Any luck on catching them? I dunno how practical it would be to try (given the size/geography of the pond) but maybe you could bring some of their favorite stinky food out there, set up a net contraption underneath that you could lift up when they fed? Or assemble a little trap with chicken wire in about ~foot deep of water (still leaving room for access to the surface) with one way in that once they get in the entrance is difficult to get back out of? Erosion fence drift method might also be something to look into.
biggest "A word" hole move ever X(
- Thread starter Mampam
- Start date
dirtyblacksocks;3398887; said:
That's the right to seek recovery for damages do to failure to abide by the rules. Or for the damages that your Pet causes to stuff. That doesn't give them the right too access a totally unreal value to something, like $250/day per violation, especially if there is nothing in the lease stating NO Pets - Specifically No Aquariums. Because I know many people that aren't allowed Pets in there apartments but are allowed an aquarium. Also you may wanna get apartment insurance policy and make sure it covers you for flooding.
Tequila;3398088; said:I'm confused, Right to fine what? or should I say for what? If it isn't listed in the lease then there fining for?, because they didn't think to list it in the lease prior to signing?
Keeping your tank(s) immaculate or not, shouldn't be a concern for them as long as there aren't too many of them adding to the allotted electric for your unit, or too the allotted water usage for your unit. As long as there isn't some super sized monster tank(s) where they can say there could be a structural issue/safety concern. Which you should be able to counter simply by have a Structural Engineer Certify safe and sound. Maybe if you invest in a little apartment insurance encase of a leak, and show them they'll back off.
But it sounds more to me that there concern with you is, your using more than your fare share of the utilities that they pay for, remember they have too pay for water usage too. And they probably have some sort of metering either per unit or per group of units. If your like me when my 180g tank was up, I was doing 50~60 gallon water changes per week to ten days, plus all the regular stuff: Showers, Dishes, etc, etc,. In my lease it says noting about fish and I asked prior to signing, but it does say NO Dishwashers, NO Washing Machines Allowed. In Bold just like that.
I shouldn't have said they cover $40 per month in electricity. I meant to say I pay my full bill every month, but $40 of it is built into the rent. Unfortunately, they somehow don't deliver power bills, so if I go under my $40/month, they somehow keep the leftover money. They have been handing out electric overages like hotcakes lately though. That means my $535/month rent has more charges when I have to pay rent. It sucks! Anyone thinking of going to school at USF in Tampa should avoid On50 apartments! The buildings are atrocious, the management and maintenance are rather hostile, and its expensive! This is the ONLY apartment near camps that does not have a bathroom in every bedroom, and charges extra if you get a bathroom in your room! BLEGH! Anyway, I have unlimited water use in my apartment. It does not specifically say no fish tanks, but it does have some sort of weird pet clause in there. I don't want to know the finer points because I've caused enough trouble around here. If I start raising questions about pets, they'll come looking and raise some sort of hell with me, undoubtedly. But they did tell me that I need to keep my tank as a hobby, not as a business. They said if I raise fish and sell them on a regular basis, they'll be unhappy. They also mentioned cleanliness because of health concerns. They don't want to see mold and mildew and any other possible nasty in the tank that could get into the air. Furthermore, they don't like the humidity associated with it.
O yea, one final note: The load on the floor due to the tank is not an issue on the structure. Buildings are designed nowadays using LRFD methods: Load Resistance Factor Design. There are safety factors assigned to the loads on the structure and to the strengths of the materials. They assume the material is weaker than it actually is, and then assume loads are greater than they actually are. The loads are usually found for design purposes as follows: 1.2DL + 1.6LL, or 1.4DL, or some other variation, based on wind loading or seismic loading. DL stands for Dead Load, and accounts for loads brought about by walls, ceilings, floors, plumbing, electrical components, etc (anything that will stay constant on the structure, no matter what). LL, or Live Loads, account for things such as people, furniture, carpet/tile, fish tanks, lighting, etc (anything that is relatively easily changed within the structure). As you can see by the factors associated with these items, we can get a pretty good guess at the loads due to the structure itself, and assume little variation during construction. However, when guessing at what people will do to the building when decorating and living in it, we clearly don't know as much. It's pretty uncertain. I believe residential structures are designed with a LL capacity of ~ 20 lb/sq. ft. I can assure you that although my fish tanks weighs over 500 lbs, the structure has no problem supporting it. There is very little around in this apartment that adds to the Live Load in question. (In case you didn't know, I'm studying to become a structural engineer, and I'm 1 semester away form getting my BSCE. I'll be staying on here for another 2-3 years to get my MSCE in geotechnical engineering!)
Regardless of how buildings are built now - anything under a 240 gallon glass tank is not a structural problem. Any engineer could tell you that. Unless you're in some sort of house that has had a problem with foundation sinks, and as a result has been refurbished on a raised foundation to level it out - but even then if the contractor is an honest businessman they do it up to code, which means being able to handle around 8 tons of weight before running into buckling problems.
I know people who keep 300 gallon tanks on the third floor of their house and have never had a problem. The trick is to figure out which way the support beams run and set the tank so that it is across at least 2 or 3 of the beams, close to a wall.
Landlord's often use the weight factor as an excuse to try and get tenants to throw out their tanks, because they don't like the amount of electricty and water involved, as well as the potential for water damage (one of the most costly things you can run into with house repairs).
It's a fair judgment on their part, if I owned property and rented it out to tenants I would be wary of them having fish tanks over 180 gallons, just because sooner or later tanks burst/leak - and people tend to not care about property damage when it's not their property.
Still, there are matters of integrity to take into consideration - and the way these landlords are conducting themselves in this instance is complete B.S.
I know people who keep 300 gallon tanks on the third floor of their house and have never had a problem. The trick is to figure out which way the support beams run and set the tank so that it is across at least 2 or 3 of the beams, close to a wall.
Landlord's often use the weight factor as an excuse to try and get tenants to throw out their tanks, because they don't like the amount of electricty and water involved, as well as the potential for water damage (one of the most costly things you can run into with house repairs).
It's a fair judgment on their part, if I owned property and rented it out to tenants I would be wary of them having fish tanks over 180 gallons, just because sooner or later tanks burst/leak - and people tend to not care about property damage when it's not their property.
Still, there are matters of integrity to take into consideration - and the way these landlords are conducting themselves in this instance is complete B.S.
KYeasting;3405574; said:
Well I can understand them saying that they tact on a flat $40 towards the electric and them not offering any of it back when there's a lower usage. Dam your rent is only $535 a month, that's lower than mine and I've been living in the same building for 10 plus years. And since you say that you'll be therre another 2~3 years, yes I think you shouldn't rock the boat anymore.
and be happy.
Electricity with exotic animals sucks - just about anyone who has to pay their own utilities will tell you that a single fish tank alone can jack it up as much as $45 more a month. Let alone basking bulbs and pumps for reptiles.
