Fishkeeping in a RV...
- Thread starter TheShifty's
- Start date
Nice pics man.... but how do you keep everything standing when your moving?? Looking at your setup(it is rockin') If you move around, at least 3 of those tanks would not just spill but topple over because they are top heavy thats not to mention all the added waterweight to the towing, (but that may be an invalid point.) Do you strap everything down and seal the lids?
I'm kind of like a Cylon when we go on the road. "I have a plan." Lower the water into the tanks. Put the heaters sideways so they stay submerged, lot's of heavy lifting, and special placement and padding on the floor.
The fifth wheel is equipped with two sine wave inverters and four batteries plus solar, which is more than enough to run filters and heaters. Mor-ryde and airbag suspension keeps things nice and smooth. It's a very heavy rv to begin with, so it rides nice. I road around in it while the Mrs. pulled it down various roads for about 30 mins. Illegal and maybe dumb, but I had to see for myself! *LOL*
It is very smooth, surprisingly smooth. We don't go on the road much anymore, as my Mrs. was diagnosed with breast cancer 6 months ago, and just finished up her last chemo treatment on monday. So with my job, and her healing. We'll stay put for a while.
This RV is built by Carriage which i'm thankful to say is very over-engineered and over-built. So I don't have to worry about the weight of the tanks on the floor and the slide-outs. I contacted them before we started this just to be sure!
It is a four seasons unit, which is well insulated as RV's go, but the RV park we're in doesn't allow skirting. And, here on the East side of the Rockies in Colorado, it gets very cold with lot's of wind. I don't care how well insulated a coach is, when the floor is a couple of feet above ground with nothing below but air, cold and wind, it soaks up through the floor. So good heaters on the tanks are a must. Each of the large tanks have two heaters which keep them between 79-80. Though last night with the -20 temps and wind they did drop to 78.
Trust me when I say that these last few days we burned up quite a bit up propane! *LOL*
The other thing that somewhat bothers me is the water here is pretty hard. It is well water, from a shallow well, with LOT'S of minerals. So ph swings from the tap are pretty wild. One day it will test at 7.0, the next, (especially after a storm) it jumps up to 7.8. So I keep a lot of buffer on hand. The Africans water seems to stay right at 8.0 thanks to aragonite sand.
Sometimes I get long winded-so i'll ask for forgiveness for that in advance.
Michael
The fifth wheel is equipped with two sine wave inverters and four batteries plus solar, which is more than enough to run filters and heaters. Mor-ryde and airbag suspension keeps things nice and smooth. It's a very heavy rv to begin with, so it rides nice. I road around in it while the Mrs. pulled it down various roads for about 30 mins. Illegal and maybe dumb, but I had to see for myself! *LOL*
It is very smooth, surprisingly smooth. We don't go on the road much anymore, as my Mrs. was diagnosed with breast cancer 6 months ago, and just finished up her last chemo treatment on monday. So with my job, and her healing. We'll stay put for a while.
This RV is built by Carriage which i'm thankful to say is very over-engineered and over-built. So I don't have to worry about the weight of the tanks on the floor and the slide-outs. I contacted them before we started this just to be sure!
It is a four seasons unit, which is well insulated as RV's go, but the RV park we're in doesn't allow skirting. And, here on the East side of the Rockies in Colorado, it gets very cold with lot's of wind. I don't care how well insulated a coach is, when the floor is a couple of feet above ground with nothing below but air, cold and wind, it soaks up through the floor. So good heaters on the tanks are a must. Each of the large tanks have two heaters which keep them between 79-80. Though last night with the -20 temps and wind they did drop to 78.
Trust me when I say that these last few days we burned up quite a bit up propane! *LOL*
The other thing that somewhat bothers me is the water here is pretty hard. It is well water, from a shallow well, with LOT'S of minerals. So ph swings from the tap are pretty wild. One day it will test at 7.0, the next, (especially after a storm) it jumps up to 7.8. So I keep a lot of buffer on hand. The Africans water seems to stay right at 8.0 thanks to aragonite sand.
Sometimes I get long winded-so i'll ask for forgiveness for that in advance.
Michael
I've seen those trailers. There mobile when need be but for the most part they stay where they are. Perfect house in tornado zones and people who like to change locations often.
Yeah, my first thought was- you go up a hill and the fish all fall out the back of the tanks... LOL... I suppose you lower the water enough and it doesn't matter... that and how do you handle water changes when water chemistry can be vastly different in different places- how not to shock the fish... but I guess that's where the buffers come in- I assume you match hardness and pH BEFORE adding to the tank when in a new location.
Yes I do! As best I can. We have been in this park for 6 months so the fishy-kids are used to the hard water. I think the mineral content does them well, but it takes the filters a bit to clear it up. I'm a big fan of Prime as well, which is part of my "making water," routine.
Some say I test my water too often as it's only necessary to test once a week or two. Whatever. I test mine every 3 days. Water changes once a week, about 30% on the big tanks, 50% on the 5 Gallon, and complete cleans on the 1.5's.
Some say I test my water too often as it's only necessary to test once a week or two. Whatever. I test mine every 3 days. Water changes once a week, about 30% on the big tanks, 50% on the 5 Gallon, and complete cleans on the 1.5's.
Someone commented on my pics and i'm glad they caught it, as I didn't. Pic is of Opaline Gourami in a 1.5 gallon. I just wanted to clear that one up. He used to be my fish in my community tank.
He ate, (yes ate) 1 of my Killies. And nearly beat to death one of the Platies. So on advice from one of my local helpers, I put him in with my Parrots. A couple of Mbuna's were in there temporarily as I was changing things around.
Tigger, the Gourami also terrorized everyone in that tank. So I gave my neice a 15 gallon long, and Tigger. He's the ONLY fish in that tank as he is such a bully.
Niece is out of town for a week, coming back tomorrow or Friday. He will be going back to his home and big tank.
He ate, (yes ate) 1 of my Killies. And nearly beat to death one of the Platies. So on advice from one of my local helpers, I put him in with my Parrots. A couple of Mbuna's were in there temporarily as I was changing things around.
Tigger, the Gourami also terrorized everyone in that tank. So I gave my neice a 15 gallon long, and Tigger. He's the ONLY fish in that tank as he is such a bully.
Niece is out of town for a week, coming back tomorrow or Friday. He will be going back to his home and big tank.
