Why Fish Tanks?

The Chinese believe keeping fish will bring you good luck. I am not a big believer in luck. I believe hard work and putting yourself out there creates luck. Never the less, keeping fish has always been something I have just flat out loved doing.

The roots of my fish keeping go way back. Like most I had the carnival prize goldfish that we took home and raised. Honestly I was too young to pin point exactly how or why we got the fish. I just remember that it's name was Dibloon. (like the gold coins you'd find in a treasure chest.) My dad named him and took care of the tank. I guess you could say he was the reason I got into tanks.

It's funny to think about it now. When I was probably 5 I remember on the weekends my dad would do water changes. I'm not talking about 25%. He would have me hold the door for him while he lugged the entire tank out the garage and dumped out the whole thing. Yep, 100% water changes that probably killed all of the good bacteria and certainly stressed out the fish. I do remember he always told me to make sure we used the Dechlorinator though...a lesson I have failed to remember on occasion.

I think I like the idea of raising something and caring for it. May be it is because I was born on January 24th, which make me an Aquarius. I've always loved water, lake and oceans.

Here's the main reason I keep tanks and have so damn many. They make me happy. I read in a book that you should try to do something you love for 20 minutes a day. I know I love fishtanks so that is how I spend my 20 minutes. Actually. I probably average about 20 minutes a day with them coincidentally. On the weekends, well that's another story. I don't feel like it's even a good weekend if I don't by something for my tanks.

But there is a great reward with the tanks. There are cumulative games. My work pays off. I have a buddy who keeps a pretty sick reef tank. He thinks I'm nuts and asks me how I keep up with all of them. I simply like keeping up with them. I can see the fruits of my labor when I am done messing with them. I started getting into this whole blogging thing so I can share them with more people who are in to them. Nothing is cooler then having a stranger come across your stuff and say it's sweet.

This might be out there to some, but. I am also a believer in Yin and Yang energy. I teach a Qi Gong class twice a week too. (its out of the scope of this blog, but Qi Gong is the balancing of one's Yin and Yang energy.) I burn up all of my Yin energy worrying about work, selling, cold calling and in general...hustling with my brain and mouth. Nothing creative about it.

With tanks I get to express myself in an artistic way. My Yang energy is working. I get my hands in my tanks and I almost instantly feel better. It is release I have found. Trust me, It's WAY healthier and safer then a few other hobbies I used to have.

So here's the bottom line. Fishtanks are something I love. If you dig what I'm posting let me know. If you have a question PLEASE ask away, I'll give you my best answer and if your lucky a video with some kind of example...

Pictures found from 2007

These are some pictures I found from way back of my tank. I think this was probably at the best the 125 ever looked. You can see that I spent a decent amount of time in it.

I was playing with that moss in the bottom left. Let me warn you, once you put it in your tank, it is not coming out. Period. That was a move I regret.

I like where the dwarf sag is next to the moss. That plant goes like a weed once it hits the soil. While it is a simple plant and gets out of control, dwarf sag, along with jungle val (tall skinny plant you see to the far right) are two of my favorite plants because the grow so well. The really helped me see some results in the hobby which kept me moving forward with it. If you look closely you can see that the val has gone all the way along the back. Great plant.

The 220 a few weeks rolling

I really like the amount of fish in the tank at this point. The contrast of the Emerald Rainbows and the New Guinea Reds is slick...

How to dirt a tank...yes...put dirt in the bottom of your tank and cover it with gravel.

People who are rookies think that putting dirt into a tank is nuts. There are pros who do too. But me. I love using dirt in my tanks. I've had great success. Here is a clip of how it is done.

PART ONE:


I love the way this clay makes my plants turn dark red...

PART TWO:

Battling Ich in the 220....

The loaded nutrient bed under my gravel has probably fouled up my water. I only run two whisper number three filters on the back.

Last weekend I went snowboarding and didn't do my weekly 1/2 or 50% water change. I didn't have any good surface agitation. My Rainbows are hating it. (Surprise Surprise, they come from fast moving clean streams and are suffering in the stagnant cespool.)

I think I can battle it though.

I am raising the temperature slightly up from 68 to like 73.

As I type this, I am refilling it up from about 60%. I have the lights off for less stress.


We are shooting for a temperature around 76-78. The fish are swimming closer to the warm water so they must like it...

When I refill i will have to add slightly more ich guard. I'll keep you posted.
--just added 30 more drops of Quick Ich. That stuff was a pain to put in there.

This video was taken that next morning. I did another %50 and added more Ich medicine.



Hopefully the cure is coming soon

MONDAY NIGHT 2-15

I am convinced that the %50 water changes are doing me the most good. I am still using Ick medicine, but the better water quality is helping the most. I wonder why the females are getting it worse?



Thursday Night.

The Ick lost.

I did four days straight of 50% water changes and then left it alone for one day after a buddy told me I was probably not letting the medicine work. I am happy to say that the Ick is gone. It should be mentioned that I feel they loved the great water quality which helped strengthen them while I was dosing the tank.

Quick tour of my tanks at work Green Thumb Marketing

There are some benefits to working for yourself. Having a company call Green Thumb requires having green tanks though....

220 gallon tank that sat in my garage for two year finally gets some love

This is the first week rolling of my 220 that I bought myself for Christmas in the winter of 2007. It got set up at Christmas time 2009. Some things are worth the wait.... I think it will be my best work, It's off to an ok start.

1st look at 90 Gallon moved into a 75...much better

This was taken in December about three months after I tore everything out of my 90 and moved it into the basement. Less IS MORE. The 90 was too big and deep to light, plus it was hard to do waterchanges upstairs. Now that it is in my basement, waterchanges are a breeze. See I have an RO unit down stairs and a few giant tubs. The old rule still holds true. The easier it is to do maintence, the more it will get done. That is no expection here.

When I moved into the 75 I asked one of the local Sensais of fishkeeping in town to help me and talk about it. He told me of a technique of just doing hardly any substrate at all. I asked him what he would do and he said just that. So that's what I did. I also really beefed up the amount of powerheads as well. You can see one pointing right off of the front glass. There are I think 4 total in the tank.

I like this tank because it has ZERO filter on it. That's right. All I do is 20% waterchanges with reef crystals salt every other week. I also add calcium every other day or so. I have been using Kalkawasser lately. Although I have also have great success with Seachem's Liquid Calcium. I think Kalkawasser is better, but its also more work.

One of the things I am most proud of with this salt set up is the PURPLE. I think I have found the formula for coraline algae. It's Calcium. The 20% water changes are huge too.

The big anemone looking thing is a Torch Coral. I bought it for 15 bucks when it was just two heads. It's an easy coral to keep and it's been rewarding. Too bad He-Ronnie (my 4 year old clown fish's name) always tries to lay in it...He and "Ronda-Pauline" are good buddies.

Krazy Man Kirt's 75

Kirt Might have as many tanks as me.... I say tanks...not gallons! He probably has done the most with me for the planted tank hobby so I'm giving him some props here.

Kirt and I went to the Mecca of Aquarium Plants convention. The AGA convention in Atlanta in 2008. WOW. Here is just one of my guys tanks...

Sick stuff bro..more of his tanks to come.

125 gallon Planted Aquarium with 150 halid lights

This is an old video of my 125. I was collecting various rainbows for my 220. Those angels I have had for a long while. Emerald rainbows are probably my favorite. I loved the yellow ones (the Herbert Axelrodi) as well, but sadly those all died randomly right after one another. Thanks for looking...ask away...or share your videos!