No more fish tanks

[elephantnose3334]

Most of the older people that had lots of tanks have either died or downgraded the number of aquariums so there's less work. Most younger people taking up fish keeping aren't in clubs and aren't really getting carried away like we did back in the day. When fish clubs were common here (80s, 90s, early 2000) there were lots of young people (age 20-30s) with fish rooms containing lots of tanks, and the old time fish keepers also had lots of tanks. But since clubs are almost non-existent now the number of people seeing fish rooms (and getting the idea of creating one) just doesn't appear to be there.

I guess the economy and covid really screwed things up too and made the price of fish keeping a lot more than it was back in my day. I was shocked looking at the prices of tanks, stands and lights today. I remember paying $20 for a 2ft tank, $60 for a 3ft and $80 for a 4ft tank. Plus I got my store discount which was cost price plus tax so half those prices . I used to build my own stands and they were 1/4 the price of what the shop sold them for. These days 2ft tanks are over $100 and a 4ft tank is $300. Like holy moly that's expensive.

I had lots of tanks because I wanted lots of fish, and I got them I also needed tanks to hold the different species of rainbowfishes I was keeping (60+ species, 80+ river systems). I needed tanks for breeding and rearing fry. I was collecting fish too and wanted tanks to hold those fish. I had marine, brackish and freshwater tanks. Then I would see something interesting on the wholesale list and had to have them (20 Acarichthys heckelii, 20 swordtail characins, 50 Botia lohachata, 10 Epiplaty dageti, etc).

It was painful moving all those tanks and fish but I had a van and a good friend, plus a couple of weeks to move everything. But if you want a fish room you really need to own your own home and that's not easy now. Hell, it's bad enough trying to find a rental property thanks to covid and with interest rates going up, I can't see many people setting up a fish room any time soon. At least not here.

Interesting to hear... How did you have probably 100 tanks in your house?

 

[Colin_T]

I had my tanks in a garage. I put 6 inch thick sheets of polystyrene foam on the doors and windows and sealed up all the gaps I could find. I had 3 tier stands and tanks everywhere. When I moved house the new place wasn't big enough for the tanks and I got rid of most and kept about 12.

 

[emeraldking]

Has the same happened where you are, or am I just not hearing from the real diehard aquarists?

Well, back in the '70's, '80's and 90's a majority of the households had a fishtank in our country. But after that, it went down with the hobby in our country. I'm fortunate to have grown up with fishtanks thanks to my parents.

 

[kiko]

well the issue I've always heard about with fish rooms specially in houses has to be humidity...(50+ tanks)
in canada would be a no no pushing air out as you're just throwing away heat in winter
I've heard of people using baking soda and air pumps by simply pushing the air through a closed water container or a wet filter connected to an outside drain
which makes me wonder...
anybody here runs a fish room only on sponge filters? how's the humidity since the pushing air into water would be somewhat the same process

 

[Colin_T]

I just had coverglass on all my tanks. The humidity wasn't that bad. I actually have worse humidity in the unit I am in now due to it's small size and energy efficient doors and windows that trap the air inside. Just turning the hot tap on for a minute is enough to raise the humidity in here by 5%. I must point out that my old fish room was somewhat bigger than the unit I am in currently.

 

[emeraldking]

anybody here runs a fish room only on sponge filters? how's the humidity since the pushing air into water would be somewhat the same process

Apart from two tanks, all tanks are air sponge filtered in my fishroom. The majority of the tanks have no lid at all. There's always a hatch open in my fishroom. My water changes are mostly adding water to the tank when a part has evaporated. I'm more aware of the humidity when we have tropical weather overhere. Otherwise, you don't really notice it. But that's also because despite of the fact that we have central heating in the house, I just don't heat up the room that much. This way my fish are stronger than if kept at higher temperatures the whole time.

