Mark Twain's "The Diary of Adam and Eve"

Mark Twain wrote a great short story that is called "The Diary of Adam and Eve".  Essentially, it is the story of Adam and Eve each told from their own point of view from creation until after they are kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It is a very funny read and I highly recommend it.

What does this have to do with me and this blog?  Well, I talk a lot about my wife on here and as I re-read some of this, I get to thinking that it is a one-sided view.  I also think I may have painted my wife in a negative light.  That is not the case.  My wife is a truly fantastic person.  I love her dearly and can't imagine my life without her.  I have a wonderful step daughter because of her and she has also suffered through childbirth twice to give us two more beautiful children, one is almost 2yo and the other just 4 weeks.

She keeps me in line and from overspending on my reef tank and pond.  This is in the best interest of the family!  

The reality is that the fish tank and the pond are just about the only things we disagree on or argue about and given all of the other "problems" that couples have, I think we are in great shape.  After all, in the grand scheme of things, this is a petty argument. 

Anyway, I am thinking that maybe I should invite my wife to have her say and do a post or two.  Might make for an interesting point/counterpoint.... or Adam and Eve, if you will... ;)

Help! I am smoking my tank away

So, I said in the beginning that I would talk about my quest for a big tank and how that impacts the dynamics of the family and my relationship with my wife.  I jump into any hobby with both feet.  I did it with a home networking and video on demand project.  I did it with the construction of our house.  (No, I did not build it, but I visited every single day to make sure it was going well.)  I do with my love of the St. Joe's Hawks (The Hawk Will Never Die).  And I am doing it with my reef tank. 

So, it wasn't long after my wife bought me my current 14g BioCube that I started thinking BIGGER.  I haven't nailed it down yet, but we are talking somewhere between 180 and 240 gallons.  Yes, that's big.

My wife decided that I needed some incentive to quit smoking, so she said, quit smoking, get a tank.  Oh, and don't spend our money!  Well, she didn't really say that, but I took it upon myself to decide that I can only have one hobby with a full house.  So, I sold all of my tech gear (well, most of it) to pay for the new tank. 

And, I officially quit smoking on August 23rd.  I am now over am month into not smoking and I have started my search for the perfect tank. 

Top Ten Reef Purchases You Couldn't Sneak Past Your Spouse

I love Top 10 lists and this one is right up my alley.  Reefkeeping magazine's September Issue has the "Top 10 Reef Purchases you couldn't sneak past your spouse".  What a great concept and it just shows that I am not alone.  Apparently, OCRD is a phenomenon suffered by many, both men and women.  While I have to admit that I don't pass every purchase by my wife (chemicals, etc), I am honest about what I spend and what I buy.  We did have a little discussion about the chiller because it cost more than the tank itself.  But, in the end, it was a good purchase and the discussion helped her better understand the ecosystem I had built along with my passion for it.

Anyway, check out the Top Ten List above, but here is my favorite one that came in at Number 8 on the list: 

My wife caught my friend and I carrying in my new 150-gallon Tenecor tank on the day it was delivered. Good thing it was acrylic because the screams would have shattered glass!

Can't imagine trying to pull that off.  And I haven't even started talking about my pursuit of my ultimate reef tank, a 210g beauty.

Another really good Top 10 from Reefkeeping magazine is the "Top 10 Worst Days in your life as a Reef Keeper".  This was in their February, 2007 issue.  Check that one out too.  In the meantime, here are my two favorites from that list:

It's 11:00pm at night. I'm packed and ready to fly across the Atlantic to a week's vacation in the Canary Islands. The tanks have been cleaned, instructions typed, all is right with the world. UNTIL, my husband kicks the dog's bone down the stairs and BOUNCE - right through the side of my reef tank. 55 gallons of saltwater pouring all over the floor. Fish staring petrified as their environment gushes away! Luckily, I was able to stay up until 4am and throw together a backup tank, move all of the contents to the backup, say a prayer over the tank and leave for vacation. Luckily enough - everything made it through the week! How's that for good karma???

Any day there's a conversation with your wife that involves how much time (or money) you spend on the tank!

 

6 fish in an almost empty pond

How in the world does this happen?  At 4:30 I got a frantic call from my wife about our pond.  For the record, this is another fish "thing" which my wife begrudgingly agreed to.  And it is much smaller than my original plan.  I had planned a 2000 gallon oasis, we ended up with a 155g pond.  Still, it is awesome and I love it.

Well, back to the phone call.  4:30pm.  The pond is almost completely empty.  The 6 fish are basically flopping at the bottom.  No major leak as far as we can see.  So, here are the facts as we know them.  What the heck really happened.

1. 4:30pm - The pond is basically empty.
2. The fountain head is off and has fallen over, essentially shooting a 2 foot arc of water OUT of the pond, thus draining it.

So far it is an open and shut case.  The fish knocked it over and the fountain head fell off.  Nope, now I add the wrinkle.

There is a DEAD bird in the pond.

What the heck?  It is a very small bird.  So, what happened?  Did the bird swoop in to catch a small frog and knock over the fountain and then drowned?

Or did the bird have a heart attack in mid-air and fall into the pond and knock over the fountain?

We may never know...

As of 10:30 tonight, the fish are alive and well and the fountain is working again...and the bird has been buried.

