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

Welcome to the family: Part Deux

Since I was unable to name them in an amount of time sufficient to my family, my loving wife has thanklessly named the remaining fish in the tank.

She has named the Pearl Danios Diamond, Pearl, and Ruby. The Black Mollies are Silvie, Blackie, Midnight, Shadow, and Eclipse (I named the last one).

Now if I can just remember which one is which...

Fishkeeping: Day 30

Well after a month it looks like everything has finally caught up to me. Yesterday, Benders long fight ended when I found him lifeless at the bottom of the tank.

I actually tried poking him to see if he was just to weak to swim. I also brought him to the surface in the net and checked to see if hiss gills were moving, but it was too late. I quickly took him out of the tank and brought him to the porcelain goddess to meet his final resting place.

Murphy's Law intervened in the form of a 2 year old taking a bath asking me "what are you doing dad?", to which I responded, "throwing away some trash". I didn't even have the heart to tell him what had happened. Of course, Bender was his favorite fish, which probably had something to do with being the most fun to say.

The following 2 hours consisted of a large water change and a lot of contemplation. I really wanted to give up the hobby right then and there, but my wife intervened and noted how much enjoyment the kids have gotten out of the fish.

It would figure that at the end of the month something like this would happen.

With another trip scheduled for this weekend, I fear that the. Rest of the fish may share the same fate.

I am not exactly sure what happened to Bender, whether it was constipation or a swimming bladder problem, but I a almost positive that he died from not eating anything in 3 days. I attempted to segregate him this morning to eat with no success. It may have been too late...

Fishkeeping: Day 23

For the last several days I have gotten into the routine of getting home from work, checking tank levels (Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates) and then doing a large water change.

Each day I come home hoping that I start seeing Nitrites and Nitrates starting to rise above 0.0 mg/l, but am quickly disappointed. At least the fish are happy. They are eating well and seem very invigorated and social in the tank.

My family is really pulling for me to keep the tank, but knowing that I would be the sole caretaker of the tank (for good reasons) makes me a little hesitant. I'm not sure if I can keep up with another hobby, and this site.

I have also decided that their really isn't a overwhelming reason to keep posting pictures of the tank unless something changes, so I have decided to post pictures of Fish Tanks from around the interweb. Today's tank comes from Fish Tank Warehouse.com where they have a lovely toilet fish tank. I'm not exactly sure how sanitary this would be (for the fish), but it is definitely a cool concept.

Good Golly, Ms. Procreating Molly

After talking for a while with my brother who spent a good bit of his childhood with fish tanks, I mentioned that I bought several Black Molly's. He immediately started laughing and basically told me that he hopes I planned on having more kids because the Black Molly's do not know how to NOT procreate.

I only have a week and a half left before the end of the hobby, but it is possible that I could be up to my eyeballs with little Black Molly babies.

Think Tank

When I went to the National Aquarium the other day, I came upon a tank with an Assateague Island theme. I took this tank to heart because I go to my parents summer house in Chincoteague Island Virginia every summer which is butted up against Assateague Island Virginia.

It got me thinking about how my next tank, assuming there was one, would be a Chincoteague Island themed tank. Then I started thinking about how amazing it would be to have a piece of Chincoteague living at home with me. Then I realized that is probably what every Fishkeeper/Aquarist wants in their tank, and it is a wholly unique experience that only this hobby can bring.

The ability to have a environment that you not just create, but you sculpt out of life itself. I can't even begin imagine the pride and love for such a thing. You can have the coolest dog or cat (or in my case, fancy rats) in the world, but I doubt when you look at them, you think of the bushel of Maryland Blue crabs that you caught off the pier, or that summer when you caught that 32" flounder and got your picture taken at the bait shop.

Top that Skateboarding Dog.

PWC Grand Prix

I decided to have a little fun with my second water change last night and time it. I didn't go as fast As I could because the kids were asleep, but I definitely pushed it to the limit.

Step 1: Siphon out 9 gallons of water.

• Bucket 1 - 2:49.05 minutes
• Bucket 2 - 3:00.00 minutes
• Bucket 3 - 3:20.04 minutes

Total: 9:09.09 minutes.

Step 2: Put 9 gallons of pre-treated water into tank. Total: 2:38.80 minutes.

Step 3: Refill 10 gallon cooler with 9 gallons of tap water.

