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There's something fishy around here...

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A Dirty Dilemma

For those of you that may not already know us, Epic Farms is a small family run non-profit [involving horses] in Southeast Alabama and one of Squidoo's Partner Charities. We have an itty bitty (almost invisible :o) budget, so we have to be both economical and creative particularly when we encounter a problem. Our predicament? Rapid buildup of algae in our two 70 gallon water tanks. While the tanks have drains at the bottom and can be easily emptied and scrubbed, it was a time consuming task that wasted an awful lot of water (plus it was pretty darn gross).

We needed to figure out the best and most economical way to keep those stock tanks clean.

NOTES: Most options had a monthly cost attached to them (and remember to multiply by 2):
1. Dumping out 140 gallons of water each month, scrubbing out the tanks (using more water), and then refilling both tanks (with still more water). You know, that sure does use up an awful lot of water.
2. The filter system required changing out the filters regularly (and I forgot to multiply that one by two: so that's $140.00 for two tanks, plus filters, and you still have to empty and clean the tanks, just less often).
3. Water cleaner additive ($36.00 to start, I did remember to multiply that one, plus monthly refills). Less expensive definitely, but kind of a headache...

Hey, what about using fish?

Would that work?

I knew that a lot of farmers used catfish in their tanks to keep them clean, but how well did it really work? Could you use Goldfish instead? What about the winter? Would they be okay when the troughs iced over? Would there be enough to eat in there? Believe it or not, the answers to my questions were all yes.

I found several online discussions on this subject too, so apparently we weren't the only ones with an algae issue. One such discussion even addressed a potential problem with the waste produced by the fish harming the horses. A vet responded that the fish were actually more sensitive than the horses, but it was totally safe to do all around.
HOT DOG! - Let's go find some fish...

Did you know Petsmart helps to adopt out strays? I didn't.

It's a totally pawsome program :o)

There is an adoption center right inside the store, is that cool or what? PetSmart Inc. donates retail space to PetSmart Charities so that their adoption partners can showcase homeless pets that are in need of loving homes. Over the past 21 years, the Charities Adoption Centers have completed more than 3 million adoptions. Wow, that's a lot.

They even have national adoption weekends throughout the year to help pets find their forever homes. That's pretty great, don't you think?

Oh, I wish we already had the barn built!

I would have taken these two sassy kitties home with me in a heartbeat (they were lots of fun to watch :o)

Okay, okay. Find fish, right.

Hmmmm. The budget specials don't look too good...

Maybe we should try the $1.99 tank and see how they look.

What are you? A Rockafeller?

Well it is for a good cause (it's a green solution for a green problem, don'tcha know). Wow - what a difference $1.50 makes. These little guys all looked much healthier and happier zipping around in there. The lady was very helpful and carefully scooped out the fish we pointed to and put them in two different bags (that's three Cleanup Committee Members for The Girls and three for the Moo Crew - check).

I thought $1.99 was pretty steep for a little bitty fish, but would you believe they had some exotic Goldfish that were $29.99? Hmmm, maybe that isn't such a bad deal after all...

Without further ado, we would like to introduce you to the newest volunteers at Epic Farms. These two crews will be in charge of algae control in the tank maintenance department.

The Girls would like you to meet...

Well we ARE a non profit, you know. :o)

And for the Moo Crew, we have...

It's SO them :o)

It's critical to have an automatic float which will keep your stock tank full of water.

(Horses can drink up to five gallons at a time)

Larry started banging against the bottom of the bag when we got it near the water.

Looks like we definitely picked the right fish for the Moo Crew (little dude's gotta 'tude).

Hang loose guys, ya gotta get acclimated first...It's a rule.

About 15 to 20 minutes should do it I think.

When it was time we opened the bag, turned them loose and watched 'em GO!

I got dizzy watching them zip around and around. They sure did look happy in there.

It was so much fun, we did it all over again at The Girls' water tank.

And they were just as happy and swam just as fast :o)

What rhymes with Jen?

Hint: It's pretty much a personal affliction (really)

For awhile I was counting fishies after every slurp session (yup still there, whew!)

I finally figured out that the fish just moved down toward the bottom when the horses drank.

Sometimes it was a little tricky finding the fish in the Girls' tank because of the reflection.

Did you know that fish could swim in the clouds? Me neither ;o)

But most of the time they were pretty easy to find swimming around in there.

Or in this case, hangin' out. Hello ladies!

It was a little tougher at the Moo Crew's tank.

Wow - It's sure is dark in there!

I'll go ahead and confess to you that after a few days with no fish sightings, I panicked.

I got scared that one of the horses may have accidentally added a little protein to their diet; my daughter was sure of it.

After carefully scooping out a few bucketfuls of water though, I found all three safe and sound.

THERE you are! Don't you know that we were worried sick about you guys? Sheesh.

One more thing for those of you interested in putting this simple green solution into practice in your pasture...

Make SURE you can keep an eye on the tanks; we can check ours easily at feeding times twice a day (and often in between).

Fine. Look at this photo of the Moo Crew's tank shortly after we put the fish in.

You can just BARELY see the sides of the tank (and the water is a greenish black - yuck).

Now look at this picture of their tank a couple of weeks after Larry, Moe and Curly's arrival.

Ta-Da! Pretty darn awesome, isn't it? Hiya fellas :o)

A footnote to my fellow warts...

The horses are constantly dribbling feed or dropping bits of grass and things into the tank so the fish pretty much have a never ending supply of food (Yay :o)

Status Report: Our fishies have tripled in size

and look like little gobstoppers with gills :o)

Looking for an official Squidoo charity to help you unload all those pesky lens royalties?

Please consider donating to us (we need all the help we can get :o)

Epic Farms is a small family run non-profit striving to share the big picture with horses. We have kid-friendly programs geared toward area service organizations and small groups; our goal is to share the wonderful world of horses with everyone!

I hope you enjoyed our little "Fishtail" :o)

Did it make you smile? We hope so!

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  • Reply
    meglittlestudio Jul 12, 2010 @ 4:35 pm | delete
    Hey Jen, what a cool lens! I always get such a kick out of reading your lenses - they are always so fun and informative! I was thinking the same thing about the 'protein addition' to the horses' diets, but it does make sense that the fishies would want to keep themselves alive by swimming away from a giant slurping thing ;-)
    Hope everything continues to go well!
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Wysiwigs

(a.k.a. Jen) I'm a daughter, wife, mother, artist, horse crazy grownup, scary christian chick, paper folding fiend, acronym junkie, breast cancer survivor,... more »

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