Remember when I claimed I was going to try to get some blog momentum going again? Well, that clearly has not happened as I have been simply
buried in work. Nonetheless, stuff has happened, stuff that I wanted to write about, but part of the problem was that is was stuff that was not directly related to the sci-tech theme of QMAAC. I originally wanted to spin off separate blogs to cover these topics, but now I have come to the realization that if I cannot effectively manage
one blog, how could I possible manage two or three?
So, then, QMAAC is going to broaden its topic scope (for a while at least) to include two domains that are currently very, very interesting to me. The first is aquaria (which you may already know is something I am wont to do from
here). On this theme, I am going to document the travails of a new aquarium I have set up (the genesis of which is described below). This will hopefully be of interest to some readers (regular, or Google-induced). The second major topic is "the blues", specifically acoustic blues guitar, which I have mentioned from time to time. The skinny on this is that I have (a) fallen in love with the genre, and (b) have taken it open myself to become proficient at acoustic blues guitar,
a la Robert Johnson. A tall order, to be sure, but I think it will make interesting reading as I explore the genre and explore the online offerings for learning to play the guitar in this style.
As an aside, I really wish that Blogger allowed me to classify my posts to help organize this and to help readers find relevant material. Moveable Type does, but right now moving over to MT would require too much effort on my part. I do note, however, that my fave
boing boing has recently made the switch.
With that preamble aside, I am going to start this new editorial direction by introducing you to my new aquarium...
As I noted
elsewhere on this site, my interest in fishkeeping began when my wife bought a tiny bowl for two goldfish. That short-lived experiment morphed into a larger three-gallon bowl that for slightly more that a year housed three fish: a male red wag platy, and two longfin zebra danios. As you will read
here, it took a while for everything to stabilize out, but once it did, everyone was quite happy (can fish really be happy?).
Then a little over a month ago, tragedy struck. It all started with a bad case of algae (hair algae, to be precise). I had been doing a bunch of reading and had decided that I was going to move the bowl from its usual location, near windows that allowed it to get plenty of light, to a very dark room. The thinking here was that the light was causing the massive algal growth, and removing the light source should kill the algae before the plants suffered too much. In the process of moving the bowl, however, a small crack developed. I still, to this day, don't know how, but it did. And what is worse, I didn't see it because it was down near the base. I surely did see it several hours later when the crack grew to about six inches long and water started leaking out!
As luck would have it, I had recently been researching an alternate home for my fish, and I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, but I wasn't ready to pull the trigger until this really forced my hand. My goal was to get a really exceptional planted "natural" aquarium, having been stoked by
Takashi Amano's fantastic work. Now, with water leaking out, I didn't have the luxury of a lot of time, nor did I have a suitable temporary home for the three troopers that have stuck it out for over a year in less-than-optimal surroundings.
The plan, then, was to get the aquarium I wanted, and create a suitable substrate so that planting could follow, but to get the fish in their new home as quickly as possible. So, after a mad dash to
Big Al's, I came home with an
Eclipse System 12. This is a beautiful looking aquarium (spousal requirement #1) that is quiet (spousal requirement #2) and large enough to get me something decent while being substantially smaller than the 40+ gallon system I originally wanted (spousal requirement #3). Unpacking the system, I found this was a display model that was missing some parts. Fuck! Back to Big Al's to get a replacement which was, alas, perfect. Set up was extremely simple...this is a very slick product. I also got a cheap, but reasonably "attractive" base which took longer to set up than the system itself. I put down a substrate of Carib-Sea Eco-Complete Black substrate, and covered it with some medium-sized river rocks, trying to give some interesting contours and following the first few steps in
Amano's Beginner's Guide, minus any plants. Rather than let the system settle for a day before introducing the fish, I had no choice but to transfer them right away so, after filling it with water that was close to the same temperature, conditioning it with the stuff that came with the Eclipse, I introduced the boys to their new home. After a few tense moments that would determine if they would freak and die immediately or not, they adjusted to their new environment like the hardy souls they were. Whew!
Looking at the new system, I remember thinking, this is a really nice product. Two thumbs up, for sure.
A day later, all continued to be well, and I began to get the itch. Those fish look so lonely in such a big (relatively speaking) place. Some plants would really be nice. No, I told myself. Patience. The biggest sin a new aquarium owner can commit is to do too much, too soon. Let things settle out.
A day later, all continued to be well, and I continued to itch. Since we were having guests that weekend, including the two children for which the original goldfish were bought, I wanted this to look a little more complete. A few plants can't hurt, right? So, back to Big Al's, and I came home with two bunches of
Eusteralis stellata, two
Anubias barteri "nana", and one bunch of
Alternanthera reineckii ''lilacina''. I planted most of the Alt. lilacina near the filter tube, thinking that as they grew in they would hide it some. And the Anubias and Eusteralis I planted on a mound I created in the mid-right section of the tank. I also added a few pieces of slate for hiding places for potential new tank mates.
And on the next day, I rested. (
more)