Phoenixfish
Fishaholic
i just use one of the easy to find converters
Why Dont We Just Use Litres?
- Thread starter mike_nofx
- Start date
Kipper_Face
Fish Fanatic
In the UK we should be using the metric system as its now written in the law and can be enforced by trading standards officers for traders not using metric measurements. Schools have been using the metric system for years so its just a matter of time before the UK becomes completely metric. However there is still somethings to be changed including allowing distance/speed to be measured in miles and drinks in pints! Crazy! 
OohFeeshy
It's only forever; not long at all...
As already said, litres are used for small tanks, gallons for bigger tanks. Besides, tanks available are a nice round number of gallons, or a number that can easily be rounded. And you only have to remember (usually) 2 figures instead of three 
andywg
Bored into leaving
It is actually illegal to have any road signs in metric in the UK since the 1984 act became statute. A few councils tried it a couple of years ago and had to take them all down.In the UK we should be using the metric system as its now written in the law and can be enforced by trading standards officers for traders not using metric measurements. Schools have been using the metric system for years so its just a matter of time before the UK becomes completely metric. However there is still somethings to be changed including allowing distance/speed to be measured in miles and drinks in pints! Crazy!
You have to remember that the vast majority of Brits think in Imperial, trying to force them to change will get their back up and they will resist. Imperial means something to them. An inch is roughly the last knuckle on your thumb, a foot is around a foot's length, a yard is about a pace. They are fairly natural measurements. Metric measurements aren't. A metre is the distance travelled by light in an absolute vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
Gentle changes (somewhat like Fahrenheit to Celsius/Centigrade) will be far more readily accepted. As for prosecuting someone because he sold bananas in imperial measurements when an old lady asked for a pound of bananas...well, you don't need me to spell it out, do you?
onemisterchristian
Fishaholic
I'm from the us, and the one that really confuses me is celsius. People will say they keep their tank at 24 degrees and i'm like no wonder your fish are dying, oh wait, that's celsius. Weird
This forum has no set standard, as we understand and respect the diversity of the members. However most members, after a time, will tend to talk about tanks in US gallons, as this measurement is often better understood by the majority (as opposed to using liters or UK gallons), and when they're using something else, they usually specify. You're right though, it would be easier if this forum, and the whoel world, just made metric the standard. Tis life.
Knowing that we all come from all over the globe, and that we buy tanks made by various manufacturers also from all over the world, be interesting to know what unit of measurements (or at least the primary units) tank manufacturers actually use and print on the labels for tanks. Here in the US, tanks just tend to be labeled in US gallons, with the occassional one having the litres secondary. Is it more common in Australia say, where litre is more widely used, to find tanks sold in terms of litres rather than gallons of some sort? In the UK, do they tend to label the tanks in US gallons or UK gallons? Just curious.
Knowing that we all come from all over the globe, and that we buy tanks made by various manufacturers also from all over the world, be interesting to know what unit of measurements (or at least the primary units) tank manufacturers actually use and print on the labels for tanks. Here in the US, tanks just tend to be labeled in US gallons, with the occassional one having the litres secondary. Is it more common in Australia say, where litre is more widely used, to find tanks sold in terms of litres rather than gallons of some sort? In the UK, do they tend to label the tanks in US gallons or UK gallons? Just curious.
andywg
Bored into leaving
Uk labels normally both, Imperial ( ihate the term UK gallons, though find even myself using it) and metric.
Though the actual size is often shown as well (in feet/inches)
Though the actual size is often shown as well (in feet/inches)
Dorkhedeos
Boss Major
the only reason why i dont like metric is i cant estimate how far something is based on how many steps i take or measure something with my hand. the only thing i like about the metric system is that its easy to remember how many meters are in a kilometer. i dont even know how many feet are in a mile, i just know that its around 5k 
Someone said celcius was tough?
With celcius, 0 degrees C is the freezing temprature of water.
and 100 degrees C is the boiling point of water.
I think australia fully converted to Metric in 1973 (i wasnt around then).
That year (1973) Stores werent allowed to sell a ruler or tape measure in imperial, only Metric.
Also, cars of that year had both miles and kilometers on the speedo.
I think the only way to change a country over is by forcing them to, haha.
How do you work out how many gallons are in a tank, say 4x2x2"?
A tank which is 100x50x50cm = 250,000CM3, and seeing there are 1000cm3/mL in a litre, the tank size would be 250Litres.
With celcius, 0 degrees C is the freezing temprature of water.
and 100 degrees C is the boiling point of water.
I think australia fully converted to Metric in 1973 (i wasnt around then).
That year (1973) Stores werent allowed to sell a ruler or tape measure in imperial, only Metric.
Also, cars of that year had both miles and kilometers on the speedo.
I think the only way to change a country over is by forcing them to, haha.
How do you work out how many gallons are in a tank, say 4x2x2"?
A tank which is 100x50x50cm = 250,000CM3, and seeing there are 1000cm3/mL in a litre, the tank size would be 250Litres.
andywg
Bored into leaving
4x2x2 = 48x24x24 inches=27,648 cubic inches (ci). Divide that by 273 as a close guide to the number of ci in a uk gallon and you get just over 101 gallons. Easily accurate enough as you are not taking into account the width of the glass or the silicone.
Or, you can remember that a 2x2x2 cube is about 50 UK gallons, therefore 4x2x2 is 100 and 6x2x2 is 150.
As I said before, the problem with changing to metric is that people cannot estimate or really visualise the size. I refer to mm for small amounts, but can't picture km for the life of me (and conversely use miles for driving, but can't estimate at sizes less than an inch without going metric).
Or, you can remember that a 2x2x2 cube is about 50 UK gallons, therefore 4x2x2 is 100 and 6x2x2 is 150.
As I said before, the problem with changing to metric is that people cannot estimate or really visualise the size. I refer to mm for small amounts, but can't picture km for the life of me (and conversely use miles for driving, but can't estimate at sizes less than an inch without going metric).
Native American
Fish Fanatic
It doesn't get any better in travelling jobs.
Aviation: We use nautical miles (6,076 feet) instead of statute miles (5,280 feet). It works well, because at cruise speeds we use mach numbers, and at a cruise of .76 mach one is travelling about 7.5 nautical miles per minute. There's a lot of useful math for descent/ascent calculation and turn radius that we employ using the nautical mile as a unit of measure. Flying into countries of the FSU (former Soviet Union) is a bear, because they use meters for altitude while the rest of planet earth uses feet.
Shipping: The sailing people started the nautical mile business. Speed is expressed in terms of nautical miles per hour (knots). Aircraft use this speed unit, too.
As gas prices continue to rise, the European way of measuring fuel consumption (Litres/100km travelled) will make more sense than our miles per gallon (or gallons per mile for our larger Detroit offerings).
v/r, N-A
Aviation: We use nautical miles (6,076 feet) instead of statute miles (5,280 feet). It works well, because at cruise speeds we use mach numbers, and at a cruise of .76 mach one is travelling about 7.5 nautical miles per minute. There's a lot of useful math for descent/ascent calculation and turn radius that we employ using the nautical mile as a unit of measure. Flying into countries of the FSU (former Soviet Union) is a bear, because they use meters for altitude while the rest of planet earth uses feet.
Shipping: The sailing people started the nautical mile business. Speed is expressed in terms of nautical miles per hour (knots). Aircraft use this speed unit, too.
As gas prices continue to rise, the European way of measuring fuel consumption (Litres/100km travelled) will make more sense than our miles per gallon (or gallons per mile for our larger Detroit offerings).
v/r, N-A
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