theshiftys_jm

With so many tanks of various sizes.... What else was I supposed to put that under? Besides "Funny...."

I guess that makes us the "Ultimate Full Timers" *LOL*

Yes, yes... 2 1.5's... 1- 5 gallon, 1-15 gallon, 1-30 gallon, and 2-55's...

Nope, it's not crowded... Yes, it's tastefully done as to maximize space...

How? You ask? Ermmmm.. *LOL*

It's easy, throw out the free standing dinette in one slide out... Give away a sofa sleeper couch in the back and VOILA!!! Room for tanks! *LOL*

Don't try this until you have contacted the manufacturer of said RV and speak to an engineer... Mine is a Carriage... All is well.. *LOL*

It's a true four seasons unit. I can attest to this as we have been through no less than seven blizzards here in Colorado, and never froze up once...

HOWEVER.... As well insulated as it is. 1 55 is in a slide hanging out into mid-air, not a problem, even with the bit of cold soak that does get in... The big issue is the large by huge window that is behind it. Dual pane, yes... Window shades, tinted very dark, etc... Sun, and cold still hit the back glass of the tank. This winter so far, hasn't been too bad. I have two 350 watt stealth pro heaters in it. So far I have only seen a drop of 1 degree. The summer is where it's going to be interesting. In my other tank I noticed a rise of 3 to 3.5 degrees. I was able to bring the tank temp back down by opening the hoods and cranking the AC up. Good for the tanks but hard on a Wife that is going through chemo....

I am holding off buying chillers, unless I absolutely have to. I'll try open hoods with small fans next summer to see how that works.....

I'll add more to this as I go, but I have to go for now.

Michael

Amanda

WOw!! I would love to see pics of that set-up!!

Kerber23

O,O can i live in your RV :P

TFA101

Can we get pictures??

I was thinking about taking my bettas on our RV trip, but it wasn't a smooth ride, so we didn't...

Borisbbadd

We need pictures............

How do you keep the water in the tanks on rough and bumpy roads?

theshiftys_jm

That's the beauty of an inverter, half full tanks, padded, and braced on the floor, and a mor'ryde air bag suspension on the trailer that smooths out the bumps. Empty this weighs 16,000 pounds, so i'm guestimating that with fish tanks, all of our stuff and so on we're close to 18,000.. It actually pulls well, though my truck knows it's there, it doesn't bounce nor beat the heck out of you towing it. My cat rides in the trailer on trips, and when we stop we find her sleeping comfortably on the bed so i'm guessing that the ride back here is not that bad. My betta's ride in their betta cups, so their tanks are empty. The others, for the short trips we have taken seem to be fine. Pretty cool huh?

peacemaker92

wow! That sounds great! Can't wait for some pics too! Curious though, how does the RV hold all the weight of the tanks?

theshiftys_jm

Great question. It's one I had myself before I started all this. I contacted the manufacturer, (Carriage Inc.) The main floor is 3/4" OSB on top of a matrix of 2" X 2" Aluminum beams. Engineer states that I can put whatever I want on main floor, slides hold an extra 1500 pounds on top of the weight they are already supporting. I love something that is over-engineered and over-built.. *LOL*

theshiftys_jm

I think this is going to be a continuation of the hello thread as well... So I tested the 30 gallon Parrot tank... Which I admittedly short-cycled.... Nitrites are at 0, Nitrates at 10, ammonia at 0, but the pH zinged on me...... Went from 7.0 to 7.8..... What the....?

*Sigh* Ok so the ph went up... Water is STILL milky, so i'm going to assume it's from the substrate dust.... I don't care what anyone says, unless your rinsing this stuff for a couple of hours, your not going to get it all... This all started when I reset the powerheads on the undergravel filter. Never been a fan of them but was talked into using them. I have two Marineland 440's pumping from the towers, which I had to raise. Not feeling confident with those AT ALL.... I added a Penguin 150 biowheel, and an Aquaclear rated from 30-50 gallon tanks.... Don't remember the model.... Only thing I did in the Aquaclear, since it had been running on another tank for a few months, besides rinse the charcoal filter, which was changed on 11-15-2009, was change the ceramic rings... Water STILL cloudy.... Beginning to thing i'll ditch the undergravel filter.....

scatty

Wow! Definately need pics!

theshiftys_jm

Trying to upload pics. Having to go through photobucket to do it, but i'll have some up here in my album soon.

aquarist48

Hello JM. You can also resize your photos here:
Free Online Picture Resizer - Crop and Resize photos, images, or pictures online for FREE!
I resize mine and just keep them on my computer and upload from there to manage attachments in my thread.
I'll be looking forward to seeing your photos!

Ken

theshiftys_jm

Cool! Thanks Ken!

I have just finished uploading them to photobucket.... So, how do I get them to transfer over to my album? I've tried the image code, and url code, hit the upload button and.... Nothing...

theshiftys_jm

Alright, since i'm tired of fighting with it, I posted some pics in the pics thread. Hope you enjoy them!

Tony G.

Copy the IMG code and paste in on your message the pic comes up on the message

theshiftys_jm

It's small tank cleaning time!!! Since the 1.5 gals have the cheesy air driven filters, and the squashed marbles, which the good stuff has a hard time growing on, I just tear them down, put the boys in their betta cups and do a full clean. The five gallon I vacuum and do around a 50% water change. Also, being it's the first of the month, filter changes all around!

Admirals quarters are done, brewing (I call it that... I let it run for an hour or so, letting the heater do it's job.) The five gallon is done, that leaves Lieutenants quarters, and my nieces fish, opaline gourami, which we are babysitting. I'll do a thread on him. He's an..................... Interesting character....

