It's been about 2 weeks since normal water service abruptly stopped, and the projection for replacing the pump that sends Pacific ocean water to the desal plant is not good.
Cost to replace it is rumored to run the municipality $40K-$60K, "big money" in this country to justify on a small island, population 500 permanent residents.
The fact that many of the richest Panamanians have get-away homes here, may work in our favor
For flushing toilets I walk to the ocean with 2 five gallon buckets to pour.
After the cistern went dry about a week ago, showers became nonexistent.
Water for drinking and cooking, is shipped in from the mainland and luckily can be purchased at $5 per gallon.
Compared to those hit by the hurricanes, or fires , I realize my dilema seems quite bush league.
And.... since this is an aquarium site, I should get to the point.
Evaporation, and a constant slow leak from earth quake damage, has stopped flow from tank to sump, so the main pump had to be turned off, allowing no filtration for a week or so, so far. Below, the main tank, as of today.
I had purchased back up wave makers a while back, so flow, and surface agitation still exists, but the water level of the main tank (180g) and its sump (125g) have dropped by about a third, and the only way that will change, is if we get some major rain .
It will be interesting to see which (if any) fish and shrimp survive, if the water plant is down for months.
I'm conseptualizing it as if its the natural cycle of the dry season, and only feeding once every 3 or 4 days, and then only live foods such as small amounts mosquito larvae.
No chance of water changes, and only replacing evaporation with rain water, and due to todays extreme weather events, who knows when that will be.
Below, the sump, as of today (I normally run it, close to full)
.
There are 4 Andinoacara coerleopunctatus, 2 Roeboides tetras and a pleco in the 180.
Up to 50 small Macrobranchium shrimp in the sump.
Cost to replace it is rumored to run the municipality $40K-$60K, "big money" in this country to justify on a small island, population 500 permanent residents.
The fact that many of the richest Panamanians have get-away homes here, may work in our favor
For flushing toilets I walk to the ocean with 2 five gallon buckets to pour.
After the cistern went dry about a week ago, showers became nonexistent.
Water for drinking and cooking, is shipped in from the mainland and luckily can be purchased at $5 per gallon.
Compared to those hit by the hurricanes, or fires , I realize my dilema seems quite bush league.
And.... since this is an aquarium site, I should get to the point.
Evaporation, and a constant slow leak from earth quake damage, has stopped flow from tank to sump, so the main pump had to be turned off, allowing no filtration for a week or so, so far. Below, the main tank, as of today.
I had purchased back up wave makers a while back, so flow, and surface agitation still exists, but the water level of the main tank (180g) and its sump (125g) have dropped by about a third, and the only way that will change, is if we get some major rain .
It will be interesting to see which (if any) fish and shrimp survive, if the water plant is down for months.
I'm conseptualizing it as if its the natural cycle of the dry season, and only feeding once every 3 or 4 days, and then only live foods such as small amounts mosquito larvae.
No chance of water changes, and only replacing evaporation with rain water, and due to todays extreme weather events, who knows when that will be.
Below, the sump, as of today (I normally run it, close to full)
.There are 4 Andinoacara coerleopunctatus, 2 Roeboides tetras and a pleco in the 180.
Up to 50 small Macrobranchium shrimp in the sump.