• Bucket 1 - 1:35.90 minutes
• Bucket 2 - 1:06.90 minutes
• Bucket 3 - 1:03.00 minutes

Total: 3:45.80 minutes

Step 4: Treat tap water with water conditioner, aquarium salt, and pH 7.0. Total: 00:56.60 minutes.

This makes the grand total for a 50% water change: 16:31.90 minutes.

Siphoning the water out of the fish tank took longer the less water there was in the tank, which I'm sure there is a scientific answer for.

The Shy Guys

Now that the new fish have been in the tank for 24 hours, I took some time to observe their behavior. I read about them at my local fish store (LFS) that the Black Mollies required a lot of hiding spots, but I didn't really understand why. After 24 hours, I now know why. It's because the Black Mollies are shy, and the Pearl Danio's are a bit more aggressive than them.

Pretty much the entire day, they have been hiding behind either the filter or the 2 fake plants. When I got home from work, my wife told me that when she fed them, Bender, Fry, Leela and the new Pearl Danio's were taking 90% of the food before the Mollies even had a chance to get at them.

I'm sure a little bit of this could be attributed to them being new in the tank, but the Pearl Danio's definetly did not have the same problem.

I decided that the best thing I could do, would be to help fortify their habitat. I took the new fake grass I bought the other night (same night as the fish, yes, I forgot to mention it) unlocked the 3 pieces and snugged them up against the long fake plant by the filter. My goal is to try and give them more hiding room so they aren't squished behind the filter.

(PHOTO'S)

Old grass setup

New grass setup

Mollies hiding behind the filter

Coincidence? Yes actually it is

I just realized that Shark Week coincided rather nicely with this months hobby. It was absolutely a coincidence, but nice nonetheless.

For anyone who doesn't know, Shark Week is a time honored Discovery channel tradition where during the first week in August, Discovery shows shark shows all week. I don't have digital cable, so I don't get it anymore, but it is definitely something to watch.

Color changing Ranbowfish

I recently posted about my so called "Danio" that had changed colors due to the high ammonia levels in the tank. After finding out that the Danio's are actually Rainbowfish, I decided to try my research again.

Low and behold, I got a good hit during my first Google search and as it turns out, Rainbowfish have the capacity to change colors depending on environmental as well as hormonal factors.

I knew I wasn't the first person to see this. I'm not that lucky!

Color changing Danio!

Phillip J. Fry - Day 9

Phillip J. Fry - Day 14

Yesterday I posted about how the Danio's changed color over the weekend I was away. I wanted to post a picture from Day 9, and Day 14 (the day we came back) and show the slight color change. Of course, after I changed the water, their color went back to the way it was. I'm checking with the pro's on the AquariumAdvice.com forum for more info.

(PHOTO'S)

Phillip J. Fry - Day 9

Phillip J. Fry - Day 14

Why buy a bio-wheel filter for your freshwater tank

 I was doing some reading today about protein skimmers for marine tanks, and came across this aricle from the bailey brothers on bio-wheel filters. I really wanted one for my tank, but I could never really justify purchasing a new filter, when my old one really works just fine.

This article basically explains that the beneficial bacteria in your tank requires oxygen. Most water has only 7 ppm oxygen. This means the bacteria have to fight go grow and thrive with just a few particles of air. The bio-wheel filter rotates in and out of water allowing the bacteria to gain oxygen from the air which is at 200,000 ppm oxygen.

This really appeals to me because I need to build up the beneficial bacteria as fast as possible or I will be doing 50% water changes every day for this whole month.

I love how math explains everything.

Source: AquariumFish.net

The Big League

For any Aquarist, Fishkeeper, Aquascaper hobbyists out there, I would definitely recommend a quick trip to your local aquarium. I took the family to the National Aquarium in D.C. the other day and got good education  on how to really make your aquarium "pop".

The Aquarium was basically a big circle, in which half of the circle was marine tanks, and the other half was brackish and freshwater tanks. Each tank represented an area of the world, whether it be the great barrier reef, or Assateague Island, Virginia. It was a really terrific sight and gave me a lot of good ideas for the tank and how to eventually design it.

Several of the exhibits were based around the ecosystems around boat and plane wrecks, showing that nature has a way of making use of everything and everyone.

 Here is a quick slideshow from the National Aquarium and sorry about the quality of the photo's:

Fishkeeping

The Aquarist/Fishkeeping Community

I thought I would do a quick mention on the Aquarist/Fishkeeping community. I have been involved in the video gaming community for a number of years and have found the community, although large, to not always be the best place to go to for help and support. most gamers would prefer to take a quick stab at a fellow gamer then to offer up real advice. Terms like "Newb" and "L33t" are thrown around, but really have no other meaning then boasting ones own greatness.