P.S.  Lest I sound like I am complaining about my small pond and small fish tank, I must say in my wife's defense that I have OCRD and OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Pond Disorder) and I will go overboard if allowed.  I have done this already with my home theater/bar/billiard room and my home network and Media Center set-up.

The Obsession Begins

So, I thought I would talk a little bit about my reef tank history.  For Christmas last year (2006), my wife bought me an Oceanic BioCube.  It is a 14g tank that is all-inclusive. 

By December 29, I had visited 3 different lfs (local fish stores), the best one at that time was 45 minutes away.  Salt water went into the tank along with 14lbs of live rock (at 9.00/lb) and some live sand.

In addition, I had started reading and reading and reading (and that is what had my wife frustrated most of the time).  I bought a few books and discovered many forums online including the two I continue to use today (Reef Central and Nano Reef).  I also learned a ton from Melev (Melev's Reef).  I ended up spending 2 hours a night on these forums at least at least for the first few weeks.

And, boy did I learn a lot!  I learned that, although my tank was all-inclusive, the reality is that I should do a bunch of mods (modifications) to make it really shine.  And thus, I spent more money!

What did I mod?

• Turn Chamber 2 into a refugium (scrape the glass, add a light, remove bioballs, add chaeto and live rock rubble)
• Remove the pad from Chamber 1 and add bags of Chemipure and Purigen and Algone.
• Add a more powerful pump and put on a HydorFlo.

Not too bad, all things considered.  But, I had spent about $400 so far and not added any fish or corals.

Now, add fish and corals and I am up to about $1000.  Plus, summer arrived and I needed to add a chiller.  That was another $350.  Bear in mind that the tank was a gift but only cost about $250 for the tank and stand.  Now, you can realize what an expensive little hobby this has become.

Anyway, I expanded my geography for local fish stores and I now frequent about 10 different places between home and my office (which is 100 miles away).  I do visit the forums less and don't spend nearly the amount of time that I used to on my PC reading.  As with anything, I have accumulated a good base of knowledge and go back to the web for specific questions and just to see what's up.

About 3 months in I started looking at bigger tanks.  Why?  Well, my tank is awesome, but it is very small.  Smaller tanks give you no room for error.  They have much less water in them so any small issue becomes catastrophic.  A big volume of water will buffer better.  For example, if a fish dies in my tank, I have to get him out right away or the ammonia will spike to the point of killing something else and a cycle will ensue that will crash the entire tank.  Luckily, no fish have died so far!  In a large tank, a dead fish may have little impact at all because the ammonia gets dissipated quickly.

Another reason is that I want to try my hand at SPS corals which require much higher light output than on my little tank.  And, finally, I am running out of room.  This tank is overloaded with fish and coral and it is busting at the seams.

Oh yeah, my wife wants a fish or two that just won't work in a small tank (like Dorie from "Finding Nemo" and a mandarin goby which needs about 75g at a minimum).

I don't have the big tank yet, but I will soon!

Watch Coral Reef Researchers Live

An article in the Science section of Yahoo!News highlighted a nine-day mission to study the change in coral reefs off the coast of Florida. 

You can read the article here.  And you can watch them here.

As you probably know, the coral reefs are suffering greatly because of global warming and pollution in the water run-off that flows into the ocean.  I make every effort to get my corals by trading with other coral reefers and by purchasing only from sites that sell aquacultured corals. 

Obsessive Compulsive Reef Disorder

What exactly does that mean? Well, it came from a forum post over at Reef Central in the Philadelphia Area Reef Club forum. It was from a reef widow, or a woman who has lost her husband to the reef tank. My wife claims that she is a reef widow and that I spend too much time staring at the tank, fiddling with the tank, looking at magazines and books about the tank and being online at forums chatting about the tank.

The woman on the forum said that her husband was obsessed with his tank and called it Reef OCD. I kinda think that it is a fairly appropriate term for anyone who is into reefkeeping. It is such an amazing hobby and you can get totally wrapped up in it.Honestly, if I wasn't married with children, I know that I would have already purchased several additional large tanks and be up to my nose in fish gear. (And being that I am officially a nerd, it would all be completely automated.)

Hello World!!

I am just starting a little blog to talk about my adventures in keeping a reef tank.

But this is about more than just the tank itself. This is also about how this little slice of ocean impacts my relationships at home with my wife and kids. As any coral reefer will tell you, having a reef is one of the most enjoyable and relaxing hobbies in the world. But, it is also expensive. And though maintenance of the reef tank takes little time, the "fiddling" and "staring" can easily usurp an entire evening without you even realizing it. And, that can lead to some pretty interesting conversations.

So, I will talk a little about my current reef tank, but I will really focus on my journey towards a "big" tank and what is involved from many different angles: costs, time, design, spousal negotiations.

Let's start with a picture of my current tank before and after. This was my tank when I started.

It is a BioCube 14g and my wife bought it for me for Christmas (2006). I think she has regretted it ever since. This picture was taken on December 31, 2006. Live rock and live sand in and the nitrogen cycle begins. I got a beautiful piece of live rock from my lfs (local fish store). It is a single piece that is 15 lbs.

And here is a picture from just a few weeks ago. It is B-E-A-U-tiful. But, it is getting very very crowded in there and its time to expand.

Next, I'll start talking about the "big tank negotiations." That is where the real fun begins. I'll talk a little bit about my reef obsession and how cigarettes play a major part in my 180-240g slice of paradise.