. Looks pretty good atm despite the difficulties as you mentioned. The nitrates are in a good range too. With that reasonably big stocking though how many stealth water changes do you have to do to keep up with the nitrates?
Thank you! I won't be entering it into any tank of the month contests, but it definitely looks better than it did. Live plants help so much.Amazing job you've done on that tank
I think the mollies are probably the biggest waste producers in there, and with 57 gallons, the amount of BB in the substrate, the additional filtration and the plants I've added, it handles it well. Weekly water changes are usually enough, but with the amount of larger fry in there now, it needs it a little closer to every 5 days. I've been medicating the tanks for worms so it's had two changes this week and will have a third tonight. Luckily I don't mind doing them. Plus then I can remove a load of young fish to go to the store at last, which will help with the over stocking.
Quite a few years ago he also had a tropical fish tank, am guessing maybe a 120l tank that had likely to be soft water since is in Scotland and in that tank he had platies, mollies, neons, tiger barbs, a couple of small plecos or cories (can’t remember tbh) oh and guppies
Fake plants and cheap decor with mid to fine gravel substrate.
Water changes were once every 3 weeks or once a month depending on his mood, filter maintenance non existent and somehow the mollies as well as the platies bred and some fry survived.
the mind boggles!!
But actually, that was the norm for those days back then so dad can’t really be blamed for all that and still to this day he still thinks all that was quite correct despite my explanations and seeing my tanks which he has seen quite a few times and still he asks why do I change the water every week and I explain wearily and yet “waste of time and water!” he says every time!
Some you win, some you lose! Heh
I've given up explaining why water changes are needed now too. He seemed to accept it a little bit when I showed him nitrate results with the API kit and compared mine to his, and said that the red meant it needed a water change, so when he grumbles when he sees a water change I just say "nitrates were high" and he usually accepts it. I can tell he still doesn't like it or quite trust it, but he's not arguing it so much.
Very! That's exactly how his filter was laid out too, a bunch of charcoal along the bottom, filter floss on top. And charcoal that hadn't been changed, so was useless too.
Yep, he's done this. I mentioned to you before I think that during dry spells before, he's topped off the rain barrel from the hosepipe and left it uncovered to let the chlorine air off, and remember him doing the same with buckets of water when I was a kid.
Aaaww, thank you! And he raised me to look for answers in books, and to give the best animal care possible, we always had a lot of pets when I was growing up, and still have a fair amount between my parents and I. So really, I'm just doing what he taught me to do
Then tell him to move with the times himself. He’s an old dog and there’s new tricks to be learnt. Get him researching this stuff.Yep, he's done this. I mentioned to you before I think that during dry spells before, he's topped off the rain barrel from the hosepipe and left it uncovered to let the chlorine air off, and remember him doing the same with buckets of water when I was a kid.
I think he's become more resistant about water changes as he's aged than he used to be, I remember helping to gravel vac his tanks sometimes as a kid, because I found that really fun and sorta magical the way dirt would be sucked up the syphon but the gravel wasn't. My mum also remembers the old days pretty well and has said they certainly did plenty of water changes when they had the shop, but she usually got stuck with them, lol. But that belief that water changes cause harm is definitely ingrained in his brain, and he still thinks that carbon is essential. He just never removes or looks inside the filter, lol.
His tank most certainly had old tank syndrome, he had a bad crash some years ago before I knew much about tanks; just remember him telling me about so many die offs, and he didn't know what was wrong, but was probably not inclined to do water changes I'd imagine, since he thought they stress and harm the fish. He was very upset and frustrated, and thought about giving up the tank then. It's just looking back at it now I assume that's probably what happened. And it had old tank syndrome for sure when I first took it over and got sky high nitrate readings, hence the gradual spaced out smaller water changes before I dared to do a large one.
It's pretty fascinating really to see how much the hobby has changed in the last 30-50 years, and I do feel better about the tank knowing that he was doing his best according to the knowledge he had. It was a different time.
Aaaww, thank you! And he raised me to look for answers in books, and to give the best animal care possible, we always had a lot of pets when I was growing up, and still have a fair amount between my parents and I. So really, I'm just doing what he taught me to do
LOL! Well, he won't be browsing the internet, he struggles with the cordless phone at times. But a nice new, up to date book with some beautiful aquarium photos might make a great Christmas gift for him! Educational, but an innocent gift...
I love that people are sharing their experiences with the tanks they grew up with! And the old guard lectures on our dangerous water changing ways, lol. I don't think anyone could look at your beautiful healthy planted tanks and thriving fish, and claim that you must be doing something wrong. Your tanks are an orgy of evidence to the contrary.
What did the great bi-annual cleaning involve doing?
