Aquarium Tips

I've had aquariums for years, and trust me I've made all the mistakes. I've been a student of the hobby and I've tried my best to help others learn from my mistakes. I've studied as much as I could to keep from making more mistakes but things happen.

The one thing I've learned most is that SO OFTEN people refuse to listen to advice. "Oh well I've been keeping a tank with no water changes and it does fine." Then when the tank crashes they refuse to believe it's because they wouldn't clean it. Or the people who clean the ENTIRE tank out EVERYTIME and then don't understand why they can't keep fish alive for more than a few weeks.

Here's what I've learned and you can take it or leave it.

FRESHWATER TANKS ONLY

*Aquariums need to CYCLE.( see cycle info here http://www.whichfishtank.com/FishAquariumCycle.html) It takes anywhere from 6-10 weeks for a tank to cycle depending. You can't add all your fish as soon as you set the aquarium up. You have to CYCLE the tank FIRST. Also, CHLORINE must be removed from water every time water is added. 

* If you take all the water out of your tank and refill it you RESTART the cycle. 25-30% at a time is recommended unless there are serious problems. My rule of thumb: I change 1/3 of my tanks. 10g tanks I change once a week, 20g tanks every two weeks, 30 tanks every three weeks  so forth.  I add AQUARIUM salt to my tanks with each change.

* There is usually a BIO FILTER in your filter. Some have a sponge like part in front of the replaceable filters or a wheel. The bacterial colony lives in that and you should NEVER clean that with chlorine water. IF it needs to be cleared up a bit use water from the tank to clean it.

* Take care in adding things to your tank. When adding new fish quarantine them in a separate tank first. Do NOT add water from other tanks to your tank. Pour the bagged fish out over a net into a bowl so that the fish is in the net and the fish store water is in the bowl NOT your tank.

Quarantine any new live plants as well. 

Adding too many fish to your aquarium at once will cause a spike in ammonia/waste. It is recommended to add fish in small amounts over time. Rule of thumb they say is 1 inch of fish per gallon but some fish create more waste than others. Goldfish should have a MINIMUM of 5 g per fish. Preferably 10g per goldfish. Also take into consideration the ADULT size of the fish. Many fish you see in the store are juveniles and have yet to reach their full size. So that cute little one inch fish could grow to be over a foot long! Research a fish before adding it to your tank. I had one small fish ( less than two inches) that could kill fish 3 times its size. 

I'm sure there's plenty more I could add but at this time I seem to have run dry on ideas :) More later!

Island of Trash

There is an island of trash being built by us every day.
No lie.

1,600 kilometres west of the coast of California is polluted area being called "the garbage patch".
Ocean currents are pushing plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other "disposable" trash of all sorts into this area forming a sort of floating islandS of trash.

Thats islandS. Plural.

Bad enough to think this is happening to the ocean in just the scenic sense but also the animals are suffering in so many ways. Many of the shiny pieces are just so tempting to the birds and fish. Seagulls have been found with lighters in their stomachs. The plastics break down into toxic sand like parts eaten by filter feeders and going up the food chain from there. Building up toxins in the food chain. Many animals like turtles and such may starve to death while having a stomach full of waste they've filled up on but cant digest.

Do you part to clean up this mess. Don't leave trash on the beach. Don't dump things overboard. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

One more "r" Research.
Find ways to help save the environment each day in your life.

Grey water for a green earth

Ever heard of "greywater"?
I had not until about a year ago. Greywater is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing. Greywater comprises 50-80% of residential wastewater. NOTE this is NOT water from toilet waste. Toilet waste water is called blackwater.




I like the idea of it I simply don't have the means at hand to build a system myself.
But its a good green topic to have a look at. Reusing greywater serves two purposes: it reduces the amount of freshwater needed to supply a household, and reduces the amount of waste water entering sewer or septic systems. In some states it is necessary to obtain permits before installing a greywater system.

Grey water can be used to water lawns and gardens. There are even some ways to reuse greywater to flush the toilet rather than using perfectly good fresh drinking water to do so but that takes some serious setup to be sure the greywater doesnt backsiphon into the freshwater lines.
Below are some links to more info on greywater and the ways to setup treatment and irrigation systems using it.

http://www.greywateralliance.org/
http://www.greywater.com/
http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/
http://greywaterfacts.com/index.html