a nice plant kit from Ed“sucker4plecos” Koerner. After a few weeks of cycling, someBristlenose plecos moved in, and then a colony of 50 cardinaltetra took up residence a couple of weeks later.As far as initial impressions go, the first thing that strikes me isthat those Mag-Drive units are loud! They are mainly designedfor ponds, and while they aren't overly loud by themselves, itreally doesn't help that they are coupled via rigid PVC pipe tothe manifold and then the bottom glass of the tank. They arealso somewhat inefficient, consuming about 70 watts each 2418

A P R I L 2 0 1 0hours per day. Once I fitted some Coroplast lids to the tank top,the tank temperature started rising fast! I now have to keep onelid propped up to allow for airflow and evaporation, whichcools the tank back down to about 78 degrees in winter and 81degrees in summer without any additional heating. Because ofthe higher water temperature, the tank isn't perfectly suited tospecies from cool-water mountain streams after all.In terms of plants, we have found that the tank space near thespray bars is well-suited to shorter plants like smallerCryptocoryne species and Anubias plants. The long, flowingValisneria work well along the tank's back wall, where there isactually some counter-flow back towards the spray bars. I thinkthis is because of the lower spray bar leaning out towards thefront glass a bit. We also found quickly that the glass andplumbing behind the big sponge quickly grew over with algae.Floating plants are now used on that side of the tank to reducethe light penetrating into the water and keep the algae levelsdown. I just scoop out some excess floaters any time that I do awater change on the tank.Speaking of water changes, they have become dirt-simple withthe vertical riser and garden-hose adapter. I turn a couple ofvalves, unplug one of the pumps (to prevent a waterfall effectinside the tank when the level drops), and it only takes 10minutes or so to drop the tank volume by half. I do these 50%water changes every 3 to 4 weeks now, which is much betterthan when we were in Indianapolis and it took siphons to drainthe tank. Some mulm and detritus collects on and around thepumps in the area behind the sponge, so I use a spare PVC tubeto stir it up while the tank is being pumped out. This is reallythe only mechanical filtration or “filter cleaning” that I haveever done on the tank.So how has the Great Wall of Foam fared? The sponge became'dirty' pretty quickly after the plants and fish took up residence,but after over a year, it has not yet collected enough crud toimpede water flow. There might be a 1-millimeter difference inwater level between the two sides of the tank now. Ammoniaand nitrite levels in the tank remain undetectable even afterchanges in the fish load.There is one down-side to the current setup. The large porosityof the 4” Poret foam that I chose combined with the fairly fastwater flow means that fine particulate filtration isn’t the best.A couple of weeks after a water change, small particles arevisible suspended in the moving tank water. The issue is moreevident after a water change, where the water itself looksnoticeably clearer. I'm sure that slowing the tank flow wouldhelp with this, as would using a finer porosity sponge or someadditional mechanical filtration of some sort. But for now Ican't be bothered to change anything.Now that I've finished this project and lived with it for over ayear, if I were to repeat it there are a few things that I would dodifferently:• Use plastic or rubber tubing to couple the pumps to the PVCmanifold. I think this would go a long way to reducing noiseby preventing pump vibrations from coupling to the tank.• Move the CO2 inlet past the pump impeller to reduce bubblenoise. A piece of rigid air tubing could be placed into themanifold after the pump output and directed with the waterflow so that it creates a venturi effect and sucks CO2 into themanifold. I think the water movement in the manifold itselfwould do a great job of dissolving CO2 into water beforebeing sprayed out into tank.• Find more efficient pumps, so that heat isn't as much of anissue. A newer stream tank design found online uses a largerecirculating channel at the back of the tank, fed by anefficient propellor-based powerhead designed for movingwater around in marine tanks.• To really cater to species native to mountain streams such asthose in the Hillstream Loach family, reduce the plant loadand lighting and substitute the CO2 injection system with anair pump to increase dissolved oxygen content in the water.Overall, I have greatly enjoyed designing, building, andviewing the results of my DIY river tank system. It was a funlearning experience, and I hope that others might take away afew DIY ideas to roll into projects of their own. - RyanSpeaking of fish load, the tank's current occupants now includea colony of 9 clown loaches, a couple of angelfish, Cardinal andother tetra species, one large common pleco, several bristlenoseplecos, and various Corydoras. Frankly, I'm surprised at howmuch time the angelfish will spend close to the spray baroutlets―I was worried that they wouldn't care for the fastmovingwater, but quite frankly they don't seem to mind at all.Other plants that we have kept in the tank include Limnophilasessilflora, Sagitaria and Ludwigia species, sunset Hygro, Bacopamonnieri, a dwarf water lily, and lots of Java ferns. While somestring algae may appear on the stem plants occasionally, theonly other algae with significant presence would be the blackbeardstuff―it loves the spray bar outlet holes and the Anubiasleaves and roots near the high water flow. 19

A P R I L 2 0 1 0Come to our meetings. We love to have guests.KWAS meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month from September until June at the Adult Rec. Centre at 185 King St. South inWaterloo (corner of King and Allen). We meet on the second floor in the large multi-purpose room from 7:30 to 10pm. Join Us!Guests are welcome any time.Bring your friends and showthem what our club is allabout!MeetingParking20