Author Archives: Tim

04.16.13

Everyone needs a punny tee....

Posted by Tim // 13 Replies

Christina is sick…real sick. Or so she says.

She was excited to be “on time” with our His & Her favorites this month, but then she decided to spend all night in bed. With a fever. Begging me to learn Photoshop and whip up two moodboards. Right.

I’ve been bedside with Sprite and crackers so maybe she won’t be so upset that her post isn’t up on time.

Hopefully this will make her feel better.

It is slightly inappropriate, but it is fully hilarious. You can buy it in shirt form here.
P.S. that website has way too many funny shirts for way cheap.

Send Christina some well wishes so she has something other than soup to be excited about.

04.09.13

More drama than those Kardashian girls....

Posted by Tim // 6 Replies

They say that aquariums and oceans are relaxing. Calming if you will. Some people even use them as forms of meditation.

Yet every time I get into a reef forum or Facebook group, someone is causing a ruckus. It got so bad in our local group that all the comments had to go through moderation before posting. In this hobby – like most hobbies – everyone has their own opinion. Some things work for some people, and for others they are a disaster. Like wipe your whole tank out disaster, but that is no need to go yell at the person advocating “macaroni dosing”. You just have to do your research.

Please don’t research macaroni dosing though, I made it up. Although I may be onto something. Patent pending okay.

Recently, the hot debate has been the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishing a proposed rule in the Federal Register (77 FR 73219) in response to a petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity to list 83 reef-building coral species as threatened or endangered under the ESA. When this first hit the forums everyone was really nervous that this would kill the reef-keeping hobby. By making the buying and selling of these corals illegal, the hobby would become like selling cocaine to the Cartels. There was even talk of undercover agents at frag-swaps and conferences.

I will admit that reading through the panic did give me a couple nightmares of being arrested for coral trafficking, but after further research my fears have been stifled. Quite a few reefers have taken it upon themselves to call NOAA to get more information on what exactly will be illegal. It appears that the only thing illegal will be buying and selling these corals for commercial use, and keep in mind it isn’t law yet.

The biggest fear is that the agents enforcing these laws won’t be able to decipher the different species and would ultimately confiscate the wrong corals. Sort of a slippery slope.

Don’t get us wrong, anyone that is involved in this hobby wants to preserve corals, reefs, and the ocean habitat in general. We just don’t want to become convicts for admiring their beauty. Our personal belief is that reef keepers are ultimately trying to preserve the futures of many species of corals and livestock as the wild becomes a harsher and less sustainable home. At least that is our goal.

I am sure Federal Regulation is not as juicy as Kim K’s sex tape, or as crazy as Miss Lohan’s shenanigans but you should see some of the cat fights going down.

Have you been following this topic?
Been involved any Spears-sized drama lately?
Want to try macaroni dosing?

For more information on this topic check out these helpful links and resources:
Overview of ESA from NOAA
NOAA’s contact information
Threatened Species
Good overview and spicy comments
Some Forum fun

04.02.13

A bathroom update....

Posted by Tim // 9 Replies

We have been as busy as we can be between blizzards and BBQ’s, but we have managed to squeeze in some bathroom time as well. The renovation kind not the we-are-going-to-need-an-air-freshner-kind. We have made quite a few changes to the existing layout after taking a few years to figure out what is not working. Here are the major changes.

The shower always felt cramped which was especially bad with all the grime. You can see the kickout and the low ceiling pretty well in this photo.

So we ripped out the ceiling and after careful deliberation a closet as well.

That took a lot of convincing on my part since Christina was convinced our four vacuums (yes four) would never find a home. It added over two feet to the shower and we are now brainstorming tiled benches and jellyfish tanks. Ok I am brainstorming about shower fish tanks and Christina is brainstorming about redecorating the foyer.

We also decided to add more lighting. No compromise needed on that one. With no windows for natural light we wanted to make sure we had plenty of light by adding three can lights and a fan-light combo.

We also replaced all of the plumbing and most of the wiring, thanks to a ton of help from my parents. Christina is so excited to not be standing in a puddle in her shower since we also took this opportunity to snake out her drain.

Thanks to the suggestion of some of you all on our Facebook page we are also putting our outlets in the medicine cabinet so thanks guys.

We are getting drywall up this week so the room can actually start to feel like a room again, although we are loving the ability to walk in our front door and straight to the bedroom.

Thanks to my lady for making all the graphics for this post, where would I be without her. And she was so excited to announce the winner of the giveaway, so she made a graphic….of course.

02.28.13

We Couldn't Do It Without You...

Posted by Tim // 9 Replies

I want to start off with a big thank you to all of our readers.
Seriously, the fact that so many of you read, like, and comment is sometimes the reason we keep posting.

It is difficult to come up with quality posts every single day while still working a full time job. It means a lot to Christina and I that you gals and guys care enough to read what we have to say. You should see the smile on Christina’s face each and every time she receives a new comment. She lights up like a Christmas Tree. We really never expected the blog to grow like this and to have so many people join us every single day. We will continue to try to bring you the best writing we can. That being said, we couldn’t do it without you…literally.

