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Keeping a fishtank in the lounge?

14 replies

ilovehens · 04/11/2010 12:33

We currently have our fishtank in the kitchen so that I can easily siphon water off and replace it without it causing lots of mess.

I am now in the position of having to remove the tank from the kitchen and buying a new tank to put into the lounge.

My question is, how easily is it to clean the gravel with the suction gravel cleaner and replace the water in a tank that's not close to the water supply? Is it a huge faff every week, or quite easy to do?

Just wondering because I don't want gallons of water all over the carpet!

Any tips or tricks to cleaning and weekly maintenance? The new tank will have an external filter which will sit in the cabinet underneath the tank.

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EauRouge · 04/11/2010 13:52

Depends how big your tank is! I keep a couple of buckets just for fishy use so that I don't have to make trips back and forth to the kitchen. Another option is to use an extra-long syphon tube and just stick it straight out of the window for the waste water.

External filters don't usually need cleaning as often as internal ones. It's worth standing it in a big waterproof container, then when you do come to clean it you can just turn the valves off and unplug the pipes without having to move the filter.

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thisisyesterday · 04/11/2010 16:53

we use buckets too

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ilovehens · 04/11/2010 21:10

Okay, thanks for that. The tank will be fairly large, but not enormous. I don't know how many gallons just at the moment. The bloke in the store just said to use buckets and siphon tube and change about 20% of the water each week.

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ilovehens · 15/11/2010 22:27

The new tank is now in the lounge Smile

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ant3nna · 15/11/2010 22:30

Top tip from the Practical Fishkeeping forums: Use one of those U-shaped things you get on the back of washing machines to stop your siphon from slithering out of your bucket and pissing water all over the floor.

Its worth taking a peep at the PFK forums, there is a wealth of information on practically every fishy problem on there and so many knowledgeable people.

Out of interest, what size tank do you have?

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SingingBear · 15/11/2010 22:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ilovehens · 16/11/2010 09:57

Thanks for the replies. It is looking nice now and the fish seem happy. Thanks for the tip about the siphon tubing U shaped thingy, I think I know what you mean.

I shall have a look at the PFK site.

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EauRouge · 16/11/2010 10:35

I would do plenty of research for everything, some forums are good and some are crap and even the good forums can have some shocking advice on them sometimes.

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ant3nna · 16/11/2010 14:21

That's true about fishy forums, EauRouge. Some forums I've been on were worse than useless. On the whole I find PFK forums quite good if a little aggressive at times (worse than AIBU sometimes) but a quick google will bring up loads of fishy forums and you can see if there is a consensus about your problem.

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ilovehens · 16/11/2010 20:35

Oh, I don't want to go to anywhere aggressive. I only have two goldfish, so I'm hardly a credible aquarist, even though I've been at it for 25 years! Grin

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ant3nna · 17/11/2010 11:31

Two goldfish is fine, I only have 6 white cloud mountain minnows and a few shrimp so we are coldwater kindred Smile

I've made my PFK buddies sound bad - most people are fine but admit that you have fish in a woefully small tank and you are going to get a pasting. Its like the MN equivalent of saying that you beat your children.

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EauRouge · 17/11/2010 11:38

That's a shame, IME people usually need a nice cup of tea and a paper bag to hyperventilate into when they find out how big goldfish get Grin

Minnows are brilliant, I'm thinking of getting some for my credit crunch tank.

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ant3nna · 18/11/2010 14:54

I love my minnows and the way they flare at each other in some sort of fishy masculinity contest but tbh, my amano shrimp provide the most entertainment. The little blighters seem to have a lot of personality and aren't frightened about telling the fish off if they dare come too close.

I have some cherry shrimp as well but they seem to be quite shy. Quite cheap and complement the red in the minnow well so swings and round abouts.

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ilovehens · 18/11/2010 17:43

My tank is quite large, but I'm not risking getting anymore fish as goldies are so filthy and need heaps of space.

I like the idea of shrimps - they're cute and a bit different.

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