10 Tank's fish and tanks

[10 Tanks]

Hello, hello. Saturday morning and posting the upcoming schedule. Just one tank today and that will be the one at the government office. Just a quick water change and feed the fish. Took time last Wednesday to clean the filters. There's been very little algae forming on the aquarium glass. But, we have an algae scraper if needed. The water is nice and clear and the fish seem in good health. They should be healthy, their tank gets two 50 percent water changes weekly. We'll do some chores around the house today and get a little exercise.

Remember to keep your water changes to half the tank's volume each week. If you're not at this point, then work up to it slowly by changing a little more water every week until you get there.

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[10 Tanks]

Hope you're having a restful Sunday. Changed half the water in four tanks today. We'll start being a little more aggressive with our water changes now. The reason, we're removing the sponge filters in the tanks and simply changing more water. It sounds like changing more water would be more expensive and time consuming than cleaning the filter. The water changes are so fast anymore there isn't that much time lost and the water bill is far less than most places. Probably because the snow we get here and the nearby Front Range mountains are covered with snow most of the year, so we have plenty of water. Besides, I doubt the fish will mind if I change out their water a bit more often.

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[10 Tanks]

It's Monday morning. The start of another week of fish keeping duties and some other things that need our attention. We have eight cats, a parakeet and 11 fish tanks. Then we also keep the tank for the government office. I admit, I went way overboard on the tanks. There's some money tied up in all this, but a lot of it was used. Today, no tanks are on the schedule. We need to run a few errands and hopefully, get a little exercise.

You'll be successful in the water keeping hobby if you keep a larger tank, at least 30 gallons, don't get too may fish. A half a dozen small fish in 30 gallons is plenty. If you go with a larger tank, then use the 30 gallon stocking advice and stock the larger tank accordingly. Don't feed more than a little every day or even two. In the wild, these fish are lucky to eat once or twice a week. So, take this tip from Mother Nature and don't feed much. Lastly, change half the water every few days. That's it. Have a good week!

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[10 Tanks]

Good morning and Happy Tuesday. Boy, the weather has been nice the last few days. Temperatures in the 60 degree range. We even turned off the heat in the house and opened some windows. It was nice to get some fresh air into the house. Our cats really enjoyed sitting in the window. We took advantage of the nice weather yesterday to change out the water in the outdoor 300 gallon tank. Today, we'll change half the water in a 55 gallon and a 100 gallon tank. I'm leaving the sponge filters alone for now. I took the sponges off some of the filters and am now using them for added aeration. The large, more frequent water changes are maintaining good water conditions and the fish and plants look good.

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[10 Tanks]

Wednesday. Or as we in the US call "Hump Day". After today, we're on the upside toward the weekend. But, if you're retired, every day is Saturday. Still trying to keep busy after my retirement at the end of 2019, just before all the COVID stuff happened. I was fortunate. I worked in a large shipping department and can't imagine how I would have been able to do my job working from home. Anyway, that never happened. Today, is a light tank keeping day. Just a water change on the government office tank. We're moving toward changing the water in our tanks a bit more often and removing the water filters. The filters just aren't doing anything other than moving the water around the tank. The increased water change will keep the waste material out of the water and maintain a high level of oxygen too. The water temperature stays at 72 degrees fahrenheit or about 22 degrees celsius. Nice and cool to maintain a good oxygen level.

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[10 Tanks]

Thursday. The first day of February. Spring is just around the corner! Once the month of March gets here, I figure we're into Spring. Okay, yesterday we worked on the government's tank and added a sprig of Anubias to it. Aquatic plants need to be trimmed regularly and even replaced. If a plant is showing signs of age, then it may be time to replace it or add a similar plant next to it. We added a piece of Mopani wood to the tank too. It made the tank look better. So, today, we're changing the water in four tanks. We're moving from a seven day water change routine to nearly a five day. Since we're removing all the mechanical filters, we felt it was necessary to change half the tank water a bit more often. The water stays nice and clear and the algae isn't too bad either. We're getting more Platy fry every week or two. We'll need to move some fish at some point to keep the numbers low.

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[10 Tanks]

Friday. And, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early Spring. I'm good with that! Haven't had much snow here, but have had some pretty cold temperatures. Okay, no tanks today. However, yesterday, we did a little aquascaping on the government's 55 gallon tank. It was pretty, but we prettied it up a bit more with an Anubias plant and a couple of new driftwood pieces. We think it looks better and the office manager liked to additions. Lost an old Goldfish in the 100. It had been in the tank at least seven and even eight years. Got it from the local fish store as a feeder fish for about 20 cents and it had a good life with lots and lots of large water changes. Can't ask more than that. Feeder Goldfish are bred by the hundreds and receive no care, so they're born with a weak immune system. So, if you get a few years from them, count yourself lucky.

