Peter,
One of the things that I am interested in is the size of the mars systems. While I think that they are great and the things that you have done to them are very interesting. The concern/ question is is that each one of the mars bars as you have called them is one system is the plan that each time you add something into the system it resets the clock for everything in system.
My assumption is that although there are multiple tanks they have a common water supply and that if you introduce a fish with a parasite into the tank it may effect a fish that is getting reddy to make the jump into the big pond as it were and as such being introduced int the main tank.
If I am missing something please enlighten me!!!
i have wondered about that too. do you have separate nets and everything else?
Carl
Good questions all........
First, I have learned that some of the procedures for acquiring and preparing fish for the display tank are being established with some of these concerns driving our stocking behaviour. For example our current plan calls for 6-8 weeks of isolation before any introductions into the main display tank. We have further decided that our purchasing profile will be to buy fish and or coral from the best suppliers we can find in very large batches. In other words we are planning to empty the Mars/Wilson Bars completely before ordering more.
Second, any fish with behavioural problems will be moved into a long term setting which will be in a reserved bank of Wilson tanks set aside for that purpose.
Third, any hint of physical problems (disease, injury etc) will be immediate removal to a dedicated hospital tank separated from all other systems. This ICU will have all its own equipment and supplies for that purpose only. After treatment has been fully administered the fish or coral will be moved back to the holding area for a further waiting period before introduction into the display tank.
Fourth, although the present configuration has each Wilson Bar as a separate unit sharing sump/reactors filters etc., it is possible to isolate any individual tank for a short period of time to remove the impacted animal without affecting the other inhabitants in the unit while it is cleaned and 'refreshed' for normal use. We know that this is a better practice than the majority of hobbyists can enjoy as most new inhabitants all go into the same holding tank with no ability to separate the fish during the holding period. It is less stressful for the animals and our limited experience so far is suggesting that going from separate holding tanks to the large open environment appears to minimize aggression and fear. Not totally sure why but that seems to be the operative psychology for the new arrivals.
Fifth, we are planning to use LED lighting for the majority of tanks which will allow us to adjust any individual tank to the best circumstance for its inhabitants. This we think will also be true for the flow as we think we can control it down to the individual tank if we had to.
Sixth, thanks to Mr. Wilson's excellent planning skills and now Chago's remarkable ability and knowledge of basic water management services we have a greatly improved system being implemented to ensure regular water changes are very easy to manage for the Wilson Bars as well as fully automated water top off as well.
Finally I am not suggesting that we will be 100% insulated from the unexpected but I do think we have established a much higher bar for best practices than is the case today in a majority of cases in this hobby.
Peter