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melanie
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| Posted: Jan 24 2008 at 12:26pm | IP Logged
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We had a friend give us an aquarium. It's not huge, a 10 gallon I think? and we are going to get it set up here soon...I was thinking, instead of putting fish in it, if it would be more fun to fill it with creatures from the nearby creek,,,snails, crawdads, tadpoles, that kind of thing. Has anyone done this? I've never had an aquarium of any kind before so I'm kind of igorant about them. Would I use the same filter to keep it clean that came with the tank? Or would the snails and such keep it pretty clean? Or would I need to clean it out periodically? Would it need to be heated? Can I just use dechlorinated tap water to fill it? Do I ask enough questions? 
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Jan 24 2008 at 12:41pm | IP Logged
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I forget, Melanie, where do you live?
The thing is, if it is a coldwater creek like ours here, you would need a chiller, which is pretty pricy. If it is a warm pond or creek, then it should work fine. I would still use a filter and aerator, though. Snails will help keep the sides clean of algae, but you'll still need to filter the water to keep toxins from building up.
Dechlorinated tap water works fine to fill it. Some folks swear by "seeding" the water with pond water, but I'm kind of non-committal on that!LOL! I think it depends on the health of your pond.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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melanie
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| Posted: Jan 24 2008 at 4:59pm | IP Logged
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I live in northwest Arkansas. How can you tell if it's a coldwater creek or warm water? :) It's cold right now...it's warm in the summer...lol. It's just rain run off I think....
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Jan 24 2008 at 6:02pm | IP Logged
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Ah! See, the difference is that here the creeks are cold year round. In the summer there is a significant difference between air and water temps, with water temps remaining at approx 55-60 degrees. The organisms that live in these streams (also known as trout streams) are very sensitive to temperature rise and suffer stress if subjected to warm temps, so they cannot live in the typical aquarium.
If your stream is warm in the summer, and is just rain runoff, then it would probably be fine to use the critters in a typical aquarium.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Jan 24 2008 at 8:35pm | IP Logged
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Couple of thoughts...
You could maintain the tank with plants most of the time, and put your creek-finds in it temporarily. Or, you could make a pond tank, if there is a pond nearby, which is not quite so difficult to keep as a creek tank. There are wonderful instructions and descriptions in Lorenz' King Solomon's Ring. In fact, Lorenz claims that a good pond tank will never need feeding or cleaning, and is self contained and self regulating. I don't know how well it would work as I have not tried it (marine tanks are my specialty). Have fun!
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MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
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melanie
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| Posted: Jan 26 2008 at 7:09pm | IP Logged
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Ok, thanks! I think we'll give it a shot, at least once it gets warm again and we see some critters come back. I'll check out King Solomon's Ring in the meantime.
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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JoBeth in OH
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| Posted: Feb 20 2008 at 7:01pm | IP Logged
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MacBeth wrote:
| There are wonderful instructions and descriptions in Lorenz' King Solomon's Ring. In fact, Lorenz claims that a good pond tank will never need feeding or cleaning, and is self contained and self regulating. I don't know how well it would work as I have not tried it (marine tanks are my specialty). Have fun! |
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Thanks for the aquarium and book recommendations. We had been planning on setting up a "wild" aquarium this spring; sounds like just what we needed.
I wiki'd Konrad Lorenz, author of King Solomon's Ring. His picture with the goslings trailing behind him was in my favorite girlhood animal book. Finding out he's a popular author is like becoming reacquainted with a childhood friend. I can't wait for the library to send me the book!
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: aquarium ideas
