Well tank checks

[tankoftangs]

So I recently did a 2 week water change on my tropheus tank.  Normally I do every week but I was delayed due to being  out of town followed by a very busy week of work.  During my water change I realized that one of my sponge filters was not working.  After a lot of trouble shooting I realized that the air line tubing was punctured by one of the kittens we were recently fostering .  I then realized my canister filter was not pumping.  Must have gotten some air in the line.  My entire tank was running off a single sponge filter.  Granted I have built in some redundancy into my tank and single sponge filter should be able to handle the bio load but I never expected expected this to be the solo means of filtration.  Certainly made me think about things.  I usually leave for work before tank lights come on in the am and don't get back before lights out so it easy to miss something if it is not working as it should.  Made me realize that :
1.  I am glad I planned redundancy into my system wherever possible. 
2.  I should really do well tank checks in between my weekly water changes (even if the lights are off) to make sure everything is working as it should.
3.  I am really glad that all of my fish were OK!

So how about everyone else?  An well tank checkers out there?  Can be really easy to miss something when life gets busy.  

[brianyelick]

I found that turning on my lights later helps so they are on when I'm home. I usually get home and feed the tanks and check on everything and all the fish too. So I guess to answer your question I spend a solid 30 -45 mins with my tanks and fish when I get home and again before bed. I just bring my 2 yr old to help and that makes it so my wife doesn't mind.

[gturmindright]

I went with led lights so they come on at 7:30am. I leave the house at 8:15 and they dont go off until after my kid goes to bed at 8pm. I cant stop looking at my tank so im lucky. They are on for like 14 hours per day. What happened to you helps me justify the extra electricity use. I mentioned led lights because of the energy savings.

[mikevxr]

My lights come on at 8am - I check my tanks (8 of them) for anything amiss then feed all my fish. I run internals with airline attached (Venturi) to get more air into the water - if filters are blocked or not working then it is easy to spot as air bubbles drop to virtually none. Then do a feed around 5pm - check everything ok and lights out at 6pm.

[tankoftangs]

Brianyelick - you are definitely doing well tank checks! That is great that you involve your child. I grew up helping my dad with his aquarium that is probably one of the reasons I like them so much.

Point well taken about the lighting schedule. It would definitely help to adjust the timers so that they overlap with when I come home. Certainly would make it easier to see if something is not running properly. My sponge filters are the type with a tube and a elbow at the top that vents horizontally at the surface to decrease noise. The tank is in the den and on a hard floor so I tried to make it as quiet as possible (ensures that my wife does not mind). Just need to pay closer attention to the water surface at the output and that would be easier with lights. I do use LED lighting so extra energy use shouldn't be to bad. I always check out the fish in the am and pm when I feed them to make sure they are attacking food with true tropheus vigor. Now will add in some equipment checks as well.