Simplify or simply quit?

[oafish]

I'm at a bit of a crossroads and, to keep it short on the underlying reasoning for what is to follow (this is not short!), I struggle a lot with focus, distraction, perfectionism, and to a degree that I easily overload and overwhelm myself with tasks / jobs / hobbies etc. This year I'm making a concerted effort to free up mental capacity and reduce stress by focussing on fewer things, and simplifying them so that I can do them well. Fishkeeping is one of those things I am now considering to drop or to keep and simplify (if possible).

After a few years of keeping tropical fish, my current position is that I am down to three Congo Tetras and one beautiful Caqueta Gold Eartheater (called Rio) who has been with me since the start. My tank is 240L and is now looking rather empty and so it's a good time to decide if I rehome the fish and sell up / give away the equipment, or if I restock and keep going.

Some thoughts on the things that are a challenge for me at the moment (mainly water changes):

1. I'd love to get rid of RODI. When I started I received lots of advice that I need RODI because my tap water has 40ppm nitrate, and that this is not safe for the fish, instead to target 20ppm or ideally 10 and under. Now I wonder if this advice was misleading. A blog post I read a while back had a literature review called "nitrate in depth" which concluded from the academic texts reviewed that even 80ppm is not anything to worry about (in respect of health of the fish). Maybe I should just go back to using tap water then. Thoughts?
2. Are there alternative simpler (e.g. quicker / easier) "non-RODI" ways that would reduce or remove nitrates (*not plants) and as such eliminate the need to wait hours for a big RODI tub to fill up, then having to remineralise and reheat and pump back to the aquarium?
3. I've seen things like auto drip / auto water changers, which for me would have to use a tub under the tank because I have no water supply or drain near to the location of the tank (front room). Are they any good, do they actually simplify things are is it just adding more tasks?
4. Do any of these "de-nitrification" resins and liquids work, so maybe I can use tap and then add these to my filter, or directly in the water? FYI, I have tried the Pozzani filter in the past and it was not an effective solution for me, either in speed or effectiveness.

*Now I know some readers are screaming out "PLANTS" while reading the above. I understand the benefits of plants and I know many love plants and would want to convince me to try them but I'm just being honest with myself (and you), in that I don't have an interest in plants and I know I won't maintain them properly, which means they will just become another pain point for me, so plants are out.

This week I removed the plastic decorations / plastic plants as they were a bit old anyway and this removes another task of bleaching / cleaning / rinsing them when required. The tank now has just a very fine gravel substrate and a few big sculptural pieces of driftwood, which looks nice and has the added benefit of now being easier and faster to clean around the tank (glass and gravel). It does however highlight the distinct lack of fish in the tank, which prompted this post....

If you made it to the end of this waffle then thanks and well done. Any thoughts or suggestions welcome.

 

[MaloK]

Denitrification is a touchy subject, because it occurs naturally only in quite precise conditions. The easiest way is done with plants, lots of them. or special filtration conditions by bacteria. That requires a lots of physical modification until the filtration system is able to cope with both: A very slow water movement and a really long delay between disturbance.

If took in account nitrate is the real ruler of overstocking. I can run leisure tanks for years without problems or even changing too much water.

Some fishes while unethical have proven to be able to stand nearly unlimited nitrate level... Platies and mollies I've seen. This is not the case with others. Many interesting invertebrates are near 0.

This is where "the hobbyist" decides the level of maintenance he want to cope with "outside emergencies"... Adequately and sensitively stocked and filtrated aquariums can become surprisingly self sustaining environment... You might have to get used to have a lesser populated tank...

But as long as the interest is there... No matter how many plans your brain concocts, Keep the imagination working, Choose the most important for your well being and the most productive for your interests... But never stop making plans. it's where the good ideas comes from.

If you try to slow down an hyperactive brain... You are going to miss a lot. Let it boil, Choose wisely.

Being a jack of all trade is really a good thing. don't need to be master of none.

 

[gwand]

I'm at a bit of a crossroads and, to keep it short on the underlying reasoning for what is to follow (this is not short!), I struggle a lot with focus, distraction, perfectionism, and to a degree that I easily overload and overwhelm myself with tasks / jobs / hobbies etc. This year I'm making a concerted effort to free up mental capacity and reduce stress by focussing on fewer things, and simplifying them so that I can do them well. Fishkeeping is one of those things I am now considering to drop or to keep and simplify (if possible).

After a few years of keeping tropical fish, my current position is that I am down to three Congo Tetras and one beautiful Caqueta Gold Eartheater (called Rio) who has been with me since the start. My tank is 240L and is now looking rather empty and so it's a good time to decide if I rehome the fish and sell up / give away the equipment, or if I restock and keep going.

Some thoughts on the things that are a challenge for me at the moment (mainly water changes):

1. I'd love to get rid of RODI. When I started I received lots of advice that I need RODI because my tap water has 40ppm nitrate, and that this is not safe for the fish, instead to target 20ppm or ideally 10 and under. Now I wonder if this advice was misleading. A blog post I read a while back had a literature review called "nitrate in depth" which concluded from the academic texts reviewed that even 80ppm is not anything to worry about (in respect of health of the fish). Maybe I should just go back to using tap water then. Thoughts?
2. Are there alternative simpler (e.g. quicker / easier) "non-RODI" ways that would reduce or remove nitrates (*not plants) and as such eliminate the need to wait hours for a big RODI tub to fill up, then having to remineralise and reheat and pump back to the aquarium?
3. I've seen things like auto drip / auto water changers, which for me would have to use a tub under the tank because I have no water supply or drain near to the location of the tank (front room). Are they any good, do they actually simplify things are is it just adding more tasks?
4. Do any of these "de-nitrification" resins and liquids work, so maybe I can use tap and then add these to my filter, or directly in the water? FYI, I have tried the Pozzani filter in the past and it was not an effective solution for me, either in speed or effectiveness.

