How to:

[Gav]

there is many ways to save water around the house, what i am getting at is that fish tanks make up a relatively small amount of annual usage compared with other things we do around the house.

and you are right my new tank will chew up about 400l a week in changes. thats nothing considering in the past i have used as much as 3000 a week in changes

[SA fishy 07]

I have always used my water change water to clean my filters, and i used to then use that water to water plants around the garden...

now i have an aquaponic system in my backyard, i put most of the water change water in there, as there are currently always zero nitrates (well see when i add more fish) The water i don't put into my ap system, i use to grow duckweed to feed the goldies in the ap system

(fyi-aquaponics or ap for short is using terrestial plants to extract the nutrients, i have tubs full of gravel with the plants in, so the ap side of my "fish Pond" does all the filtration, mechanical and biological)

[BaZ]

Something that has not been mentioned is the size and/or number of tanks. In particular those who do not have rainwater tanks installed should perhaps consider this. E.g. Is it really necessary to have that massive tank to house a bunch of tankbusters or might you find keeping/breeding species that require less space just as enjoyable? Saves energy too.

Some very good points here.

Gav's downsized, so he's using less water and less power which is doing a good thing for the environment.

I've just taken a break (looking very long term at this stage ) from fish for the same reason. I found it hard to morally justify the power and water I was using. I'm expecting much lower power bills next winter which is better for my bank balance and reduces my contribution to global warming, and I'm no longer using 1200L of water per waterchange.

Slightly off topic, but still talking about water and power...

While I'm using less water for fish, I'm using a little more water for the vege garden. I don't feel guilty about this because it's nowhere near as much as I used to use for the tanks, and home grown veges don't contribute to global warming anywhere near as much as store-bought ones.

Have you ever considered that the vegetables you buy in the shop were probably grown in climate controled conditions, in a massive barn with heaps of lights and temp control devices? They are grown using automated watering systems, transported by fuel-burning vehicles, stored and sorted in powered warehouses, and then sold in massive power-sucking chains such as Woolworths or Coles. After all that you put the veges into numerous plastic bags before you drive them home in your fuel-buring vehicle.

Do I feel guilty about using a bit of water to avoid all that? Not one bit!

[MVP]

Noticing some of the posts are starting to head towards how much water we are actually using in our tanks and electricity as well, this is not what this post is about. Its bringing ideas to the front that help save water while keeping what we love even if it is a thousand tanks or that sherman tank for tank busters. Nobody should feel guilty for doing what they love but should for not trying to adjust it slightly to help minimise the effect on the environment.

Hobcas, your right on the mark in saying its everyones respondsibility. Good post.

One thing alot of people are saying also is they clean the filter media with water change water. My question is do you store the water before using it in some sort of container or do you clean your filters when you do a water change? Personally i don't do them at the same time to allow time for the colonies in the tank to grow back after i have just dented them with a water change.

[Reillin]

I too have thought about reducing water consumption and as someone with a fishroom, it is quite an important matter. I have thought about refugiums, but given enough room, I think releasing all your water into a two or three pond system might be the way to go. Each pond would contain plant and insect life and hopefully the water from the third pond would be okay to be reuse in your aquariums.

Another method which I thought of was a cycling of aquarium waterm using the nutrients to grow fish food.

Old aquarium water > Green water/water plants > rotifers/daphnia

The cycle above is entirely possible, as I have tried it with a large open top grey water storage. All my aquarium water goes into the container and it is seeded with daphnia. The container cultures green water and the daphnia blooms, when the green water is gone, the daphnia will collapse. If this excess water is then placed into a densely planted container, then I'm sure the water left would be suitable for fish. I would vary the plants as much as possible. After a while, the container will grow filamentous algae (great for mbunas) and the container will need to be emptied and scrubbed and started over again. I think once the filamentous algae takes over, the water would be pretty much low in nitrates.

If you have multiple containers (300 litres?), then you can cycle through. The daphnia and algae will provide food and clean your water for you.

I am in the process of obtaining permission to purchase more "ponds", however I think I may have to buy my own house and start my own project. I would prefer to have an extensive pond system where water from aquariums will run through multiple ponds before being pumped back into the tanks.

