# What do you do when you get tired and lazy?



## BasiCEvil (Jan 5, 2006)

What do you guys do when you get tired of water changes and tank maintenance?

My job has become more and more demanding and I am finding that I am less and less willing to deal with maintenance issues when I get home.

Anyone have any suggestions or motivational words as to what to do?


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

For me having the chance to clean out the tanks is really relaxing so I enjoy it and the idea of my fish being in a healthier environment. I keep them clean enough to let it slack for a couple of days, once when I really twisted my back I had my girlfriend help out a bit.

There are a lot of people on this forum that never have to do tank maintenance, they have automatic systems you could look into trying once of those out.


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

Well, let the tank slide for a while (I don't actually recommend this) and see how mucky it gets, see how much algae grows due to the build up of nitrates and phosphates, see how much easier it is for your fish to become ill, or for wounds to become infected, see the massive increase in oligochaetes and planaria, the protein build up making the surface look oily, the way the plants you grow (if any) turn into an unpruned mess and eventually slow in their growth, and the seemingly increased aggression/agitation in your fish.

These are all the things that motivate me, because there is not a single thing on that list that I would willingly allow in my tanks (some amount of oligochaetes is understandable and if anything shows a good system, but I'm talking about excess).

I had a contract recently that had me working 17-24 hour shifts 6 days a week and I let the tanks go for two weeks without a waterchange, no biggy, but they didn't look as pristine as I like and as I am used to, I found that really quite stressful knowing that the fish were compromised in their conditions, so I'd come home and do the waterchanges at 3-4-5am before catching an hour or two sleep and heading back out. It really helped me relax and gave me something to be pleased about after a bad day, my pride and joy are my aquariums.

The best motivation is seeing exactly what you don't want, nothing reaffirms your actions like seeing what happens if you don't take such pride in the cleanliness of your tank. We get used to it and take it for granted but there is a world of difference between those tanks which are regularly maintained and those that are lacking, and you really can tell.

You need to rekindle your affection and passion for your aquariums, to remind yourself why it is worth doing what you do, the best advice I can give to you is to find a new angle, something to make the waterchanges seem less of a chore and more fun - ie turn it into an interaction with your fish.

I found that putting some pellets in my hand and gradually teaching the fish to eat from it, or stroking my Rotkeil and getting him to chase the krill in my fingers, it stopped water changes being a chore and turned it into an action where I get to interact with my fish in a way that I normally wouldn't. Since doing this I'll suddenly realise half an hours gone by and I need to fill the tank back up and get the filters back on. Water changes don't have to be a chore, and this is coming from someone who uses 2 gallon buckets to refill their 75 :lol:.

Of course there are alternatives, like the auto changer and if I really couldn't take it that would be my choice, but with just a few spare hours in the day I'd much rather water change the way I do now - I wouldn't want to lose that interaction time with my fish.

That's how I overcame my after work blues anyway.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Revamp the tank in some way. Switch one of the breeding groups, redo the aquascape, add plants. I do some sort of fairly major change every year. This year I'm moving mbuna out of the 125G into a new 75G, and I'm doing a Tang planted tank in the 125G.


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## chapman76 (Jun 30, 2004)

Like DJ said, chaning things up helps me. Add a new fish. Sell a group off. I did the same thing. I had a nice 75g tank for about 4 years and sold off the entire tank to try something new because I found myself not paying enough attention to it. I was keeping up on the maintenence, but just didn't watch the tank for more than 5 minutes a day.


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## ksane (Mar 19, 2008)

I'm with blairo1 all the way  I blame it on being a Capricorn but I can't stand the thought of the fish's water not being fresh and their tanks not being clean-they're my babies! Besides it's one of the most relaxing things I've ever done.


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## natalie559 (Dec 6, 2007)

What's your maintenance routine?

Maybe we could help you simplify so that your routine works for you and your fish.