The Aquarist/Fishkeeping community however appears to be just the opposite. Instead of quickly judging someone for making a mistake or doing something wrong, hobbyist seem much more interested in supporting others.

I'm not sure if it has to do with the relative time, money, and effort involved with the hobby or the average maturity level of the Aquarist/Fishkeeping hobbyist but either way it has been a great sigh of relief.

I wish video gamers could learn a lesson or 2 from these guys and gals.

Marine vs. Freshwater

vs.

Marine Fish

Freshwater Fish

Fishkeeping and Aquarists all reach a point where they need to make a pivotal decision in their hobby; are they a marine fish person? or a freshwater fish person? Based upon my research it really comes to experience, cost, and time.

Freshwater fish tanks are the preferred aquarium for new hobbyist because of the low costs of setup and maintenance as well as ease of setup and maintenance.

Marine fish tanks are generally a lot more difficult to maintain and cost a lot more to setup. Most all websites, blogs, discussion boards, and forums will tell you that for a first time aquarist/fishkeeper, you should setup a freshwater tank.

With a marine fish tank, comes the splendor of much more colorful fish and rare fish and invertebrates that people don't see from day to day. With a freshwater tank, you can quickly and cheaply maintain a large community of fish, and not be afraid every minute that something could go wrong and all of the fish will die.

However, with proper research and attention to detail, a first time hobbyist can definitely handle a marine tank, but the consequences of not maintaining the environment properly are much higher than with a freshwater tank.

From what I have read, it is really a progression that aquarist/fishkeeper hobbyist make. When they start, they create a freshwater tank, and as they become more educated and experienced, they want the harder challenge of a marine tank.

Personally, I think it should be about what you keep in the tank. If you don't like your fish, your not going to take care of them or pay attention to them, just like with any other pet. sure, Leela, Fry, and Bender are a little dull sometimes, but when I come home and they are staring me in the face, going "whats up?" it makes me smile.
Check out factiods.com comparison for more information.

Aquarium Advice

As a part of my immersion into the Fishkeeping/Aquarist hobby, I have decided to be a little more social and join an aquarium forum. I was browsing the iPhone app store, when I came across an app for "AquariumAdvice.com".

After some poking around I was very happy with not only the quality of articles, but the quantity of active users and overall community that has been established.

If you are at all interested in the hobby, I would suggest stopping by AquariumAdvice.com and reading a few of the articles.

You can view my AquariumAdvice.com profile here.

Social Network Gaming: The Conclusion, Part 1

I am very proud to say that I have finished the first month of One Hobby at a Time, and the very first hobby. I have learned a lot about social network gaming, time management and blogging. I clocked in 36 posts in a month, not to shabby for a guy with 2 kids, a wife, and a full-time job. I also learned a lot about the Blogger platform, including its advantages and limitations. I would go on, but I think I'll make that a separate post.

anyway, lets talk social network gaming.

Social network gaming, in my honest opinion, was the wrong name for this hobby. I should have called it "casual gaming". The social network part of these games have been large, but in the end, they are casual games that can plug into your social network. If anything, it makes them more like an MMO more than a social networking game.

Time Consumption: 7/10

By themselves, the social networking games do not necessarily take a lot of time (with the exception of FrontierVille), however adding 2 or 3 of them together can cause things to get thrown way out of proportion and 5 hours later you wonder how you could have possibly spent 5 hours planing corn, or clobbering snakes.

Many of the games employ energy, like Mafia Wars and FrontierVille, which from first sight appear to
cause the game to be less time consuming, but that could not be less true. Once you waste your energy, you have to wait for your energy to refill, and while your energy is re-filling the game is going on without you re-growing. If you don't login before your energy fills up, you will waste what could be energy, and end up getting behind. This forces you to have to login every several hours to micro-manage your frontier, or mafia.

The asynchronous competitive games probably require the least amount of time to play and enjoy. Which is fine, except for games like Words with Friends when you have to wait for your friends to play, which could take hours or days, causing you to loose interest.

Costs: 3/10

Cost is a slippery slope with social networking games. The games themselves are free-to-play, but in order to purchase special accessories, or complete certain quests, you need to purchase special currency that you can only buy with real money. You get a lot of currency for the little bit of money you spend, but you need to be careful because some of the games have so much content, you will easily find that the currency does not go far.

