The "Jools' new fishroom post"

[Shane]

Bro,
What a bummer. Yes, I know many of those animals and they will be missed if they do not make it. That said, you may be very surprised at what recovers. I once bagged up some Rams I had collected and handed them to a helper to put in the cooler. Yes, he placed the bag of fish in the lunch cooler...which was packed with ice. After a very slow warm up, almost every fish recovered. I had a similar incident here this week. After moving lots of tropical stuff to the pond we had a sudden cold snap. I could literally put my hand in the pond and just pick up most of the fish. The next day warmed up and, far as I can see, everything is fine and swimming again. Hope this happen for you too.
-Shane

[bronzefry]

Jools,
I've been out working, or else I would have posted sooner. There's a device that prevents water scalding/burning called a mixing valve. I found this:
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/thermosta ... s.html#faq
It's meant for metering shower systems. There's one on this page that goes down to 20 degrees F. Maybe one can be fitted to your needs....
Amanda

[Barbie]

A dear friend of mine here locally does pond consulting and uses "flow through" style filtration to do constant small water changes, even on the ponds in her basement. She discovered flow meters that you attach to a garden hose that shut off after a certain number of preset gallons. For her, that's in the hundreds, but I would think it could still work? I'll check with her to see exactly what it's called and where she buys them.

It's a bad week for fish rooms evidently. My Queen Arabesque colony that I've had 7 or 8 years was lost this week after a power outage when their filter didn't restart and the power head driven sponge filter clogged up overnight. I knew the tank was getting overstocked and just didn't get on top of things soon enough. It worked as an incentive program to get everything else in good shape though, and I'm budgeting for a generator this week ;).

Barbie

[Shane]

and I'm budgeting for a generator this week ;).

Dang Barbie, I thought we only did that in Africa. Is the US that bad off these days?
-Shane

[Jools]

Well, on the bright side, my Psuedohemidon fry are now past the 10mm mark and eating well. I also found that

Tachysurus fulvidraco

can jump and when they're not doing that they can eat fish nearly half their size.

Jools

[Jools]

She discovered flow meters that you attach to a garden hose that shut off after a certain number of preset gallons. For her, that's in the hundreds, but I would think it could still work? I'll check with her to see exactly what it's called and where she buys them.

I'd appreciate that, I think it might be what I am looking for.

Jools

[Barbie]

Shane it doesn't go off long, but I live in terror of a tree falling on a line and being without power for 24 hours or something. At my house, that would be some very bad juju! The battery backups work for short term fixes (well when you have stuff plugged into them, that is), but a girlfriend lost 11 tanks of fish during a freak ice storm over in Lacey. If I think about it too much I have nightmares .

I'm still waiting for a call back Jools, but Margie will be able to tell me exactly what product she uses and if you can't get them over there I can mail you one.

Barbie

[Dinyar]

Many of the responses above have offered technological fixes, and these may be helpful. There is probably also a role for behavioral solutions, i.e., making the fish room a comfortable place to hang out so that you can watch water levels rise and fall without getting bored.

For some people, the downside of this is that one trades fish space for human space. I found that when my fish room consisted only of fish tanks, I didn't spend much time there. Maintenance was a chore, and the further I slipped behind, the less I wanted to spend time in the fish room. Now that my cat and I lurk among the catfish, the hurdle for doing water changes and otherwise keeping the tanks in good shape is much lower.

[Jools]

Dinyar,

I think that's true wisdom, however perhaps the pressure on time isn't because of humdrum fishroom activity. Actually it's not such much pressure on time, but just poor mental agility in terms of remembering water is running... The new fishroom has found me spending more time watching fish of late, which is great. I may well also take a leaf from your book and put a comfortable chair or something in there too.

On a fish note, I lost all fish in the tank except the Argentine pleco which turned out to be

Hypostomus latifrons

.

Jools

[bronzefry]

That's a great point, Dinyar. I've always been envious of those with true "fish rooms." One of my "if I hit the lotto" dreams is having a fish room. I have a bedroom with about 10 fish tanks. I live in it. I hear things go wrong in the night and I fix it, then I try to go back to sleep. If I can't, I watch the Banjos play under the LED light. I'm not sure I'd be comfy with a big room full of tanks that I can't keep track of. I think I'd lose the fun.

Jools, I guess the one fish didn't get the memo. Hope it does well.
Amanda

[Barbie]

I have to agree with Dinyar, I notice quite a few more things about my tanks in the rooms I'm comfortable sitting in to watch the fish. It doesn't always avert tragedy, as there's just not enough hours in my days anymore, but it definitely helps.

The equipment Margie uses is a water timer. I found an example of one Here but I'd assume any brand would work fine. She said they aren't all that accurate under 50 gallons, but I think that could still solve your problem easily. I hope this helps! If you need one or two shipped across the big pond, I'll definitely be available to help with that.

Barbie

[Shane]

I found that when my fish room consisted only of fish tanks, I didn't spend much time there. Maintenance was a chore, and the further I slipped behind, the less I wanted to spend time in the fish room.

