Tackling the fish room "to do" list...arrghh...

[Tannin Aquatics]

Hey, it's me, your local pain in the_____ . Time to remind you to do some stuff you've been putting off...

Okay, so this isn’t exactly the time of year when we start thinking about cleaning our tanks up- you know - the whole “Spring Cleaning” mentality…I mean, it’s not even Christmas yet…Nonetheless, I’ve been talking with a lot of hobbyist lately whom, for whatever reason, are looking to do overhauls on their tanks. I’m not sure what that’s all about. “Aquarium Season” is in full swing, weather is cooling down in the temperate regions of the world, and we're spending more time with our aquariums, all of these cool new fishes are coming in, new gear is available...Yeah.

Ah, maybe that’s it? We are realizing that we can’t afford all of the new toys, having just spent big bucks on the summer vacations, major household purchases and all, so we figure it’s better to improve what we have! Could be, right? So anyways, it got me thinking of the things that we all need to do once in a while to freshen up our systems…some of these can not only help you create a better system, they can help you enjoy your hobby more...or with less of that "I really need to do this" guilt trip-thing...(click to read more)

 

[dogofwar]

All excellent recommendations!

As I rebuild my fishroom, I'm trying to organize things such that regular operational maintenance isn't so burdensome that I never seem to get around to the periodic, although important ones.

Sometimes it's just making things easily accessible. A filter that's hard to reach or get to will get cleaned less frequently than one that can be done with a beer in one's hand (and no step-stool). Or better yet, getting rid of power filters (especially canisters) makes things that much easier.

Mounting stuff on the ceiling (electric, air, even water) also gets stuff out of the way.

Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a fishroom. Tackle a project or two at a time...or better yet do your weekly maintenance a day early and spend the regular day on special projects. Your fish will love you for it!

Matt

PS Any good references to how quickly (flake, pellet, frozen) food degrades and what can be done to preserve it?

 

[mchambers]

PS Any good references to how quickly (flake, pellet, frozen) food degrades and what can be done to preserve it?

http://advancedaquariumconcepts.com/myths-and-misconceptions-about-fish-nutrition/

In short, keep most of it in the freezer, in a sealed package with as little air as possible.

I don't know whether this is true for probiotic foods, like Cobalt or Aqua-Pharm or Ken's house brand. When Les Wilson spoke at CCA, he said Cobalt food could be kept in the freezer. Gary Rosenthal of Aqua-Pharm said his food should not be in the freezer, because it would kill the probiotic microbes.

 

[Tannin Aquatics]

Awesome ideas and points!

-Scott