Red1313

Wow... Can't wait for pic's

speed0factory

I wanna see the picture seem like it very intersting here

theshiftys_jm

Pics over in the freshwater pic section, thread titled "Tanks n Tanks again."

Thanks guys!

Cleaned the four smally tanks last night, 30% water changes on the 30 and community 55. Tomorrow night, African 55.... Along with filling in the holes in the front that they so kindly dug. I griped about the digging at first, (VERY funny story behind that.), then after my Mrs. so kindly pointed out: "Honey, YOU own the outside of the tank, THEY own the inside, and as far as they see you, your their buddy.... (Long pause, followed by a pat on the back) "And chief cook and bottle washer."

theshiftys_jm

Wow, that's wierd, prior to this post, star and green award thingios are gone. I post this... And they re-appear......

theshiftys_jm

Tank Cleaning and tank readings...

55 Community Tank--- Ph/7.6 (up from 7.2) Ammonia--0 Nitrites--0 Nitrates--20
Notes: ph tends to fluctuate here at this RV park. It's on well water, and the well is only 40 feet or so. It's 15 degrees F and it snowed. Plus it is very heavy in minerals. I think that may be part of the ph issue. I also think a contributing factor to that is the fact that I vacuumed more of the sludge out of the bottom. (Got this tank for free from someone whom hadn't cleaned it in over 2 months, so sludge is the battle right now. Can't hit it all in one cleaning as that spiked the Nitrates and Nitrites out of this world. Didn't lose any fish to it, thankfully but lesson learned.

30 Gallon Blood Parrot tank. The fish are Mai, Tai, and Tequilla
Ph-- 7.6 Ammonia-- 0 Nitrites-- 0 Nitrates-- 10
Notes: I'm definately thinking the ph boost is from the well. Tank finally cleared up today, but i'm still going to ditch the UGF for a canister.

55 Gallon African Cichlid Tank
Ph-- 7.9 Ammonia-- 0 nitrite-- 0 nitrate--15
Notes: Some might say that in it's present state it's overpopulated. I personally like a busy tank. Presently it's residents consist of 5 Peacock Cichlids, and 7 mbuna's of different varieties. My goal in this tank is to have breeds from each lake, so yes, i'm looking at 18 to 20 Fish in this tank. I'm on a standstill on this tank until I add a canister filter. I'm going to add a Fluval 405, to help out the Penguin 350 that is presently on it. I think the Penguin is at a nominal limit for the bioload right now. I wouldn't carry out these plans without my Mentor. Nathan at Tropical Treasures in Colorado Springs. AND, the wonderful folks at fishlore.com, who's forums I have searched through for many months now. I wouldn't be doing any of this if I weren't dedicated to the fishy-kids. My personal opinions on overloading tanks are these. Within reason, I.E. a full grown Oscar or 9000 Guppies in a 5 gallon is simply a bad idea. but if you are committed, water changes, water quality, and a well designed tank for the species. Knowledge of each of the species as far as feed requirements, water parameters, and meeting their environmental needs as far as surroundings, numerous places to hide, etc... And a mentor you can call on for help and information, (If your fairly new to the hobby like myself.), then I really don't have an issue with what I call "stuffing a tank." I know there are those who disagree, and I respect that. I'm not the type to guffaw or bad mouth or be disrespectful of anyone's opinion in the hobby. God knows it's not an exact science.

Do I weigh my actions in fishkeeping with other experience I have in animal husbandry? Sure. I think there is a difference in behaviours, needs, and other aspects of fish species, based on if they were many generations tank bred rather than a fish from the wild. Same goes with horses. Mustangs fresh out of their element have far different training requirements and handling requirements than a horse that is pasture born and raised. I have plenty of experience in the equine field.

I try to put the same energy and time into the fishy-kids as I do my big horsey kids. So in closing yes. As per the rules of fishkeeping, I have overpopulated tanks. By the same token, I have the commitment and help I need to maintain a healthy environment for those fish that reside in those tanks.

I won't post the water parameters for the small tanks, as the Betta tanks substrate is flat marbles. Hard for the bacteria to grow on those anyway. So once a week, I put the boys in their betta cups and do a complete clean on tank and everything in it, including replacing the small filters. My 5 gallon, like all my tanks is vacuumed. I do a 50% water change on it. Even though it houses only a Betta and a Dwarf Gourami, it by the rules, is overcrowded. I went overboard on it's filtration, Topfin 20, and it's heated with a larger than needed heater. It does have a gravel substrate, but i'm in the habit of keeping their water and envirionment extra clean. It's a small tank, so I treat it as such.

chuba

This thread is making me want to buy an rv, fill it with tanks and head cross country!! Excellent use of space theshifty.

theshiftys_jm

*LOL* Thanks Chuba. You have to "Stow them for sea," when your going down the road though!

chuba

yea i bet

theshiftys_jm

Well... Might be having Mbuna babies soon. It seems that my male Socolifi and a female Kenyi have paired up tonight.

Scupper is the Male
Sprit is the female

Scupper's going nuts driving everyone to the opposite end of the tank, then very quickly digging a hole in his cave. He'll leave and post gaurd while Sprit goes in, inspects, swims out and waits for him to dig more. Funny thing is, she is more interested in getting him to come to the hole that she dug in another cave. That is a bad idea as that is the House of Raphie! (Raphael Cat) He keeps kicking her out of his home. *LOL*

Not quite the pairing I was hoping for as I have a male and female flameback that are hard to find.

I guess we'll see as the night wears on, what happens with this love story. I'm just shuddering at the thought of being a Grandpa at this young of an age.....