Water Change

[sic0198]

HI & Welcome, First thing I suggest is read seffieuk/ trod journal on there experiences. Its a couple of hours of good fun but also good information. The two books I got to start with was "saltwater for dummies" & "The new Marine aquarium" (very good). The main thing is to ask questions on here. I have been running my tank for just over a month now & ths forum has helpalot. No questions is too silly/ daft.

Note that below they say bigger is better, that is correct, however they should say once you start a nano, yo will want to upgrade asap, which I want to now

All the best.

I just bought The new Marine Aquarium book the other day.

 

[garry_boyd3]

its a good book. I think it was one of the book recommended on theforum. Have fun.

 

[Trod]

I live in a place in the winter the electric goes off sometimes for 3 or so days and it can get pretty cold so I want things that can survive that.

If this is the case, Then I would recommend you try to get some sort of Battery to keep heater and powerheads going, Have a look here
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...85718&st=60 seffie touches on the subject. I don't think it would be a good idea to leave your tank in mid winter with no heat

 

[TigerIssey]

Alternatively, have another back up plan like I do, we have a large petrol generator as we live in the sticks, this as long as you top up the petrol will keep you going longer than a bettery would. You will need heater and powerheads working though, nothing will survive else.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Yeah battery backup will not run for long enough and as mentioned you have to have heaters and powerheads running or the system will crash (even with a FO system using battery powered sponge filters it would be difficult to keep the system stable unless you have a very warm house).

I would say a small generator would be a must have in this case.

 

[Trod]

Where are you from?
I have just down a bit of looking around and found this site http/www.toolbaydirect.co.uk/search.php?...CFZgU4wodeh-EMA I was quite surprised at the prices not as bad as I thought they would be.
If you get regular power cuts through the winter then I think this is a must, I'm afraid

 

[sic0198]

The power outtages aren't regular. Every few years we have a snow storm big enough to do this.

 

[TigerIssey]

We get a 10 - 12 hour outage once every year or two, we have found the generator extremely helpful for this.

To be honest, if it lasts as long as ours does, without some kind of back up you would not be able to keep marine fish, it would crash the tank. Even with freshwater you would end up wih the tank going through another cycle as the beneficial bacteria would die. Nothing would be able to survive a couple of days cut without a back up plan.

 

[chr15_8]

We get a 10 - 12 hour outage once every year or two, we have found the generator extremely helpful for this.

To be honest, if it lasts as long as ours does, without some kind of back up you would not be able to keep marine fish, it would crash the tank. Even with freshwater you would end up wih the tank going through another cycle as the beneficial bacteria would die. Nothing would be able to survive a couple of days cut without a back up plan.

have to agree. i haven't kept marine yet but already know it would be suicidal to leave such a high spec tank without backup knowing you have a high chance of power cuts. imo it would be irrasponsable to not do anything about it. For the sake of a $50-$100 generator (not sure how much they are but carnt be much higher for a cheap one)

 

[sic0198]

Last year we had a bad one, I had a FW 30 gallon, I h\ad 10 or 15 fish in it. We had some unusual circumstances which we had a power cut for a few weeks, not one of my fish died. The water was yucky but nothing died. I was surprised, I had thought they'd be dead within the first few days. In fact I still have them. The heat was still on the whole time or I fear they would have all died.

This has made my reconsider though.

 

[sic0198]

^^ That usually doesn't happen. In fact I'm 25 and I've never went more than a day or two without power. If that was the norm I'd get outta the hobby. It would be/seem to be a huge waste of money and time. Normally it doesn't even go out. So I'm thinking maybe a FOWLR or even an FO tank might be OK. I could just buy cheap fishes, if I lose 'em it wouldn't be big loss. Boy that's an horrible way to justify this.

 

[Trod]

So I'm thinking maybe a FOWLR or even an FO tank might be OK. I could just buy cheap fishes, if I lose 'em it wouldn't be big loss. Boy that's an horrible way to justify this.

Sorry, but it doesn't matter if they are cheap fish or expensive fish, they all deserve the best care possible, and if we pull them from the ocean then it is our duty to at least try our best to keep them alive

If your powercuts are infrequent and don't last long then you could invest in a battery powered pump, which can be attached to an airstone, this is ok for an hour or so and cover the tank in blankets to keep the heat in. But if you are having serious power failures then a generator is the only way to go.

Marine fish keeping takes a lot of time and dedication, I don't mean to be rude but from your statement above, I think you need to seriously think about whether Marines are for you or not

 

[chr15_8]

So I'm thinking maybe a FOWLR or even an FO tank might be OK. I could just buy cheap fishes, if I lose 'em it wouldn't be big loss. Boy that's an horrible way to justify this.

Sorry, but it doesn't matter if they are cheap fish or expensive fish, they all deserve the best care possible, and if we pull them from the ocean then it is our duty to at least try our best to keep them alive

If your powercuts are infrequent and don't last long then you could invest in a battery powered pump, which can be attached to an airstone, this is ok for an hour or so and cover the tank in blankets to keep the heat in. But if you are having serious power failures then a generator is the only way to go.

Marine fish keeping takes a lot of time and dedication, I don't mean to be rude but from your statement above, I think you need to seriously think about whether Marines are for you or not

or any other fish with an attitude like that in my honest opinion

 

[sic0198]

It was a JOKE. Not very funny but I was tired when I wrote it. Of course I care about them. I don't think I'd come and ask about their care if I didn't.

 

[chr15_8]

fair enough. sorry about the way i came across. I imagine people probably do this though which really pisses me off, if you carnt care for it then dont have it....


chris