Let's give it another try...

This is Fred the shrimp. Ethel is on the bottom and not visible in this picture. These are the shrimp that have been living in the little eco-globe I've had on my desk for the past two years. The algea that had clouded the sides for the past 6 months just sloughed off one day a few weeks ago and it's been crystal clear like this ever since. I love my little self-contained eco-globe thingy. Melanie gave it to me for my birthday. Every day I take a little break to watch Fred and Ethel do their little shrimpy thing. They get the food they need from the microbes and bacteria in the saltwater and the little tiny clump of algea. The algea also serves as the generator of their oxygen. Cleaning is done by the beneficial nitrifying bacteria, who convert the wastes given off by shrimp into less harmful chemicals. It's a perfect balance and it's beautiful.

The reason I decided to show off my little globe today? Well, I've decided to try my hand (and brain, and patience, and MONEY) at a saltwater aquarium again. Last time I attempted was five years ago, while I was living with my ex. He bought most of the equipment I needed (and didn't waste a second making me feel guilty about it if he wanted something from me) the last time around, so I didn't really get the right stuff. Plus, I had to leave the whole thing when I left him. This time, I've got a nice set up of my own. Uh, not quite set up though. I had to remove the freshwater set up that was in the tank first. Did that on Sunday and brought my surviving fishies to the store I trust for credit. I decided to do this because my tank has been a death trap since I got a snail break out in it about four months ago. Got this stuff called "Had a snail"... Riiight. It helped kill them, but it didn't get rid of ALL OF THEM. You have to kill every LAST ONE of those fuckers 'cause they're asexual. So they'd slowly start coming back and I'd add some more of the chemical to kill them. Their little shelled corpses slowly collected in my gravel. Corpses plus new, waste producing adults, were making my tanks ammonia levels go through the roof. I was gonna have to take the whole thing down anyway, because of the damn snails and the fact that I was bored with it.

Another deciding factor has to do with my friend, Bam. He's got a couple of nice buddies who opened up an aquarium shop in my area. He's been telling me to check it out for at least six months. I FINALLY made my way there this past weekend and was so glad I did. These people, along with the other fish store I trust, are going to help me a lot this time. I almost had it right the last time, I just wasn't patient enough and had some shitty equipment. This time, I'm going to take my time. I'm going to get the best equipment...I'm going to invest all I can so that I can get the result I want. I'm gonna go for the live corals. But that's probably not gonna happen for at least a year or two. I have to let the tank run empty (with live rock only) for the next four to six months. So this week I'm bleaching my tank. By Friday I should be ready to fill the tank with saltwater and get my equipment running. Then I'll be headed to the shop to start accumulating the 30 pounds of cured live rock I will need as my biological filter. Yea, I'm gonna go all fish nerd. WOO! This is gonna be fun!