Contact me at: rrcp@mts.net or by phone 204.878.2524

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Lots of stuff goes on in this shop, located in Lorette, Manitoba.

Primarily it's the building and repair of classic wood & canvas canoes, and the making of premium canoe paddles. I also do custom boat building, composite fabrication, and special projects. A growing passion of mine is the making of classical guitars, I'll post about that, too.


I want to be able to share with my clients the progress of their commissioned work. Later I started thinking that there might be other people who are interested in what goes on inside a wooden canoe shop operated by an artist and a recovering teacher.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me by email, phone, or by post. My mailing address is:

Red River Canoe & Paddle
24249 River Rd
Lorette, Manitoba
Canada
R5K 0Z6




Sunday 28 October 2012

I've been running this tank in my dining room for a few years now, but it had always been a kind of catch-all.  Last week I decided that enough was enough!  Time to get serious and have this tank be "something".

I have increasingly  become a fan of lots of wood in the tanks.  Not just a few giant pieces, or a few small pieces, but lots of branches in a twisty tangled kind of way inspired by looking at some of the videos that can be found on youtube, especially the "fishfromvenezuala" channel.  For example, this one about the Diamond Tetra (you cans see the look that I like about 1:30 in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n00Hgzi1Js&playnext=1&list=PLA57F93B4145ADAFD&feature=results_video

Over the summer I had bee collecting interesting branches from around the yard and left them to soak in a large plywood tank that I use as a kind of outdoor pond/tank.  I also had a surplus of Giant Vallesneria and decide to use it as the only plant species for the tank.

Last Saturday I emptied the tank and reset it as a "Natural Planted Tank".  I am a fan of this low-tech approach and I am having the best success with it compared to any other approach that I have ever used and I've been at this for decades.  So, everything out, then in.  I kept the water as I emptied it, so everything went right back in, including the fish, and I was done withing a few hours.  No new tank syndrome to speak of as the plants and driftwood were thoroughly colonized with bacteria already, and 75% of the water was the old tank water.

Fish in here are 4 Blue Acaras, 3 Pristilla Tetras (which I've had for 2-3 years now), and one Festivum.  I would like to add a school of Diamond Tetras as they are often found along with the Blue Acaras, and a school of Corydoras.

One simple HOB filter for particulates and water movement, and a 2 bulb 48" shop light are all that are driving this tank.  I may add a bit more lighting, but will wait to see how the plants do over the next couple of months.  These Vals are pretty tough.

I'm really liking the look!


 
 
 
 
 
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