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[10 Tanks]

Another week is coming to a close. Today, Saturday, there are four tanks that need a water change. I don't know as they really need it, but four are on the schedule. If you change a lot of water every few days, it gives you a little "wiggle room" in case something urgent comes up and you can't change the water in the tank until the following day or ever a bit longer. I rarely miss water changes, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Water changes need to be regular and you need to remove and replace at least half when you perform one. If you're not doing this, consider it. Your fish and plants will appreciate it.

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[10 Tanks]

Sunday morning. Sitting in my dining room with a cup of coffee. Get up at 4:30 in the morning to tend to my chores. Keeping the cats fed and cleaning up after them. Will change the tank water in the outdoor 300. I do this twice a week, because there's no filtration in it. It has an aerator and a heater. The fish are fed every other day, so they get enough food to sustain them, but not much more. Will get some exercise this morning and be ready for anything else that comes up.

Have a restful day.

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[10 Tanks]

Monday morning. Having a little coffee while posting for today. Pretty easy day. Changing the water in a 100 and a 55 gallon tank. Mornings are beginning to smell like Spring. Can't wait for warmer weather. Our new Platys are growing nicely. I think we have at least a dozen total in a 45 and 55 gallon tank. Today we'll feed all the fish a little dry food and some small pellets. We don't feed much. It's just enough to sustain the fish and then they must go in search of the last morsel. The fish remain active and healthy with just a little variety.

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[10 Tanks]

Hello. It's Tuesday. No tank work scheduled today. Tanks are running well with no mechanical filtration. Fish seem as active and healthy as ever. We'll see if the more frequent water changes will keep the water as clear as the filters did. I'm think so, because we're removing the tiny particles of waste debris that can create the hazy look of the water. The feeding routine will remain the same, just a little variety of freeze dried foods and a few pellets. We'll continue to feed every other day. Am thinking about a small "Terraphyte" tank. They never require a water change. I've had several over the years and they're really interesting to set up and run.

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[10 Tanks]

Wednesday morning. Four tanks to work on today. We typically get them all done in the morning, so we have the afternoon to run any errands that need to be done. We also have the government's tank to do. We'll change out the water and clean the sponge filters. We added some Java Moss several weeks ago and some small Anubias plants more recently. The rescaping looks good. The small Glo Fish sharks are really growing. The largest is roughly three inches and two others aren't far behind. The Glo Fish really look nice in the tank. I didn't think I'd like them as much as I do. They're a little pricey for me. I've stopped buying fish for my tanks. The tanks are stocked about right for their individual sizes.

If you're not an aggressive water changer, then you can get by this, by not not having very many fish and not feeding very often. This should keep the water chemistry within safe limits.

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[10 Tanks]

Thursday morning. Will change the water in the outdoor 300 gallon tank today. Weather has been very tolerable the last few days. Temperatures are in the 40s and 50s and the lows are just above freezing. Pretty nice for this time of year. Typically, mother nature will hit us with a last day or two of cold weather just before March, to let us know that Winter is still here. But, so far, just pleasant temperatures.

You know, if you're retired and haven't been to the doctor in a while, I'd encourage you to find a doctor and get all your blood and other tests done. I hadn't been to a doctor in several years. I found a nice, lady doctor and had a blood test and got my shots updated. My wife thanked me for it. Everything is fine for a 70 year old. But, I'll keep up on my tests and shots from now on.

Have a restful, but productive day!

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[10 Tanks]

Good morning. It's Friday and we have four tanks to work on today. We'll do those this afternoon. Have started some Dwarf Water Lettuce in some of the tanks to help with water filtration. Plants will remove some of the toxins from the tank water, but the water change is the true filter. We've removed the sponges from the filters and are removing and replacing half the tank water in each tank once every five days instead of the usual seven. This should more than make up for the lack of a filter. We've using the rest of the filter as an aerator. So far, no problems that we can see. The fish are all eating well and are active. Water looks nice and clear, no haziness that con sometimes be a problem in tanks with no mechanical filtration.

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[10 Tanks]

Saturday morning. We got close to a foot of snow overnight. This time of year, the snow comes as the heavy, wet stuff. Not as easy to shovel as the lighter, fluffy stuff. But, the temperatures have been warmer, so not so bad to get out and shovel. So, only one tank to do today. We'll check in on the government's 55 gallon and do a 50 percent water change and feed the fish a little. Total time: 30 to 40 minutes. Am counting down the days until March gets here. The temperatures should go even a little higher, so that's a good thing. The older I get, the less I like the cold.

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