Time Managment

[JPT1974]

I'm looking into setting my first high energy planted aquarium. Naturally the issue of "Time" and maintenance has to be a real consideration. We all have busy lives now a days. I was wondering how other members manage their time, juggling home life, children and their aquariums.
I plan to automate as much of the hardwear as I can. Such as lights on timers. Using a 'Peri' pump for dosing. A top end Regulator with solenoid on a timer.
It would be great to hear other member experiences, and any tips that you might suggest that would ease the way and could be put in place or considered now for the future.
I apologize in advance if this has already been covered or is a bit boring but this is my first ever thread.🙂
Cheers
John

 

[Guest]

A house keeper or au pair😛
Seriously, I think you seem to have your bases covered with automation. Additionally, try to plant with easy undemanding plants and create a scape that makes maintenance (trimming and cleaning etc) easy. Even high-energy tanks can be planned for low-maintenance - take a look at George's Slow Burner http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/na-65cm-slow-burner.37285/

 

[aaron.c]

Don't forget to factor in your weekly water change if you are using EI

Can take a while to get it all done lugging buckets around etc.

My process is as follows;

1. Unplug heater.
2. Stir up waste that has got in amongst plants so it is in the water column (this is so I can suck up more of it)
   
3. Drain 25% of water, trying to suck up as much as waste as possible and dump it, or water plants with it.
4. Drain another 25%. Dont dump it just yet.
5. Clean filter pads in tank water from step 4.
6. Take apart spray bar and clean in tank water, getting snails out with bottle brush.
7. Dose tank with prime. Turn off filter.
8. Top up straight from mixer tap (only do this if you have a combi boiler and not an immersion heater and tank).
9. Turn the filter and heater back on.

This takes me about 30 minutes now. Later on and throughout the day I make sure any leaves that are on the top are netted and binned.

🙂

 

[tigertim]

get organized and have a routine that you never stray from would be my advice :]

 

[parotet]

Hi john

I own two high tech tanks and several small setups (nano vivarium, wabikusa, jars with plants, balcony pond, etc.). Sometimes I travel quite a lot and no issues... My piece of advice would be: keep it small, simple and not too fast. In other words, small volume means good maintenance and easy water chances (key for success, all my setups do not make in total more than 80 liters. If I include the pond about 160 liters), simple means not demanding setups (I.e Riccia, very fast growers, etc.) and not too fast means medium light, no problems with co2, less trimming, fertilizers not so critical, etc.
Enjoy your tanks, do not live for them!

Jordi

 

[Andy Thurston]

keep it small. do little bits of trimming all the time. even high light fast growing setups are not that bad to maintain if you keep on top of them, its when you neglect them for a couple of months and then trim everything at once it seems like a mammoth task. my high light tank only takes 1.5hours per week to look after but if I leave it to grow it takes about 4hours to trim and waterchange

 

[JPT1974]

Thank you everyone for your great advice.
Now there's a thought Troi a nice pretty French au pair..... It wouldn't go down to well with the wife 😀. I'll have to put a lot of thought into the planting scheme, as you say and pick my plants wisely. I'll have a look at George's slow burner in a minute and see if I can get a few ideas.
As tigertim says forming a routine would be invaluable but I guess it would need some flexibility as I believe in parolets last bit of advice. I'd like to enjoy my tank whilst not being too much of a slave to it. I think big clowns tip of little and often might help here.
Aaron highlighted water changes which has got me thinking about how I'll get water from and to the aquarium without flooding the livingroom. Luckily their is a north facing window not to far away. I can pump out and back in through that.

Parolets mentioned going away. What do people do to prepare to go away. I guess a few days is not so bad but a week or dare I say two.... Asking someone to pop in for to give the fish a bit of food is ok. But I think asking my friends or worse mother in law (yes, I live next door to my mother in law 😀, but we get on fine) to check that the regulator is delivering x amount of bubbles via the bubble counter, the inline diffuser isn't blocked, that the drop checker is a certain shade of green and that the peristaltic pump is delivering the required amount of fertz, would quite rankly blow their minds .....
Sorry I've waffled on