Local Nursing Home

[Davy]

Was visiting an old aunt in a nursing home near Belfast when I noticed a tremendous 4ft tank x 18" but the state of it.

It was housing about 7 Orandas (two of them enormous) a black moor several goldfish, shubunkins (sp) and the water and tank were a terrible state.

Now turns out me ma knows the owner so I have asked her to ask can I go up and at the very least give it a clean, it seems vastly overstocked to me, anybody??

It has no light am I right in thinking it really should have one and it seems to be running on what looks like an old version of the current fluval 3/4 plus.

Oh and they are feeding it solely on flake food.

I will keep this thread updated with what happens and some pictures (maybe before and afters), if anyone can answer any of the points above or should I just mind my own business??

Cheers

Davy

 

[WILDER]

Yes it needs a better filter than that with all the fish, it is overstocked, plus i would test the water first, as if you alter water stats to soon with a good clean you will send the fish into shock, good luck.

 

[black angel]

The tank is really only big enough for maybe 4 of the oranda types or two singletailed fish.
wilder is right, you must test the water first to see where the levels are and then only do small amounts at a time.
That size tank as well could really do with an external filter and another fluval 4+
I bet the gravel has never seen a gravel vac either so be very careful doing that as you dont want to release anything nasty from the gravel.

 

[Davy]

Ok went to the nursing home and assesed the tank, what it might need etc, tested the water, carried out a seriously heavy gravel vac, 25% water change, cleaned the filter (Im not joking the water was black)

It was an old fluval 4 and it was just full of sludge never seen a filter as bad. The fish were only getting flake food so spoke to the people running the place and fair play to them they handed me £175 to get whatever was needed.

So purchased a new hood (the old one was rotten) a lighting system, some bogwood, fluval plus4, airpump and diffusers / check valves, declorinator, different foods, plants and the results are as follows

 

[catxx]

wow that's a dramatic change!
were the staff and residents grateful? (as well as the goldies!!)

 

[Squid]

Good stuff.. .. i think thats really good of the home owners to give you the funds to do that.. it just shows that most of the time its ignorance (harsh word perhaps.. just not knowing will do) that causes the problems.. (me included... i really had no idea before coming on this forum)..

Squid

 

[black angel]

Fantastic job. Changing rooms for fish

 

[Squid]

Fantastic job. Changing rooms for fish

MDF in water..

Im visualising a tank done by Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen... painful..

Squid

 

[big mick]

Well done, you should be very proud of yourself.

 

[ron1]

WOW WOW WOW WOW What a change!!!!!! Have you put new fish in the tank or are they the same ones; if so I bet they are stunned what has happened to their 'home'. What a super person you are.

 

[WILDER]

Good work, well done.

 

[morgan]

That's a fantastic difference, well done. It was the fishies' lucky day when you found them.

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

Sweet tank! Nice job on that rescue! Are you going to be keeping up the tank for now or are they going to pay some one to do it?

 

[Davy]

Sweet tank! Nice job on that rescue! Are you going to be keeping up the tank for now or are they going to pay some one to do it?

Im gonna go up last Friday of every month do water changes etc, maintenance and the likes. I have a few quid left over to give them a nutritional treat now and again. Thanks for the positive comments, it really was a case of a guy originally coaxed the owner to buy it and said he would look after it. When he sold him the tank and filled it that was the last time they ever saw him.

They are talking about moving it to the room where the old people sit as you can actually see into it now

 

[LucyHurst]

wow, you did wonderfull!!!

they will need more water changes than once a month though, could you not go up there more, or maybe teach their cleaner or someone how to do it.. since its so overstocked