Category Archives: Tank Tales

10.09.12

You need to know about the nitrogen cycle....

Posted by Christina // 1 Reply

When you start a new tank you must let the circle of life take over folks.

We usually call this the nitrogen cycle or sometimes the startup cycle but you will hear it called many different names. It is essentially the process of letting beneficial bacteria colonies establish themselves in your tank so that all your pretty corals and loveable fish can live.

Every new aquarium must go through the nitrogen cycle. It can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks or sometimes longer, but each tank is different so it will vary. You can find out where you are in the cycle by testing your water regularly.

The three components involved are ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The best way to monitor the nitrogen cycle is by getting a saltwater test kit that will test the three components involved in the process. Test your water frequently and record your results to find the phase. Ammonia and Nitrites should test at zero, and Nitrates would ideally be at zero but can test up to 20 ppm (that’s parts per million for you folks in back) before you hit the danger zone. Once your tank has completed the nitrogen cycle, the nitrates are broken down by special types of bacteria which turn nitrates into harmless nitrogen gases which escape into the atmosphere. Your tank will remain more stable and you are now able to add some livestock.

I know what you are thinking, if there is no livestock to begin with then where does you ammonia come from?
Well, if you add live rock to your tank it will begin the cycle.
You can also throw some fish food in there to get it poppin.

There are a ton of great resources for learning about the ins and outs of the Nitrogen cycle out there on the interwebs.
Now go give your friends this science lesson…you’ll sound super smart!

10.08.12

Where can I get obsessed like you....

Posted by Christina // 2 Replies

Have you always wanted a piece of the ocean but weren’t sure how to start?

We went over how we got into the saltwater hobby in this post.
But what if you want to get into it…and find Nemo.

My first suggestion is to Google. Learn as much as you can about saltwater aquariums.
This will help you determine what kind of tank setup you would like. For beginners, we always recommend a Biocube or Nanocube. All of your filtration and lighting are built in, so the maintenance is lower and there is less guess work. These tanks let you get a taste of the commitment that goes into this hobby without getting in over your head.

If you are ready for something bigger we recommend going into a fish store and talking with an expert. There are a lot of things you have to consider, like the weight of a tank. How to care for the tank, and what lighting you will need. Even what fish get along together and how to care for corals. Research can help with all of this, but sometimes you just want to ask someone what would work best for you.

To find a fish store…you guessed it. Once you have done all your research and know what tank set up you are wanting. You can sometimes find deals on full set-ups, tanks, lights, sumps, and even live rock on Mr. Craig and his list. We personally bought our tank from a store and bought everything else online. EIther through retail websites or Craiglist.

Now comes the important part…you wait.

Once you get your tank setup, full of saltwater and live rock…you wait. We will tell you more about the nitrogen cycle later this week, but you generally have to wait 3 to 6 weeks before you can start adding corals and fish to your tank. Bummer.

Once you have your water perameters in check, you can add fish and corals.
There are a lot of great resources and forums for any tank or livestock problems that you will inevitably face.

One thing to remember is that in this hobby everyone has an opinion. You will hear many things that work for one person that don’t work for someone else, and there is always going to be something new and exciting that you have to try. Just do your research and know what works for you.

If you ever have any questions you can always ask us!

10.02.12

East Coast Road Trip - Shedd Aquarium

Posted by Christina //

We knew that if we drove straight home from the East Coast we would be seriously depressed…in a car….together….for sixteen hours.
That was if there wasn’t any traffic.
We also knew that Chicago was only a six hour drive (five if your name is Tim).

So we added Chicago to our trip. That cut the depressing drive down by ten whole hours, because we were excited for Chicago for most the way home. Since we couldn’t catch a Cards-v-Cubs game, we went to the obvious vacation destination. Boy oh boy did our cameras get a workout. Hope you like photos! It goes without saying that we had a blast.
But I will say it anyway….we had a blast. We walked right into a show in their main tank. Where do I apply for that job?
I of course oogled the decor. Ummmm hi, where do you all shop?
I got caught oogling a lot that day…. What can I say, I have a real weakness for sharks. Check it. I mean, how do you not love them.
I am totally serious about having a shark tank too.
Luckily, I know where to stock up on sharks. Yes, they had real shark eggs. I have video of them wriggling that I will share later this week.

