Drought

[aqua_holic]

So how are those of you in California, and elsewhere experiencing drought, managing to maintain your tanks?

 

[ladykt24]

I live about an hour away from San Francisco. Though the drought is serious, we really don't "feel" the effects of it. It's more of a conscious effort to try to conserve but there are no mandated rules to follow.. At least not in my area. Now I do have a relatively small tank, 3 gallon which I plan to upgrade to a larger one eventually.. But 30% WCs every 2 days doesn't use up too much extra water. I have to be more mindful of my showers instead of my tank lol


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[jim532]

On my 40, I change about 7-9 gallons a week, and sometimes a little more. That's probably about equivalent to taking less than 2 baths per month. I'm recycling my aquarium water by using it to water our plants.

Because we're under pressure to conserve water I only use the Python water changer to vacuum about once a month because a lot of water does go down the drain when using it. I also try to keep my showers short to conserve as well.





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[rhsoto94]

I agree with ladykt. I live 20 minutes away from LA and as far as feeling the "effects" it really isn't too bad. We have set dates you can water your lawn and wash your car but that's about it. I just learned to work my water change schedule around it. I only really feel like I'm wasting water when it comes to my 40b. I actually did get a siphon extension so I can run it into the lawn outside though.


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[aqua_holic]

Well the news reports are painting a much different picture. NOAA says it's been the driest 3 year period on record and the state has enacted it's first ever laws on pumping groundwater. 7 of 8 climate forecast models are predicting no relief on the way, with conditions continuing to worsen. 8 of 12 reservoirs are below 30% capacity, and they're talking about installing millions of dollars of water chillers to save the salmon populations, which are being negatively impacted by the warmth of the depleted waters.

It all sounds pretty dire.

 

[ladykt24]

It is dire, like I said it's serious.. We can see it when we look at the areas where there used to be bodies of water and now it's either dry or very very low. But in terms of small scale daily life, the water is still coming out of the faucets so it can be easy to forget momentarily.


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[PNWaquarist]

This may be a case of history repeating itself. Hopefully not.

 

[Fishobsessed7]

It doesn't really effect the tanks here. Just the water season for crops is drastically shorter. Their is one reservoir near us that completely dried up. It's just a small stream now


Fishobsessed7

 

[RightTurnClyde]

I'm just north of San Francisco and ditto what everyone else is saying. The 10 gallons I change every week doesn't add up to much. It's agriculture that uses most of the water. I am doing rain dances every day though. I really hope it's a wet winter or we are really going to feel it next year.


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[dalto]

Here in Texas drought conditions have been frequent over the last few years but all the restrictions have exceptions for maintaining life and livestock. It is mostly watering and other optional services such as car washes that get shutdown.

 

[Fishfur]

Don't have drought, thankfully. I don't even pay utilities separately, but even so, I am very aware of how much I use. I use Fluorescent bulbs, and if LEDS comes down a bit more I will use them instead wherever I can.

I use tank water from changes to water plants and if that doesn't use it all, I'll use it to flush the toilet too. I try to use as much of it twice as I can. I shower with a hand held and when I'm not rinsing soap off, I let the rest of the water run into a bucket which I use the same way.

And it's just one reason I never wanted an RO filter.. not that I can have one anyway, landlord won't allow it, but they waste so much water in the process.