Why do we use Imperial units here?

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Why do we use Imperial units here?
I will get in trouble for saying this but it's because people are too stupid to use metric :)

In reality we use both here because some of our members live in a funny country where they didn't want to use the British system so they made their own, which was based on the British Imperial units, but it had to be different. Meanwhile the rest of the world found out metric was fun to use.
 
I guess I tend to still think of my tanks as 48x15x12 inches, I can easily visualise that. What is a little mystifying to me, is the trend to talk about tank size in terms of volume, metric or imperial. The volume says nothing about the surface area, which to me, is important.
Yeah I often tank volume and dimensions when looking for fish advice.
 
American tank volumes are standard sizes, xx gallons or xx gallons long. If the volume is given everyone knows the dimensions.
But in other countries volume and dimensions don't go hand in hand and a certain volume by one manufacturer can have different dimensions than the same volume tank by another manufacturer.
 
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The surface area used to be how stock limits were calculated, which meant a 6" deep tank could hold the same as a 2'6" deep tank. So the move to volume makes sense in that respect.
<<<

When trying to estimate stocking levels, an important quantity is surface area. It is there that gas exchange occurs, Oxygen in, Carbon Dioxide out. A deep tank may hold a lot of water, but if the surface area is small, it can rapidly become anoxic if the stocking level, based purely on volume, is too high. Certainly, with adequate water movement from power filters etc. a deep tank can work, but when an aquarium is sold as a stand alone item, who can say how it will be set up?
 
>>>
The surface area used to be how stock limits were calculated, which meant a 6" deep tank could hold the same as a 2'6" deep tank. So the move to volume makes sense in that respect.
<<<

When trying to estimate stocking levels, an important quantity is surface area. It is there that gas exchange occurs, Oxygen in, Carbon Dioxide out. A deep tank may hold a lot of water, but if the surface area is small, it can rapidly become anoxic if the stocking level, based purely on volume, is too high. Certainly, with adequate water movement from power filters etc. a deep tank can work, but when an aquarium is sold as a stand alone item, who can say how it will be set up?
And my granny taught me how to suck eggs.
 
>>> And my granny taught me how to suck eggs.

I've heard of this, but never actually seen it done or what it means really. Care to demonstrate?
 
>>> And my granny taught me how to suck eggs.

I've heard of this, but never actually seen it done or what it means really. Care to demonstrate?


It's kind of a term to say go away in a way in a manner sort of meaning to stop showing off to people who know more than yourself.

My gran was a English literature teacher and she explained that me that when I was a wee nipper, stayed with me all that time :lol:

It's an old expression or saying that was actually used quite a lot in Dundee where my granparents were from back in the day.

Or to be more rude, "go an' bile yer heid!" (go and boil your head!) was a much more ruder way of saying go away and stop blathering rubbish, its a similar paradigm to the above saying.
 
When commenting on an open forum, replies can be read by ALL readers. Newcomers might not know what surface area is or why it is important, and why THEY should think about it. Your comment...

>>>
The surface area used to be how stock limits were calculated, which meant a 6" deep tank could hold the same as a 2'6" deep tank. So the move to volume makes sense in that respect.
<<<

... implies surface area is an out of date concept of no importance.
 

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