Regulars will know I have a 60 tank fishroom designed to stay warm in a Canadian winter, but to breathe in Spring, summer and Fall. What do I mean by that?
In that super insulated half garage, I have 3 windows. It sits beside an acre of meadow fringed by trees, with a couple of red oaks thriving nearby. There are cedars, pines, mountain ash, wildflowers, deer, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, sometimes bears and weasels (wild, elected and corporate) out there. I'm 5 minutes' drive from a port and a small industrial city, and 50 metres from the Atlantic ocean. It stays below zero from December to April, and a hot summer day is 24c. A cold winter day is -24.
My tanks have terrestrial plants with their roots in the water. The line between the room and the water gets blurry. Vining plants from the tanks spread, sometimes sinking roots into more than one tank. But then there are potted plants all around. And once the air warms up and the windows open, the roots in pitcher plants gets flying insects (not many, but when the window fans are off, some get through). I get 2 or 3 mosquito bites per year in there.
The backyard becomes an extension of sorts for the fishroom (or vice versa), with daphnia, bloodworm and mosquito larvae tubs under the windows. My vegetable garden will grow zucchini to be frozen for the catfish.
The woods that fringe the lot enter the fishroom, supplying decorative branches and oak leaves for water treatment. I can't put maple leaves in as they decay too quickly, but if I need tannins, it's easy to use them in a bucket. Later in the year, I can collect all the alder cones a 'botanicals' person could want. The beach across the road provides rocks for aquascaping, and every big winter storm refreshes my choices. The rain can provide softer water for special projects. As I kayak the local rivers, I can find aquarium plants and seasoned driftwood.
That little room in a beaten up old garage radiates out and draws in. The environment here would be the same if it were still a wrecked garage full of old washing machines, as the previous owner kept it. But now, I think it's integrated into its world, with the quirky addition of tropical fish and plants to this northern environment.
In this interest of ours, we need those glass walls. But you don't have to see them ending in a 20 gallon space.
In that super insulated half garage, I have 3 windows. It sits beside an acre of meadow fringed by trees, with a couple of red oaks thriving nearby. There are cedars, pines, mountain ash, wildflowers, deer, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, sometimes bears and weasels (wild, elected and corporate) out there. I'm 5 minutes' drive from a port and a small industrial city, and 50 metres from the Atlantic ocean. It stays below zero from December to April, and a hot summer day is 24c. A cold winter day is -24.
My tanks have terrestrial plants with their roots in the water. The line between the room and the water gets blurry. Vining plants from the tanks spread, sometimes sinking roots into more than one tank. But then there are potted plants all around. And once the air warms up and the windows open, the roots in pitcher plants gets flying insects (not many, but when the window fans are off, some get through). I get 2 or 3 mosquito bites per year in there.
The backyard becomes an extension of sorts for the fishroom (or vice versa), with daphnia, bloodworm and mosquito larvae tubs under the windows. My vegetable garden will grow zucchini to be frozen for the catfish.
The woods that fringe the lot enter the fishroom, supplying decorative branches and oak leaves for water treatment. I can't put maple leaves in as they decay too quickly, but if I need tannins, it's easy to use them in a bucket. Later in the year, I can collect all the alder cones a 'botanicals' person could want. The beach across the road provides rocks for aquascaping, and every big winter storm refreshes my choices. The rain can provide softer water for special projects. As I kayak the local rivers, I can find aquarium plants and seasoned driftwood.
That little room in a beaten up old garage radiates out and draws in. The environment here would be the same if it were still a wrecked garage full of old washing machines, as the previous owner kept it. But now, I think it's integrated into its world, with the quirky addition of tropical fish and plants to this northern environment.
In this interest of ours, we need those glass walls. But you don't have to see them ending in a 20 gallon space.
