How far fishkeeping has come

[BuffaloPolypteridae]

I was just talking to my uncle the other day about how when he was around 18-20 (this would be in the late 70s) that a water change consisted of 100% all water removed and fish to be taken out haha, his friends father owned an aquarium shop and they'd do it to all the tanks once a week.

anyone else have similar stories? I'm sure some of the older guys on here used to do things we and themselves now find funny in the early days of fishkeeping

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[krichardson]

I know a few old heads who still think that tanks should be cleaned that way.They do their tanks once a year.

 

[Zoodiver]

I was just telling the story of my very first tank last night at MACNA. Four glass sides, slate bottom, metal frame holding the edges together. Filter was a 3"x3"x3" box of carbon in the corner with an airstone. After that one, I upgraded to a full glass tank and undergravel filter. Both got a 50% water change a couple of times a year after letting water 'age' in buckets with airstones overnight. Neither had any type of temp control on them.
We were comparing that to the displays we run now. Digital controls to keep every parameter possible in check. Tens of thousands of dollars in high end life support equipment.

Fish keeping has come a LONG way within our life time.

 

[BuffaloPolypteridae]

oh wow, I recently came across such a tank as your first one. its a 20 ga, metal frame slate bottom, currently being used for my snake haha

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[krichardson]

I have a few metal frame tanks.They turn up in the flea markets around here pretty regularly.

 

[Oddball]

This brings back those late nights heating up cans of sealing tar to reseal the slate bottoms of my Metaframe tanks. Or, changing out the leather flap valves and leather belt of my Supreme Dynamaster dual-piston air pump.

 

[HungDang]

I remember those concrete tanks that I used to have back in Vietnam. They were built when my grandfather build his house back in the 50s. They have those hole drain in the bottom at 1 of the side wall, and we had to use those left over piece of fabric roll into a roll and squeeze it in the hole to plug it off. I had to stand near the hole in the big tank(there was a 600G and a 1500G) or put my hand near the hole in the smaller tank(200G) to keep the small fish from being suck out. And we had like a big 90% water change once a month.

 

[krichardson]

Supreme Dynamaster dual-piston air pump.

Now that's an old school brand....wonder if the company still operates.

 

[Cu455]

If you want to see how far fishkeeping came go to a Petland. When I am in there I feel like I am walking into a fishkeeping museum.

 

[petspoiler]

I was just talking to my uncle the other day about how when he was around 18-20 (this would be in the late 70s) that a water change consisted of 100% all water removed and fish to be taken out haha, ......

Like everything else, "common practice" varied according to our sources of info. It was 1974 when my lfs owners (in So Calif) taught me to do 25 to 30% water changes per week, and alternate cleaning my 2 corner bubble filters. Although lacking knowledge in the specifics of BB & cycling, it worked due to consistency & low stockloads.