Draught In Southern California

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Just remember that lighting fixtures, bulbs, electricity to run them, etc all cost money as well.

 

[Dave Ehl]

thanks phoenix. that's why i made my own lighting rig that doesn't use as much energy as a normal one.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but start feeding the fish once a day or even once every other day. This means less bio-load, which means cleaner tank.

 

[OldMan47]

If you save the water from water changes in buckets, you can pour them out to flush your toilets. End result is no extra water used to do a water change. All you do is get a bit ahead on flushes then get back on track as you use up the buckets. Yes, I have lived in SC in a drought before. I got a bermuda grass called tif-reen for my lawn. Once established, it rained often enough to keep that stuff green and I only had to cut it about once a year.

 

[Dave Ehl]

I think i might be too lazy to use tank water for my toilets. i did however figure out a really good looking way to use hydroponics. i'll have plants growing over the top of the tank from the back, while having the roots submerged in the water. it will have a nice jungle look to it. i just need to figure out the right plants to use. can the stem or trunk of the plant also be partially submerged using hydroponics?

 

[Mr Bliss]

I think i might be too lazy to use tank water for my toilets. i did however figure out a really good looking way to use hydroponics. i'll have plants growing over the top of the tank from the back, while having the roots submerged in the water. it will have a nice jungle look to it. i just need to figure out the right plants to use. can the stem or trunk of the plant also be partially submerged using hydroponics?

An inch or two at most, I reckon. Depends on the plant. I'd go for borderline bog plants like peace lilies. Not all plants adapt to hydroponic settings very well, so it might be worth checking out some hydroponics websites to check out what kinds of plants are likely to be succesfull.

I actually got enthusiastic about this now as well, going to try to grow Devil's Ivy (Epipremnum pinnatum) around the top edge of my tank. It's a planted open top tank and this might create a pretty cool effect. Plus this plant is extremely cheap, at least around here, so if it dies it won't be a huge loss.

 

[andywg]

I'm not sure how much of an effect feeding less often will have. Most of the ammonia excreted by fish is as a result of osmoregulation rather then urine or faeces.

If you want to leave water changes longer, consider that scientific tests put an upper boundary of around 400ppm of nitrates before any long or short term effects are noticeable.

Also, if you don't fancy growing plants, consider utilising an algae turf scubber. Santa Monica has a bucket based one he is looking for someone to try in the LA area. Check out his thread in the Marine section for more info. It would probably be a bit of a drive for you to get it, but it could be worth a look.