Fishkeeping: The Conclusion, Part 2

(Continued from Part 1) I had stated in the beginning of the month that I started early and that my Goals would be tainted to some degree. With that said, I still feel that I set that good goals that I could keep up with at the end of the month.

Setup a tropical freshwater aquarium
I think its easy to say that this was done.

Purchase at least 10 fish
Technically I did not complete this goal. I do however have 10 fish in the tank including the 2 rainbowfish that my neighbors had given me.

Not let any of the fish die barring any unforeseen complications like disease

Poor sweet Bender Bending Rodriguez. Just a few days before the end of the month, Bender succumbed too an ailment that took his life. The rest of the fish seem healthy though. I do believe that whatever happened to Bender, it was not related to water quality.

Aqua-scape the aquarium in a tropical theme

I think the setup was rather "topical," don't you agree?

Clean the tank at least twice

I definetly cleaned the tank twice. Most of my cleaning in the form of water changes which I performed almost every day for a month. It was very exhausting and demoralizing, but now that the tank is cycled, I should be done all of that.

Document costs and inventory everything needed to run my aquarium
I definetly did this. In the last post I actually included a full inventory and cost. I also created an Amazon Wish List that can be viewed by everyone.

I pretty much set myself up for failure with not wanting a fish to die. There was just too much I didn't know, and doing fish-in cycling can be very difficult for less hardy fish like tetra's. Other than that I think I did pretty well, and stuck to the plan.

Stay tuned for the third and final part...

Fantasy Football: Day 6

As per usual, It is a little difficult for me to keep up with the blog on weekends, especially holiday weekends spent with the in-laws. I was able however to get setup on Fantasy Football prior to my leagues draft.

By the way, I am aware that I am jumping the gun as per usuall with my hobbies. The problem is that the football season has already started and I had few oportunities to actually join a league with people I know.

I joined a Fantasy Football league on Yahoo! which I like considering the easy to use interface, easy access to scores and reports and decent mobile access. Now I just need to figure out how to play Fantasy Football and I should be all set.

I pulled together all of my cunning to come up with the creative yet topical team name of "The Flying Pigskins."

Like most hobbies, Fantasy Football cannot be truely completed in a month and therefore I will do my best to cram in as much Fantasy Football as humanly possible.

(PHOTO'S)

Flying Pigskin's Roster



Fishkeeping: The Conclusion, Part 1

  

I was truly surprised by this hobby. Not only did it test my preconceived notions about the hobby, it tested the knowledge I gained from research. I feel I was able to really engross myself in this hobby, much more so than previous ones.

 

I not only setup the tank, I put in starter fish, cycled the tank, dealt with a sick and dying fish, and even maintenance of the fish tank. I tried out different tools available to the hobby, and was able to speak with people who have been Fishkeeping their whole lives.

 

Time Consumption: 7/10
The time consumption of this hobby really ebbs and flows. The first several weeks of the hobby consist of constant water changes that burn up a lot of time and a lot of nerves. Not to mention the actual setup of the tank which requires hours of preparation and setup.

However, once your tank is setup and cycled you really only need about 1 minute a day to drop food in the tank, and about 15 minutes a week to do a water change.

The type of tank you manage also greatly influences the amount of time consumption. For example, if you have live plants, you will most likely be fighting back algae blooms and have to clean the tank more consistently. If you have a saltwater tank, there is a lot more equipment to purchase as well as more tank levels to maintain.

Costs: 8/10

I was not surprised to find out that fishkeeping was an expensive hobby to set up, but even with having a large majority of it donated, it was still costly.

So far here is all the equipment. I received a lot of it @ a discounted price due to a moving sale so:

• 20g Tank: $0.00
• Tank Stand: $0.00
• Aquarium Salt: $0.00
• Tap Water Conditioner: $0.00
• Stress Coat: $0.00
• Freshwater Tropical Fish Flakes: $0.00
• 5 Black Molly's and 3 Pearl Danio's: $15.00
• pH 7.0: $10.00
• Decorations (Sunken Ship, Drift Wood, and fake plants): $35.00
• API Freshwater Test Kit: $23.00
• Python Gravel Cleaner: $27.00
• Marineland 280 Bio-Filter: $30.00
• Gravel: $7.00
• Hood: $32.00
• Air Bubbler: $10.00
• 3g Bucket: $8.00

This makes a grand total of: $197.00.

