Other people’s fish waste

Well, the plan to save thousands by buying used fish equipment is in effect. We found a protein skimmer (a EuroReef ES5-2) for $100. It retails online for $250, so we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves. However, now the thing is sitting in the tub (thank goodness for two bathrooms), looking gross and waiting to be cleaned. Yum.


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In other news, Kevin just left for a 5-day recruiting trip to Boston. 🙁 Not only will I miss him, but I am ragingly jealous. I miss Queensberry St. He’ll even be there for the Yankees series.

Finding Nemo

Because our lease strictly forbids pets, and because fish really are just cool, we’ve been looking at starting a marine fishtank. My fish experience thus far has consisted of 3 ill-fated betas in college, and Kevin has none. However, it’s amazing what the internet and a library card have to offer, and we’ve been reading like none other. Our bible for the moment is Robert M. Fenner’s The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. What we’re looking at for set up is a 55 gallon tank, a stand, lights, heaters, a protein skimmer, a sump, lots of buckets for aging water and mixing in the salt, sand (I think gravel is cooler, sigh.), live rock, little crabs to eat the algae, and some fish. The stunning thing is how expensive all of this is. To set up this aquarium is supposed to run close to $2K. Heart attack. Especially for the unemployed girl with the new car. Kevin thinks that we could save some money, and “it would be fun” to make our own lights and heaters. Even though I don’t tend to give his EE degree enough credit, I’d still rather we buy them. Homemade electronics and 55 gallons of water give me the creeps. So now we’re looking for used tanks and gear…

Intro

Amazing how 11 pm always brings out the projects.

This particular project is growing out of two inescapable facts in my life:

  • Everyone else has a knitting blog and I don’t.

  • My life at this point in time is the ultimate blank slate. I just moved across the country, from Boston to Seattle. I quit my job (writing administrative software for the Boston Public Schools) and don’t know what’s coming next. I’m 23 and I don’t have a life plan for the first time ever. The only non-blank is Kevin, my boyfriend of two years, who’s the reason I moved out here. I can’t stand being a blank for long, but it’s easier to guage your progress when you write it down. Thus: a blog. May it be as interesting to you as it is to me. 😛