WATER RESTRICTIONS!

[kinezo]

hey all...

here in melb.. we are already into stage 3 water restrictions...

atm.. i have cut down alot of my tanks... i use to have 8 tanks running....

sizes from 4ft 3ft and 2ft.....

i now only have 2 tanks running...

just wanted to ask how some ppl are coping with these new water restrictions... are u stilll doing water changes as usual.. or are ur fish suffering?

are there tips on ways to reduce water changes?

please share ur thoughts...
thanks

kinezo

[fish_r]

i thought i read some where that u can look after ur fish as normal, something about substaning life

[fiftycal]

I feel kinda bad im getting a new 6ft tank cos of the water restrictions :/

I think ill stock it very lightly for ages so I dont need to WC as much, then stock it to my plans when the drought lessens

[Bill T]

Our roses are thriving. I dump all the water from my water changes on the rose garden. Me, myself & I, we only do weekly water changes anyway....time constraints etc. I know this is not optimal, but my fish seem quite happy and well. The only thing is I can get some higher nitrate levels, which tends to keep the fish from growing.
I think the big worry about water will be if we get to stage four, and our water reservoirs get very low - then we may find the water companies having to use more chemicals to keep the water sterile. This will have big implications for water changes.
There have been a couple of cases of people doing water changes after rainfalls, only to find their fish dying (or almost), which suggests that the water companiesare putting more chemicals in the water to cope with "stuff" enterring the water from runoff.

[taksan]

Water restrictions have no effect on keeping fish. Water changes can be performed as normal.

[Fishontherun]

nice red arowana kinezo ... is it yours ?!?

[endless]

he wishes :)

[Primordius]

We have to pay for our tank water when it doesn't rain. It works out to about $60 p/month for a 6 ft and 2 2ft's with water changes every few days to all. I wouldn't swap the water tank setup with town water though, the lower pH we get really balances it out.

[mcloughlin2]

Lets remember guys, that while it is legal to continue doing WC's several times a week on our tanks and while we can still turn our taps on in the city and have water run through our pipes that there are farmers out there battling the drought day in and day out.

I myself have just upgraded to a 6ft, which will be lightly stocked so a WC will only have to be done once very 2 weeks or so. The fish are not going to suffer by doing this and i will be doing my bit for the country. :)

[mistakes r crucial]

It might be legal right now but if the drought continues to spiral out of control things may change drastically IMO. It's been a real concern for us for many months and I think Scott is on the right track, find a way of recycling water. Unfortunately we are unable to do this until we move, hopefully this year, but as soon as we do, it will be project number 1.

In the latest issue of Pet Industry News there is an article called "Contribution of the Australian Pet Care Industry to the Australian Economy". The article states that there are 20 million pet fish in Australia so at a guess I'd say that number would equate to somewhere between 1 and 2 million fish tanks (glad I don't have to clean that lot!). So, just how much water is being "wasted"? Hundreds of millions of litres!

If the drought worsens and the powers that be start working it out then I wouldn't be at all surprised if they put the mockers on non essential usage ie pet fish. It is a very large industry and important to our economy but I doubt the Government will see it as important as sustaining farmers, the meat, wheat and cotton industries.
MAC

[jim from sydney]

If the drought worsens and the powers that be start working it out then I wouldn't be at all surprised if they put the mockers on non essential usage ie pet fish. It is a very large industry and important to our economy but I doubt the Government will see it as important as sustaining farmers, the meat, wheat and cotton industries.
MAC

I dont believe this will ever happen guys, amongst other things it is impossible to police the issue. This is a free country after all, and no government would be stupid enough to tell you that you cant have a hobby. Think of all the consequences, extra time for other (worse) things resulting in heavens knows only what complications. Beside we DO HAVE ENOUGH water in Aussie land it is a matter of distribution. We are looking at doing just that and you might hear of a few surprises in the not too distant future.

Rain will return, life cycles, so does nature. So enjoy things and dont worry. Just dont waste.

Cheers

[mistakes r crucial]

That makes me more nervous Jim lol! We don't have a water restriction in sight on the Sunshine Coast and when you say distribution all I can see is all our precious water disappearing down a huge pipe to you buggars in Sydney :lol: I believe in share and share alike, until it comes to our beautiful Qld water. Get your own I say! Only joking. On a serious note, it looks like the Government are moving forward now anyway so lets hope it's all a huge success and the rain comes back and where it is supposed to go.
MAC

[scott bowler]

it is still a serious matter the government has let things go on to long. i hope the rains do come back my livly hood depends on it as im a gardener and we are the first to cop the crap when the plants in the grounds of a pollies house or a goverment department die.but most of all i dont want to loss my hobby so if we can ease up will water it will help.

[kalebjarrod]

Water is a presious resource, and one of my passion's

when goverment does decided to chage the way we use water the usage will be in this order

1. Enviroment
2. Domestic
3. Industrial
4. Aggriculture

the enviroment will retain about 60% of the water, this means we will allow the first 60% of all river water to reach the ocean

the rest will be divided between the last three in order

we will all have to become better water use's

hard to do in our hobby without spending massive amounts of cash :wink:

[DiscusEden]

I was told that only 1% of all Australai's water usage is domestic. If that's the case and those are the allocation priorities surely we'll be OK if we're sensible with it?

[scott bowler]

there is ads here in sydney saying at the moment that it is around 70% so who knows

[kalebjarrod]

1% may be from overall water (ie rivers, private dams, and community resivors) but domestic use from our drinking supply is much higher