Re: NANFA-- wintering darters outside

Prizma_at_aol.com
Fri, 20 Sep 2002 19:07:04 EDT

i appreciate all the good advice and many new options are now being
considered in my overworked mind :)
being concerned about the constant temperature swings outside on the patio
from day to day and day to night i'm sure the temp fluctuation would be hard
on a darter trying to survive the winter. nature's rivers and streams
provides a much more stable temperature and the darters can seek out
locations they are most comfortable with.

jeff's suggestion of putting them in my converted concrete swimming pool
native fish habitat... but not exactly. my desire is to be able to observe
them... thus the glass aquarium on the back patio. however if i was to pump
water from the pool through the aquarium ( and i could insulate 3 sides and
the bottom ) the temperature would be fairly stable, provide constant water
flow and still allow me to observe them. i think this is the ticket. i have
not plumbed or ported a glass tank tho so will now have to research how to do
that! any ideas?
i may not need a heater then since i will be inflowing water constantly from
the swimming pools depths. moving water does not freeze. ? but if it does
then ellen's and ray's heater suggestions may resolve that.
i could use this setup for a variety of experiments and observations! perhaps
even bringing a tank into the house that is ported to the pool outside,
constantly inflowing cool, cold outside water. problems such as condensation
could become an issue tho.
on another note that ray brought up...
i have been wanting to play with temperature sensors in the pool placed at
different depths. the pool's shallows got quite warm, even hot this year...
above 90 which seemed to enhance algae growth. im working on a shading
structure for next year and more plants. when i snorkled to the pool's 9'
depths the temperature did not seem to change much. still tho certain species
resided there during the hotter days. it would be nice to get about 3
temperature locations. outflow from the riffle run, 2' from the bottom and 2'
below surface and note the range.
it's a grand experiment. it is a lot of fun to snorkle in your aquarium. the
water was clear nearly all year. the worse problems were the algae mats and
high temps. still tho most of my species florished, fattened and grew and
several species even reproduced. next year should be better as more plants
establish themselves.
thank you for the advice. now how do i drill holes and port these 2 29 gallon
tanks. :)
casper
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