We often received comments like “please do more posts like this one” or ” I wish you would write about animal crackers.” Ok, so we have never really had that comment but I feel like it’s coming. We appreciate all the feedback we receive and use it to improve our blog every single day.

We have a new feature over here at Homemade Ocean. We figured since it was so popular at that one place they call Facebook that we would try it over here. You guessed it, it’s a “like” button. Now if you like something you can literally “like” it. It’s just that easy.

Side note: I asked Christina to make the graphic for this post…it’s very girly. We do really take every suggestion you all throw at us and run with it. We ask that if you like something, then ‘like it’. If you have something to say, tell us about it. If you find an awesome photo or graphic, ‘pin it’. We will use all of your feedback to make sure we are doing more posts that everyone loves to read instead of wasting your time with goldendoodle shenanigans.

11.05.12

Choosing the right tank for you...

Posted by Tim // 2 Replies

When getting in the hobby the question often comes up, “Should I get a glass or acrylic tank?”

Let me break it down for you….thanks to Christina’s “put a little humore in it” venn diagram or something.

Ultimately, glass tanks are less expensive which is usually a main concern. The glass aquarium is usually made of plate-glass with a thickness that varies with the capacity of the aquarium. This style of tank usually comes with a black plastic band around the top and base of the aquarium as well as a center support to prevent bowing. There are definitely still some cons with a glass tank.

Glass tanks are typically made with metal, and can sometimes have a green tinge to it. Glass also weighs a LOT more than acrylic. The larger the glass tank the heavier it gets. This is why most glass manufacturers don’t make very large tanks. You can have them custom-built, but I hope you have a lot of friends or a forklift. Glass tanks are also held together with silicone, so there is always a chance that they can leak over time.

Acrylic tanks are made of a crystal clear, cell-cast material. They are lightweight, and the quality is unsurpassed both structurally and visually. The seals are chemically bonded together insuring a lifelong, leak proof seal. The acrylic aquarium has been known mostly for its use as a “custom” aquarium. This style of tank is often seen at large zoo aquariums and in custom home installations. As acrylic is a type of plastic, it is easily molded into any shape imaginable and carries the trademark for its ability to fit into places that glass aquariums can not. You will always get what you pay for, and acrylic is usually more expensive than glass.

With today’s technology you can get glass tanks that are made with less metal and are more clear view, called “starfire”. These tanks are more durable and harder to scratch, but if you do scratch a glass tank there is no easy way to get the scratches out. Acrylic tanks scratch easier but can be buffed out, even with the water still in them.

If you are looking for a tank that is a standard size, free-standing unit, under 200 gal; glass may be a more cost-effective option for you. Our tank in our dining room is actually a glass tank and it is a 210 gal.

If you’re wanting a larger or custom size, and great quality, then acrylic is the way to go. Our next tank is going to be HUGE once I can talk the lady into it, so we will need acrylic. Maybe a gigantic round stingray tank?

Keep in mind if you are doing an in-wall aquarium, glass tanks are made with a trim piece around the bottom, acrylic tanks are not. A flush edge will usually be more convenient to build around.

Both glass and acrylic tanks serve their intended purpose well and it will ultimately depend on your situation and desired installation. Remember to weigh the pros and cons carefully as your decision will likely be in place for years to come.

08.30.12

Blogging....for Dummies.

Posted by Tim // 7 Replies

*Don’t forget to enter to win a $50 giftcard in our One Month Giveaway*

Blogging has consumed our lives… Blogging for breakfast, blogging for lunch, and blogging for dinner. I really had no idea what to expect when we bought our first domain name. Once we decided upon a name it has been a whirlwind of blog posts. At this point, everything we do is blog related, but in the best way possible. Except for on weekends of course, those are still ours…for now.

We decided a long time ago that we needed a way for our friends and family to check in on the things we do and see what we do every day, no matter how boring it may be. We did not expect everything that went into maintaining a blog.

Since we have been at this for a whole month now I wanted to fill you in on the work that we put in every day. Hopefully, this will give everyone just one-tenth of an idea of how much goes into preparing a blog post and getting it ready for the inter-webs. Early on, we choose to each take a role. Since I am not much of a writer I chose the more technical, web design, layout, NERDY aspect of it all. In addition, I was forced chose to take on the semi-professional photographer role.

We spend most of the time taking photos, posing for photos, editing photos, and re-taking photos when we don’t have the shot we need. Christina does all of the wonderful, funny, witty writing that you folks get to enjoy every day (this really is Tim and I really did write that). I do take part in all of the writing though by proof-reading and correcting all of the errors, and trust me there are many errors. I had to get a jab in there somewhere so her head would stop swelling.

Then it is time for the layout, this includes the resizing of everything, inserting all of links for any product or reference we use, and placing FB and Pinterest links. Once everything is in place and has been looked at one million times it gets published. Ok so that doesn’t sound like much work, but when was the last time you resized and edited 60 photos.

We really do enjoy blogging and keeping everyone in the loop with all of the fun stuff we do. We stay up very late to make sure everyone gets a laugh the next morning. We really do appreciate everyone who reads even just one post. In conclusion, thank you everyone for being with us for the first month and reading our blog. We will have many more posts to come and hope you will stick with us through the years and we will do our best to keep you entertained.

-T