Now it can be told - how I destroyed my first aquarium

This happened several years ago, and its repercussions are still being felt up to now. The 35-gallon aquarium I have is actually a ‘hand-me-down’, but its by no means my original aquarium. though my original was likewise a black-bordered aquarium, like the one I have right now, it was basically newer and its glass was not as scratched as the one I have right now.

So what happened to my original aquarium? A simple case of gravity and stupidity, really - the first being a natural law, the second; borne out of a belief (poor gamble really) that I could beat the gravity odds.

See, I was cleaning the aquarium - and I mean, really cleaning this one, so I removed the fishes… got the gravel into a pail to clean it up, removed the water of course and cleaned the filter. Now,since our water pressure was basically weak that day, I had some difficulty holding the hose in place, as the water was trickling into the aquarium.

Feeling a bit impatient and tired of holding the hose, I looked for something to keep it in place, but could not find anything that would hold the hose in place. What I found, actually, was a small dumbbell and decided that if I could balance it at the aquarium’s corner, as it holds down the hose, I could then do other things while the water filled itself up.

Unfortunately, gravity had other plans… I had just let go of the dumbbell and taken a few paces away, when the dumbbell slips form the corner, and in true Murphy’s Law fashion, it falls into the aquarium, hits the bottom, and goes through said bottom… spilling the already accumulated water (possibly 5 gallons of water)
onto the floor. So… I had to act fast or just keep my fish in the large water container where I had placed them. Lucky for me, I remember my dad having an old aquarium, which, for some reason I was not privy to, ws no longer being used. So I asked for it… drove to Paranaque… loaded the old aquarium… drove home and cleaned said aquarium.

So as I said earlier, this stupidity with the dumbbell… its still being felt, at least, until I get to buy a new aquarium. What was I thinking of? Boy… did I learn a lesson.

In the past, i was too embarrassed to mention this… but now, I can easily laugh about the experience. So what made me bring it up now? I've been transferring blog posts from here to my mirror blog, and I came across several old aquarium blogs. Naturally I remembered this, and decided to share it.

Star Trek - what's so good about it?

In the '60s, a TV series called Star Trek debuted. Like many TV shows, it presented a colorful cast in terms of costumes and relatively sparse studio backdrops - the first aspect was to take advantage of color which was now visible with colored television (as opposed to the mundane grays of black and white TV), the latter aspect was for budget purposes of course - unlike movies, TV shows had to stretch their budgets. Hence the near spartan-like sets, and if some could be reused for future shows, well even better.

But that was as far as similarities would go... the rest would be uniquely Star Trek.

The premise: In the 23rd Century, humanity has reached the stars - in fact, they travel amongst the stars using Space ships - in this case, mostly having a saucer shaped front section connected to a cylindrical body, which then connected to twin aft thrusters. The crew would be mostly human - but of international in aspect... we'd have a Scotsman, an Asian, another person of African-descent, two Americans, a Russian and last but not the least - an Alien.

This presented two important premises as of its time - peace amongst the nations, as evident by these people working in harmony with each other and the concept of tolerance/exploration with whatever situations they would encounter. The series did not handle things with the usual shoot first and sort things out later - rather, it presented a view of reasoning, use of logic and the understanding through, need for and respect of diversity... in short, it was a thinking person's show.

It also, as an offshoot of its limitations, explained a few gadgets to make things easier - take for example a device called the universal translator, which allowed for everyone to understand each other, and communicate. Then there's the replicator - where food and other items were, well... copied as good as the original (and Xerox still had to shoe its face - not to mention the concept of cloning), but this allowed people to get what they need and not have to wary about scarcity. Of course the need for transport from ship to planet was answered by transporters.

Some of today's inventions are gearing towards trying to copy what Star Trek has introduced. Of course, it may be some decades in coming (and that's being an optimist) before we can fully appreciate similar devices. But we are getting there... thanks to a multitude of fans wishing to make real, what was imagined for the show.

I mention the fans... actually, Star Trek can easily be considered a culture by many - and the fans are legion indeed. The franchise (business parlance, I know) has birthed an animated TV series, four newer TV series, books, comic books, an exhibit, at least 10 movies and many souvenir items.

Am I a fan? Yes... though possibly not as rabid as others, and when i say this, I mean that I'm relatively familiar with the show, the imaginary universe it revolves around and of course some terms that have been created with the show's universe in mind. I know a lot of trivia, own a sizable collection of TV episodes, which I get to watch when I find the mood - and yes, I even have a Tribble (fans would know of what I'm talking about).

I don't have a Starfleet uniform though, nor do I have models of the ships. I don't speak Klingon (though I have a dictionary of its terms), and I may understand and remember certain episodes - though not to the extent that I could quote certain personalities verbatim. I am thankful for the actors' contributions to the universe, but I don't stalk them, nor do I try to find out every tiny tidbit about them. Oh yeah, I do the 'V' sign with my fingers and can recite the greeting "Live Long and Prosper".

