Glad you created this thread wildwest! Now I just need to get pictures from my computer to my phone, where I post from.
I've always wanted a cold water aquarium and a couple native brook trout. They are beautiful creatures! But you need a steady current in the tank and a way to keep the water cold for them to flourish..... I had guppies when I was little, those things bred like rabbits! Always had baby guppies in the tank, until the swordtails would eat them......
Brook trout would be really cool! I've often thought about doing a "local freshwater fish" aquarium with smallmouth bass, green sunfish and channel cats.
We had baby largemouth and crappie in my buddys aquarium when we were younger......used to feed them all kind of stuff like crayfish and minnows, they were vicious creatures, neat to watch. You could dimple your finger on the water and watch the bass zero in and he'd strike it!!
I had a baby gar I caught by hand, Steve Irwin style even, in a small 20 gallon long tank I quickly set up. He ate like a pig while I had him. He would make short work of bait minnows. I was going to pimp his tank out, and he jumped out. I didn't find him in time. I guess if I ever get another gar, a screen top is necessary.
The city water plant at my old home had a cold water setup, brought in native fish every year or so, then released them when they grew. The current was tremendous! IIRC, it came in untreated from the lake (freezing cold), through the tank then into the treatment plant. Quite a set up, I couldn't even guess the gpm.
Shopped my brains out for a new set up last week (via the internet). WOW new ones are expensive! Put an "if someone offers" on my local exchange group and bingo! A gal has one to offer (free). I'll have to gather the pieces & parts to make it run but its a good start
Can anyone solicit advice on filtration? All the new technology boggles my brain. I had a frontosa tank with penguin 300's, they did ok, but cleaning the pads probably won't work for me now. I have an ancient fluval canister that I could rebuild? Not fan of sumps, (I won't be doing salt). I know undergravels, but questioning those in my new house, running hoses and pythons not as easy as my old home.... As well as the decibles, for pump or powerheads, it's already noisy in here with the pellet stove and humidifier running 24/7. Thanks for any thoughts!!
I used to run aquaclear pumps quite happily. If you go with undergravel, make sure you get a pump significantly bigger than your tank would otherwise require.
Power head tech has gotten very good, and very quiet, silent basically, and energy efficient too. You could use a sump on a fw tank too I do think an algal scrubber of some sort, hang on refugium maybe? It's a wise idea. There is this type too. http://www.santa-monica.cc/HOG5-Han...ube-feeding-per-day--MAGNET-VERSION_p_21.html
Mitch, that is one beautiful planted tank. Do you dose or inject? What plants are those I see? Are you a member of plantedtank.net? *edit* Aha ha! Just saw that your beautiful planted tank is a background sheet. Oh well, colour me embarassed
Hey Wildwest. Those that are hardcore will try to get you to part $$$'s for an Ehiem, but a Filstar will work just as well, just as quiet. These are filters that are enclosed in a canister outside your tank.