Dinyar,
Your above post really got me thinking. What a profound observation. I have the best fishroom in terms of size and comfort that I have had since Venezuela, yet I do not spend hardly anytime in there. Your post gave me an epiphany, and I know you will appreciate this. In the past, no matter how crowded, my fishroom was the only room in the house I was allowed to smoke in (we did not have Sofia then). Now I only smoke outside. You can guess what gets all the TLC... the pond.
-Shane

[Jools]

Yes, indeed, same for me Shane. However I have countered this by installing a coffee machine in the fishroom. The Scottish winter also helps. Will post some pics of the big tank stand, soon!

Jools

[Shane]

I have countered this by installing a coffee machine in the fishroom.

Brilliant! Maybe I should set up a home brewing operation in the Fishroom?
-Shane

[sidguppy]

a fridge stashed with sixpacks would be a simpler solution, Shane

[Jools]

a fridge stashed with sixpacks would be a simpler solution, Shane

Yes, and this would be great for evening visits to the room. However, I usually also visit the room first thing in the morning, having beer in there could lose me a day! One thing I've promised myself I will do is spend a whole day in there on day - with all the waste plumbing it is possible!!!

Big tank arrives Wednesday hopefully.

Jools

[sojapat]

I will help you get rid of any excess alcohol produced at Dignals indipendant Brewers.
Its the least I could do
ps You know the thing about leaving taps switched on..
I believe eating fish is good for the memory .
Its no wonder catfish hide

[Birger]

One thing I've promised myself I will do is spend a whole day in there on day -

Best thing to do on a cold winter day...it is nice sometimes to just tinker with your fish all day but does not happen near enough

[Jools]

Just an update pic post, the last of the tanks (for now.....) arrive next Wednesday.

Jools

[Marc van Arc]

Looking good, can't wait to see it "live"

[AndrewC]

Jools
Looks really nice
What type of filtration are you using for your tanks ?

[Jools]

What type of filtration are you using for your tanks ?

The smaller tanks are running fluval2,3 or 4's depending on species. For example, I have a fluval4 in a 3foot tank creating a "washing machine" effect over smooth stones for my

Glyptothorax rugimentum

. The twin 4ft XL tanks each have an Eheim ProIII Thermo filter on them. There are a few other external hangon(imported from China) and ehiem internal filters kicking around too. The show tank is currently housing my "test pilot" pair of goldfish (named Bill & Ted) and that will have en external sump running a DIY hamburg variant filter, but it's not up and running yet.

Jools

[AndrewC]

The reason i ask, is i use a few internal Fluvals as well, the 2 & 3's because of tank height, and have found i need to keep an eye on there flow as they can clog up quickly, especially if there is fry in the tank, do you find this ?

[Jools]

The reason i ask, is i use a few internal Fluvals as well, the 2 & 3's because of tank height, and have found i need to keep an eye on there flow as they can clog up quickly, especially if there is fry in the tank, do you find this ?

Very much so, they're next to useless with

Panaque

. I have the water return above the water usually so I can see the flow diminish. Several tanks have two filters in them which are changed alternately so that one is always no more than a week from cleaning. Keeping them well off the the substrate helps too.

I use them because they're cheap, I can get spare, they are quite easy to clean and they are black.

Jools

[L number Banana]

Hi Jools,
What a dream you have there! Can't wait to see it finished.

Couple of ideas to throw in:

Brilliant! Maybe I should set up a home brewing operation in the Fishroom?
-Shane

Beer and wine brewing make co2 for plants if you decide to do an aquascape thing. Lasts much longer than 3 weeks

For the condensation and temperature issues, check out some of the wonderful orchid growers over there. They have many of the same issues with condensation, good airflow to prevent fungus etc and temp. stability (both hot growing and cold growing orchids). Also many orchid houses have these little vents on each end that are set to open or close at the preset humidity and/or temp required. Worth a look anyway and a chance to see some flowers from your fishes' native lands.

For anyone's future fish house, there's also a drywall that's used in damp places. Pricey but safe. http://homerenovations.about.com/od/wal ... nboard.htm

Another little thing that may have been mentioned that I missed is the el cheapo tank alarm. When your water reaches it, it sets off an alarm. I think ebay may have them.

Enjoying the tour,
Tana

[Jools]

Another little thing that may have been mentioned that I missed is the el cheapo tank alarm. When your water reaches it, it sets off an alarm. I think ebay may have them.

Glad you like it. On the tank alarm - can you point me at your "el cheapo" one that is much less than £50/US$50? I'd like to use these, but at the kind of prices I've seen for them, I'd only really use them on the big tank, maybe.

Jools

[grokefish]

This:-



Looks like a place you could get stuck for days with or without beer.
Looks fab.

Matt

Ps: I still cant get my avatar to upload.

[Jools]

Ps: I still cant get my avatar to upload.

Can you email it to me? I will then reset your password, login as you, try it out and then see what the issue is.

Cheers,

Jools

[CanadaPleco]

the room looks awesome! Wish I had such a big room to do that with.

[Jools]

the room looks awesome! Wish I had such a big room to do that with.

Thanks, I've wanted to build this for nearly two decades. It'll probably be at least another year before I am close to having it as I want it but it's much better than being limit to two 3 foot tanks in my bedsit!

Jools