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

letting maintenance slide, once in a while, has helped me to understand how well each tank's bio balances within itself. i keep dozens of aquarium for many years, and i know which tanks demand daily/weekly attention, and which would likely do fine for a month without it. seeing what goes 'wrong' first, during times of neglect, offers an opportunity to correct otherwise unseen issues. so...periods of 'delayed care' can be a good thing...so long as you monitor it's digression and learn from it. 
folks who panic, prior to extended business/vacation trips, could learn well from experimenting with this same hypothesis. IMHO.


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

I've found that water changes can be made real simple with a bunch of 3/4" ID plastic tubing, a gravel vac, a bucket, an old chair, and a $10 160gph submersible aquarium pump.

1. put bucket on chair next to aquarium
2. put one end of the 3/4" tubing out of the back door, with the other end near the bucket
3. start siphon with gravel vac, fill bucket half way
4. jam the gravel vac tubing into the 3/4" tubing and wedge it between the half full bucket and the back of the chair. The tank should be draining out the back door.

Make some coffee, check e-mail, read the Cichlid-Forum for new posts. 

Once enough water is drained, kill the siphon. Add water conditioner to the tank. Put one end of the long tubing in the tank, the other in the sink. Attach tubing in the sink to the submersible pump (might need an adapter here), put the pump in a bowl or bucket, put bowl or bucket in the sink, fire up the faucet, fire up the pump. The tank should now be filling up with water.

Go do laundry or something else... but keep an eye on things.

Keeping the water in good condition will keep your nitrates and phosphates down, which will in turn inhibit algae growth, this'll save you lots of elbow grease. Then you can stretch out more involved tank cleanings a little longer.

Hope it helps! 

-Ryan


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## becadavies (Apr 2, 2007)

I have ever so slight (LOL) O.C.D espeicially when it comes to my fish so i cant say i relate at all to not doing W/C etc....its part of my routine and has been for years- Thou im finding it much harder with the company of an inquisitive 1 year old baby around I always find time for my tanks. But then im the sort of person who has nervous breakdown when the power trips out in the middle of the night- I have my electricity provider on Speeddial...haha

xxx


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

I'm afraid the WC have slipped a little, as my health has gotten worse.

my problem is that I no longer have the energy to do it. however I do use several methods to make it less strenuous. and that enables me to do 50% wc almost weekly (occasionally a tank slides 2 weeks, but then I do a bigger WC to make up (60-70%))

I use large rubbermaid containers to get the water ready beforehand (I use 100l (25g) buckets) and use a pipe to fill them (so no lifting buckets) then preferably use heaters to bring water to the right temperature. add any buffers as needed, then using a sump pump fill up the tanks after.

then use the pump to get rid of dirty water.

that way I can get my 180g done in about 40minutes. (although the water needs to be left overnight to heat up)


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

I do small (thus quick and easy) changes more frequently. That said, I don't have HUGE tanks. I like to do a 10 gallon change on my 60 three or four times a week. It takes me five minutes. I use buckets because I prefer that over my python. (Granted, I do have a bathroom, in the same room, so that helps.) I love seeing my fish swim around in the new water and I loooove seeing the poop going up the vac! Yeah, I'm weird. But I'm a 50-year-old woman (OK, don't look it) and I have no trouble carrying 5 gallon buckets to the tub or hoisting 3-gallon buckets into the tank even after working all day, riding my horse and getting home at 8:30 at night . . .

Another thought -- can you hire a neighborhood kid to come over and do your tanks? I have a seventh-grader who comes over every day after school to walk my dogs. It costs me $25 a week. It's a great deal for both of us . . .


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## BasiCEvil (Jan 5, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies and encouragement!

I guess I may have just slipped into the "need something new mode" a little.

I do love seeing my fish enjoy clean water and when the tank is prestine it is a joy to watch while I am at my computer.

I figured out what the *************** is about my tank though. I had a cabinet maker build my canopy and it is 8 inches higher than the top of the tank and it has 2 access openings that are 6 inches by 10 inches that cannot be propped open.

When open my larger rocks cannot fit through the opening, which means that I have to tear-down my canopy completely to do any major changes.