The free tank and stand saved me probably $60 - $100 and had I gone with a saltwater tank, or expensive rare fish, the cost would have quickly raised well above that. A lot of these are "start-up" costs, and I would only need to buy chemicals and food from here on out unless equipment broke.

Overall Enjoyment: 8/10

I rated this hobbies overall enjoyment as pretty high for several reasons. The first being the fish. Watching the fish eat and play (or fight) around in the tank was a constant source of enjoyment. In the morning when I came into the living room and turned on the light and see the fish immediately start swimming around, it put a smile on my face.

 

The second would be the satisfaction of doing something well. Keeping all those fish alive (almost all of them) and happy for the month was extremely satisfying considering my past attempts at fishkeeping yielded many sad toilet flushes.

 

The third would be the aquascaping. Being able to shape the environment that the fish live in was very satisfying. I could make the aquarium look like the beach by my parents summer home so that everytime I look at it, I think of all the fun I had there as a child.

 

Fourth and finally would have to be how much my children have enjoyed the tank. Watching my son stick his finger in the tank and have the fish try and nibble on his finger was a constant source of entertainment for everyone. My son loved to help me feed the fish, and loved watching them peck away at the flakes. Whenever my 3 month old daughter was inconsolable, I would plop her in a chair in front of the tank and she would immediatly be mesmorized by all the movement. 

 

Technical Skill Required: 7/10

 The "Technical Skill" required for fishkeeping is more about research and preparation. Knowing about the nitrogen cycle and aquarium environments is crucial when mainting an aquarium. You can quickly kill every fish in your tank by not treating your tap water before putting it in your tank.

 

You also need to know about the fish your putting in your tank. Certain fish are very agressive and need to be kept in schools. Most fish can only be in either fresh water or marine (salt water) environments.

 

 

 

 

Overall, the juice was worth the squeeze and I had a great time with the hobby.

 

Stick around for part 2 of the conclusion.

A many of distractions

I just wanted to poke my head in and say sorry or the lack of posts lately. After a long Labor Day weekend, I think I am ready to get everything back up and running.

Stay tuned for the conclusion on Fishkeeping, and How my Fantasy Football draft went....

Rest In Peace

"Thank you everyone for joining us today as we celebrate the passing of our good friend, and neighbor, Bender Bending Rodriguez.

It was well over 20 days ago when we first met the deceased, joined by friends Captain Turanga Leela, and Phillip J. Fry. He was delivered upon our doorstep in a bucket with nothing more than his hopes and dreams to carry him along.

After almost 20 days of knowing Bender, I can tell you how strong he was. Being able to swim from one end of the tank to another on a daily basis, he was truly an inspiration for the rest of us.

It was when I noticed him not joining his friends at mealtime that I knew that he himself had given up hope. Even the help of the apartments greatest doctors and scientists, we were unable to diagnose what ailed him.

Before we cast our friend off to the great porcelain goddess in the sky, I would like to let it be known that when he passed, he did so with great personal character and respect for his friends and neighbors.

Thank you for showing your support, and may your God be with you"

Bender Bending Rodriguez

? - 08/29/2011

Rest In Peace

New Fantasy Football Theme!

Finally got the new theme up and running!

Soak it in...

Fishkeeping: Day 31

Today marks the last day of Augusts hobby, Fishkeeping. The last 30 days have been a scramble.

I finally got my bio-wheel filter in and all setup. It's twice as big, and twice as loud, but it takes up 0% of the tank room that the corner filter took. I got the bio-wheel spinning and put the floss filter media from the old filter and put it in the new one. The idea is that the filter has a lot of beneficial bacteria on it and will help stage the bio-wheel.

My favorite part of the new filter besides the room for the fish is that I can finally fill the tank all the way up. No more unsightly water line and now there is even more room for the fish. I just wish Bender was around to enjoy it.

I checked the tank levels like normal, and almost everything checked out normal, except for the Nitrates. For the last 30 days, the Nitrates have been at Zero, but today it actually red above that. Then I noticed that the Ammonia levels were only at 1.0, when they are normally at 2.0. After 30 days, is my tank finally cycling?

Well the big question is whether or not I keep the tank after this month. On one side I have already had 1 fish die, and it has been a complete pain in the butt doing full water changes every day. On the other side, there is the enjoyment I get from feeding them, and DC putting his finger in the tank and laughing as they nibble on his finger.

I think I will wait for the conclusion to unveil my plans for fishkeeping...

(PHOTO'S)

The New Bio-Filter

Bio-Filter in action

The fish have a lot more room and no more water line!