I found out that I spent about 80% of my paid currency to complete quests, that could have been completed with time, or help from friends. That left only 20% for actually buying things that you can't buy with in game currency.

Overall Enjoyment: 7/10

The more you play, the more you enjoy, it is as simple as that. The more you play, the more money you get, the more you can build, the more you can brag to your 5 friends that actually play the same game you do.

I was immediately drawn to the simulation games, and probably had the most enjoyment with them. next would be the asynchronous competitive and then dead last, casual role playing. I was never good at the Sims, but I felt that the simulation games I played were a good pace for me. There were lots of things to do, and very little consequences for neglecting things. I played 2 very different asynchronous competitive games, but felt that they brought a very similar amount of enjoyment. Whether it was getting a high score in Bejeweled Blitz, or hitting the triple word score in Words with Friends, I had fun.The casual role playing games just didn't provide a lasting experience. It became a mess of repetitive micro-management that doesn't seem to end.

Technical Skill Required: 2/10

If you can click a mouse, you can play social network games. Each game had its own way of teaching the user how to play the game.

I'm going to stop here, and put the rest in another post.

City of Wonder: Day 30

 City of Wonder was my favorite of the Social Network Games by far. Between the global economy, quests, UI, and aesthetics, I was never bored with the game. It used just the right amount of social networking and gaming to keep me coming.

The only limiting factor of the game was the requirement for more allies to expand your civilization. I don't necessarily think it was unreasonable for the game itself, but rather because not enough of my friends play the game.

In comparison to the other games, City of Wonder did not require as much time to play. I was satisfied logging in twice a day. I would usually collect my crops, then replant then logout. I am sure that as you ad more colonies the micromanagement required would be more.

 The social aspect of the game was divided into 3 functions:

1. Expansion: In order to expand your territory, you were required to have x amount of allies. I would be upset by this but FarmVille, and probably a dozen others require this.
2. Quests: Certain quests required you to receive gifts from allies. It was a simple process that used the Facebook system to do it. The only problem was that, unless all of your friends played regularly, you would either have to wait a long time to complete simple quests, or you would have to dish out real world cash.
3. Economy: Allies provided economy that is equivalent to properties in Mafia Wars. About once a day, you can visit your friends property and collect money from them.

City of Wonder used "Gold Bars" that you could purchase and use in game to finish quests and purchase unique items. For $10, you can buy 42 Gold bars which works out to 42¢ per Gold Bar, which is consistent with other games. A majority of those Gold bars had to go into finishing the Zombie quest chain, 32 in fact. What made this worst, was the fact that even with all those Gold Bars spent, I never really got that close to completing the chain. You could easily dump a lot of money into this game without thinking. T

City of Wonder (Colony) - Day 30

The ability to expand to a Colony was a nice feature for the game and extended gameplay, but the colony experience was only a fraction of the main civilization. Most of the items in the colony required Gold Bars, and did very little for the overall experience.

I really enjoyed the workshop feature of the game. Using goods collected from your various farms and quarries, you can build very nice properties that have vastly superior stats to other that you have to buy.

City of Wonder (Home) - Day 30

The researching of the game started out as a simple, but then quickly grew to be complex and limiting. Not necessarily because of the cost, but because of the time involved. Later in the game, certain researches needed days to complete. My inability to complete the zombie quest chain was because I didn't have the knowledge to build certain goods until I researched them.

There are 2 types of quests involved with City of Wonders:

1. Hero Quests: These are simple quests that require you to buy items, attack, or perform actions that lead to you gaining a hero. Heroes provide things like faster research time, better attack, cleaning buildings, etc.
2. Special Quest Chains: These are long quests chains that require you to buy or craft buildings s well as other special tasks. I chose the Zombie chain which was pretty cool, however it didn't exactly help the overall aesthetics of my civilization. I gave them a nice area to the west that they can use to slaughter innocents for brains and whatever zombies do in their free time.

 Once again, I was very happy with this game, and will probably miss it the most.

Manifest Destiny

On Day 21, I was finally able to expand my FrontierVille homestead. That means it took about 15 days of sending out requests for parts to my friends and receiving the parts piece by piece. If I could guess, based upon the price of horseshoes in the game, it would have cost $10 - $15 real world dollars to do the same thing. I don't even want to guess how much it would cost to get the next expansion.

After receiving the land expansion I quickly realized that I now have more land to maintain and it will take several days and many hours to clear all the trees out of the way to even take advantage of the expansion.