I am a huge fan of the lessons it teaches - IDIC (i.e. Infinite Diversities in Infinite Combinations) is a prime example for pluralism and the embrace of diversity... the Prime Directive, which states the need for non-interference of a lesser advanced society for fear of accidentally destroying their unique culture... and of letting them grow naturally, of letting them go at things in a natural state - rather than jump starting them into something they may not be ready for. The use of reasoning - first and foremost, and lastly... the need for exploration, for discovery.

In the last company I came from - the group I happened to be working with happened to be Star Trek fans, and we would enjoy our discussions - back then, we would be watching episodes of Voyager, then come the next working day, we'd discuss what we watched. I can honestly say that this act built camaraderie amongst us. This extended itself to our watching Enterprise, though more likely - via CDs burned with episodes.

I still enjoy reading books about Star Trek... in fact, right now, I'm enjoying a book that further follows the adventures of one of the show's characters. I also hope that soon, we - the fans, will be treated to a new movie, or even better - a new TV series that could expand the already large universe.

My Aquarium - an update

Been a while since I've mentioned something about it, so here goes...

I'm trying to revive the old glory of a planted aquarium, but to do this I need three things:

• plants
• CO2
• lighting

Of these three I have access to the 3rd item - though it might take some experimenting to see if other bulbs will do as effectively. The CO2 will need a tank - and my mom will give me one of her oxygen tanks - the one she hardly uses, once the oxygen is spent, that is. That leaves plants - ironically the harder thing to find.

See, having plants are not that hard since plants are bing sold - its the type of plants I'm looking for that are a bit of a challenge.

I strive for the Amano-tank look. This means a natural looking tank with lots of plants, designed with a Zen-like look. One that is relaxing and wonderful to look at for long periods of time.

So far, I have some of the fishes, the shrimps and the tank. I'll be getting the CO2 soon (maybe next month) and can adjust lighting once the CO2 is installed. Hopefully, I do get to develop this real well... if its successful (or even semi-successful) I'll post a picture of the tank.

Until then, its planning and fingers crossing time.

My aquarium(s)

I've had an aquarium for the past three (maybe four) years now and up to this time, it has always delighted me with unending entertainment as a de-stress tool and a live microcosm representing a different world.

First of, I maintain a tropical fresh-water environment. Though salt water aquariums are manageable, I find that the needed extra care for water and desalination equipment may outweigh the want for keeping more colorful varieties - as salt water fishes are normally known for. Nothing can compare to their vibrant colors, but... tropical fishes aren't exactly push-overs, as there are quite a number of colorful fresh-water fishes as well. Any new hobbyist may well be better served trying out fresh-water tanks first... then when they feel more confident, and they've some cash to spend, they can consider a salt-water tank.

As for my tank's dimensions - I'm less likely to remember measurements than volume. I have two tanks - a rectangular (the basic shape) 35 gallon tank, and a 22 gallon octagonal (more decorative in nature - and covering less table space) tank. The octagonal is relatively new, not even a month old yet... and there's a story for my getting it. but more on that some other time.

The fishes I keep? Tetras - mostly for my older tank, see... I'm adhering to the size and breathing surface area rule of a tank, which states that as a general rule, the less in size the fishes, the more fishes you can put in a tank, and Tetras are rather small - averaging about an inch to an inch and a half for each fish. I've got:

• 11 cardinals... really wonderful blue and red colors
• 7 rummy noses, their face color is red - and that's the only color they have. Not to forget that their face colors are a barometer for the quality of the water they're in
• 2 ottos - don't ask me to spell out their name, its difficult to remember - needless to say, these guys are glass cleaners
• 3 albino corys - great white contrast against the entire background, plus the fact that they're... well, scavengers (bottom feeders and thus cleaners of the aquarium's sand)
• 4 Amano-type shrimps - likewise, algae-eaters / cleaners

With the exception of the Albino Corys and maybe the rummy noses - these others are hard to find these days - or if there is a shop selling them, I've yet to discover where it is. In fact, this is the reason i had to get another aquarium - so I could separate them from my larger fishes, which might eat said fishes.

Exiled to my other aquarium are the following fishes:

• 2 Marble Angels (one predominantly black on silver, the other an exact opposite in colors - and it seems that these two are a pair
• A spotted-talking catfish (no it does not really talk - more like a clicking sound
• A Clown loach - the fresh water version of Nemo (from finding Nemo the movie)

Since these guys are a whole lot bigger, I chose not to mix them with the smaller examples.

What's so good about aquariums? I get to watch the fishes interact - sometimes chase each other, hide in plants (live, not plastic ones) and this helps me relax.. and yes, relieves stress.

In fact, tonight, when I do get home - I'll relax on the sofa, watch the television or listen to music - but likewise, I will look at my fishes for brief periods of time, and enjoy watching the fishes move in their tanks.