*Now I know some readers are screaming out "PLANTS" while reading the above. I understand the benefits of plants and I know many love plants and would want to convince me to try them but I'm just being honest with myself (and you), in that I don't have an interest in plants and I know I won't maintain them properly, which means they will just become another pain point for me, so plants are out.

This week I removed the plastic decorations / plastic plants as they were a bit old anyway and this removes another task of bleaching / cleaning / rinsing them when required. The tank now has just a very fine gravel substrate and a few big sculptural pieces of driftwood, which looks nice and has the added benefit of now being easier and faster to clean around the tank (glass and gravel). It does however highlight the distinct lack of fish in the tank, which prompted this post....

If you made it to the end of this waffle then thanks and well done. Any thoughts or suggestions welcome.

I use this nitrate binding filter. You plumb it into the sink you will use for water exchange. The filter is good for about a year. The filter takes my well water nitrate level from 30 ppm to 0 ppm. The drawback is you can only run the faucet at one gallon every 4 minutes. You also have to purchase the housing.
To determine how many gallons of water can be filtered, we need to convert the resin's nitrate binding capacity from grains to a more compatible unit (like milligrams) and then use the nitrate concentration of the well water. The company expressed it in grains.
Here's the step-by-step calculation:

1. Convert the resin's capacity from grains to milligrams (mg): A "grain" is a unit of mass. 1 grain = 64.79891 milligrams (mg)
   Resin capacity = 1250 grains Capacity in mg = 1250 grains × 64.79891 mg/grain = 80,998.6375 mg of nitrate
2. Understand the nitrate concentration in the well water: The well water has a nitrate concentration of 10 ppm (parts per million). 1 ppm is equivalent to 1 milligram per liter (mg/L) for water. So, the well water contains 10 mg of nitrate per liter (10 mg/L).
3. Calculate the total volume of water in liters (L): Volume (L) = Total nitrate capacity (mg) / Nitrate concentration (mg/L) Volume (L) = 80,998.6375 mg / 10 mg/L = 8,099.86375 L
4. Convert the volume from liters to gallons: There are approximately 3.78541 liters in 1 U.S. gallon. Volume (gallons) = Volume (L) / 3.78541 L/gallon Volume (gallons) = 8,099.86375 L / 3.78541 L/gallon ≈ 2139.77 gallons

Therefore, i can filter approximately 2140 gallons of your tap water before the resin cartridge becomes saturated.

Aries Filter Works AF-10-3610-BB 4.5'' x 10'' Nitrate Reduction Filter

www.servapure.com

 

[AJ356]

I'm at a bit of a crossroads and, to keep it short on the underlying reasoning for what is to follow (this is not short!), I struggle a lot with focus, distraction, perfectionism, and to a degree that I easily overload and overwhelm myself with tasks / jobs / hobbies etc. This year I'm making a concerted effort to free up mental capacity and reduce stress by focussing on fewer things, and simplifying them so that I can do them well. Fishkeeping is one of those things I am now considering to drop or to keep and simplify (if possible).

After a few years of keeping tropical fish, my current position is that I am down to three Congo Tetras and one beautiful Caqueta Gold Eartheater (called Rio) who has been with me since the start. My tank is 240L and is now looking rather empty and so it's a good time to decide if I rehome the fish and sell up / give away the equipment, or if I restock and keep going.

Some thoughts on the things that are a challenge for me at the moment (mainly water changes):

1. I'd love to get rid of RODI. When I started I received lots of advice that I need RODI because my tap water has 40ppm nitrate, and that this is not safe for the fish, instead to target 20ppm or ideally 10 and under. Now I wonder if this advice was misleading. A blog post I read a while back had a literature review called "nitrate in depth" which concluded from the academic texts reviewed that even 80ppm is not anything to worry about (in respect of health of the fish). Maybe I should just go back to using tap water then. Thoughts?
2. Are there alternative simpler (e.g. quicker / easier) "non-RODI" ways that would reduce or remove nitrates (*not plants) and as such eliminate the need to wait hours for a big RODI tub to fill up, then having to remineralise and reheat and pump back to the aquarium?
3. I've seen things like auto drip / auto water changers, which for me would have to use a tub under the tank because I have no water supply or drain near to the location of the tank (front room). Are they any good, do they actually simplify things are is it just adding more tasks?
4. Do any of these "de-nitrification" resins and liquids work, so maybe I can use tap and then add these to my filter, or directly in the water? FYI, I have tried the Pozzani filter in the past and it was not an effective solution for me, either in speed or effectiveness.

*Now I know some readers are screaming out "PLANTS" while reading the above. I understand the benefits of plants and I know many love plants and would want to convince me to try them but I'm just being honest with myself (and you), in that I don't have an interest in plants and I know I won't maintain them properly, which means they will just become another pain point for me, so plants are out.

This week I removed the plastic decorations / plastic plants as they were a bit old anyway and this removes another task of bleaching / cleaning / rinsing them when required. The tank now has just a very fine gravel substrate and a few big sculptural pieces of driftwood, which looks nice and has the added benefit of now being easier and faster to clean around the tank (glass and gravel). It does however highlight the distinct lack of fish in the tank, which prompted this post....

If you made it to the end of this waffle then thanks and well done. Any thoughts or suggestions welcome.

I'll come back to the rest of your post/thread, but 40ppm Nitrate IS safe for fish and I get sick of reading otherwise.

Edit: and not only is it safe, fish are perfectly able to thrive in it and reach their full potential. Years ago, I had all the research on this in a folder, but gone now.