 

[kiko]

Well the guy I got my female L46 told me about this.
Downsizing because of humidity in the house.
He lives in Oshawa/Ontario...ever since I've actually been wondering about it.
He said he was at 60-80 tanks and downsizing to half because his house was bought a year before and he was starting to have problems because of it. And couldn't really afford to heat a room constantly throwing the heat out

 

[Colin_T]

If a room is well insulated and sealed up, heating should be minimal.

Humidity can be dealt with by opening the room up to air out, having complete coverglass on the aquariums, and a dehumidifier.

 

[kiko]

Yeah but in a house with 80 tanks. Opening up the door is just spreading the problem throughout the house
I know the older houses in Canada like 30+ years have double pipes for air..so central heating pulls air from different places in the house through a wet filter into the heating machine and back into the house
They don't make them like this anymore
These days houses will have central AC but doesn't pull air from the whole house, just where the AC is.
(Usually a machine room in the basement)
Goes through the outside with a huge fan blowing the heat out and pushes cold air into the house.
It's something to think about when house hunting for someone in this hobby

 

[emeraldking]

Yeah but in a house with 80 tanks. Opening up the door is just spreading the problem throughout the house
I know the older houses in Canada like 30+ years have double pipes for air..so central heating pulls air from different places in the house through a wet filter into the heating machine and back into the house
They don't make them like this anymore
These days houses will have central AC but doesn't pull air from the whole house, just where the AC is.
(Usually a machine room in the basement)
Goes through the outside with a huge fan blowing the heat out and pushes cold air into the house.
It's something to think about when house hunting for someone in this hobby

This is why I'm glad I live overhere. The construction materials used in an average house are hard materials like concrete, stone, bricks, etc... Wooden house constructions and drywall is becoming a but more popular overhere because of the low costs of it. But the way we used to build houses are better when it comes to insulation and using things that weigh a lot. So, the floors, ceilings and walls won't crash and won't loose heat.

 

[davros]

Almost all houses in Canada are forced air gas heat and the added AC is a condenser coil in the main duct with refrigerant running to an evaporator unit outside. Not quite following what you are trying to describe?

 

[emeraldking]

Almost all houses in Canada are forced air gas heat and the added AC is a condenser coil in the main duct with refrigerant running to an evaporator unit outside. Not quite following what you are trying to describe?

The construction materials overhere are of more robust materials as in the States and Canada what I know from experience. We have a higher standard when it comes to insulation and climate control in houses. These are the differences from what I've seen in all three countries. I used to live in Canada for a while. And been to the States several times.

 

[Back in the fold]

Well, back in the '70's, '80's and 90's a majority of the households had a fishtank in our country. But after that, it went down with the hobby in our country. I'm fortunate to have grown up with fishtanks thanks to my parents.

When I was a kid in the halcyon days of the 1960’s you saw aquariums everywhere . A friends Dad had a 55 gallon in their living room that amazed us grade school boys with our fives , tens and twenty highs . Back then a 55 was huge . The very first aquarium I ever saw was a ten gallon the principal of my grade school had in his office . There was tons of guppies in it . There were six or seven places you could buy fish then , among them Sears , S.S. Kresge’s and Woolworth’s . The 1960’s was the Golden Age of tropical fish in my little town and I knew one guy who had converted his garage to a fishroom. The first time I got invited in I about died of awe and amazement .

 

[emeraldking]

When I was a kid in the halcyon days of the 1960’s you saw aquariums everywhere . A friends Dad had a 55 gallon in their living room that amazed us grade school boys with our fives , tens and twenty highs . Back then a 55 was huge . The very first aquarium I ever saw was a ten gallon the principal of my grade school had in his office . There was tons of guppies in it . There were six or seven places you could buy fish then , among them Sears , S.S. Kresge’s and Woolworth’s . The 1960’s was the Golden Age of tropical fish in my little town and I knew one guy who had converted his garage to a fishroom. The first time I got invited in I about died of awe and amazement .

What this hobby can do to someone, huh...