Just to update you guys, I am going to work along with the friend that got me into this hobby and build a better canopy that will allow for easier changes, cleanings and rearranging of the tank.
I may also attempt to do USJ as I feel that I don't have enough water flow in the tank to keep the poops from settling. Any thoughts/recommendations on this would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, I am thinking that my substrate may be another form of frustration as it is sand that seems to be blown and moved around fairly easily and poops get covered up. What do you guys/gals think?


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## heylady (Oct 14, 2004)

I'm not a big fan of sand so if you want to change your substrate then by all means do so!

I've had problems with maintance too because of time and health issues. For me I've let some things slide....like the glass hoods need cleaning, or maybe the glass on the outside needs to be wiped down, or I need to remove the fake plants out of one tank and soak them in bleach water because they look kinda dingy. These are things that you can forgo and the world won't end!! If you have to, just do the main things; water changes and filter maintance and leave the rest until you can get to it. 
Water changes are soooooo easy with a python and since I have 7 tanks I find it much easier to do 3 one day, 3 the next and the salt tank all by itself the next day!


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

Nice job, everyone, great ideas, way to motivate! =D> 


> I figured out what the pain in the rear is about my tank though.
> Just to update you guys, I am going to work along with the friend that got me into this hobby and build a better canopy that will allow for easier changes, cleanings and rearranging of the tank.
> I may also attempt to do USJ
> Lastly, I am thinking that my substrate may be another form of frustration


Nice to see you are getting re-interested in your tank and locating the problem areas.

I like sand and think it is easier to maintain than gravel, especially if it's not a deep bed of it.
Some types of sand blow around easier than others. Maybe you need a larger grained sand.
I use both Tahitian Moon (expensive) and "contractors" or fill sand (free). 
They _equally _need cleaned very well before use and both settle easily after I stir it during maintenance.

I agree, if my aquariums are in poor condition it's depressing and makes other parts of my life less enjoyable.
It's a kind of "snow ball" effect, dreading the work that keeps getting putting off.

It's fun to change up the aquascape by adding plants, rocks, driftwood, or just by re-arranging what you already have. 
If you can come up with ideas to make even just a part of the maintenance easier, all the better!
Well done, keep up the good work.
 
Alicem


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## javnshu (Oct 3, 2007)

Interesting topic. I don't look forward to cleaning/water changes, especially when I'm tired. But it's a great feeling when they're all done and the fish seem so happy. I can really tell that my fish appreciate the clean water/tank.

But my main motivation is how bad I feel if I get off my maintenance schedule. I feel constantly anxious and have bad dreams. Crazy, I know. :wink:

Nothing better than getting all my tanks cleaned on the weekend and I don't have to worry about it again for a whole week.

And, I don't worry too much about the aesthetic aspects of cleaning - just what matters to the health of the fish.


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

javnshu said:


> Interesting topic. I don't look forward to cleaning/water changes, especially when I'm tired. But it's a great feeling when they're all done and the fish seem so happy. I can really tell that my fish appreciate the clean water/tank.


My sentiments exactly. It's all mental. The hardest part for me is getting started but once I do it goes quickly. My routine takes less then an hour a week doing 50% water changes for my 29g and my 84g. That includes vacuuming the substrate cleaning the glass and straitening out stuff in the tank. I alternate cleaning my filters bi-monthly. I imagine if you took a film of my routine from one week to the next and overlay them you wouldn't see much difference in movement. It's become pretty much automatic.


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## rjf (Oct 23, 2008)

I only do water changes every 4 - 6 weeks. When I do a change it's 60% or more, my fish don't stress out so it works. I don't put many fish in any one tank so I can get away with it. When I set up my 100g I bought a Python. The Python is awesome. I do all three of my tanks on the same day and it usually takes me a little over 3 hours for the entire routine.

Sometimes I absolutely dread the chore, other times it's not that bad - but it's never fun. It can take up to a whole six pack to get the job done. My motivation comes from having healthy fish. My Manguense is almost a foot long and has virtually zero hole in the head. I have never, never been able to get hole in the head, or lateral line erosion to go away.

Which reminds me, I need to do my tanks this weekend.


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