There was another baby. The baby Beluga was born about a month ago.
Say “hi”

That is my dolphin imitation. It seemed like the theme of the day was large and in charge.
Everything was huge. I know these aren’t the best pictures, unless you are into glare and fuzziness.
The point is look at the size of these monsters. For some reason, this reminded me of Harry Potter. So I ran….fast. Yes, that sea lion was the highlight of my trip.
He knew where the food was, so he would swim three laps then splash out to get some chow.
Everytime he got out I clapped like a….well, sea lion.

My second best friend was this little feller. He was convinced that the rubber duckie was his people.
More convinced that this duck was his BFF forever and ever.

Then there were the jellies. Oh the jellies.

It was what I want heaven to be…and has me convinced our next tank should be a jellyfish tank. That there is the general gist of our aquarium trip…minus about 450 pictures.
Shutter happy people, that’s for sure.

We were not happy to leave Chicago, since that meant our trip was pretty much over.
But we are so glad to be home….planning the next one!

09.11.12

I sure do hope this is true.....

Posted by Christina // 2 Replies

You may remember that we visited the Kansas City aquarium earlier this year.

They had a bunch of “fin facts” and trivia questions all along the way, and this was one of them.

I’m crossing my fingers y’all. Crossing them like my mama said my eyes would stay if I sat too close to the TV.

Here’s why…..this is a spicy starfish….

Ever since I laid my eyes on this little lady I knew I had to have her. Luckily, I am as spoiled as they come and it was cheap so T let me bring it on home.

She was a happy habitant of our tank since about January.

But alas, here she blows today….whomp, whomp, whomp.

She’s struggling….say a little prayer please.

But I gotta tell ya, this girl is a trooper. She has been legless for a couple weeks now and she is still hustling all over the tank. I am calling her my tough cookie, my inspiration, and my teeny survivor.

I mean, if she can walk around a whole tank with two legs….then I can get up and take a shower today!

09.07.12

Our fish wishlist....

Posted by Christina // 1 Reply

The next tank we are putting in is going to be a fish only tank.

Here are some of the fishies that are on our wish list. We would need a huge tank since some of these fish get aggressive…but we are totally fine with that. The bigger the better, right?

And now onto the so-ugly-they-are-cute list…..

Just in case you hadn’t noticed…all of the fish on our wish list can be found and bought at LiveAquaria.com.

We are not promoting Live Aquaria, that just happened to be the site we were on when we decided to make a fish dream-team. But if they wanna pay our bills, we are so down with that!

Most of the above are fish that we can’t put in our current tank. Either because they are not reef safe, or they are aggressive, or we are too poor to afford them right now. Our corals and current fish family mean too much to us to take the risk and buy these fishies up.

We can dream….and hopefully by throwing it out on the internet we might actually have put a fire in our pants to get a fish only tank.

09.06.12

Dead Coral Decor....

Posted by Christina // 3 Replies

I have said it before and I will say it again, in this hobby….stuff dies. Most people don’t like to talk about it or admit that they lose things because typically the next thought is…..you don’t know what you are doing.

But everyone loses fish and corals. Truth.

You have to be prepared to shell out hundreds of hard-earned dollars to watch stuff get eaten, or keel over for no good reason.

All you can do is test your water and do some research to find out what might have gone wrong. And sometimes, things can live happily in our tank for a long, long time and then poof….they are dead.

Remember this little guy from here?

Well, he has met an unfortunate end.

Poor unfortunate soul….name that movie.

Fortunately for us….decorating with coral is like so hot right now.

Coral trend photo found here.

At least that’s what all the home decor magazines tell me.

And I believe them.

So this little guy is finding his way to my desk. I am going to call myself trendy and hip. Then I’ll look at him and be sad because I will remember what once was.

Bummer.