Octopus Food

[Ryan Smith]

Hmmm well i read the thread about water damage and i tried to discuss it with my mom and she said "its not leaks im worried about, its the tank failing and all of the water pouring out." what are the chances of that...? The problem im having is that my mom says "i didnt say you could have one yet, but she wont discuss it with me. Yeah so shes going to let me get my hopes up for a month and then she could say no...

 

[Omega]

if you have the fish tank on a stand capable of holding its weight its not going to "fall" without some help.

 

[Ryan Smith]

no, she thinks its going to fail under pressure or something... she thinks its just going to explode or something?

 

[DWhatley]

hummm, having raised a couple of boys, is her concern more that it will explode because of the activity of a certain son (who admits to having hit one with a baseball bat sometime in his life)?. There is a solution for that but it cost quite a bit more money (consider a used tank). Acrylic tanks are pretty much industructable but they scratch very easily (inside scratches are the problem, not the outside ones). They have fewer seams and if the initial seam is good it is chemically bound and like not having a seam at all (proper seams are not a problem with commercial tanks but difficult for DIY - more of a if it does not leak in the beginning, it won't leak 20 years down the road - most of mine are acrylic)

 

[Ryan Smith]

Shes more concerned it will break on its own... and she has no clue i hit one with a bat before.

 

[Omega]

women, especially mothers, always know. they always know.

 

[Ryan Smith]

ehhhh, i dont think she knows? it was a good 6 yrs ago at a friends house. It was actualy kinda cool. My friend had a... 120 gal tank i believe. and all that was in it was a $.26 feeder goldfish his mom brought home from her wedding 14 yrs earlier. By then it was a foot an a half long and 14 yrs old.... pretty long for a goldfish right? but amyway we were messing around and i had a bat, and hit the glass tank pretty hard. Nothing happened.

 

[DWhatley]

women, especially mothers, always know. they always know.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) we don't know but we are quick to pick up hints along the way much of the time. It is more the nature of the beast we are aware of than any kind of precognitive powers that turns on alarms at the thought of 40 gallons of water lose in the house.

 

[Ryan Smith]

yeah, she figures worst case the house will explode. best case the tank explodes... a hundred thousand dollars of water damage and then our home owners insurance goes up ten fold.

 

[Omega]

between my three tanks i have somewhere near 130 gallons of salt water balaned on stands in my room with solid wood floors...clean up the drops fast. no big deal...watch your waterlines..if they magically lose several inches...find it and fix it. if you reaaaaally want to be safe there is a water level alarm online that costs a fortune

 

[Ryan Smith]

If you get a new tank you should be fine right?

 

[DWhatley]

We built our own house and I have tile floors, everywhere (almost and wish the bedroom was not carpet). Next house, I am having drains built in

 

[Ryan Smith]

wow lucky... being 15 i dont really have as much funding as i like but ill make do. Im worried im going to get addicted to octopi and when im older i wont be able to afford to keep them. Wait something thats been bothering me. Is the plural of octopus, octopuses or octopi? i was pretty sure it was octopi, but you ceph pros seem to call them octopuses. Even nancy and colins book has octopuses in it. Which is it?

 

[DWhatley]

There are three "correct" plurals: Octopuses, octopi and octopodes. You can expect that the topic has been discussed ... over and over ... and you can bet that Nancy and Collin used the preferred usage.

Octopus - Wikipedia - see Terminology

 

[Nancy]

You seem to have our book: (Cephalopods: Octopuses and Cuttlefishes for the Home Aqurium) - look on p. 12 in the section called "Octopuses, Octopi or Octopodes: Which is the Correct Plural?". This explains why "octopuses" is the correct plural.

Nancy