Products you can derive from old aquarium water.

Filamentous algae - a great food, high in fibre and my Metriaclima callainos and L. hongi loves them.

Green water (food for small baby fish, food for rotifers, daphnia)

Rotifers - great food for baby fish

Daphnia - great food for all fish which are big enough

Mozzie larvae - a wonderful food for fish, although late harvest = getting lynch by the neighbours.

Various aquatic plants - anubias, vals, etc. I would also say that any fast growing aquatic plant would be highly suitable, as you can harvest them regularly, thereby reducing nutrients from the water.

If you are more adventurous and scientifically inclined, you can try culturing chlorella and spirulina. These are touted as super food and are supposedly extremely easy to culture. Rotifers/Daphnia fed on a diet of chlorella and spirulina would arguably make the highest quality food possible.

Cheers,

Vien.

[CICHLID KANE]

Noticing some of the posts are starting to head towards how much water we are actually using in our tanks and electricity as well, this is not what this post is about. Its bringing ideas to the front that help save water while keeping what we love even if it is a thousand tanks or that sherman tank for tank busters. Nobody should feel guilty for doing what they love but should for not trying to adjust it slightly to help minimise the effect on the environment.

Hobcas, your right on the mark in saying its everyones respondsibility. Good post.

One thing alot of people are saying also is they clean the filter media with water change water. My question is do you store the water before using it in some sort of container or do you clean your filters when you do a water change? Personally i don't do them at the same time to allow time for the colonies in the tank to grow back after i have just dented them with a water change.

I will only clean filter media when I do a water change but the water change will only be minimal. I cant understand anyone who cant see we need big changes with water usage MVP. Have your super sized tank and do large water changes regularly, you know why? Because the guy next door has his shower running for 20 minutes each day. The old lady accross the road waters her lawn when its her turn for the full 3 hours (in SA). The whole street loves running dish washers, who knows.

NO EXCUSE ANYMORE

Everyone has to do their own little bit, and by you only using 600L a week in your tanks instead of 1000L because you have found some brilliant idea thus allowing you to keep these tanks going is NOT the same as accepting the reality that we live in and doing what you can and only using 100L or so because you only run a tank or two. I love our world before the artificial one in my tank.

[Josh]

So are you saying that cutting down from 1000l to 600l isnt making a contribution? I also use about 600l a week on my tanks. Its what I need to do to keep my fish healthy. This is something that I think is also important.

I am not going to cut back on the types of tanks or the amount of tanks I keep.

By keeping fish we are responsible for keeping them properly and giving them the best conditions we can.

Josh

[CICHLID KANE]

So are you saying that cutting down from 1000l to 600l isnt making a contribution? I also use about 600l a week on my tanks. Its what I need to do to keep my fish healthy. This is something that I think is also important.

I am not going to cut back on the types of tanks or the amount of tanks I keep.

By keeping fish we are responsible for keeping them properly and giving them the best conditions we can.

Josh

Thats 80l a day for you without anything else!

I know we all couldnt do that!!!

those fish you keep are not in their natural environment, remember, they are bred for you to enjoy and yes take the very best care of, but at what cost?

Would love to hear from someone in Qld who are experiencing I think level 6 restrictions?

[MVP]

Kane this thread is not about whether fish keeping is sustainable for society. Its about people considering options for cutting down on water wastage, meaning water we are using and could probably use less while not affecting the quality of an environment for our aquaria.

If you feel you want to vent about whether society should allow the keeping of fish post in the tangent forum i'll be sure to add 2cents.

[KIMO]

Cichlid Kane,

Your handle/name seems ironic to me. You claim by your title to like "cichlids" but are getting a bit "high horsey" about others keeping cichlids and using water to look after them properly. These same people are the ones who make this forum tick along and provide responsible solutions for water re-cycling and saving.

It's a bit off tangent but maybe you need to join a water conservation forum and not a fish keeping one.

KimO.

[vxd]

What I do is use the water I take out of the fish tank to flush the toilet and use clean water to do a water change.

Meaning in the end you are not wasting water because it evens out.

vxd

How do you do this vxd?

