Path: utzoo!hoptoad!amdcad!pyramid!ames!nrl-cmf!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!husc6!bbn!uwmcsd1!uwvax!speedy!farrens
From: farrens@speedy.cs.wisc.edu (Matthew Farrens)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: cheap stuff
Keywords: stuff that is cheap
Message-ID: <5690@spool.cs.wisc.edu>
Date: 4 May 88 20:18:27 GMT
References: <3787@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Sender: news@spool.cs.wisc.edu
Reply-To: farrens@speedy.cs.wisc.edu (Matthew Farrens)
Distribution: alt
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 58

In article <3787@gryphon.CTS.COM> richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) writes:
>
>Sure, it just starts with one. Pretty soon you're stashing your lunch money
>to buy "just another tank", but hey you can quit at any time, and then
>you go to the fish store every friday and start blowing larger and larger
>portions of your paycheck, face it pal, YOURE AN ADDICT !

If only it weren't so.  We started out with a 30 gallon tank, and an aquaclear,
and something else (I don't even remember now) that were *left* to us by a
roommate.  Didn't even have to buy anything!  By the time the "feeding" frenzy
had worn off we had another 29 gallon tank, 6 tens, a 2.5, a purchased rack for
the 29's, a built rack for the 10's, filters and heaters and lights for all 
the tanks, .........

	For us the worst part wasn't the tanks.  You can get tanks, new tanks,
real cheap.  Deceptively cheap.  We got brand new 10 gallon tanks for 5.99.
It was all those tops and filters and lights and heaters and gravels and fish 
and ...

>
>>it blows up and dumps the fish on the floor at 2am, it's a crisis very differ-
>>ent from when you have three or a dozen tanks. 

Have to disagree here.  Unless you are a professional type, a blown tank is no
more pleasant for a multi-tank family than for a single-tank family.  Blown
tanks suck, bottom line.

>If you ever hear of this happening, let me know. I've never heard of it.

OK, listen up.:-) It happened to us, only not at 2am.  (Actually, I think it did
happen at 2, but since we don't normally go to bed until 3 it was while we were
still awake.)  We were in the kitchen and heard this strange sound coming from
where the fish were and wandered out to find a huge crack in the back of a 10
and at least 2 gallons of water on our carpet with more coming.  Had we not
been awake at the time it would have been really bad, but fortunately we were
up so we were able to minimize the damage.  Two gallons of water is a lot!
Imagine taking two gallons of milk and just pouring them on the carpeted floor.
It was not a pleasant thing to clean up or smell for the next few days, believe
me.

>I've never found a fish that couldnt hack 60 - 90 degree water.
>Can the heater. Just stow it and see what happens.
>
OK, I happen to know of several, because I bought a 2.5 gallon hex-like tank
for my office and put some hatchets, gouramies, and a cat in it (the furless
kind.)  However, my office is in a new building and they lower the heat to 
about 65 at night, so my poor fish were cycling between mid-70's during the 
day and mid 60's at night.  After a couple of them expressed their displeasure 
by ceasing to breath, I put a heater in and had no more trouble.  (Except for 
the hatchets, who *insisted* on jumping out of my covered tank regularly.  You 
would think they would learn after landing on the floor about the third time!)

>Sorry to sound testy, I dont mean to, be but this really gets my goat.

Goats!  Maybe that is what I should raise!  I hear they eat everything, and I
wouldn't have to worry about P.H. or trates or trites or metals or algae or para

Matthew Farrens