Does your fishtank water get pumped to a water tank which is hooked up to the toilet?

Or are you talking about a more manual method (tipping a bucket of water in)

I do it manually with a bucket. I do plan to get a water tank hooked up to the toilets.

You got to think, half a flush is 4.5L, a full flush is 9L. In my house the toilets gets used at least 10 times a day. That "could" be over 100L of CLEAN water used a day for the toilet.

This way you won't have to feel guilty for doing you hundreds of liters of water change each week/fortnightly because you are not wasting the limited supply of CLEAN water we dearly need. ( I only have 1 tank running right now and doing 20L fortnightly water change.)

vxd

[vxd]

And another thing, I don't see the point in using gray water to water the grass/tree/plant. I think using it to flush the toilet is the most logical thing to do because you save money and the environment. I don't see the logic in using clean water to flush the toilet.

[brisil]

And another thing, I don't see the point in using gray water to water the grass/tree/plant. I think using it to flush the toilet is the most logical thing to do because you save money and the environment. I don't see the logic in using clean water to flush the toilet.

using the left over water, to water plants/yard, like i do, is just commonsense. Other wise it just goes down the drain as waste water. So why not use ya noodle and recycle. Keeps the yard/plants alive, between long breaks without rain and like i have stated it doesn't go down the drains as waste. I live in toowoomba, and we are on level 6 water restrictions, so we try our best to conserve the little water we have left.

[MVP]

I was just thinking, Theres less evaporation with lids on our tanks isnt there? Where can you buy decently price lids cause i guess thats probably the biggest thing not knowing where to buy new lids from after you accidently kick one which you left leaning against the stand

[hobcas]

Theres less evaporation with lids on our tanks isnt there?

Lids are essential....... not only to save water evaporation, but they help reduce heat loss and stop the odd fish jumping its way to freedom.

Link below to Addicted2Cichlids Tank and Lid page

Tanks Lids from sponsor

[robdog013]

I agree the lids from a2c are nice with bevelled edges and handles

[THEFATCATFISH]

I'm gonna second aquaponics.

You use very little water and get a good veggie garden out of it as well.

I am currently playing around with rigging my bullrout display into a cellery and 'fat hen' grow bed.

[SA fishy 07]

I'm gonna second aquaponics.

You use very little water and get a good veggie garden out of it as well.

I am currently playing around with rigging my bullrout display into a cellery and 'fat hen' grow bed.

Nice one, is a cellery and "fat hen" gb, where you use the gb to grow food (cellery) for the hen?

[THEFATCATFISH]

http://web.cotton.crc.org.au/content/Indus...mes/Fathen.aspx

nah fathen is just a plant. I really like the taste of the leaves and use it instead of lettuce and the like. Nice and nutty. Has been used for thousands of years as a human food and livestock fodder.... only now its regarded as a weed. Each to their own

I do keep a few types of chooks as well as pekin ducks and quails... they don't get to eat fathen but I get to eat them heh heh

[JLL]

just remember if you keep plants that like acidic soil then dont water them with anything coming from a buffered african tank. it tends to wipe em out real fast.

Good point Gav. It is not just the water but the fines that you put into the soil. The marble sand/coral sand or similar that gets into the soil will buffer it in the same way it does to your tank. It is not only acid loving plants that can suffer and correcting the issue is a nightmare if you build up a big buffer in the soil.

Have you ever considered that the vegetables you buy in the shop were probably grown in climate controled conditions, in a massive barn with heaps of lights and temp control devices? They are grown using automated watering systems, transported by fuel-burning vehicles, stored and sorted in powered warehouses, and then sold in massive power-sucking chains such as Woolworths or Coles. After all that you put the veges into numerous plastic bags before you drive them home in your fuel-buring vehicle.

Do I feel guilty about using a bit of water to avoid all that? Not one bit!

Absolutely spot on! It bugs me when people suggest you are 'wasting' water in growing your own produce. Some intensive horticulture enterprises are pretty water wise nowadays but when you add all the other factors then there is no question.

...Nobody should feel guilty for doing what they love

Taking this quote out of context I know but...... guilt stops me from doing a million things I would otherwise love to do.....